Hospitals join forces to save money

A Middlebury hospital will join with two others to cut their administrative costs. Porter Medical Center in Middlebury, Gifford Medical Center in Randolph and Copley Hospital in Morrisville hope the economies of scale will enable them to purchase necessities like workers' compensation insurance at a lower cost. It's not a takeover by one hospital, but a collaboration of equals that hopefully will also help attract more top-notch professionals. The Vermont Hospital Shared Service Network, as the network will be known, will be able to negotiate better rates for everything from office supplies to insurance companies. No layoffs are expected as a result of the collaboration.