PHOENIX, AZ -- (Marketwire) -- 11/03/09 -- San Francisco is taking a giant step forward on the "green" healthcare scene with three distinct, environmentally sustainable hospitals.

The three green hospitals being built in San Francisco -- a total investment of more than $4 billion -- are the California Pacific Medical Center Cathedral Hill Hospital, the University of California San Francisco Medical Center at Mission Bay, and the San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center. Each has the goal of achieving the highest level of environmental performance possible within their respective budgets; all three are currently designed to earn a LEED-NC Gold rating by the U.S. Green Building Council.

Rather than working independently, design professionals from each of the hospital projects have been collaborating to share sustainable design approaches and methodologies.

A behind-the-scenes look at these pacesetting green healthcare projects rising in San Francisco will occur during a panel discussion, "San Francisco Healthcare x 3: Non-Profit, Public Health and University," scheduled for Nov. 12, 4:00 - 5:30 p.m. at the upcoming Greenbuild International Conference and Expo. Hosted this year at the Phoenix Convention Center, Nov. 11-13, 2009, Greenbuild is the world's largest conference and expo dedicated to green building, attracting thousands of building professionals from all over the world.

"We'll compare and contrast the projects' approaches to healthcare sustainability, including their energy strategies and project delivery methods," said panelist Russell Perry, AIA, LEED AP, vice president and director of sustainable design at SmithGroup, the firm designing the $1.7 billion, 555-bed California Pacific Medical Center at Cathedral Hill, a private non-profit division of Sutter Health. The nearly one million square foot acute care hospital will be constructed by HerreroBoldt and is scheduled to open in 2014.

SmithGroup's Russell Perry will be joined on the panel by design leaders for the other two emerging, green hospitals.

Representing the $1.6 billion, 289-bed UCSF Medical Center at Mission Bay, a teaching hospital providing services for children, women and cancer patients scheduled to open in 2014, will be Tyler Krehlik, AIA, LEED AP, associate principal at Anshen + Allen.

The San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center, owned by the City and County of San Francisco, will be presented by the panel's third participant, Melanie Bonn, LEED AP, LEED coordinator at Fong & Chan Architects. Expected to be open in 2015, the rebuilt hospital and trauma center will provide 284 acute-care beds.

Mark Palmer, LEED AP, green building coordinator for the City and County of San Francisco will moderate. San Francisco is home of some of the world's most innovative environmental legislation and initiatives.

Green healthcare design promotes a healing environment through natural daylight, improved ventilation, better indoor air quality, outdoor views, healing gardens, efficient lighting, low-impact materials and furnishings, and a relaxed atmosphere.

SmithGroup, one of the nation's largest architecture and engineering firms, is a national leader in sustainable, environmentally intelligent design with 346 LEED® Accredited Professionals and 40 LEED-certified projects. SmithGroup is composed of client industry-focused practices serving the healthcare, higher education, workplace, and science and technology markets.

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