Ethianum clinic built with sustainable and environmentally friendly systems

17 August 2010

The newly opened Ethianum clinic in Heidelberg is one of the first clinics in Germany to implement sustainability criteria across the organisation.

The Ethianum opened in July 2010 and specializes in plastic surgery, aesthetic surgery and preventive medicine. Working in partnership with Siemens, using its Green+ Hospitals programme, Ethianum developed and implemented energy management, patient care, and communications infrastructure solutions, integrating environmental protection, quality of treatment, and efficiency into the day-to-day processes of the organization.

"A major concern for us, particularly also with regard to ecological aspects, was to act responsibly and develop a clinic that sets standards in healthcare in terms of sustainability," explained Dr Peter Görlich, Director of the Ethianum. "Thanks to the solutions from Siemens we don't just reduce our energy requirements to a minimum. More importantly, they support our objective of establishing short examination times and structured treatment paths as the standard in healthcare."

Wolfgang Bayer, Healthcare Sector CEO of Siemens Germany, said, "Traditionally a pioneer of new developments, Siemens faced up to its social responsibility for mankind and the environment years ago. Today, Siemens is a market leader in green technology. With its Green+ Hospitals portfolio, our company sets standards in terms of sustainability. Green+ Hospitals is the key to more "green", quality and efficiency, from which the environment, hospital operators and patients will benefit in equal measure."

"The Ethianum is comprehensively geared to patient-friendly treatment and intelligent examination workflows, to the benefit of our patients and our staff," said Prof. Dr. Günter Germann, Medical Director and co-founder of the Ethianum. "Our multimedia terminals installed directly at the patient's bedside also contribute to high standards in patient quality, enabling the patient to interact with clinic staff and access personal examination appointments or treatment plans."

Energy management

Cost-effective and energy-efficient operation of the Ethianum's building technology includes heating, ventilation and cooling systems. The investment in leading-edge building technology is calculated over the entire lifecycle. About 80% of the costs for a building are incurred in the operating phase, with 40% of this being energy costs alone.

Building-automation systems from Siemens also ensure seamless interaction of all components and technical systems. Intelligent building management enables the complex processes in the technical systems to be visualized and the operating characteristics to be optimized accordingly.

This puts the clinic in a position to achieve savings without sacrificing convenience. Siemens also provides data for "green-building monitors". All current energy consumption in the building can be easily viewed and also keeps users informed with weather forecast data and energy-saving tips.

Quality for the patient

The Ethianum aims to make diagnostic examinations as pleasant as possible for the patients. With this in mind, Siemens has supplied the Magnetom Verio, a high-field magnetic resonance (MR) tomography scanner with a particularly large 70-centimeter opening bore. This is especially considerate of patients who tend to suffer feelings of anxiety.

Siemens' innovative Tim (Total imaging matrix) technology significantly shortens examination times in the MR scanner and so helps patients and staff complete the examination more efficiently. Magnetom Verio delivers clinical images of very high quality and at the same time operates extremely economically in terms of resource usage, and is environmentally friendly since the magnet has a closed helium cycle. This means that no helium escapes and so there is also no need to replenish this expensive raw material.

Previous experiences from real-world practice show that many patients feel more at ease and relaxed if the examination room is not decorated in a clinical white. Specialist medical staff and physicians also affirm that they feel a colourful ambience creates a much more pleasant working environment. Accordingly, Siemens has designed the MR room with a light installation. A 1.77 x 1.40m Ethianum logo bathes the room in different colours, thus creating a friendly atmosphere for all involved.

Radiography, too, stands under the aegis of "sustainability" in the Ethianum: The Axiom Aristos VX Plus digital X-ray system requires neither X-ray films nor developer chemistry and saves technicians having to perform many of the usual operating steps. A digital detector captures the image data and converts it into electronic X-ray images.

At the same time the radiation dose can be reduced considerably compared to conventional film and cassette based technologies. The images are then sent directly from the X-ray system over a data network to the examining physician's workplace, where they can be post-processed and viewed. The physician can then immediately discuss the results with the patient.

Additionally, Ethianum procured a Siemens Acuson S2000. The primary use of this high-end ultrasound system will be for vascular examinations as well as those of the abdomen and heart. The ultrasound system is a highly versatile device. The clinic can ensure the investment through upgrades in the future and the deployment of additional options for the Acuson S2000.

Efficient communication

An intelligent communications network supports the physicians and specialist medical staff in delivering the best possible care to patients in the Ethianum. The HiMed Cockpit, a 15-inch monitor with keyboard, gives patients their own multimedia console, with television, video and internet access, at their bedside.

Thanks to a personalized chipcard, physicians and specialist medical staff have secure access to the sensitive data on the hospital information system. This optimizes processes in the hospital, with energy savings as an added bonus, makes the latest patient information available faster, and smoothes the way to a paperless hospital. The Cockpit also allows patients to control the climate in their room.

All the data runs via the Enterasys LAN and WLAN network. All communication, from telephoning to calling a nurse, is IP (Internet Protocol)-based. The Ethianum uses IP telephones from the OpenStage and Gigaset series as terminals in its departments. These have a reputation as the most energy-saving devices of this type on the market.

 

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