The Foundations mission is to improve health and health care delivery. The Foundation for Healthy Communities is a partnership involving hospitals, physicians, health plans, home care agencies and other organizations concerned about improving health in New Hampshire. The Foundations primary objectives are:
1. To collect, analyze, and evaluate data about health and about the delivery, quality, management and organization of health servic
2. To promote, sponsor and conduct applied research and scientific investigation relative to quality, health delivery process improvement and health policy; and
3. To communicate information, sponsor education and training, and facilitate innovation and access for the improvement of health and the creation of healthy communities.
View our brochure: Partnering for Innovation
Highlights of Current Initiatives
N.H. Health Access Network
This is a new research and development initiative to
strengthen the health care safety net by improving access
for low-income uninsured children and adults statewide.
Health care providers working together can overcome barriers
to care and develop better strategies for health by reducing
or eliminating financial, structural and personal barriers
that inhibit access. The Network seeks to narrow the gap
through equitable access to emergency care, primary care,
specialty care and inpatient services for all people in the
state.
Community Prevention and Treatment Initiatives
The Foundation is working in several New Hampshire
communities to examine the clinical and community processes
related to how policies, networks (formal, informal),
institutions and the public interact to produce effective
community prevention and treatment strategies. The data and
knowledge from these evidence-based initiatives are being
used to create a community model to provide better access to
these services. The Greater Nashua Healthy Community
Collaborative is addressing the prevention of cardiovascular
disease through cholesterol screening and new community
fitness efforts among the health and human service
organizations serving residents in
greater Nashua.
Emergency Preparedness
The New Hampshire Hospital Mutual Aid Network will
increase the capacity of community hospitals in New
Hampshire to effectively respond to biological, chemical or
nuclear incidents or other major crises that involve
injuries and death. This project consists of: identifying
functions and roles to create a statewide hospital mutual
aid network; creating and implementing a mutual aid network;
identifying legal and regulatory barriers to preparedness;
establishing an ongoing system to monitor and test the
mutual aid network.
The Foundation is working with the N.H. Hospital Association, the N.H. Department of Health and Human Services, the N.H. Bureau of Emergency Medical Services and the N.H. Office of Emergency Management to develop this mutual aid model.
Clinical Improvement Programs
The Foundation is committed to improving the delivery of
health care through the ongoing development of numerous
clinical improvement programs including asthma, low-back
pain, depression and the prevention of heart disease. These
programs include the distribution of evidence-based
guidelines and the use of data-driven tools for quality
improvement. The Institute of Medicine's report,
"Crossing the quality chasm: A new health system for
the 21st century," provides the framework for us as we
develop new strategies for improving the complex systems
involved in health care delivery.
The Nursing Workforce Partnership Project
The Nursing Workforce Partnership Project launched the first
statewide survey of nurses in New Hampshire - both
practicing nurses and those who have left the practice.
Nearly 1,000 nurses responded to questions about their
career choice, daily work environment, compensation and
recognition, job satisfaction, and practice characteristics.
Among other findings, the report documented a need for
targeted retention strategies that address work conditions,
professional relationships, recognition by administrators
and salary. New recruitment efforts that explain the variety
of career tracks within the nursing profession and the range
of diverse practice settings were also identified. Follow-up
efforts to increase training for nursing specialty areas
such as critical care, surgery and pediatrics are being
planned.
Environmental Health
The Foundation assists New Hampshire hospitals in
advancing their environmental improvement efforts. The
Foundation hosts educational programs, communicates news and
resources through its Web pages and its environmental
newsletter, "STAT Green," and facilitates regular
meetings of the N.H. Hospitals for a Healthy Environment
(NH3E), a network of hospitals striving to reduce the volume
and toxicity of the waste they generate. NH3E's objective is
to exchange information among hospitals facing similar
environmental concerns and challenges, such as eliminating
the use of mercury devices, finding alternatives to medical
waste incineration and implementing environmentally
preferable purchasing. The New Hampshire Medication Bridge
Program The New Hampshire Medication Bridge Program helps
uninsured and underinsured people access free prescription
medications. In just one year, more than 40 local sites
helped to distribute $10.9 million in free prescription
drugs to people in need. The Foundation also produced and
distributed the N.H. Prescription Assistance Guide, a
brochure detailing programs available for N.H. residents who
need help paying for their medications. The Guide is
available at www.healthynh.com.
Maternal and Newborn Care The Foundation distributes
"Healthy Mom, Healthy Baby" and "Growing Up
Healthy" books each year to hospitals and providers
across the state. These colorful guidebooks, available
online, are designed to provide mothers with useful
information on prenatal, childbirth and postpartum care
along with child care and other helpful resources in New
Hampshire. The Foundation is also a key partner in a
statewide effort to eliminate perinatal and reproductive-age
smoking.
The New Hampshire Partnership for End-of-Life Care
The New Hampshire Partnership for End-of-Life Care helps
people to plan for their health care, talk about their
choices and have them respected. This initiative included
survey research, a review of medical charts, a statewide
education campaign to promote advance care planning and the
revision of the decade-old Advance Directives into a
user-friendly document in additional languages and formats.
Covering Kids: Healthcare Systems
Covering Kids: Healthcare Systems works to increase the
number of eligible children enrolled in the state's free or
low-cost health insurance through on-site application
assistance in hospitals. Hundreds of eligible newborns and
uninsured children have been enrolled through more than a
dozen New Hampshire hospitals that have implemented new
strategies to enhance financial assistance for the families
they serve.
The New Hampshire Risky Drinking Prevention Project
The New Hampshire Risky Drinking Prevention Project
introduced an alcohol screening tool and brief intervention
into primary care to learn how to better provide for shorter
treatment modalities that match the degree of alcohol
misuse.
For more information on these or other Foundation initiatives, please click on "Initiatives" in the main navigation bar, above.
| Community Health Community health encompasses many of the Foundation's activities within communities across the state where we are partnering with diverse coalitions and health and human service organizations to improve health. A significant component of our work involves developing a new model for community prevention and treatment. This model is based on measuring local health status, understanding local problems, informing and educating the public and providers, developing strategies to address the problems and evaluating results. The principal focus of our model development is cardiovascular disease with an emphasis on physical activity and cholesterol. We also are addressing the prevention of diabetes in some communities. Communities where we are producing health materials are listed below.
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FOUNDATION AWARDS & RECOGNITION
2000 NESHCO Lamplighter Award of Excellence for Design
of Single Publication
1999 NESHCO Lamplighter Award of Excellence for Community Relations/Outreach - NH Prevention Guidelines
1999 NESHCO Lamplighter Award of Excellence for Special Purpose - NH Prescription Guide
1999 Quigley Innovation Award Winner - Maternal & Newborn Assessment Project
1999 Wyeth-Ayerst Section Award - American College of Obstetricians & Gynecologists and the Foundation for Healthy Communities for the Maternal and Newborn Assessment Project
1999 Society for Healthcare Strategy and Market Development of the American Hospital Association - Circle of Distinction Award for outstanding achievement in Developing Innovative Partnerships
