Hospitals in pursuit of excellence

Mt. Ascutney Hospital and Health Center

Mt. Ascutney Hospital and Health Center
Windsor, VT
60 Beds

The Problem
Mt. Ascutney Hospital and Health Center, located in Windsor, Vermont, is a 25-bed critical access hospital that includes a 10-bed rehabilitation unit and 25-bed nursing facility. Serving a local population of 21,000 people, the center offers a variety of care services, including outpatient primary and specialty care, acute care, transitional care and rehabilitative services. The per capita income is $21,936, with 54 percent of children living below the poverty level.

The Solution
Collaborating with the community, Mt. Ascutney formed a community health infrastructure, and the community and hospital worked together to close the fragmented and decentralized care services. The infrastructure has established several programs including the Mt. Ascutney Hospital Community Health Foundation, the Windsor Area Community Partnership, the Windsor Connection Resource Center, Patch Team Services, the Mt. Ascutney Prevention Partnership and the Windsor Area Drug Task Force. Community partners provide in-kind support including volunteers and administrative logistics.

The Result
Through various initiatives of the community infrastructure, 14 major health promotions were managed, and communication and organization were improved among the various partners. A total of 3,248 individuals have received assistance in social services, and numerous antidrug programs have been introduced.

Lessons Learned
A systematic and organized framework that existed within the community health infrastructure allowed community partners to increase their impact on the community. The infrastructure provided an organized framework for the partners in determining how resources we reallocated to meet the community health issues. Hospital leaders effectively coordinated and managed resources for these programs. 

Mt. Ascutney faced skepticism and mistrust from community partners over the control and management of the programs. Several segments of the community became concerned that they were losing their area of control.

To manage the challenges, Mt. Ascutney worked on building trust and allowing community partners to receive a large portion of the credit. It also decentralized grant funds to the community partners and celebrated every program success.

Contact Information
Jill Lord, RN, MS
Director of Patient Care Services/CNO
(802) 674-7224
Jill.Lord@mahhc.org

This case study was originally featured in the HPOE guide: "The Role of Small and Rural Hospitals and Care Systems in Effective Population Health Partnerships," published June, 2013.