Lebanon —
The kit was developed as part of a three-year, $127,000 grant that Dartmouth-Hitchcock’s Perinatal Addiction Treatment Program received from the March of Dimes last year. It’s a result of clinical evidence gathered over the past several years that showed a “clear need for coordinated, compassionate care,” according to a Dartmouth-Hitchcock news release.
It is being tested at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Memorial Hospital, New London Hospital, Valley Regional Hospital in Claremont, and other sites in the Twin States and Maine.
As opioid use has skyrocketed in Northern New England, the number of infants born with neonatal abstinence syndrome has also increased.
By 2016, 8 percent to 10 percent of newborns in New Hampshire’s Upper Connecticut Valley region had been exposed to opioids in utero, and many had moderate to severe symptoms of physical dependence at the time of delivery, the release said.
But project coordinator Daisy Goodman says that while the number of addicted mothers and affected babies has increased, knowledge about how to treat them also has improved significantly.
“We’ve done some hard thinking about treatment versus a punitive approach, and I hope we’re moving as a nation in the direction of treatment and support and healing,” said Goodman, an advance practice nurse who works closely with the women in the Perinatal Addiction Treatment Program. “Women don’t sign up to become addicts, and it’s very important to keep that in mind when caring for them.”
Over the past year, Goodman worked with a regional advisory group of pediatric, maternity care and addiction treatment providers to create the toolkit.
“The goal is to get providers and patients the information they need, for example, that it’s OK to breastfeed if you’re on methadone,” said Goodman, who noted that regional breastfeeding numbers vary widely due to lack of consistent patient information. “The toolkit will also remind clinicians about essential elements of good care, such as screening for hepatitis C, which is not consistently done for this patient population.”
It also contains forms that enable a patient’s health care team to share information and collaborate better, as well as information about what the patient can expect when they go to the hospital to deliver their baby.
For example, many pregnant women with opioid use disorders don’t know that they and their babies will be drug-tested when they arrive at the hospital, Goodman said. “Information like this is essential in terms of the patient experience and the ability to generate trust. If they come in unprepared, it leads to anger and stress on all sides.”
The grant also includes a focus on smoking cessation in the same patient population.
New London
Powell will lead New Hampshire’s Region 1 Delivery System Reform Incentive Payment Medicaid 1115 Waiver program. The region, one of seven in the state, includes Sullivan County, the greater Monadnock region and the Upper Valley.
The federally funded program aims to redesign delivery of care through integration of behavioral and general health services, with an emphasis on helping patients with substance use disorders and serious mental illness.
The Region 1 project will expand treatment capacity for substance use disorders within the “integrated delivery network” of local facilities and providers, according to a news release from the hospital.
A licensed psychiatrist and emergency department physician, Powell received his medical degree from Mercer University School of Medicine in Macon, Ga., and a master of public health degree from The Dartmouth Institute. He completed residencies in internal medicine, preventive medicine and psychiatry at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center.
Lebanon
Schiffman’s professional career has primarily involved health care and community organizations, according to a news release from APD. A New London native, she served in a number of roles at Dartmouth’s Geisel School of Medicine, including seven years as assistant director of the Office of Research and Innovation in Medical Education.
She previously worked for Vital Communities and has been active in several other Upper Valley community organizations.
She was a board member with WISE, in Lebanon, and has served as chair of the Lyme Foundation and the Upper Valley Trails Alliance.
Schiffman holds a bachelor’s degree in biology from Middlebury College and a master’s degree in public health from Hunter College in Manhattan.
“I’m excited to have Jennifer join our board and look forward to her contributions,” said Dr. Sue Mooney, APD’s president and CEO. Her deep community ties and vast experience “will add a valuable perspective to the work of our board.”
White River Junction
Working with the nonprofit’s leadership team, Davis will be responsible for fundraising, development, marketing, public relations and planned giving activities. That includes cultivating individual and philanthropic support by increasing the agency’s visibility, impact and financial resources.
“Hilary brings with her many years of experience and a proven track record of successful fundraising,” said Jeanne McLaughlin, president and CEO of Visiting Nurse and Hospice for Vermont and New Hampshire. “We are so pleased to have her on board to lead our Community Relations and Development department.”
Davis holds a bachelor’s degree in business management from Norwich University and has more than seven years of professional experience in strategic fundraising, event planning and volunteer coordination.
Before joining Visiting Nurse and Hospice for Vermont and New Hampshire, she was director of leadership giving in the university’s Office of Development and Alumni Relations.
Windsor
A certified medical assistant, French was chosen for her positive energy and willingness to go “the extra mile” to help both patients and providers, according to a hospital news release.
“Crikett has great relationships with patients and her co-workers, and often works after hours to coordinate multiple community clinics,” said her supervisor, Anel Sirois. “She is constantly looking for new ways to improve morale in the hospital and has always been willing to pitch in and help whenever she sees the need.”
French joined the hospital staff in 1998.
— Compiled by Aimee Caruso