Three Dartmouth Health hospitals receive top nurse-patient and doctor-patient communication scores

News release

Alice Peck Day Memorial Hospital, Mt. Ascutney Hospital and Health Center, and Southwestern Vermont Medical Center—all members of Dartmouth Health—have received top marks from Becker's Hospital Review as three of the best hospitals for nurse communication and physician communication.

Becker's annually compiles a list of the best hospitals for nurse communication and physician communication in each state using Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) data. HCAHPS is a national, standardized survey of hospital patients about their experiences during a recent inpatient hospital stay.

"I'm very proud of our Dartmouth Health member hospitals who have been recognized for the excellent communication between their physicians and nurses and patients," said Joanne M. Conroy, MD, CEO and president of Dartmouth Health. "Clear, respectful and compassionate communication between healthcare providers and their patients is critical to building trust in the patient-provider relationship, and ensuring that the provider is able to give their patient the best and most personalized care."

The nurse communication and the physician communication rating combines data from three HCAHPS survey questions and summarizes how well patients feel that their providers explained things clearly, listened carefully to the patient, and treated the patient with courtesy and respect.

All three Dartmouth Health hospitals received five-star ratings based on survey data collected from patients from July 2021 through June 2022.

About Alice Peck Day Memorial Hospital

Known for highly personalized and high-quality care, Alice Peck Day Memorial Hospital (APD) is the community hospital of the Upper Valley of Vermont and New Hampshire. Founded in 1932 and a member of Dartmouth Health since 2016, APD's areas of clinical excellence include surgical services, primary care, geriatric care, sleep health, orthopaedics, and emergency services. The APD campus is also home to a senior living community with assisted and independent living facilities.

About Mt. Ascutney Hospital and Health Center

Founded in 1933, Mt. Ascutney Hospital and Health Center (MAHHC) is a not-for-profit community hospital network in Vermont including the critical access-designated Mt. Ascutney Hospital and Historic Homes of Runnemede, a senior residential care campus, in Windsor, as well as the Ottauquechee Health Center in Woodstock. A member of the Dartmouth Health system, MAHHC provides primary care and a comprehensive suite of specialty services, along with 25 inpatient beds, a therapeutic pool and an acclaimed, fully modernized 10-bed Acute Rehabilitation Center. Mt. Ascutney Hospital and Health Center is dedicated to improving the lives of those it serves and is at the hub of a wide network of community resources that have partnered to cover gaps in services, and improve overall population health.

About Southwestern Vermont Health Care

Southwestern Vermont Health Care (SVHC) is a comprehensive, preeminent healthcare system providing exceptional, convenient, and affordable care to the communities of Bennington and Windham Counties of Vermont, eastern Rensselaer and Washington Counties of New York, and northern Berkshire County in Massachusetts. SVHC includes Southwestern Vermont Medical Center (SVMC), Southwestern Vermont Regional Cancer Center, the Centers for Living and Rehabilitation, and the SVHC Foundation. SVMC includes 25 primary and specialty care practices.

SVHC is among the most lauded small rural health systems in the nation. It is the recipient of the American Hospital Association's 2020 Rural Hospital Leadership Award. In addition, SVMC is a five-time recipient of the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Magnet® recognition for nursing excellence.

SVMC provides exceptional care without discriminating on the basis of an individual's age, race, ethnicity, religion, culture, language, physical or mental disability, socioeconomic status, sex, sexual orientation, or gender identity or expression. Language assistance services, free of charge, are available at 1-800-367-9559.

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.