UCI Health and its sustainability commitment

Joe Brothman, safety, security and emergency management director at UCI Health.

IN THE NEWS: A commitment to sustainability is the centerpiece of the new and existing facilities at UCI Health, including the new UCI Health — Irvine, now under construction.

In 2022, Practice Greenhealth, a national leader in healthcare environmental sustainability, recognized the enterprise for its commitment to reducing its carbon footprint.

Joe Brothman, the academic health system’s director of facilities and general services, spoke to Healthcare Facilities Today about the changes that have resulted from that commitment:

“The new facility that we're building in Irvine is going to be 100 percent electrified. There is no combustion on site, and it’s one of the first academic medical centers in the world to be a non-combustion central plant, a fully electrified central plant.”

Some of the initiatives include:

• Reducing greenhouse gas emissions associated with purchased anesthetic gases by more than 60% and completely eliminating the use of desflurane, an inhaled anesthetic gas with the highest global warming potential
• Improving energy performance metrics (reducing overall demand for electricity and natural gas) and reducing our carbon emissions
• Procuring 100% clean (zero carbon) electricity

Read more:

• Healthcare Facilities Today: UCI Health’s efforts to heal the environment ›
• UCI Health recognized as a water conservation champion ›
• UCI Health honored for excellence in sustainability ›