SHD Board Approves Energy Study Proposal

Following a brief presentation and months of negotiations, members of the Seminole Hospital District's Board of Directors unanimously approved of pursuing a directed energy study of the Seminole Hospital District campuses and facilities through McKinstry.

McKinstry, according to company representatives in Monday's presentation and the company's website, is a full-service design, build, operate and maintain (DBOM) firm.

"This is something we have considered doing over the past several months and could be a way the (hospital) district could save some energy money in the long run," said Betsy Briscoe, Chief Executive Officer of the Seminole Hospital District in Monday's meeting.

Company officials, in their presentation to SHD board members, said they could save the district between $44,000 and $54,000 annual in energy savings through energy management control system upgrades, HVAC equipment improvements, lighting improvements, computer power management, water conservation measures, and other energy management practices.

According to company figures, the SHD could earn $650,000 to $800,000 for self-funding facility improvements over a 15 year period, through the proposed project.

"Those are savings you can put back toward the hospital district for various improvements or additional needs, which in turn would help better serve your patients," said Mike McDaniel, a representative with McKinstry during Monday's meeting.

With Monday's approval by the SHD Board of Directors, which included an approval for the district to join the The Interlocal Purchasing System (TIPS/TAPS), McKinstry will now conduct a full energy study evaluation of the hospital district and develop an energy savings proposal for SHD Directors to consider.

The study, which will include a complete walk-through of the SHD campuses and facilities, as well as a design and pricing period, is anticipated to take 8-to-10 weeks to complete.

A preliminary Energy Cost Index conducted by the company as part of their proposal to SHD officials, showed the Memorial Hospital campus was operating at a cost of $1.80 per sq ft, while the district's Assisted Living Center operated at a cost of just over $1.20 per sq ft.

"For a hospital facility this size, and for this age, that's about where  you should be without any energy savings upgrades," said McDaniel. "However, with energy saving upgrades, we could cut that cost down considerably less per square foot than what you're paying now."

The Energy Cost Index showed the district's Home Health Offices operated at a cost of $1.20 per sq ft, while the Seminole Family Medical Clinic (Dr. Michael Q. Watson's office building), was operating at a cost just under $1.00 per sq ft. The SHD's records storage facility, in the study, was operating at a cost of just over 80-cents per sq ft.

SHD officials, in Monday's meeting, stated they spent $20,000 in electricity for the prior month for the Seminole Hospital District, an an additional $8,000 in water services.

"We could help cut those costs down considerably," said McDaniel.

In other action Monday evening, SHD officials approved of the exterior renovation to a medical building located in the 1000 block of Hobbs Hwy. In addition, SHD members also tabled a motion to consider the construction of a parking lot southeast of the newly constructed AeroCare hanger facility, on the southeastern corner of the hospital district grounds.