We are proud to continually improve and evaluate the care we provide each and every day through the use of established indicators and benchmarks. This year the hospital released (in cooperation with the New Hampshire Hospital Association and other hospitals in the state) its latest quality indicators on www.NHQualityCare.org.

The indicators measure our performance in our standards of care in heart attack, congestive heart failure, community-acquired pneumonia, and surgical infection prevention. The measures evaluated represent those processes that have been scientifically proven to increase the chance that patients will have a positive outcome.

Our scores, which closely mirror composite scores in each of the categories achieved by other hospitals in the state, will change over time as reports are updated quarterly and always reflect the previously reported 12-month period.

The good news is that this latest report shows that we are frequently following and documenting our standards of care for each of the indicators. Even better is that this report has mobilized the medical staff, nurses and employees to brainstorm and implement newer and better ways to raise scores in each of the areas by capturing data, adjusting processes, and documenting the work that takes place every day in their departments.

The goal of reporting quality measures to staff is to assist them by providing validated information on evidence-based measures of clinical care. We have always focused on quality with a commitment to improvement. The advent of www.NHQualityCare.org will give us an opportunity to showcase our high quality of care and constantly work to move it to a higher level.

The goal of reporting quality measures to the public via the website and the media is to help consumers become more informed about what they should expect from their providers and the hospitals they support.

Patients and families may use the reported quality measures as a springboard for questions to ask their providers about their treatment. We believe that involving patients as full partners in the decision-making process helps us bolster our quality improvement initiatives. Involving all patients, nurses, families and providers will result in performance improvements, enhanced communications and most importantly, better outcomes for all.

Should you have any questions about Frisbie Memorial Hospital's quality score on the www.NHQualityCare.org website, please do not hesitate to call Jean Corvinus, Director of Performance Improvement at (603) 332-3100, x 8479.