Seacoast nurse to serve on statewide HepC panel: Seacoast health news
Seacoast nurse to serve on statewide HepC panel
PORTSMOUTH AND SOMERSWORTH – A nurse at Greater Seacoast Community Health is one of 10 New Hampshire residents chosen to join a Hepatitis Network Learning Community aimed at improving the state’s plan to eliminate viral hepatitis and ensuring that people who inject drugs are included in that plan. The group will meet for six months to devise an action plan to link N.H. residents to treatment and harm-reduction services by working to strengthen existing partnerships so as to reach the people that need it most.
The nurse, Deneige Hudanish, RN, coordinates the Medication-Assisted Recovery and Hepatitis C programs at Families First Health Center and Goodwin Community Health, the health centers in Portsmouth and Somersworth that make up Greater Seacoast Community Health.
Hudanish is passionate about removing the stigma associated with Hepatitis C, which often causes people delay treatment. “With Hepatitis C, there is a clear outcome if someone takes the medication as prescribed,” she says. “Being able to provide this treatment for people actively using or with a lot of barriers is rewarding. They often don’t expect to get treatment. I had a patient last week who is in treatment for substance use disorder and had been previously told he could not access Hepatitis C treatment. Once the appropriate referral was made I was able to coordinate his treatment. He couldn’t believe it. It was motivation for him to cut way back on his drinking.”
One of the biggest barriers to Hepatitis C treatment at other medical providers in the region is that patients are not eligible to receive treatment until they’ve achieved six months of recovery. “We are unique as we will treat someone who’s actively using drugs or unhoused,” Hudanish says. “We try to make our program as low-barrier as possible. There’s no evidence to justify withholding treatment."
Removing barriers is a key part of the services offered at Families First and Goodwin Community Health.
Coreen Toussaint, RN, manages the organization's mobile health clinics, which serve many people experiencing homelessness. She appreciates Hudanish’s dedication. “She is very passionate about helping people receive treatment for Hepatitis C," Toussaint says. "I’m happy to see her recognized for the amazing things we do for our patients that go above and beyond what is typically done in primary care.”
Hepatitis C often has no symptoms, or very subtle symptoms such as fatigue and jaundice. Left untreated over a long period of time, Hepatitis C can be fatal, according to Tiffaney Burdick, LPN, who manages the Medication-Assisted Recovery Program at Goodwin Community Health and Families First.
“It can be easy to ignore if a person isn’t symptomatic or if there is stigma or shame associated with condition for the patient,” Burdick says. “Some may even forget about it because it’s been so many years since they were diagnosed. Hepatitis C can be a decades-long disease.”
Wentworth-Douglass Hospital wins Patient Experience Award for 10th consecutive year
DOVER – For a decade running, Wentworth-Douglass Hospital has remained among the best hospitals in the nation for patient experience, according to rankings released Wednesday by Healthgrades, a healthcare data company.
2023 is the 10th consecutive year Wentworth-Douglass has been named a recipient of the company’s outstanding patient experience award, which is given to those ranked among the top 15% in the nation in that category.
Wentworth-Douglass was the only hospital honored with the 2023 award on the Seacoast.
“To consistently be awarded this honor is a real example of how we strive to set Wentworth-Douglass apart. A decade of recognition for our patient experience showcases the unwavering commitment our staff has in providing compassionate, quality care,” said Jeff Hughes, President and COO of Wentworth-Douglass. “This award reflects their dedication, innovation, and patient-centered approach.”
For the annual analysis, Healthgrades independently analyzed patient experience surveys from HCAHPS (Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems) obtained from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
The company found that 81% of patients would “definitely recommend” Wentworth-Douglass, 11% higher than the national average.
Healthgrades’ ratings are publicly available on their website: https://www.healthgrades.com/.
Foundation for Seacoast Health announces 2023 Terry Morton Award for at-risk youth
SEACOAST — The Foundation is accepting applications from organizations that are dedicated to support the mental health needs of seacoast youth. They are seeking to fund services or programs that specifically focus on increasing and improving access to mental health support and services for at-risk youth throughout the seacoast. At-risk youth may be defined as those who have experienced physical or emotional trauma, those who face barriers to access or those who are otherwise marginalized due to inequities (socioeconomic, race, cultural, gender, disability, others).
The maximum request is $25,000 to fund mental health support services for young people aged 12-17 years old. Organizations are encouraged to apply for new or existing programs however, program sustainability will be taken into consideration as this award is typically a one-year grant.
To apply, please visit www.foundationforseacoasthealth.org/grantmaking
Applications are due April 24, with grantees notified of their status by the end of June.
As a founder of the Foundation for Seacoast Health, Terry Morton was passionate about serving the needs and wellbeing of seacoast area youth. He understood the value of building resiliency in teens and the importance of supportive adults and mentors in their lives. Terry was dedicated to providing all young people with opportunities to reach their full potential and to enter early adulthood with the skills, self-esteem, and confidence they need to make sound decisions and healthy life choices.
New medical unit to increase access, individualized care at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center
LEBANON — When Dartmouth Health's new Patient Pavilion at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center opens in May 2023, it will add an entirely new department: the Medical Specialty Care Unit (MSCU). The new space will feature 16 beds for patients who need a level of care in between floor-level and critical care.
"In the MSCU, the nurse-to-patient ratio will be smaller, and the monitoring more intense and frequent," said Michelle Graham, RN, nurse manager for Medical Specialties Units, who, along with hospitalist Richard Saunders, MD, is leading planning for the MSCU. "Patients will get more individualized attention because they will be sicker than our regular patient population."
These intermediate beds, also called stepdown beds, are an in-demand resource. "More stepdown beds will improve our ability to care for medically complex patients who need a higher level of care than we can provide on the floor, and free up our ability to care for the sickest patients in the region who need to be in our critical care units," said Graham.
The new space offers a state-of-the-art, interdisciplinary approach to patient care, filled with new technology like integrated patient dashboards and MyChart Bedside, which allows patients to interact with their provider teams right at their fingertips. Each room is also family-centered, offering privacy and designed to allow for a visitor to easily stay in the room with the patient.
The MSCU will also offer DHMC flexibility, with the majority of beds being acuity adaptable. "The idea is that we will be able to provide both stepdown and general medical care within one space. That means we won't have to move patients quite as often, which will improve the patient experience,” said Saunders. "The space in the new Pavilion will allow us to flex up our capacity to provide the care we know is needed in the region. The goal here is to do more of what we already do really well, which is to work within teams to provide the best care possible to patients and their families.”
This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Seacoast nurse to serve on statewide HepC panel: Seacoast health news
