The National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA), a private, non-profit organization dedicated to improving health care quality, has once again awarded Mt. Ascutney Hospital and Health Center (MAHHC) and Ottauquechee Health Center (OHC) Recognition as a Patient-Centered Medical Home™ (PCMH™). The Hospital first earned this honor in 2015 and has re-certified yearly since then.
The Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH) Recognition program highlights medical practices that place patients at the forefront of care, and where continuous quality improvement is prioritized. The NCQA's Patient-Centered Medical Home program recognizes primary care providers who have demonstrated they can effectively coordinate care among all of their patients' health care providers. The model benefits patients by giving them better access through expanded hours and web support, helping them understand their treatment options and better manage chronic conditions while creating a partnership with their provider.
In order to maintain Recognition as a PCMH, MAHHC's outpatient clinics at Mt. Ascutney Hospital and Health Center in Windsor and the Ottauquechee Health Center in Woodstock successfully met a comprehensive range of performance benchmarks for patient care, including effective care planning, coordination and access to care, as well as measuring performance and quality.
According to Mt. Ascutney Hospital's CEO and Chief Medical Officer, Joseph Perras, MD, "Achieving Recognition as a Patient-Centered Medical Home was an achievement, that we're always proud of, but sustaining that level of quality and patient focus year after year is something else again. It's a testament to the dedication of the staff at MAHHC and OHC, who are consistently excellent in every aspect of their jobs measured by the NCQA. I congratulate my colleagues on a job well done, while stressing that the real good news is for our patients."
About Mt. Ascutney Hospital and Health Center
Founded in 1933, Mt. Ascutney Hospital and Health Center (MAHHC) is a not-for-profit community hospital network in Vermont including the critical access-designated Mt. Ascutney Hospital and Historic Homes of Runnemede, a senior residential care campus, in Windsor, as well as the Ottauquechee Health Center in Woodstock. A member of the Dartmouth Health system, MAHHC provides primary care and a comprehensive suite of specialty services, along with 25 inpatient beds, a therapeutic pool and an acclaimed, fully modernized 10-bed Acute Rehabilitation Center. Mt. Ascutney Hospital and Health Center is dedicated to improving the lives of those it serves and is at the hub of a wide network of community resources that have partnered to cover gaps in services, and improve overall population health. One of the largest employers in the area, MAHHC acknowledges its employees as its greatest asset and has been recognized by the Governor's Office with an Excellence in Worksite Wellness award.
Mt. Ascutney Hospital and Health Center is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF), is a recent recipient of Best Practice recognition by the National Rural Health Association (NRHA) for health care quality, and is recognized by the American Hospital Association (AHA) as one of the "Most Wired" hospitals for integration of technology to boost clinical performance. The National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) has awarded MAHHC with Level 3 status, the highest level of medical home designation.
Dartmouth Health, New Hampshire's only academic health system and the state's largest private employer, serves patients across northern New England. Dartmouth Health provides access to more than 2,000 providers in almost every area of medicine, delivering care at its flagship hospital, Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center (DHMC) in Lebanon, NH, as well as across its wide network of hospitals, clinics and care facilities. DHMC is consistently named the #1 hospital in New Hampshire by U.S. News & World Report, and is recognized for high performance in numerous clinical specialties and procedures. Dartmouth Health includes Dartmouth Cancer Center, one of only 51 National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers in the nation, and the only such center in northern New England; Dartmouth Health Children's, which includes the state's only children's hospital and multiple locations around the region; member hospitals in Lebanon, Keene and New London, NH, and Windsor, VT; and Visiting Nurse and Hospice for Vermont and New Hampshire; and more than 24 clinics that provide ambulatory and specialty services across New Hampshire and Vermont. Through its historical partnership with Dartmouth and the Geisel School of Medicine, Dartmouth Health trains nearly 400 medical residents and fellows annually, and performs cutting-edge research and clinical trials recognized across the globe with Geisel and the White River Junction VA Medical Center in White River Junction, VT. Dartmouth Health and its more than 13,000 employees are deeply committed to serving the healthcare needs of everyone in our communities, and to providing each of our patients with exceptional, personal care.
About the National Committee for Quality Assurance
NCQA is a private, non-profit organization dedicated to improving health care quality. NCQA accredits and certifies a wide range of health care organizations. It also recognizes clinicians and practices in key areas of performance. NCQA's website contains information to help consumers, employers, and others make more informed health care choices.