News U.S. Green Building Council Presents LEED Platinum Plaque to Dell Children's aleyva

AUSTIN, TX - (March 16, 2009) -Dell Children's Medical Center of Central Texas, a member of the Seton Family of Hospitals, today welcomed Rick Fedrizzi, CEO and founder of the United States Green Building Council, to celebrate Dell Children's official designation as the world's first LEED Platinum hospital. LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environment Design) is the internationally-recognized benchmark for the design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings.

In order to achieve LEED certification, sustainable green buildings are rated in five key areas of human and environmental health: sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection and indoor environmental quality.

"We passionately pursued the LEED Platinum designation to demonstrate our commitment to sustainability, protect our central Texas environment, and most important, improve the clinical outcomes for our patients," said Bob Bonar, President and CEO, Dell Children's Medical Center of Central Texas. "The connection between a healthy environment and improved patient outcomes is well established."

The clinical impact of improved air quality, availability of sunlight, and the addition of "natural" settings have all been examined. For example, a University of Pittsburgh study in 2004 showed that patients with access to ample sunlight required 20 percent less pain medication.

Since opening in July of 2007, world-renowned medical professionals, architects, environmentalists and elected officials have toured Dell Children's to observe first hand the design and operation of a LEED certified hospital.

In addition to becoming the first LEED Platinum hospital in the world, Dell Children's has won the following awards:

AIA Columbus 2006 Designing Towards Sustainability Award- Unbuilt Projects
Texas Construction Best of 2007 Excellence Award- Health Care
Texas Construction Best of 2007 Judges Award- Design
AIA Columbus 2008 Designing Towards Sustainability Award- Completed Projects
NAFA 2008 Clean Air Award
Texas American Society of Landscape Architect Honor Award
Westcave Preserve- John Covert Watson Award for Vision