Families First earns Quality Designation: Seacoast health news

Family Center earns Quality Designation

PORTSMOUTH - Families First Health and Support Center announced that its Family Center program has been designated as a Family Resource Center of Quality (FRC-Q) by the Wellness and Primary Prevention Council.

The Family Center is the only FRC-Q in New Hampshire to be located within a community health center. This offers advantages like having playgroups strategically scheduled to coordinate with pediatric and prenatal days at the health center, and for families to visit their primary care provider, dental care provider, and attend family programs all in the same location. In addition to providing parenting classes, playgroups, parent groups and family programs at Families First in Portsmouth, the Family Center offers programs in Somersworth, Epping, Exeter and online.

The Family Center earned this distinction for the many unique advantages it offers Seacoast-area clients.

“The distinction of being a designated Family Resource Center of Quality highlights the vital and amazing work that our staff provide to the community,” says Jessica Garlough, Director of Family and Social Services at Greater Seacoast Community Health. “It is our sincere hope that with this designation comes the opportunity for more community awareness and engagement, expansion of our programs and opportunities for additional funding to continue the much needed support and growth of our next generation.”

Families First is a part of Greater Seacoast Community Health, a network of community health centers providing primary care, pediatrics, dental care, prenatal care, behavioral health counseling, substance use disorder treatment, mobile health services, WIC, social work services, a pharmacy, parenting classes, playgroups and home visiting. The network includes Families First Health & Support Center in Portsmouth, Goodwin Community Health in Somersworth, and Lilac City Pediatrics in Rochester.

The Family Center merited FRC-Q designation by demonstrating exemplary practice building family strengths. Over the past year, Family Center staff engaged in an ongoing self-assessment that includes gathering feedback from participants and community partners, a site visit, and lengthy application process submitted to the Wellness and Primary Prevention Council for review.

“Family Resource Centers throughout the state share that preparing to seek designation as a Family Resource Center of Quality has been affirming for their staff, illuminating to their Board of Directors and reassuring for the families they serve,” says Maria Doyle, Family Support Programs Manager at NH Children’s Trust and Co-chair of the Wellness and Primary Prevention Council.

To learn more about Greater Seacoast Community Health, and the many family-strengthening programs they offer, visit GetCommunityHealth.org.

Portsmouth Regional Hospital named Best Maternity Hospitals 2022

PORTSMOUTH — Portsmouth Regional Hospital has earned the distinction of Best Maternity Hospitals 2022 from Newsweek magazine. There are 2,700 hospitals in the U.S. that offer maternity services, and more than 10,000 medical professionals were invited to participate in the survey. Only 350 hospitals were named to this exclusive list.

“The Labor & Delivery team at Portsmouth Regional Hospital strives to provide the safest and highest- quality patient experience possible to all of our new moms, babies and families, and it means a great deal to us to have our work recognized by Newsweek,” said Nora Fortin, RN, NH Market Director of Women and Children’s Services. “One of the things we are most proud of is our rate of moms who breastfeed their newborns – approximately 90 percent of our moms breastfeed, providing their newborns with not only the best nutrition but a unique bonding experience.”

In addition to having a high rate of new moms who breastfeed, PRH provides donor milk to new moms who would like to provide breast milk but are unable to breastfeed. Also, the hospital’s cesarean section rate is among the best in the country, falling below 23.6 percent, a national benchmark set by The Leapfrog Group, a non-profit watchdog organization that serves as a voice for healthcare consumers.

The award is presented by Newsweek and Statista Inc., the world-leading statistics portal and industry ranking provider. Newsweek and Statista developed a complex methodology to ensure the quality and validity of the ranking. Three data sources were used for the evaluation:

• Nationwide online survey: Hospital managers and healthcare professionals with knowledge about maternity processes e.g. Midwives, neonatal and OB/GYNs were asked to recommend leading maternity hospitals in the U.S.

• Medical KPIs on hospitals with a focus on indicators relevant to maternity care

• Results from patient surveys

Portsmouth Regional Hospital has offered maternity services for many years to the Seacoast community and currently delivers approximately 500 babies each year.

Wentworth-Douglass Hospital earns Geriatric Emergency Department Accreditation

DOVER – Wentworth-Douglass Hospital was recently recognized as an accredited Geriatric Emergency Department by the American College of Emergency Physicians.

The team at Wentworth-Douglass Hospital’s Emergency Department initiated the effort to obtain the Level-3 Geriatric Emergency Room Certification in response to the region’s aging demographic. According to the 2020 US Census, New Hampshire is the fourth oldest state in the country.

In the Wentworth-Douglass organization overview report it was identified that 15.54% of the population served by the hospital is aged 65 years and older and that’s projected to increase to 18% by 2024.

Emergency Department Quality/Safety Nurse Tammy Smart, RN, BSN, CEN, did a deeper dive into the Emergency Room’s data and found that approximately 30% of the patients that were seen in the Emergency Room in 2021 were 65 years and older.

Smart said the Level-3 Geriatric Emergency Room Certification makes a statement to the older population that they can get the care they need at Wentworth-Douglass Hospital.

“We felt like we were already doing all this stuff, it was really just putting the package together and tying up a few loose ends,” Smart said of obtaining the certification. “We really do provide quality care for the geriatric patient at Wentworth-Douglass because we know that’s our patient clientele, so why not get the recognition for the hard work that the staff and the leadership team are doing for those patients.”

To fulfill certification requirements, the Emergency Department:

• Identified one physician champion.

• Identified two nurse champions.

• Identified needed equipment and supplies for the patient population.

• And developed an ED specific policy that addresses an area of care that is important to the care of geriatric patient.

The Geriatric Emergency Room Certification fits within the mission of the Wentworth-Douglass Hospital by providing a quality program that partners with the community so these patients may attain their highest level of health with a quality and safety focus that is innovative and cost effective.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Families First earns Quality Designation: Seacoast health news