NYU Langone kicked off a sustainability program in 2007 to reduce green house gases and reduce energy costs. We've implemented many optimization strategies that have saved us a total of $22 million since the start of our energy programs in 2005 and have reduced our emissions by 36.7 percent and energy consumption by 19.2 percent. With our top priorities being the safety, health, and satisfaction of our employees, patients and visitors, we're making sure our systems are working as efficiently as possible in a way that isn't harmful to the environment.

As part of this sustainability program, we began construction of a $200 million+ Cogeneration (co-gen) natural gas power plant nine months ago. This 71,000-square-foot plant was created to limit the medical center's environmental footprint, decrease energy costs, strengthen electrical distribution and reliability across the medical center's main campus, and support its campus transformation. It will provide 100 percent of the steam as well as most of the electricity requirements of the medical center through a highly efficient energy production process. The cogen plant is going to be 85-90 percent efficient, as compared to the ConEdison average grid efficiency of 30 percent.

DMBN: Does your hospital have any big announcements or developments on the horizon?

By 2017, NYU Langone will add about 2.3 million square-feet to its facilities. This includes transforming our campus by consolidating acute clinical care resources into a single, contiguous facility. As part of the process, NYU Langone is building the 800,000-square-foot Helen L. and Martin S. Kimmel Pavilion, scheduled to open in 2017, and the Hassenfeld Pediatric Center, a 160,000-square-foot pediatric hospital that will be housed within the Kimmel Pavilion. Simultaneously, Tisch Hospital, in operation since 1962 and the long-standing heart of the medical center, is being renovated in stages.

There is always a lot to accomplish and our focus always is on excellence.

DMBN: Any further comments?
What differentiates NYU Langone is our extraordinary group of physicians and employees who make us who we are. There is a unique spirit here and a culture that is hard to replicate. In fact, many employees have been here for 25 to 35 years. The people who work here care very deeply about patients and we are committed to achieving excellence in everything that they do. It's more than just a job to them - they are proud to be at NYU Langone, and their pride permeates that performance.

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