Vermont Business Magazine Gifford Medical Center in Randolph was notified last week that it has earned the USEnvironmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) ENERGY STAR certification. The national certification signifies that the building meets strict energy efficiency performance levels set by the EPA and performs in the top 25 percent of similar facilities nationwide for energy efficiency.
Gifford’s Director of Facilities Doug Pfohl notes that while this EPA ranking does not include buildings outside of the main medical center campus in Randolph, energy efficiency has been incorporated into all improvements and new building projects at Gifford since the 1980’s. The hospital has previously ranked high in the national Healthier Hospitals Greenhealth program.
“It was a hospital goal to achieve ENERGY STAR rating this year, and we are very excited to be one of the first in Vermont to do so,” said Pfohl. “We needed an EPA rating of 75 or higher to qualify, and we actually achieved a rating of 81.”
Hospitals apply for the EPA rating by looking at energy use per square foot, taking into account factors such as number of hospital beds, number of employees, and climate. They are then ranked nationwide. Gifford’s ENERGY STAR rating was given after much coordination with Efficiency Vermont, creative design staff, and conservative energy upgrades. A detailed on-site inspection in July proved successful, with a rating above 75.
“I’d like to congratulate Gifford for achieving this prestigious certification,” said Liz Gamache, director of Efficiency Vermont. “We were pleased to work closely with them to help identify ways to reduce their energy costs and consumption; they are setting a great example for other medical facilities in the state.”
While Gifford has steadily improved energy-efficiency throughout the entire organization through low-occupancy settings for heat and electricity, improving kitchen ventilation equipment, and installing internal and external LED lighting, Pfohl said two recent large improvements contributed significantly to the hospital’s high rating:
• A new energy-efficient 90-ton chiller replaced an aging 50 ton unit, and structures were put in place for three new chillers to accommodate future air-conditioning upgrades; and
• An energy recovery unit was installed to capture return air and recondition it for reuse; this “climatized” air requires less energy to re-heat or re-cool.
ENERGY STAR was introduced by the EPA in 1992 as a voluntary, market-based partnership to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through energy efficiency.Facilities with ENERGY STAR certification use an average of 35 percent less energy than typical buildings and release 35 percent less carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.For more information about ENERGY STAR Certification for Commercial Buildings:www.energystar.gov/labeledbuildings
Gifford is a community hospital in Randolph, Vt., with family health centers in Berlin, Bethel, Chelsea, andRochester and specialty services throughout central Vermont. A Federally Qualified Health Center and a Top 100 Critical Access Hospital in the country, Gifford is a full-service hospital with a 24-hour emergency department; inpatient and rehabilitation units; many surgical services; accredited cancer program; a day care; two adult day programs; and the 30-bed Menig Nursing Home, which was named byU.S. News and World Reportas one of the best 39 nursing homes in the country in 2012. The Birthing Center, established in 1977, was the first in Vermont to offer an alternative to the traditional hospital-based deliveries, and continues to be a leader in midwifery and family-centered care. The cancer program is accredited by the Commission on Cancer of the American College of Surgeons.Thehospital’s mission is to improve individuals’ and community health by providing and assuring access to affordable, high-quality health care in Gifford’s service area.