When Gundersen Health System (now Emplify Health) broke ground on its 433,000-square-foot, six-story critical care hospital tower in La Crosse, Wisconsin in 2012, most health systems weren't yet thinking seriously about energy use intensity. The Eneration team was. Sustainability wasn't an afterthought or a checkbox — it was engineered into every system, every decision, and every square foot of the building from day one.

The centerpiece of the design is a geothermal heating and cooling system installed beneath the staff parking lot. The system consists of a 300-ton heat pump and 156 wells buried approximately 400 feet below the surface, where the Earth's constant temperature efficiently heats and cools the building year-round, dramatically reducing energy consumption and operating costs. It was not the obvious choice. The Eneration team evaluated multiple renewable options including solar, chilled beams, and other heat exchange technologies before determining that geothermal was the best fit for the health system's performance goals and financial requirements. The solution needed to deliver measurable results with a 5-to-15-year payback. It did.

Paired with a highly insulated building envelope, high-performance HVAC systems, and efficient lighting throughout, the completed facility achieved an EUI of 135 kBtu/sq ft against a climate zone median of 253 kBtu/sq ft — a 47% reduction in energy use compared to the average hospital in the same severe cold climate zone. At the time of construction, that placed the building among the top 1% of most energy-efficient hospitals in the country. The financial results matched the performance: $650,000 in annual cost savings and $32.5 million in projected life-cycle savings.

This project remains one of the most significant examples of what is possible when energy performance is treated as a design priority rather than an operational afterthought. It also established the foundation for what would become Eneration — a team that had already proven, years before the rest of the industry caught up, that healthcare facilities could be built to perform at the highest level without compromising patient care, safety, or mission.