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01/03/2017
Wentworth-Douglass Hospital is pleased to announce that the hospital officially became part of the Massachusetts General Hospital family on January 1, 2017. Wentworth-Douglass Hospital is now also part of Mass General Brigham, an integrated health care system founded by Mass General and Brigham and Women’s Hospital.
While Mass General has clinical and programmatic affiliations with other hospitals in the region, Wentworth-Douglass is now the only hospital in New Hampshire to join the Mass General system.
Roger Hamel, chairman of the Board of Directors for Wentworth-Douglass Hospital, said, "We are thrilled to announce this news. Joining this world-class organization will provide a once-in-a-generation opportunity for Wentworth-Douglass to enhance its non-profit mission and expand clinical capabilities for the community.”
The two organizations have a history of productive clinical relationships dating back to 2008 when Wentworth-Douglass was the first in the area to contract with Mass General to provide remote TeleStroke service for patients presenting in the Wentworth-Douglass Emergency Department with stroke symptoms. Additional joint clinical programs followed in trauma services, thoracic surgery, gynecologic oncology, cancer genetics and clinical trials for cancer patients. Thousands of patients have benefited from these services. Together, Wentworth-Douglass and Mass General will continue to develop, grow and improve additional health care services to best serve the community.
“We are so pleased that Wentworth-Douglass Hospital has officially become a part of Mass General,” said Peter L. Slavin, MD, Mass General president. “Wentworth-Douglass has long been known for its outstanding care and commitment to community. Together, we look forward to continuing to grow, shape and strengthen our already successful and thriving relationship to benefit patients in the region.”
Wentworth-Douglass Hospital will continue to be governed by its Board of Trustees which will include local trustees as well as five new trustees appointed by Mass General. Wentworth-Douglass will keep its name, although a new logo including Mass General will be developed and used in the future.
Plans to affiliate were made public last spring. Hospital administration at both organizations worked with federal and state agencies throughout this process. The acquisition received a favorable determination by the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office Charitable Trusts Unit in November with stipulations that the hospitals make specific commitments for future community benefits to the Dover area and to increase mental health and substance abuse services. In December, the NH Attorney General’s Office issued a no action letter following its review of the antitrust implications of the transaction clearing the way for the transaction to be finalized.
Wentworth-Douglass Hospital (wdhospital.org) is a nationally recognized, not-for-profit charitable health care organization located in the Seacoast community of Dover, New Hampshire with a 110-year history of compassionate care and innovation. Serving its communities since 1906, it is a family of almost 400 providers and over 2,300 employees including 494 registered nurses and over 200 volunteers dedicated to the health, safety and well-being of residents and visitors to the Seacoast area of New Hampshire and Southern Maine. Wentworth-Douglass Hospital was awarded Magnet® designation in 2016 and includes a 178-bed hospital, several urgent care and walk-in facilities, multiple testing centers, 28 provider practices, the Wentworth-Douglass Foundation and The Works, a full service health and fitness center.
Founded in 1811, Massachusetts General Hospital (www.massgeneral.org) is the oldest and largest teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School. The 999-bed medical center each year admits more than 50,000 inpatients, handles more than 1.5 million visits to its extensive outpatient programs at the main campus and four health centers, and records more than 105,958 emergency visits. The surgical staff perform more than 42,000 operations annually, and the Mass General Vincent Obstetrics Service delivers about 3,900 babies a year. The largest nongovernment employer in the city of Boston, Mass General has more than 24,877 employees, including more than 4,800 registered nurses. Mass General conducts the largest hospital-based research program in the United States, with an annual research budget of more than $781 million. Mass General and Brigham and Women's Hospital are founding members of Mass General Brigham System, a Boston-based integrated health care delivery system. In 2003, Mass General became the first hospital in the state to be awarded Magnet designation by the American Nurses Credentialing Center. In August 2016 the MGH was once again named to the Honor Roll in the U.S. News & World Report list of "America’s Best Hospitals."