Visiting Nurse and Hospice for Vermont and New Hampshire Board of Trustees Approves Affiliation with Dartmouth-Hitchcock
Affiliation to strengthen patient care effective July 1
June 6, 2016 (White River Jct., VT) – The Board of Trustees of Visiting Nurse and Hospice for Vermont and New Hampshire (VNH) has voted to approve an affiliation agreement with Dartmouth-Hitchcock Health. With the May 24 vote, VNH will become an affiliate of Dartmouth-Hitchcock (D-H) on Friday, July 1, 2016.
VNH, the region’s largest provider of home health services, will become the first home health and hospice provider affiliate of Dartmouth-Hitchcock, which also includes five hospital affiliates.
The affiliation is designed to improve healthcare for the communities served by VNH and D-H by facilitating collaboration, innovation, and cost efficiencies between D-H and VNH. The VNH Board approval marks the end of a process that started in late 2014 with discussions between the two organizations, culminating in an affiliation that will foster a close working relationship.
According to VNH President and CEO Jeanne McLaughlin, the affiliation will enhance clinical integration resulting in a seamless path for patients moving from hospital care to home. “We’ve always worked well with Dartmouth-Hitchcock,” said McLaughlin, “and as an affiliate, our care continuums will be even better, helping us to improve transitions from hospital to home and avoid unnecessary re-hospitalizations that reduce quality of life and increase costs.”
“A key element in the sustainable health system we are working to create is finding ways to deliver care in settings that are more comfortable and convenient for patients and their families,” said D-H CEO and President Dr. James N. Weinstein. “Through community-based care and remote monitoring, we want to keep people healthy and out of the hospital. VNH is a leader in home-based care, and we are excited to be able to work more closely with them for the benefit of the people and communities we serve, for generations to come.”
VNH Board Chair Gary Mayo called the role of VNH vital in the ongoing development of systems designed to enhance population health and cost efficiency. “Becoming an affiliate of D-H, our service area’s acknowledged leader in this effort, positions us well to make a difference in the lives of our patients for the foreseeable future,” he said. “Working from within the D-H system gives VNH a unique opportunity to expand our capabilities going forward. We are excited about the potential for getting even better at what we do and serving more people as we collaborate with D-H.”
McLaughlin explained that VNH, as a D-H affiliate, will continue its existing relationships with municipalities and other hospitals and health care providers, and will remain a non-profit organization responsible for its own operating performance, relying on support from the towns it serves and the generosity of donors committed to VNH’s mission.
VNH will also work closely with D-H on the planned Center for Palliative and Hospice Care, scheduled for groundbreaking on the Dartmouth-Hitchcock campus later this month. “We look forward to sharing our expertise in hospice care,” said McLaughlin, “to ensure that the Center positively transforms end-of-life experiences for patients and their families, with an array of services in a state-of-the-art facility.”
“We’re excited about the possibilities,” said McLaughlin. “We’ve been here for more than 100 years, and our affiliation with Dartmouth-Hitchcock helps to ensure that the people we serve will always be able to ‘Come home to excellent care.’ “
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ABOUT VNH – Visiting Nurse and Hospice for Vermont and New Hampshire (VNH) is a non-profit organization that has provided home health and hospice care services in Vermont and New Hampshire since 1907. The agency is dedicated to delivering outstanding home- and community-based health and hospice services that enrich the lives of the people they serve. VNH makes home visits to people of all ages and all stages of life – regardless of ability to pay – and also provides communities with education and wellness programs.
ABOUT DARTMOUTH-HITCHCOCK – Dartmouth-Hitchcock (D-H) is a nonprofit academic health system that serves a population of 1.9 million in New England. Anchored by Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, NH, the system includes the Norris Cotton Cancer Center, one of only 45 Comprehensive Cancer Centers in the nation; the Children’s Hospital at Dartmouth-Hitchcock; affiliate hospitals in Lebanon, Keene ,and New London, NH, and Windsor, VT; and 24 Dartmouth-Hitchcock Clinics that provide ambulatory services across New Hampshire and Vermont. D-H provides access to more than 1,000 primary care doctors and specialists in almost every area of medicine. In partnership with the Audrey and Theodor Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth and the White River Junction VA Medical Center in White River Junction, VT, it trains nearly 400 residents and fellows annually, and performs world-class research.
Contacts:
Jeanne McLaughlin
Visiting Nurse and Hospice for VT and NH
Tel: (800) 300-8853
Email: jmclaughlin@vnhcare.org
Rick Adams
Dartmouth-Hitchcock
Tel: (603) 653-1910
Email: rick.adams@hitchcock.org
