Solar power, high tech electronics to reduce operating costs at new veterans home

Editors note: This is the second part of a two-part report on the Edward C. Allworth Veterans Home now near completion in Lebanon. To read part one, click here.

LEBANON High-tech electronics throughout the new 154-bed Edward C. Allworth Veterans Home will help staff keep track of inventory and greatly reduce utility costs, according to Kelly Odegaard, the homes CEO.

The medical records of residents will be maintained electronically and staff will be able to communicate using individual phones instead of overhead speakers, all part of the facilitys small home philosophy.

Staff who work in the dedicated Alzheimers building will be alerted by text message whenever a resident gets out of bed or walks to the bathroom or outside of their room.

Equipment and other materials within the complex will be embedded with radio frequency microchips that will allow staff to get a complete inventory of every room with the push of a button on an electronic reader. Staff members will not have to go room-to-room with pencil and paper accounting for every chair or flat screen TV of which there are dozens.

Odegaard added that the microchips are so small they can easily be embedded into personal products, such as hearing aids, that quite often end up tossed into the trash accidentally.

It would be nice to help residents avoid having to replace a $5,000 hearing aid, Odegaard said.

The facilitys lighting system is controlled in part by sensors that detect the amount of ambient light coming into an area and adjust electrically powered lights accordingly.

And thanks to $114,109 in cash incentives from the Energy Trust of Oregon, sunlight will generate an estimated 5 percent of the 133,000-square-foot facilitys energy needs, thanks to the installation of 336 rooftop solar panels.

The grant allowed the Oregon Department of Veterans Affairs to install energy-efficient lighting, heating and cooling systems throughout the four neighborhood building clusters.

Original post:
Solar power, high tech electronics to reduce operating costs at new veterans home