Martha’s Vineyard Hospital, a Partner’s Healthcare affiliate, has been awarded LEED Gold Certification by the U.S. Green Building Council, making it the only LEED Gold Hospital in the state of Massachusetts, according to the U.S. Green Building Council’s database.

Working closely with the architect, Thomas, Miller & Partners, as well as the hospital, Columbia Construction captained the entire LEED process.

"What really led to the success of achieving LEED Gold on this project was the fact that the hospital in addition to the island community were very committed to sustainability from day-one." said Neil Lemieux, director of preconstruction at North Reading’s Columbia Construction Co. "With the island’s limited natural resources, the hospital and local community were committed to various conservation measures and helped drive the sustainability strategy on this project from the beginning – it was really a true team effort."

Martha’s Vineyard Hospital’s new, 90,000-square-foot facility opened last summer and features two floors of efficient, centralized, state-of-the-art services and technology and includes operating rooms, a medical/surgical unit, intensive care unit, physical therapy department, an emergency department and medical imaging/laboratories.

Sustainable building elements include an array of more than 200 solar photovoltaic panels that provide the hospital with 45 kilowatts of power. Other features include a rooftop healing garden which functions as a "wellness" area for patients. The LEED Gold facility also includes multiple water saving and energy saving technologies, which resulted in 36 percent and 25 percent respective savings. In addition, more than 80 percent of the waste generated during the demolition and construction of this project was diverted from landfills, and 41 percent of building materials and supplies were purchased from companies located within 500 miles of the project site.