Gifford Health Care Joins Group to Improve Energy Use Management

Randolph — Gifford Health Care has joined Continuous Energy Improvement, an energy management partnership of nine Vermont hospitals coordinated by Efficiency Vermont, in an effort to improve energy usage.

The partnership will provide Randolph-based Gifford with support to develop an energy management plan that reduces waste and costs while improving energy performance, the agency said in a news release.

Commitment to the partnership “strengthens our bottom line and enables us to further invest in patient services and facility improvements,” Gifford President and CEO Dan Bennett said in a news release.

“Being more energy efficient not only helps us achieve our financials goals, but also decreases our carbon footprint and contributes to improved air quality in Vermont,” Gifford Facilities Manager Patrick Giordano said in a news release.

Gifford leaders said they will focus on Gifford Medical Center, a critical access hospital which in 2015 was certified as Energy Star compliant by the Environmental Protection Agency, placing it in the top 25 percent of energy-efficient hospitals in the nation. However, the partnership’s outreach and education will extend to all Gifford locations, including family health centers in Berlin, Vt., Bethel, Chelsea, Randolph, Rochester, Vt., and White River Junction along with specialty services in Barre, Vt., Sharon and Wilder, they said.

Efficiency Vermont will provide all of its partners with energy performance assessments, ways to save money and help in creating long-term plans and strategies to engage employees. The partnership aims to save participating hospitals more than a combined $195,000 in yearly energy costs, said Efficiency Vermont Director Karen Glitman in a news release.

“These hospitals have some of the largest energy needs in the state,” Glitman said. As a result of their commitment, she said, Gifford and other partners can expect “a significantly greater return on their efficiency investments than by viewing energy savings as a series of unrelated upgrades.”