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.