LITTLETON, N.H. — Dartmouth-Hitchcock is now supporting providers at Littleton Regional Healthcare to care for patients through its tele-intensive care unit, according to a news release.
The D-H TeleICU hub, located within Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon is staffed by board-certified intensivists — physicians who have had advanced training in caring for critically ill patients — and critical care nurses. Using two-way video technology, the TeleICU team collaborates with clinicians in Littleton to provide care, support, monitoring and clinical consultations.
The program aims to reduce mortality rates, complications and lengths of stay, both in the ICU and in the hospital after discharge from the ICU, the release said.
“The ability to provide high-quality intensive care in partnership with D-H’s TeleICU hub is a critical component in our mission to deliver the best possible healthcare to the people in our region,” Littleton Regional Healthcare CEO Robert Nutter said in the release.
Earlier this year, the Littleton hospital announced a similar partnership with D-H to use telemedicine to provide critical neonatal services to its patients.
RANDOLPH — Over the last year and a half, an antibiotic stewardship committee at Gifford Medical Center has led an effort that has reduced the use of antibiotics at the Randolph hospital by more than 50%, according to a news release.
Overuse of antibiotics contributes to antibiotic resistance — the ability of bacteria to resist the effects of the medications that were once successful in treating them. More than 2.8 million antibiotic-resistant infections occur in the U.S. annually, resulting in more than 35,000 deaths, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Gifford’s committee — which includes physicians, pharmacists and infection prevention specialists — has developed a list of protocols including a 72-hour antibiotic timeout, in which antibiotics are stopped to review whether they are still needed and whether the medication is appropriate; Gifford-specific adult and pediatric quick reference guides for clinic and emergency department providers; and increased provider education.
In addition, Gifford has implemented a testing strategy to evaluate the use of antibiotics in lower-respiratory infections, which can help providers determine whether antibiotics should be used.
WINDSOR — Mt. Ascutney Hospital and Health Center announced the appointment of Amy Visser-Lynch as chief nursing officer in a news release.
Visser-Lynch had served as interim CNO at the Windsor hospital since early 2019. She first joined Mt. Ascutney in 2015 as director of staff education, and has since served as interim emergency department manager and interim director of outpatient clinical practice. She also has been a clinical nurse educator at Vermont Technical College and Grace Cottage Hospital.
“She has brought true operation strength to the role, and she is always ready to roll up her sleeves and get the work done,” Mt. Ascutney CEO Joseph Perras said in the release.
Visser-Lynch, a resident of Townshend, Vt., is a graduate of Florida Keys Community College, and of Walden University, where she earned her master’s degree in nursing with a concentration in education.
WHITE RIVER JUNCTION — A nurse practitioner has recently joined the Good Neighbor Health Clinic as the case manager, according to a news release.
In her new role at the free clinic in White River Junction, Nathalie Hebert will support the team of volunteer doctors, nurse practitioners and physician assistants. In addition to reviewing charts before and after patient visits, she will oversee follow-up care, including lab work, referrals and medication refills.
“I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to work for a nonprofit like Good Neighbor,” Hebert said in the release. “It felt like the right thing to do, especially considering the current political climate.”
Hebert, a Norwich resident, comes to Good Neighbor from Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates in Peabody, Mass., where she provided care for patients who were often older and dealing with complex medical problems. Hebert’s clinical experience ranges from palliative care to inpatient medical/surgical care and outpatient adult and geriatric medicine.
After first training as a nurse in Quebec, Hebert earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in nursing at the University of Pennsylvania.
— Compiled by Nora Doyle-Burr