Lebanon
It joins Mayo Clinic, Cleveland Clinic, The Johns Hopkins Hospital, Stanford Hospital and Yale-New Haven Hospital on the Becker’s list.
To compile the list, Becker’s drew on a number of national sources, including U.S. News & World Report, the health care safety watchdog organization Leapfrog, and Healthgrades, a company that provides information about physicians, hospitals and health care providers.
The hospitals on the list “are well-known for a multitude of reasons, such as having a strong history of innovation, providing top-notch care to patients, leading clinical advancement with forward-thinking research or holding an irreplaceable spot in their communities,” and are overall health care leaders in their region or state, or in the nation, according to Becker’s website.
Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center was previously named to the list in 2012 and 2014.
“Although this recognition cites Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, it is truly about the sustainable health system we are creating across our region,” Dr. James Weinstein, CEO and president of Dartmouth-Hitchcock, said in a news release from the health system. “DHMC succeeds because of the integration and connections across our clinics, affiliates, as well as our educational and research partners. Together as an integrated delivery system we work to improve the lives of the people and communities we serve for generations to come. This honor belongs to all of us. Congratulations and thank you to all my colleagues whose work is reflected in this recognition.”
Lebanon
“Across her career, Dr. Flaherty has established herself not only as a champion for geriatrics but also for nursing and its integral role in coordinated care,” Dr. Steven R. Counsell, outgoing president of the AGS said in a news release from the organization. “Ellen is a model AGS leader, and now will help us model the way toward an even brighter future for geriatrics.”
Flaherty is a co-principal investigator of the geriatrics workforce enhancement program at Dartmouth and the coordinating center administered by the American Geriatrics Society that provides resources to geriatrics workforce enhancement programs across the country. She has a joint appointment in geriatrics at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth and Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, and spent nearly 30 years working to advance clinical practice at the New York University College of Nursing/Hartford Institute in New York, according to the release.
At NYU, Flaherty directed the adult/geriatric nurse practitioner program and “championed the NYU World Health Organization Collaborating Center,” the release said. Through the center, she served as a member of the WHO Task Force on Aging and traveled throughout Central and South America to help embed geriatric content into nursing programs. For the past 10 years her research and practice have focused on an interprofessional approach to quality care.
Flaherty, an American Geriatrics Society member for 18 years, said being named president it will be an honor to step into the role as an advocate for geriatrics and for older adults.
“I’m particularly proud to be the second nurse member to hold this position, said Flaherty, who holds a PhD in nursing from New York University. “You could say that nursing and geriatrics are in my DNA. Both my mother and sister are nurses, and I began my career in geriatrics volunteering in a nursing home as a teenager. It’s been such a rewarding career ever since.”
New London
The 15-member group will address the health care workforce shortage in New Hampshire and ensure the state can meet its residents’ health care needs, according to a news release from the hospital. Its members are experts from a variety of fields, such as nursing, child and elderly care, developmental and long-term services, the broader health care community, and education.
The commission will examine the short- and long-term needs for health care and direct care workers and make recommendations for improvement in areas such as recruitment methods; education and training practices; rate and payment structure; state rules, regulations and laws; and New Hampshire’s loan repayment program.
Reeves said she is honored to serve on the Governor’s commission.
“The growing shortage of care givers in New Hampshire threatens to reduce access to the high quality health care that current and future residents deserve,” she said. “If not addressed, the shortage will have serious implications. We must reevaluate and improve our systems now so that we can be prepared to meet the future health care needs of our population.”
A registered nurse and 2010 graduate of University of Vermont’s educational leadership and policy studies program, Reeves is dean of the School of Health Professions at Colby-Sawyer College.
Lebanon
More than 50 people attended Can Health Care Be Harmless? a talk by Maryann Caron, APD’s associate vice president of population management, quality improvement and project management, according to a news release from the hospital.
“The purpose of my work is to make health care better,” Caron said during the talk, which was hosted by the Friends of APD. “Identifying flaws in a process is the easier part. The difficult part is making the solution stick.”
Caron described “the scientific process and methodology that provides tools and strategies for examining errors and identifying ways to improve health care,” the release said. She also discussed the sometimes challenging work of identifying the “true cause of a harmful incident” and how potentially harmful processes can be improved
Caron joined APD in 2011 as the director of quality, the sole member of a department responsible for patient safety and quality improvement. Under her leadership, the department has grown to include two quality improvement specialists, a data analyst and an infection preventionist.
Windsor
A dietary aide at the hospital since 2013, Lane was cited for her excellent job performance, the hospital and health center said in a news release.
John Frisbee, director of food services and Lane’s supervisor, said she goes out of her way to deliver great service to everyone who visits the cafeteria.
“She’s positive and upbeat, always has a smile on her face and is ready to help with anything she can,” Frisbee said. “Everyone agrees that the cafeteria is a nicer place whenever Samantha is around.”
— Compiled by Aimee Caruso