Wentworth-Douglass Hospital awarded Hospital Accreditation: Seacoast health news
Wentworth-Douglass Hospital awarded Hospital Accreditation from The Joint Commission
DOVER – Wentworth-Douglass Hospital has earned The Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval for Hospital Accreditation by demonstrating continuous compliance with its performance standards. The Gold Seal is a symbol of quality that reflects a health care organization’s commitment to providing safe and quality patient care.
Wentworth-Douglass underwent a rigorous, unannounced onsite review June 21- June 24, 2022. During the visit, a team of Joint Commission reviewers evaluated compliance with Hospital Program standards spanning several areas, including environment of care, infection prevention and control, leadership, medication management, and rights and responsibilities of the individual.
The accreditation is valid for 36 months.
“This accreditation is crucial in ensuring our high standards of quality, safety, and compassionate care continue to be recognized as among the finest on the Seacoast,” says Jeff Hughes, President & CEO of Wentworth-Douglass. “As a healthcare organization, we are proud of this affirmation of what we do each and every day to provide high quality care to our patients and the community.”
The Joint Commission’s standards are developed in consultation with health care experts and providers, measurement experts, and patients. They are informed by scientific literature and expert consensus to help health care organizations measure, assess, and improve performance. The surveyors also conducted onsite observations and interviews.
Hughes said that surveyors had no findings in their “high risk” category. In addition, there were also no concerns deemed “widespread,” which the surveyor called “remarkable.”
“The surveyors were also very complimentary of our staff’s engagement with them and our eagerness to learn. A surveyor noted it was evident to their team that WDH’s compassion has a significant, positive impact on patient care and experience,” Hughes said. Surveyors were also impressed with the beauty and cleanliness of hospital facilities – the main hospital campus and all offsite locations, Hughes added.
“As a private accreditor, The Joint Commission surveys health care organizations to protect the public by identifying deficiencies in care and working with those organizations to correct them as quickly and sustainably as possible,” says Mark Pelletier, R.N., MS, Chief Operating Officer, Accreditation and Certification Operations, and chief nursing executive, The Joint Commission. “We commend Wentworth-Douglass for its continuous quality improvement efforts in patient safety and quality of care.”
For more information, please visit The Joint Commission website.
Green to Go van comes to Dover
BEDFORD — NH Healthy Families, a leading NH Health Plan serving Medicaid, Marketplace and Medicare members will partner with Wentworth-Douglas Hospital to bring its Green to Go van offering fresh fruits and vegetables, lean meat, nutrition education, resources and supports to the Dover community at no cost.
NH Department of Health and Human Services will be in attendance to renew eligible Medicaid recipients. Representatives from Wentworth-Douglass and area community organizations will provide education and resources in the areas of food insecurity, nutrition, child safety, substance misuse recovery and more, free of charge.
As food prices continue to rise this year, NH Healthy Families has added Green to Go events across the state to assist families with healthy food, nutritious recipes and supports. This event will mark the sixth (of eight) to be held this year.
NH Healthy Families’ Green to Go van will at 121 Broadway, Upper Parking Lot, Dover, for one day only on Friday, Sept. 30 from 2 to 4:30 p.m. (or until supplies last). The event is free and open to the community on a first-come, first-served basis. Ample parking available.
Please note this event is not at the hospital. It is located in a Wentworth-Douglas affiliated building. For question about the event, please contact Claudia Brooks: Claudia.M.Brooks@centene.com.
Yoga in Action becomes designated as a mental health friendly workplace
DOVER — The Dover Mental Health Alliance, a grass roots, community-driven coalition, is building mental health friendly workplaces one “Place” at a time in Strafford County and beyond. Yoga in Action was recently designated as a safe, judgement-free “Place” by the Dover Mental Health Alliance. Yoga in Action now has dual designations: a DMHA Mental Health Friendly Work “Place” and a Recovery Friendly Workplace, a complementary initiative focusing on support for those in recovery from substance use disorder in the workplace. (www.recoveryfriendlyworkplace.com).
Yoga in Action is a service organization which helps people navigate life's challenges by providing accessible yoga programs to individuals in a wide variety of settings and circumstances. Yoga is a low cost, high impact modality that can support the mental and physical health of anyone. For more information about Yoga in Action, go to https://yogainaction.org/.
Board members and staff received Mental Health First Aid training which teaches people how to recognize and respond to someone who may be in emotional distress. The group also received ACEs (Adverse Childhood Experience) training, which dives deep into the neurological, psychological and physiological impact of trauma and how it relates to our biggest health and social problems such as substance use, housing insecurity and mental health.
"We know that the yoga movements, breathing and mindfulness exercises that we practice ourselves and share with our clients support overall mental health. The education provided to our Yoga in Action team during this process was very valuable and we are proud to have received the official designation as Mental Health-Friendly Work Place." – Rochelle Jewell, Founder and Executive Director.
The DMHA “Place” designation is available to any business, organization, or institution that strives to support their employees, colleagues, and customers’ mental health. The DMHA vision is to create a culture that understands, embraces and addresses the complexities of mental health. The mission is to build a resilient community that is educated, responsive and conscious of the impact of mental illness.
The Dover Mental Health Alliance is part of the local, Strafford County non-profit community mental health center, Community Partners. For more information about Community Partners go to www.communitypartnersnh.org. For more information about the Dover Mental Health Alliance and upcoming trainings, visit www.dovermentalhealthalliance.org or contact Suzanne Weete at suzanneweete@communitypartnersnh.org.
New program to help healthcare leaders improve critical healthcare outcomes
YORK, Maine — Starting this October, New Hampshire Nurse Beth Boynton, RN, MS, CP will launch a new program; Game Changing Team Development for Healthcare Leaders - One Activity at a Time
Monthly hour-long sessions will be offered in person at Health Matters Physical Therapy in York, Maine starting Oct. 2, from 1 to 2 p.m. and online Oct. 4, 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. EST. Space is limited and registration is required. There is a suggested donation of $20 and anyone who works with healthcare teams or groups is invited to try a session for free.
Beth Boynton is the author of several books on communication and leadership for healthcare professionals and has been teaching related skills for two decades. She is the founder of Boynton Improv Education and Portsmouth [N.H.] Improv Learning Lab, fondly known as PILL.
“All the outcomes we want in healthcare,' explains Boynton, `safe, compassionate care, positive morale among staff, and cost-effectiveness, all depend on good teamwork. AND good teamwork depends on people getting along, communicating effectively, and feeling good about their work. These are skills that people need to practice, over time, and with their peers. One solution is to give leaders an effective, affordable, and time-efficient tool that provides practice opportunities!”
Boynton has been integrating experiential activities from theater education and improvisation into her workshops since the turn of the century. She explains that nurses, doctors, and others gain insights and proficiency with skills like listening, confidence, and empathy with the activities. “That’s when the light bulbs go off! And since some of the simplest activities can lead to profound personal development, I want to teach middle and senior leaders how to facilitate them - one activity at a time.”
In doing so, she hopes that leaders will start to integrate activities into clinical in-services, staff and administrative meetings, and orientation sessions. A few minutes, over time, in a safe and fun way.
Learn more and register at Eventbrite.
This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Wentworth-Douglass awarded Hospital Accreditation: Seacoast health news
