La Crosse, Wis.-based Gundersen Health System has become the first hospital system in the nation to achieve energy independence by producing more energy than it consumed in fossil fuels.
The health system has improved overall energy efficiency by over 40 percent, which has led to annual financial savings of nearly $2 million.
In 2008, under the leadership of Gundersen's CEO, Jeff Thompson, MD, the system began making efforts toward improving efficiency and developing regional partnerships to produce renewable energy.
"We did not set out to be the greenest health system," said Dr. Thompson. "We set out to control our rising energy costs and lower the cost of care to patients in a fiscally and environmentally responsible way. It could be said that we have done all three."