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About Partners for Community Wellness

Partners for Community Wellness (PCW) are individuals who engage with Dartmouth-Hitchcock Health as advisors, advocates, and philanthropists to improve community health and wellness across the D-HH service area. 


“Great things are done by a series of small things brought together.” -Vincent Van Gogh


History

In 2014 the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Board of Trustees created PCW to increase community engagement in Dartmouth-Hitchcock’s community health and wellness initiatives. Members of Dartmouth-Hitchcock’s former Assembly of Overseers were among the first to participate in PCW.

In 2014, we helped organize a campaign resulting in over 750 community members participating in the Honoring Care Decisions Program for advanced care planning. Nationally, advanced care planning is a major contributing factor in the reduction of costly, unwanted medical care at the end of life.

In 2016, we started the Tipping Points program, which provides small grants to human service agencies to help people overcome barriers to employment and financial stability. Five agencies have received a total of $45,000. These agencies have delivered small grants to 36 people to pay for education, transportation, housing, clothing, and other resources on their way towards financial stability.

Following Dr. Joanne Conroy’s start as Dartmouth-Hitchcock’s new President and CEO, in November 2017 we began a strategic planning process in parallel with the health system’s internal planning efforts. The Community Ambassador program, launched in July 2018, is the first major initiative of our strategic plan.


About Dartmouth-Hitchcock

DARTMOUTH-HITCHCOCK (D-H) is a nonprofit academic health system serving communities in northern New England. D-H provides access to more than 1,000 primary care doctors and specialists in almost every area of medicine at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center; the Norris Cotton Cancer Center, the Children’s Hospital at Dartmouth-Hitchcock, four affiliate hospitals, 24 ambulatory clinics and through the Visiting Nurse and Hospice for VT and NH. The D-H system trains nearly 400 residents and fellows annually, and performs world-class research, in partnership with the Audrey and Theodor Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth and the White River Junction VA Medical Center.


How we engage with Dartmouth-Hitchcock to improve health and wellness in communities

Dartmouth-Hitchcock Health strives to improve the health and wellness of communities by delivering high quality healthcare, conducting research to find new cures and treatments, and providing community health education, resources, and services. Dartmouth-Hitchcock Health member hospitals Mary Hitchcock Memorial Hospital, Alice Peck Day Memorial Hospital, Mt. Ascutney Hospital and Health Center, New London Hospital, and Cheshire Medical Center regularly survey communities to understand health issues and to develop plans for addressing community health priorities. Click here to learn more about Community Health Improvement Plans.

PCW develops programs to support Dartmouth-Hitchcock’s community health improvement efforts as advisors, advocates, and philanthropists. Our commitment is to complement, rather than compete with, Dartmouth-Hitchcock internal efforts or community-based efforts to improve community health and wellness.


Join us!
  • Join the community ambassador program! This is an opportunity to engage members of your community in order to inform Dartmouth-Hitchcock’s next community health improvement plan. Click here to learn more.
  • Participate in the Tipping Points program! This is an opportunity to make a contribution to support the efforts of human service agencies that are helping people transition to employment and financial stability. Click here to learn more. 
  • Check here to receive updates on future program activities!