Eskenazi Health Thomas & Arlene Grande Campus has achieved Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®) Silver certification, joining a select and growing group of environmentally friendly and energy-efficient facilities in the country.
The 95,000 square-foot outpatient health care campus opened in April 2024 as part of a nearly $90 million investment in capital improvements to primary care facilities across Marion County. It is Eskenazi Health’s most comprehensive, innovative and community-focused health center on the east side of Indianapolis.
The facility joins Eskenazi Health Center West 38th Street and Eskenazi Health’s downtown campus, which achieved LEED® Gold Certification in 2015. The downtown campus was among the first and largest new hospital campuses in the United States and first in the state to achieve that designation.
“At Eskenazi Health we promote health in all its dimensions. Our priority remains the overall health of our community in the broadest possible terms,” said Lisa Harris, M.D., CEO of Eskenazi Health. “As with our downtown campus, we view this environmentally friendly health care campus as a statement of our commitment to those we serve now as well as for generations to come.”
Eskenazi Health received the Silver designation through the selection of sustainable materials, energy efficient mechanical, plumbing, and electrical infrastructure, and the introduction of multiple low-maintenance green spaces as part of the campus design. A variety of window systems helps bring daylight inside the facility while creating a welcoming and healing environment.
A walking path surrounds the campus, and two outdoor spaces – the East and West Plaza of Allen Whitehill Clowes Charitable Foundation Gardens – help welcome patients and visitors to the building. Produce grown in a large garden and orchard along the north end of the campus is used for patient education and nutrition programs.
The east side health care campus, which is located at 6002 E. 38th St. at the northeast corner of East 38th Street and North Arlington Avenue, was designed with collaboration from members of the immediate neighborhoods and local community organizations. Guided by community input, the facility serves as a hub for community gathering, providing expanded and accessible care options and social amenities under one roof.
The facility transformed a former paved area into green space, making it a premier destination for local community events and recreational activities. It is conveniently located along the IndyGo Purple Line and offers east side residents access to primary care, Sandra Eskenazi Mental Health Center and Marion County Public Health Department services.
With the recognition as LEED® Silver by the U.S. Green Building Council, a third-party verification that recognizes buildings designed and constructed using strategies aimed at improving performance in energy savings, Eskenazi Health has a growing list of environmentally friendly facilities that makeup its health system. Other criteria that go into LEED® certification include, water efficiency, improved indoor air quality, stewardship of resources and sensitivity to their impacts. The decision to reuse an old urban site was also one of the many credits the new facility achieved for its environmental sustainability.
Prior to opening of the east side campus, Eskenazi Health announced a lead gift of $2.5 million from Thomas and Arlene Grande. The Grandes made their lead gift to Eskenazi Health Foundation’s Beyond Barriers campaign, an initiative that supports Eskenazi Health’s longstanding commitment to addressing the social drivers that impact the health and well-being of residents in Marion County and across Central Indiana.