EXETER – Exeter Hospital has received the American Heart Association’s Get With The Guidelines® – Stroke Gold Plusquality achievement award for its commitment to ensuring stroke patients receive the most appropriate treatment according to nationally recognized, research-based guidelines, ultimately leading to more lives saved and reduced disability.
“Exeter Hospital is committed to improving patient care by adhering to the latest treatment guidelines,” said Donna McKinney, Vice President of acute care/cancer services and Chief Nurse Executive of Exeter Hospital. “Get With The Guidelines makes it easier for our teams to put proven knowledge and guidelines to work on a daily basis, which studies show can help patients recover better. The end goal is to ensure more people in the Seacoast area can experience longer, healthier lives.”
Exeter Hospital also received the American Heart Association’s Target: Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll award. Target: Type 2 Diabetes aims to ensure patients with Type 2 diabetes, who might be at higher risk for complications, receive the most up-to-date, evidence-based care when hospitalized due to stroke.
“We are incredibly pleased to recognize Exeter Hospital for its commitment to caring for patients with stroke,” said Steven Messe, M.D., volunteer chairperson of the American Heart Association Stroke System of Care Advisory Group and professor of neurology and director of fellowships of neurology at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. “Participation in Get With The Guidelines is associated with improved patient outcomes, fewer readmissions and lower mortality rates – a win for health care systems, families and communities.”
ROCHESTER – Maureen E. Steer MDiv, Holistic Disciplines Manager at Cornerstone VNA, shared that her beloved Australian Shepherd, Lucy, has recently achieved certification as a therapy dog. Lucy’s training was comprehensive, and she graduated with great reports. Starting as a puppy, she trained for over a year and became certified as a K-9 Good Citizen by Inspire K-9 in Barnstead. She was officially certified as a therapy dog by Love on a Leash, a national program. According to Love on a Leash, “A therapy pet is trained and certified with its owner as a team to provide comfort and stress relief to others in a variety of situations.”
Lucy will now be lending her compassionate presence and unwavering support to Hospice patients. Moreover, she will play a special role in bereavement sessions and group grief support meetings, offering comfort and solace to those in need. The addition of Lucy to the Cornerstone VNA team will undoubtedly enhance their ability to provide holistic care and bring moments of joy and healing to those they serve.
Lucy has spent the last year working on a variety of competencies and situations in the community and in the Cornerstone VNA office, where she was surrounded by a supportive and caring team. Whenever Lucy arrives at the office, team members can be heard exclaiming, “Oh good, I needed a Lucy day today.”
Cornerstone VNA is proud of the response they’ve received from this wonderful Therapy Dog Volunteer duo of Maureen and Lucy. Katherine Michaud MS, OTR/L, Cornerstone VNA Behavioral Health Coordinator explains, “Pet therapy dogs provide comfort, encourage communication, decrease stress, and reduce loneliness. A visit from a dog can really brighten someone’s day.” The pet companion volunteer opportunity is a wonderful way for volunteers and their dogs to provide support and friendship to patients and community members. For more information about the pet companion volunteer team, contact Ann Vennard at 603-994-6941 or AVennard@cornerstonevna.org.
LEBANON – Two Dartmouth Health physicians were instrumental in the recently-passed New Hampshire Senate bill to require trauma kits in state-run facilities. SB 204, which received bipartisan support, will require a trauma kit be installed and readily available for bleeding emergencies in state owned buildings identified as high-traffic places for the public and staff. Examples of these buildings include courthouses, the department of motor vehicles, liquor stores, and the State House.
Sen. Sue Prentiss, D-Lebanon, a paramedic by training, worked with Eric D. Martin, MD, and Alexandra Briggs, MD, both trauma surgeons at Dartmouth Health’s Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center (DHMC), on the legislation. Prentiss reached out to Martin, who serves as director of New Hampshire’s trauma system and chair of the state’s trauma medical review committee, for his and Briggs’ assistance after they spoke out in support of Stop the Bleed. This program is an effort of the American College of Surgeons to train people in how to stop bleeding in a severely injured person.
“As the only Level 1 trauma center in the state, we see many critically injured people in New Hampshire at DHMC’s emergency department,” Martin said. “But having the proper initial treatment to stop bleeding when someone is seriously hurt, before they get to the hospital, is crucial to help save lives. Dr. Briggs and I were thrilled to support this effort on the state level to make sure our highest-traffic state-run facilities are equipped with the on hand tools to stop serious bleeding and provide the right care to people in a mass casualty event.”
Uncontrolled bleeding due to trauma is the third leading cause of death in New Hampshire between the ages of 1-45. This legislation will bring hemorrhage control into the hands of the public, supplying a critical need for New Hampshire and aligning with similar bleeding control efforts nationwide.
“As DHMC has the only Level 1 trauma center in the state, it was an honor to work with Dr. Martin and Dr. Briggs on this legislation as they are leading experts in this area. Placing tourniquets in select state-owned buildings is an essential first step in protecting the public and state employees,” Prentiss said. “My hope is that trauma kits will be placed in additional state and local governments, and that schools and the private sector will also see the importance of installing kits in their buildings.”
