Our People - SSM Health Care

Green Roofs
St. Mary’s Hospital in Madison,
Wis., and SSM St. Clare Health
Center in Fenton, Mo., both have
green roofs. Green roofs are more
than just attractive alternatives to
traditional roofs. The plants on
green roofs absorb moisture and
heat, resulting in less runoff of
storm water and savings on energy
to heat and cool buildings. A typical
one story building with a grass
roof is estimated to save 25 percent
in summer cooling costs.
Above: Installed in 2009, this 22,000-
square foot green roof is said to be
Madison’s largest green initiative.
The roof has a storm water drainage
system. When it rains, water not
absorbed by the plants runs down
roof drains and is collected for irrigating
gardens on the ground level.
Left: Installation of green roof during
construction of St. Clare in 2009.
❄Going Green With White
Hazardous snow piles. Unsightly silt. Contaminants
in storm drains and lakes. Fleets of dump
trucks to haul snow to another location.
Plant Services at St. Mary’s Hospital in
Madison, Wis., has an answer to all this unpleasantness
and pollution. They melt snow
on-site using a new process. Loaded into a
specialized bin, the snow is sprayed with hot
water to melt. Oil and other non-soluble products
are extracted, and silt particles are filtered out
before the clean, melted snow is diverted to a
storm drain.
Results: Dirty snowmelt doesn’t enter
lakes and the need for all those dump trucks
is eliminated.
❅
Plant services employees Mike Colney
(left) and Greg Hatzinger (right) oversee
the contractor and process to clear snow
from streets around St. Mary’s Hospital.
St. Clare Meadows Care
Center, Baraboo, Wis.
St. Clare Meadows employees, back row, from left, Renda
Copus, Barb Opatik and Nancy Steinhorst. Front row, from
left, Bonnita Small and Aaron Hoskins. These employees are
holding reusable water bottles given to them by residents of
the Care Center. The residents are active participants in the
recycling and green efforts at St. Clare.
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