Franklin Community Health Network Hosts Annual Meeting
Dr. Connie Adler named recipient of the Community Health Leadership Award
Farmington¾
Approximately 30 community members attended the October 19 annual meeting of Franklin Community Health Network (FCHN), receiving a printed annual report, along with updates regarding new medical staff, new services and programs, MaineHealth membership benefits, and challenges. Presenters included Rebecca Arsenault, FCHN president/CEO; Joseph Bujold, past board chair; Heidi Decker, MD, medical staff president; and Clint Boothby, current board chair.
Arsenault pointed out significant accomplishments over the past year that included: embedding clinical social workers in the primary care setting to provide immediate behavioral health services; Evergreen Behavioral Services providing mental health and substance abuse services for inmates at the Franklin County Detention Center; being selected for the fifth consecutive year as a most-wired hospital; completing the first year of a large federal grant focusing on increasing physical activity and improving nutrition in youth; receiving patient-centered medical home designation in primary care practices, a widely recognized symbol of quality; and receiving positive affirmations by three independent reviewers that underscores that the hospital is making tremendous strides in providing the highest quality of health care for residents and visitors of Greater Franklin County. “Indeed we have much to be proud of,” she said.
“This past year our organization has continued the process of reinventing itself. The strategy is designed to be flexible and acknowledges that the organization must be financially and operationally successful in the existing fee-for-service, volume-based environment, while taking steps to position itself to be successful in moving toward population health management,” said Arsenault. “This past year has also demonstrated that being a member of MaineHealth has provided our organization with many advantages around the sharing of resources such as: personnel, clinical best-practices, strategic planning, supply chain, legal services, and health insurance, among others.”
Bujold added, “I’d be remiss to not acknowledge the successful efforts in recruiting 12 new providers who have joined our organization in the past year. These doctors, physician assistants, and a nurse practitioner are great additions to Franklin Memorial Hospital’s already outstanding medical staff and allow patients greater access to primary and specialty care.”
At the conclusion of the meeting Dr. Connie Adler was presented the Franklin Community Health Leadership Award. The presentation of the award has become a highlight of the annual meeting in recent years.
Dr. Adler was cited for a lifetime investment that includes: practicing medicine in Maine for 32 years as a family medicine physician specializing in women’s health; serving as the medical director of the Maine Breast and Cervical Health program for five years helping to provide cancer screening to women of limited means; improving the health and human rights of women around the world with her extensive work with a women’s clinic in Nicaragua, and cervical treatment programs in Nicaragua, Honduras, and El Salvador; and being a leader in family planning services, and domestic violence and sexual violence response programs, serving on numerous community committees and boards for decades.
The year’s highlights are featured in the network’s 2014/2015 annual report. To receive a report, contact Jill Gray in the Community Relations office at 779-2555 or 1-800-398-6031, ext. 2555. The report can also be viewed online at www.fchn.org/about/annual-report.
A 30-minute annual meeting video will be added to Mt. Blue Television programming (Farmington and Wilton) and can be seen now at the following link: https://vimeo.com/143076895.
Arsenault is available to speak to civic and community groups to give a condensed update of information presented at the annual meeting and to answer questions. Community groups interested in having Arsenault as a guest speaker are asked to contact Jolene Libby at 779-2265.
Franklin Community Health Network includes Franklin Memorial Hospital, Franklin Health medical practices, Evergreen Behavioral Services, NorthStar EMS, and the Healthy Community Coalition of Greater Franklin County. FCHN became the thirteen member of MaineHealth on October 1, 2014.