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Strategic Initiatives and Public ParticipationNVRH Strategic Initiatives and Process for Public Participation
Summary of the hospital’s strategic planning and decision-making process.
Northeastern Vermont Regional Hospital achieves openness, inclusiveness, and public participation in our strategic planning and decision making in a variety of ongoing and deliberate ways.
NVRH governance structure includes the Northeastern Vermont Regional Corp. (NVRC) Corporators. The over 250 Corporators, representing all the towns in our service area, are an invaluable source of wisdom and perspective for hospital leadership. They are key links in the essential communication system between members of our community and the hospital.
Because the Corporators represent the community, they act as our eyes and ears on the street. The quarterly Corporators meetings are an opportunity for two-way sharing of information. The Corporators share their needs and concerns, as well as the needs and concerns of their families, friends, and neighbors. In return, the Corporators are updated on hospital services, as well as state and national healthcare issues.
NVRH asks for direct community feedback on services at focus forums and quarterly Corporators meetings held at the hospital. Corporators tell us that local access to care and services is a priority. They expect and appreciate the convenience of having primary care, specialty care, diagnostic testing, and inpatient services close to home.
NVRH also occasionally holds open public forums, including our annual Hospital Report Card public meeting, to encourage open dialog with members of the community. These meetings are typically not well attended, but those who come are always sincere in their commitment to improving the health of the community. Public meetings are advertised in the local daily newspaper the Caledonian Record, and the community calendars of weekly and monthly papers, as well as radio and public access TV.
Key NVRH staff, including Senior Management and Community Health Improvement staff, participate in numerous community needs planning efforts. NVRH staff participated in community needs activities coordinated by the Vermont Department of Health, Green Mountain United Way, Northeast Kingdom Community Action, and the Prevention Research Center at the Dartmouth Institute.
Information and feedback gleaned from people in our community, along with health data from the Vermont Department of Health, census data, comparative data from Vermont Explor (VAHHS), the Dartmouth Atlas, satisfaction and quality data from IHI projects, Press Ganey patient satisfaction data, and our own utilization data, help us to plan for services to meet the needs of the people in our community.
NVRH reviews and updates a one year and five year strategic plan annually. The Strategic Plan Summary highlights six areas: Quality, Finance, People, Community, Information, Programs/Services/Growth. For copies of the NVRH Strategic Plan Summary, to learn how to become a Corporator at NVRH, or to give us your input on the healthcare needs in our community, contact:
Paul Bengtson, CEO
802-748-7400
802-748-7398 (fax)
p.bengtson@nvrh.org
PO Box 905
St. Johnsbury, VT 05819
For information about our one and four-year capital expenditure plan and a depreciation schedule for existing facilities, contact:
Bob Hersey, CFO
802-748-7520
802-748-7398 (fax)
r.hersey@nvrh.org
Current Initiatives to Meet the Healthcare Needs of the NVRH Communities
Healthcare Reform
Healthcare reform has been a hot topic in Vermont and nationally for quite some time. The discussion on how to improve the healthcare system is loud and sometimes emotional. In this midst of this debate, medical offices in the Northeastern Vermont Regional Hospital service area are leading the state and the nation in improving patient care and containing the costs of healthcare.
In January, the Department of Vermont Health Access released the 2010 Annual Report on the Vermont Blueprint for Health. As the report states the Vermont Blueprint for Health is “Vermont’s cutting edge health reform program”. Five primary care offices in the NVRH service area were the first offices chosen as part of a patient-centered medical home pilot in late 2007. The 2010 Blueprint Annual Report outlines the conclusions of the St. Johnsbury area pilot. Results include a reduction in avoidable emergency room visits and hospital admissions, and improvements in patient care in primary care offices.
The report compares data supplied by NVRH, Vermont Medicaid, and the Vermont Healthcare Claims Uniform Reporting and Evaluation System. The data from all sources shows a favorable reduction in avoidable hospital and emergency room visits. Similar reductions in hospital and emergency room use were also seen in Burlington Blueprint pilot sites, but were not seen in areas of the state not participating in the Blueprint for Health.
Paul Bengtson, CEO at NVRH, is very supportive of the Blueprint for Health. “NVRH is always here when our patients need us, but it is important that patients call their primary care office for non-urgent care, and to get the ongoing care they need from their primary care provider. We want people to get the right care, at the right time, in the right place”.
The Northern Counties Health Care medical offices of the Danville Health Center, the Concord Health Center, Caledonia Internal Medicine, and St. Johnsbury Family Health Center, and NVRH Corner Medical are recognized by the National Committee on Quality Assurance (NCQA) as Patient Centered Medical Homes. The medical home model focuses on prevention and using a Community Health Team to deliver health care, and includes the patient as a key member of the healthcare team.
The report concludes that favorable trends are starting to be seen in the quality of healthcare delivered in medical homes. Additionally, focus forums with patients in the medical homes confirmed an increase in patient satisfaction.
Click here for more information on the St. Johnsbury area Blueprint for Health. To read the full Vermont Blueprint for Health Annual Report visit http://hcr.vermont.gov/.
NVRH Caledonia/southern Essex Tobacco Advisory, OVX and Health Department Reach out to Teens to Reduce Smoking
Across Vermont, the number of youth (14-17 years old) who smoke has remained steady at 16 percent for the past five years, after falling sharply from 38 percent to 16 percent in the decade leading up to 2005.
To support these older teens, Caledonia/southern Essex Tobacco Advisory is reaching out to area youth to help them stop smoking, or to never start. Partnering with the Vermont Department of Health and OVX (Our Voices Xposed), a youth-led, youth-run movement focused on exposing the truth about tobacco, Caledonia/southern Essex Tobacco Advisory is supporting a new statewide educational campaign to help youth stay smoke free.
In Lyndonville, the Caledonia/southern Essex Tobacco Advisory will be reaching out to teens during the second annual Vermont Kids Against Tobacco (VKAT) “Kick Butts” basketball game between Lyndon Town School and St. Johnsbury School. Staff members from both schools will show their support for youth and adults who want to “Kick Butts” by playing each other directly following the VKAT game.
The Vermont Teen Leadership Safety Program (VTLSP) at Lyndon Institute held a resource fair at Lyndon Town School before, during, and following the basketball games. Several vendors were on site with lots of pro health information and tips for teens, parents and other adults for staying healthy. Information was available to help teens and adults quit tobacco use if they have already started smoking, including the Vermont Quit Network Quit in Person Program, and the St. Johnsbury Academy and Lyndon Institute Not-On-Tobacco (N-O-T) Programs.
Research shows that youth understand that smoking is bad for them, but knowing it is an unhealthy choice isn’t enough. Many teens lack the support to stay smoke-free, especially when they are surrounded by adults and peers who smoke. With this in mind, the Vermont Department of Health interviewed teens from around the state about smoking issues, as part of the development process for the new campaign. Other key findings include:
* Anti-tobacco education and advertising typically focuses on preventing youth from starting to smoke.
* Young people who’ve tried smoking feel that the anti-smoking outreach doesn’t apply to them.
* If youth stop smoking, they fear that they’ll lose their connection to friends and family who also smoke.
* Youth smokers need help finding appropriate resources to help them quit.
Drawing insights for the education and outreach materials from interviews and video diaries created by teens, the Health Department developed two new 30-second television ads for the “Gut Feelings” campaign that show a group of teens talking to each other about smoking while posing as lungs, a brain and a stomach. Both “Taco” and “Pickles” use humor and group dynamics to get teens to quit while they’re ahead, before they are addicted and committed smokers.
To learn more about the support available for teens who want to quit smoking, visit www.ovx.org. For more information on the Health Department’s Tobacco Control Program go to HealthVermont.gov/prevent/tobacco. Or call NVRH Tobacco Coordinator Rose Sheehan at 748-7532.
Advance Directives - Honoring Your Wishes
What’s the best way to make certain that your choices for your health care treatment are followed in the event of an accident or situation in which you could not speak for yourself? At NVRH, you can complete an Advance Directive.
It will be kept on file and also placed in the Vermont State Registry for Advance Directives. An Advance Directive allows you to name an “agent” to speak on your behalf about your medical needs, if for some reason you are unable to speak for yourself. Although it’s difficult for us to imagine a situation in which we would not be able to express our own wishes for our health care treatment, we also all know that accidents happen unexpectedly and any of us could be caught in this situation.
An Advance Directive ensures that your wishes are followed and also provides your family members with the gift of knowing what your wishes are. The Advance Directive document allows you to specifically spell out wishes in great detail, or simply name a trusted “agent” (a family member or friend) to speak on your behalf. This is especially important as family members change, marriages and divorces occur and children grow older.
Advance Directive forms are available through the Care Managers office, the Library, Chaplain’s office and Community Connections office. There are many people available to answer questions, to assist with filling out the forms, and with getting your Advance Directive placed on file at NVRH and included in the Vermont Advance Directive Registry. To get a copy of an Advance Directive or schedule a time for assistance, contact Pam Brink, Gary Osborn or Julie Roslund in the Care Managers office; Betsy Merrill in the Library; Chaplain Lynn Burgess; or Connie Canario or Abby Pollender in the Community Connections office.
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