OAKLAND, Calif. – Kaiser Permanente has reached an agreement for a major renewable energy purchase that will empower it to achieve its goal of being carbon neutral by 2020.

With this announcement, Kaiser Permanente, recognized as the leading health care sponsor of the Global Climate Action Summit in San Francisco, underlines its commitment to improving the health of individuals and communities by focusing on climate change.

Kaiser Permanente’s power purchase agreement for 180 MW of clean energy – which is enough to power 27 of its 39 hospital – will enable the construction of utility-scale solar and wind farms, and one of the country’s largest battery-energy storage systems.

The agreement is part of a comprehensive portfolio of renewable energy solutions and greenhouse gas reduction strategies that together, enable Kaiser Permanente’s clean energy future.

“Climate change is here. We are seeing the effects of it in devastating wildfires, hurricanes and droughts already impacting people’s lives,” said Chairman and CEO Bernard J. Tyson. “At Kaiser Permanente, we understand that one of the most effective ways to protect the health of the more than 68 million people in the communities we serve is by ensuring healthy environmental conditions. By investing in renewable energy and becoming carbon neutral, Kaiser Permanente is helping to prevent climate-related illness for people worldwide.

Kaiser Permanente continues to demonstrate its commitment to environmental consciousness in the public health system.

The organization first announced its goal to become carbon neutral in 2020, noting several. These achievements include:

• Reaching a 29 percent reduction in net greenhouse gas emissions since 2008, while increasing our membership by 36 percent.
• Reducing water usage by 12 percent per-square-foot of building space since 2013.
• Opening California’s first LEED Platinum hospital, the Kaiser Permanente San Diego Medical Center in April 2017.
• Hosting California’s first hospital-based renewable microgridat the Kaiser Permanente Richmond Medical Center.
• Issued $1 billion in Green Bonds to fund LEED Platinum and Gold building projects.
• And lastly, joining RE100, California Healthcare Climate Alliance, Ceres Connect the Drops and other climate leadership initiatives.

Tyson also delivered statements during the opening plenary of the Global Climate Action Summit on Thursday, Sept. 13.

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ATLANTA — Emory Healthcare, the clinical arm of Emory University, and Kaiser Permanente publicized a new collaboration on June 13 that will brand two Emory hospitals as primary facilities for Kaiser doctors and patients in Atlanta.

Under the agreement, Kaiser will provide its nationwide model of hospital care to Emory University Hospital Midtown and Emory Saint Joseph’s Hospital. The California-based nonprofit insurer, which operates 39 hospitals in other states, said it would be able to implement its hospital “playbook’’ for its members at the two Emory Atlanta facilities.

Dr. Jonathan Lewin, CEO of Emory Healthcare and executive vice president of health affairs of Emory University, expressed that Emory and Kaiser Permanente share similar missions and goals, which allows them to serve their communities and bring together the best of academic scholarship, research and patient care, as well as family-centered care.

Both Kaiser and Emory described their new-found partnership as a double win, with Lewin stating that it is a great business deal for both sides, as the two organizations accentuate their shared values in quality, innovation, education, affordability and service.

Kaiser Permanente and Emory plan to build off each other’s strengths, and will expand and improve their capabilities in population health management, ambulatory and hospital care, research and academics, and the overall health of the communities they serve.

The integration will begin in October, which differs from Kaiser’s current arrangement with Piedmont and Northside in that the insurer operated under the two latter hospitals’ guidelines with its patients there, Kaiser said.

Jim Simpson, president of Kaiser’s Georgia operation, said their combined focus will be to generate a premier, integrated care and coverage model committed to improving health and affordability for their members. This also includes better addressing health disparities, while collaboratively working to increase the number of people and communities who benefit from what their organizations can accomplish side by side.

Although the terms of the deal are confidential, Emory’s hospitals will remain under Emory’s control, and its relationships with other insurers won’t change as a result of the new collaboration.

Kaiser currently has 375,000 patients in Georgia and will maintain relationships with other metro Atlanta and Athens hospitals. The Northside hospital will also continue labor and delivery services for Kaiser members. Kaiser Permanente has already provided a capital contribution toward expansion of the two Emory hospitals to accommodate the new and existing patients.

The Midtown and Saint Joseph’s hospitals have added beds, operating rooms and other assets to anticipate the influx of Kaiser patients, Lewin said.

Emory Healthcare has seven hospitals and is in the process of adding DeKalb Medical Center in Decatur, Ga. Nationally, Kaiser Permanente serves more than 12.2 million members in eight states and the District of Columbia. Throughout the next several months of fully activating the agreement, Kaiser Permanente will focus on ensuring its patients continue to receive seamless, high-quality, affordable care. Emory Healthcare will maintain its existing relationships with all of its affiliated health plans and continue to serve their members and all existing patients without a change in service or access.

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The four-story 100,000-square-foot medical building broke ground in October 2015 and had a budget of $90 million. Global architecture firm HOK was the architect on the project, with Turner Construction in Los Angeles as the general contractor. The facility will treat more than 50,000 Kaiser Permanente members in the community with 60 clinical providers, and will offer services that include diagnostic imaging, family medicine, health education classes, gynecology, opthamology, optometry and pediatrics.

Some features of the new building that will earn it LEED Gold certification include 35 percent water savings below the LEED baseline, 50 percent reduction in irrigation water use as compared with typical landscape design, a photovoltaic roof canopy and all stormwater will be treated and infiltrated on site. High efficiency condensing domestic water heaters will create savings for the facility as well as ultra low-flow water fixtures, including toilets and sinks.

Ultra-high efficiency rooftop variable volume HVAC units were installed, including variable volume fans, modulating capacity, ultra-high efficiency compressors, airside economizers for free cooling and variable volume zone temperature control for fan energy savings. There will be preferred parking for carpooling and low-emitting vehicles as well as bike storage for all occupants, plus showers for staff.

Recycled content and low-emitting materials were used as much as possible in the construction of the new facility as well as the use of Forest Stewardship Council wood. Additionally, the building was designed to promote interaction with the community, with an outdoor landscape that includes a 2.5-mile walking path, a large grassy area and outdoor exercise equipment, open to the public.

“We are very excited to invest in the health and well-being of this community and bring world-class health care and other health amenities to our members in the Baldwin Hills-Crenshaw neighborhood,” said Georgina Garcia, senior vice president and area manager of Kaiser Permanente West Los Angeles Medical Center in a statement.

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