21 Mercy Facilities Awarded for Long-Term Sustainability

by Mercy's Michael Kimball

ST. LOUIS - A long-term commitment to achieving sustainability goals has earned 21 Mercy facilities a top national award for responsible stewardship of energy and water

The American Society for Health Care Engineering (ASHE) announced 15 Mercy hospitals and six other Mercy facilities earned its Sustained Performance Award for 2025. The award goes to health care facilities that track energy consumption, water use and greenhouse gas emissions and have met ambitious efficiency benchmarks.

"One of the core values that we inherited from the Sisters of Mercy is stewardship," said Tom Brinkmann, Mercy's director of facilities maintenance and operations. "We're always thinking of ways to be more efficient. But we also do it because we truly believe in our collective responsibility to treat our natural resources as precious."

Sustained Performance Award

Among several ASHE awards, the Sustained Performance Award is part of the Energy to Care program recognizing health care facilities that lead the way on environmental stewardship, social equity and fiduciary responsibility.

ASHE verifies participants' consumption of natural resources and greenhouse gas emissions. The group also ensures that these winning facilities have an ENERGY STAR score of at least 75 for three consecutive years, or have maintained a flat energy use intensity for three consecutive years.

Winners will be honored at the ASHE Health Care Facilities Innovation Conference this month in Ohio.

The Mercy facilities on the list are from three states:

Arkansas

• Mercy Clinic Primary Care - Bella Vista
• Mercy Clinic Primary Care - Springdale
• Mercy Hospital Fort Smith
• Mercy Hospital Northwest Arkansas
• Mercy Hospital Ozark
• Mercy Hospital Paris
• Mercy Orthopedic Hospital Fort Smith

Missouri

• Mercy Clinic Primary Care - Patients First Drive in Washington
• Mercy Family Medicine and Internal Medicine clinic building in Nixa
• Mercy Hospital Lebanon
• Mercy Hospital South
• Mercy Hospital St. Louis
• Mercy Orthopedic Hospital Springfield
• Mercy Orthopedics and Pediatrics clinic building in Sunset Hills

Oklahoma

• Mercy Edmond I-35 South
• Mercy Hospital Ada
• Mercy Hospital Ardmore
• Mercy Hospital Healdton
• Mercy Hospital Logan County
• Mercy Hospital Oklahoma City
• Mercy Hospital Tishomingo

The Energy to Care program was developed by hospital engineers and consultants to help health care facilities track, manage and communicate energy savings.

Mercy, one of the 15 largest U.S. health systems and named the top large system in the U.S. for excellent patient experience by NRC Health, serves millions annually with nationally recognized care and one of the nation's largest and highest performing Accountable Care Organizations in quality and cost. Mercy is a highly integrated, multi-state health care system including 55 acute care and specialty (heart, children's, orthopedic and rehab) hospitals, convenient and urgent care locations, imaging centers and pharmacies. Mercy has over 1,000 physician practice locations and outpatient facilities, more than 5,000 physicians and advanced practitioners and more than 50,000 caregivers serving patients and families across Arkansas, Illinois, Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma. Mercy also has clinics, outpatient services and outreach ministries in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. In fiscal year 2025 alone, Mercy provided more than half a billion dollars of free care and other community benefits, including traditional charity care and unreimbursed Medicaid.