PEER certification awarded to College of Medicine and Hershey Medical Center – Penn State News

HERSHEY, Pa. Penn State Universitys College of Medicine and the Milton S. Hershey Medical Center were recently awarded a platinum-level Performance Excellence in Electricity Renewal (PEER) certification from GBCI.

PEER is the worlds first certification program that evaluates the resiliency, reliability and sustainability of participating organizations power systems. The program evaluates the power systems across six categories: reliability and resiliency of power systems; their energy efficiency and environmental impact; the operation, management and safety of these systems; grid services; innovation and exemplary service; and regional priority of the energy systems.

Since 2010, Hershey Medical Center has been working towards creating a more sustainable power system by implementing an Energy Conservation Program. Through this, the Medical Center has been able to reduce its energy consumption by 20%. This led to monetary savings and a carbon output reduction.Not only does the increased reliability and sustainability help the environment, but it also increases healthcare resiliency, or the persistence of high-quality healthcare.

As a healthcare provider, Hershey is unable to stop operations in the event of a power outage. In order to continue providing lifesaving medical care, it is critical that they have uninterrupted access to a fully functional power grid, equipped with backup systems in the event of power failures. To evaluate its energy infrastructure and performance, the Hershey Medical Center pursued PEER certification.

The PEER Certification process forced us to step back from the day-to-day tasks of operating and maintaining the campus infrastructure to support the Milton S. Hershey Medical Center mission, and holistically consider the campus as a microgrid and the future of renewable energy and sustainability possibilities, said Kevin Kanoff, campus energy engineer.

The achievement of the platinum PEER certification from GBCI is the highest possible award an important honor and signifier of their commitment to energy efficiency and reliability. Out of 110 available points, Hershey Medical Center earned 85. One infrastructure project that helped to achieve these ratings isthe Combined Heat and Power unit which supplies 75% of Hershey Medical Centers energy requirement. The Hershey Medical Center also met the goals of supplying an alternative power supply for 100% of all project loads and updating and optimizing HVAC and lighting systems to be more efficient.

The PEER Certification process provided us with the means to further evaluate our environmental performance through established metrics, identify areas where we have excelled and more importantly where there are opportunities for improvement as we strive to be a leader in environmental practices within the health care industry, said Mark Heisey, facilities compliance program manager and Campus Sustainability Council Environmental Subcommittee co-chair.

With these projects, Hershey Medical Center was able to increase fuel efficiency use from 51% to 75%, mitigate around 55,000 MWh of electrical supply and distribution losses, and reduce the centers electricity production related carbon emissions by 10%.

Improvements such as theseprovide greater potentialto reduce the impact of the center on the environment, and in addition, to have a positive impact on the communitys health and well-being. With reduced carbon emissions,localhealth effects related to pollution and warminghave the opportunity for reduction as well. In addition, it helps to increase the reliability of the medical center, with improvements to the power grids capability to withstand an increase in storms and extreme weather events related to climate change. Reduced costsare also likelyto improve the quality-of-care patients receive, as money saved could be spent making further improvements.

We are committed to a holistic framework that addresses the efficiency and effectiveness of our electrical system. said Marvin W. Smith, CHFM assistant vice president, facilities, Penn State College of Medicine, Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, Through PEER certification, we demonstrate dedication to reliability, resiliency and the environment.