Keeping RiverBend Green
  


When PeaceHealth’s volunteer Governing Board chose to locate its new hospital at RiverBend, one of the first steps it took was to adopt environmental stewardship principles to guide the design and development of the site. PeaceHealth conducted detailed site studies, resulting in a depth and quantity of research that far exceeds the most stringent requirements. 

To safeguard the area's natural environment and assure that its beauty is preserved for both enjoyment and healing, PeaceHealth has made a number of important commitments:

 
 
  • Sacred Heart Medical Center has invested in an innovative, chemical-free cooling water treatment system at RiverBend. This environmentally friendly technology protects ground water resources and the city’s sewer system by eliminating the need to use or store potentially harmful chemicals that are often used in processes to treat cooling water.  This new system—one of only seven such installations nationally—also conserves millions of gallons of water annually, making it extremely efficient. 

  • The hospital is designed to provide significant natural daylight throughout the building, which will enhance the patient experience and reduce the need for energy-consuming artificial light. 
  • The lights inside offices and other non-clinical areas are motion-activated, and as such, conserve electricity by automatically turning off when the offices are not in use. 
  • All surface parking lots feature bioswales to treat storm water runoff closest to its source. The bioswales use vegetation, soils, and filter fabric to clean runoff before it reaches the city storm water system. 
     
  • There are seven rooftop gardens at RiverBend. These “eco-roofs” not only provide welcome greenscapes for patients to enjoy, but also intercept storm water and reduce the amount and temperature of runoff entering the city storm water system.

  • The McKenzie River’s heavily degraded riparian corridor has been restored and enhanced over the past three years thanks to the removal of invasive, non-native plants and the replacement of native plant species.
  • Native, naturalized, and climate-tolerant plant communities have been created in all landscape areas to reduce needs for water, fertilizer, mowing, and maintenance.

  • Riparian enhancements have been made by anchoring “large woody debris” along the riverbank to enhance habitat for aquatic species. Some of this wood came from trees removed on-site for hospital construction. 
  • At its closest point, the hospital is more than 425 feet from the top of the riverbank—more than the length of a football field and greater than five times Springfield’s 75-foot building setback requirement. In addition, PeaceHealth established a 100-foot average riparian setback, preserving all natural vegetation along a 100-foot-wide strip of riverbank. 
     
  • All invasive plants within the riparian boundary have been removed without using chemicals. 
     
  • More than 85 percent of the Douglas fir grove adjacent to the river, and virtually all of the riverside Maple grove has been preserved.
  • Sacred Heart has repurposed and recycled fir trees required to be removed from the site by milling the wood and using it as paneling in the lobby interior roof. 

  • Sacred Heart has also replaced foliage that was removed from the construction site by planting ten trees to for every one that was removed. As a result, we expect the site will have 50% more tree canopy within 5 to 10 years. The additional tree canopy will help reduce the heat island effect and cool runoff leaving the site. 
  • An electronic medical record system has been adopted by the hospital that will reduce the amount of paper used at RiverBend.
     
     
  • Only digital imaging will be used within the medical center, thereby eliminating the need for silver recovery and chemical inputs associated with traditional x-ray technology. 
 
  • Bamboo flooring, a renewable resource, has been installed in the lobby area.

 
  • A riverside multi-use trail winds through the riparian area only at discrete visual “windows” onto the riverfront to provide a greater setback from the riverbank and reduce potential erosion, as well as to avoid tree removal and minimize impacts to tree roots. Trail lighting is designed to be pedestrian-scaled and equipped with cut-off fixtures to avoid glare, unnecessary light dispersal, and negative impacts on wildlife habitat. 

  • Nearly 50% of our parking is located in structured parking garages to conserve land base. Nearly 30 acres of open space is retained on the site. 
  • The project conserves land area by using mixed-use zoning to allow for a range of issues to be accommodated. This site’s master plan includes future housing, commercial support services, and diverse transportation options. RiverBend Drive was designated specifically to accommodate high-capacity Bus Rapid Transit service, with conveniently located stations to serve the medical center, future development areas, and existing nearby neighborhoods.
     
  • Sacred Heart Medical Center provides free bus passes to all of its employees, encouraging them to take advantage of mass transit, as well as opportunities to bike and walk.
     

  • A 0.6-mile long pneumatic tube system has been installed between the medical center, the lab, and the pharmacy at the RiverBend Annex that will ferry samples, tests, supplies, and medications. This system reduces fuel consumption and the number of courier vehicle miles traveled.
  • Old residential dwellings on the RiverBend property have been recycled. Two houses have been moved off site, one of which was donated to the Neighborhood Economic Development Corporation, a non-profit affordable housing provider, and relocated elsewhere in Springfield to become a new home. All others were gleaned of usable building materials to prevent material from going to the landfill. Also, local police and fire agencies used some houses for training exercises before they were removed. 
     
  • More than 1,500 tons of construction waste has been recycled through the construction process for the hospital alone.