Wentworth-Douglass Hospital is accredited by the Joint Commission on Healthcare Organization.

Diabetes Services is recognized by the American Diabetes Association for meeting strict standards of patient education.

The Seacoast Cancer Center is approved by The Commission on Cancer of the American College of Surgeons.

The Laboratory is accredited by the College of American Pathologists.

Women's Life Imaging Center is accredited by the American College of Radiology and Certified by the Food and Drug Administration.

The Vascular Laboratory is accredited by the Intersocietal Commission for Accreditation of Vascular Labs.

Wentworth-Douglass Hospital Achieves Accreditation by the Joint Commission:
Wentworth-Douglass Hospital recently underwent a rigorous survey process and achieved accreditation at time of survey, earning a Gold Seal of Approval™ by the Joint Commission.

To earn The Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval™, a hospital must demonstrate it meets national standards of excellence, and undergoes an on-site survey by a Joint Commission survey team. The Joint Commission standards address the organization’s level of performance in key functional areas, such as patient rights, patient treatment, and infection control. The standards focus not simply on an organization’s ability to provide safe, high quality care, but on its actual performance as well. Standards set forth performance expectations for activities that affect the safety and quality of patient care. If an organization does the right things and does them well, its patients will experience good outcomes.

Accreditation helps hospitals improve their performance, raise the level of
patient care, and demonstrate accountability in the rapidly changing health care marketplace.

Echo and Blood Gas labs receive accreditation:

The Cardiology Department is pleased to announce the successful re-accreditation of the echocardiology laboratory at Wentworth-Douglass Hospital. Accreditation has been awarded in the following areas: Adult Transthoracic, Adult Stress and Adult Transesophageal.

We wish to thank Bonnie Gowen, Lead-Echocardiographer and Lance Briggs, MD for their dedication and hard work that resulted in this successful outcome. The Echocardiology Laboratory is accredited with ICAEL (Intersocietal Commission for the Accreditation of Echocardiography Laboratories). This award will be effective for a three-year period. ICAEL accreditation signifies a demonstrated commitment to high-quality patient care.

The College of American Pathologists recently re-accredited the WDH Blood Gas Lab and five Activated Clotting Time (ACT) sites, following a stringent on-site inspection designed to specifically ensure the highest standard of care for the laboratory’s patients.

The Blood Gas Laboratory is maintained and operated by the Pulmonary Medicine Staff, under the direction of the Department’s Medical Director, Noel Wheeler, MD. Caroline Faulkingham, Pulmonary Medicine Supervisor coordinates the daily operations of the lab to ensure compliance with the standards set by CAP. Jeanne Sunny, RRT, plays an integral role in following the quality control aspect of the laboratory. All RT staff maintain competency in laboratory procedures.

Early intervention in the diagnosis and treatment of critically ill patients requires quick results from tests and procedures. Arterial blood gas samples are crucial for determining oxygenation, ventilation and acid base pH, as well as other parameters. Respiratory Therapists draw patient samples, then analyze and report results within 10 minutes or less. Capillary, venous and umbilical cord blood, and pleural fluid is also analyzed in the lab. The lab processes about 200 samples per month.

Lance Briggs, MD, of Seacoast Cardiology and Bonnie Gowen, Lead-Echocardiographer pose with Echo’s re-accreditation award.

Jeanne Sunny, RRT, (left) and Caroline Faulkingham, RRT, Pulmonary Medicine Supervisor, pose with their re-accreditation award inside the Blood Gas Laboratory.