Franklin Memorial Hospital

Description

Franklin Memorial Hospital in Farmington Maine is a progressive friendly nonprofit community hospital whose mission is to provide highquality costeffective patientcentered health care The 65bed hospital is fully qualified and accredited to handle a broad range of medical surgical pediatric womens care and diagnostic services The hospital actively works with the community and with other health care providers to integrate services and ensure the health of people within its service area

History

Franklin Community Health Network FCHN is the sole hospital network serving the rural community of Greater Franklin County Maine population 40000 Nestled in the foothills of the west central Maine region with an average of just 17 persons per square mile this is one of the nations most rural communities The more sparsely populated parts of the region are in the north with some federally classified as frontier the most densely populated spot is a quaint university town and Franklin County seat Farmington population 8000

The community struggles with the challenges common to many other rural communities poverty isolation lack of transportation substance abuse and sparse resources and services to support healthful lifestyles It is the third poorest community in one of the nations poorest states Yet paradoxically this community has long held a reputation for civic engagement innovation and problem solving giving many residents a quality of life that defies the traditional barriers of low income and rural isolation That reputation underlies the heritage and culture of Franklin Community Health Network FCHN and its flagship hospital Franklin Memorial Hospital enabling the Network to overcome the extraordinary obstacles inherent in serving this geographically and economically challenged service area

Indeed this little health network that might be expected to labor in obscurity has achieved statewide and national attention for excellence and innovation Among the nations more than 5000 hospital systems FCHN is one of only a handful that have been recognized with no fewer than five separate awards from the American Hospital Association twice a finalist award for the Foster G McGaw Prize 1998 and 2005 once a finalist award for the NOVA Award for innovation 1996 once recipient of the Hospital Award for Volunteer Excellence 2005 and in 2003 the sole recipient of the Carolyn Boone Lewis Living The Vision Award FCHN and its leaders have also earned unprecedented statewide attention with dozens of awards ranging from the Governors Award in Technology 1996 to the Dr Dan Hanley Leadership Award 2004 to the Ruth Shaper Award 2004 and Program Excellence Award 2000 from the Maine Public Health Association In 2000 Maine Governor Angus King and state public health director Dr Dora Ann Mills touted the Franklin Model as the basis for the administrations statewide program for use of state tobacco settlement funds

The FCHN community has been buoyed by the recognition received from colleagues in Maine and across the country But by far the most meaningful tribute comes from a source closer to home the impact of the health networks work on the lives of people in the Franklin Community In this FCHN excels According to State epidemiological data over the past decade Franklin County has consistently demonstrated the lowest adult smoking rate of all counties in Maine even in comparison with much more affluent communities statistics entirely at odds with the traditional association of poverty with tobacco use In complete defiance of its demographics the community has one of the lowest rates of cardiovascular disease mortality highest rates of cholesterol and blood pressure screenings and excellent indicators on quality of life longevity and selfreported health status Moreover independent testimonials and data attest to the extraordinary quality of care and compassion of caregivers within the delivery system

This paper explores some of the values and characteristics of this health network and the community it serves to shed light on the source of some of its achievements and offer ideas and lessons learned for our colleagues to consider

The Franklin community has long enjoyed a culture that tolerates deviation from the norm and values innovation and courage and as a result boasts a disproportionate number of interesting historical figures From Chester Greenwood the inventor of ear muffs to Lillian Nordica an internationally known opera singer to Cornelia Fly Rod Crosby a woman who invented modern techniques for flyfishing and was the first registered Maine guide the community has boasted famous residents including significant poets Nobel Laureates playwrights cartoonists politicians attorneys general and athletes