Dartmouth–Hitchcock Medical Center
Dartmouth–Hitchcock Medical Center (DHMC), the flagship campus of the Dartmouth Health system, is the U.S. state of New Hampshire's only academic medical center. DHMC is a 507-inpatient bed hospital and serves as a major tertiary-care referral site for patients throughout northern New England.[1] As an academic medical center, DHMC offers primary, specialty and subspecialty care as well as education and research in partnership with the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, one of America's oldest medical schools, as well as the Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth and The Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy & Clinical Practice.
Dartmouth–Hitchcock Medical Center
It is headquartered in Lebanon, New Hampshire on a 225-acre (91 ha) campus in the heart of the Upper Connecticut River Valley and employs more than 8,000 employees. DHMC is New Hampshire's only Level I Trauma Center,[2] one of only three in northern New England, and it includes New Hampshire's only air ambulance service.
DHMC is one of 20 members of the New England Alliance for Health, a regional network of hospitals and other health care organizations in New Hampshire, Vermont and Massachusetts.
Rankings and recognitions[edit]
In 2023, DHMC was named the #1 hospital in New Hampshire by U.S. News & World Report for the eleventh year in a row. It was recognized for high performance in cancer care, as well as 16 procedures and conditions. Dartmouth Cancer Center was recognized as high performing in every procedure tracked by the publication, while the Heart & Vascular Center was given high-performance ratings in heart attack and heart failure, as well as aortic valve surgery, heart bypass surgery, and abdominal aortic aneurysm repair.[4] In December 2022, Dartmouth-Hitchcock was rated high performing in maternity care and uncomplicated pregnancy by US News in its new maternity rankings, which includes the 649 best hospitals for maternity in the United States.[5]
DHMC was included in 2023 "Greatest Hospitals in America" list, published by Becker's Hospital Review.[6] The medical center also received an “A” Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade in spring 2023, earning 110.77 out of a possible 120 points. This national distinction recognizes achievements in protecting patients from harm and error in the hospital.[7]
Medicare.gov awarded DHMC a 4-star rating on its “Hospital Compare” list,[8] and the Patient Safety Movement Foundation presented DHMC with its 5-Star Hospital award for making commitments to addressing daily patient safety challenges and offering solutions designed to help eliminate preventable patient deaths. DHMC was also included in Lown Institute Hospitals Index's top 10 list of hospitals avoiding overuse, and in the top 3 list of teaching hospitals at avoiding overuse.
Permanent art collection[edit]
DHMC is home to a varied collection of artwork on display. A collection of Audubon prints donated by Laurance and Mary Rockefeller when the hospital first opened in 1991 is featured throughout the complex. The collection also includes stained glass designed by noted Vermont artist Sabra Field. Additionally, murals painted on-site by artist Sol Levenson can also be found on Level 3 and in the Radiation Oncology Department.