High-performing organizations understand the power of an integrated strategy that connects safety, clinical quality, employee engagement, and patient experience.
Patrick T. Ryan, CEO and chair, Press GaneyThree Dartmouth Health member hospitals were named 2025 Human Experience Award winners by Press Ganey, the global leader in healthcare experience solutions and services. These prestigious awards recognize organizations setting the bar in safety, quality, nursing excellence, employee engagement, and patient experience—the cornerstones of exceptional care.
The awardees are:
• Alice Peck Day Memorial Hospital (APD) received the Guardian of Excellence award in the emergency department category
• New London Hospital (NLH) received the Pinnacle of Excellence and Guardian of Excellence awards for its Express Care Plus clinic
• Valley Regional Hospital received the Guardian of Excellence award in the ambulatory care category
The Pinnacle of Excellence award honors the best in healthcare, recognizing up to four organizations in each category that have attained top performance over several years. The Guardian of Excellence award recognizes organizations in the top 5% of their peer group over a one-year period.
“We are honored by this recognition of the care provided by APD’s nursing and technical staff,” said Michael T. Lynch, MD, MBA, president and CEO of APD. “Our emergency department team is truly dedicated to our mission is to improve the health and well-being of our community. We know we’re fulfilling that mission when our APD’s patients recognize the high-quality, personalized care they receive here, even during the difficult experience of an emergency department visit.”
“We are grateful for the recognition of Express Care Plus with two patient satisfaction awards,” said Lauren Geddes Wirth, MD, CEO and president of NLH. “These awards are a testament to the compassionate, high-quality care our staff provides to the patients we serve. We are honored to be entrusted with the care of our communities and remain dedicated to continually improving the patient experience.”
“We are honored to receive this recognition, which is a reflection of our culture, spirit and dedication to service,” said Matthew R. Foster, MD, MMM, CEO and president of VRH. “When people feel supported and connected to their work, they are empowered to provide the highest quality care for our patients.”
“Press Ganey is proud to honor the health systems and health plans that are setting new standards for healthcare,” said Patrick T. Ryan, CEO and chair of Press Ganey. “High-performing organizations understand the power of an integrated strategy that connects safety, clinical quality, employee engagement, and patient experience. Aligning these areas leads to better outcomes, stronger trust, and an elevated human experience across every touchpoint.”
To see a complete list of winning healthcare organizations, visit go.d-h.org/d887z4.
About Press Ganey
Press Ganey, the leading Human Experience (HX) healthcare performance improvement company, offers an integrated suite of solutions that address safety, clinical excellence, patient experience and workforce engagement. The company works with more than 41,000 healthcare facilities in its mission to reduce patient suffering and enhance caregiver resilience to improve the overall safety, quality and experience of care. Press Ganey is a PG Forsta company.
About Valley Regional Hospital
Valley Regional Hospital, a Dartmouth Health member, has been serving the needs of Sullivan County, NH, for more than 130 years. Evolving with the needs of its community, Valley Regional is a federally- designated critical access hospital with services that include 21-bed inpatient suites and a progressive care unit, 24/7 emergency department, urgent care, lab, rehabilitation services, and imaging. Valley Regional also offers a breadth of outpatient services including primary care, cardiac and pulmonary therapy, behavioral health services, orthopaedics, podiatry, oncology and infusion services, women’s health, and Dartmouth Health Children’s pediatric care. Learn more at vrh.org.
About Dartmouth Health
Dartmouth Health, New Hampshire’s only academic health system and largest private employer, serves patients across New England. Dartmouth Health provides access to more than 2,300 providers in nearly every area of medicine, delivering care at its flagship hospital, Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center (DHMC) in Lebanon, NH. Its network of hospitals, outpatient centers, clinics and home care facilities, spans a broad geographical area. Year after year, DHMC is named the #1 hospital in New Hampshire by U.S. News & World Report, and is consistently recognized for high performance in numerous clinical specialties and procedures. Dartmouth Health includes Dartmouth Cancer Center, northern New England’s only National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers and one of less than than 60 total nationally; Dartmouth Health Children’s, which includes the state’s only children’s hospital (Children’s Hospital at DHMC/CHaD) and more than 20 locations around the region; eight member hospitals in Lebanon, Keene, Claremont, Hampstead, and New London, NH, and Windsor and Bennington, VT; Dartmouth Health Home Care; Dartmouth Health Connected Care Center for Telehealth, serving patients as far away as Texas; and more than 30 primary and multi-specialty clinics across New Hampshire and Vermont. Through its partnership with Dartmouth College, Dartmouth’s Geisel School of Medicine and the White River Junction VA Medical Center, Dartmouth Health trains nearly 400 medical residents and fellows annually and performs cutting-edge research and clinical trials with international impact. Dartmouth Health and its more than 16,000 employees are committed to serving the healthcare needs of everyone in the communities it serves and to providing every patient with exceptional, state-of-the-art, personalized care. Learn more at dartmouth-health.org.
About New London Hospital
The New London Hospital Association (NLHA) is a proud member of Dartmouth Health. It consists of New London Hospital (NLH), located in New London, NH, and Newport Health Center (NHC), located in Newport, NH. NLH is a critical access hospital, and has been serving 15 communities within the Greater Lake Sunapee region in central New Hampshire for more than 100 years. NLH provides a broad range of services in a patient and family-centered environment, from primary care to specialized clinical services. NHC is a rural health clinic that offers primary care and numerous specialty clinical services. Patients of NLH and NHC have ready access to the full breadth of Dartmouth Health services. NLH and NHC are dedicated to providing compassionate, high-quality care and improving the health and well-being of the communities they serve. For more information, visit newlondonhospital.org.