NHH Joint Commission National Accreditation

New Hampshire Hospital has earned The Joint Commission's Gold Seal of Approval for accreditation by demonstrating compliance with The Joint Commission's national standards for health care quality and safety in hospitals.

About Our Accreditation

Founded in 1951, The Joint Commission seeks to continuously improve health care for the public, in collaboration with other stakeholders, by evaluating health care organizations and inspiring them to excel in providing safe and effective care of the highest quality and value. The Joint Commission evaluates and accredits more than 19,000 health care organizations and programs in the United States. An independent, not-for-profit organization, The Joint Commission is the nation's oldest and largest standards-setting and accrediting body in health care. To earn and maintain The Joint Commission's Gold Seal of Approval, an organization must undergo an on-site survey by a Joint Commission survey team at least every three years.

The Joint Commission's hospital standards address important functions relating to the care of patients and the management of hospitals. The standards are developed in consultation with health care experts, providers, measurement experts and patients. The accreditation award recognizes New Hampshire Hospital's dedication to continuous compliance with The Joint Commission's state-of-the-art standards.

With pride in our accreditation, New Hampshire Hospital offers individuals an opportunity to bring concerns to our accrediting body as noted in the following section.

About the Joint Commission's Complaint Process

The Joint Commission encourages you to first bring your complaint to the attention of Hospital staff and or leaders. If this does not lead to resolution, you may bring your complaint to them for review. The Joint Commission addresses all complaints that relate to quality of care issues within the scope of their standards. These include issues such as patient rights, care of patients, safety, infection control, medication use and security. The Joint Commission does not address individual billing issues and payment disputes. Also, they do not have jurisdiction in labor relations' issues or the individual clinical management of a patient.

What to Include When Filing a Complaint

You may send them your complaint by mail or through their online submission. Summarize the issues in one to two pages and include the name, street, address, city, and state of the Hospital. When submitting a complaint to the Joint Commission about the Hospital, you may either provide your name and contact information or submit your complaint anonymously. Providing your name and contact information enables the Joint Commission to inform you about the actions taken in response to your complaint, and also to contact your should additional information be needed.

Your Confidentiality

It is the policy of the Joint Commission to treat your name as confidential information and not to disclose it to any other party. However, it may be necessary to share the complaint with the Hospital in the course of a complaint investigation.

Joint Commission policy forbids New Hampshire Hospital from taking retaliatory actions against employees for having reported quality of care concerns to the Joint Commission and the Hospital will not do so.

How to File a Complaint

The preferred method for submitting a concern is through their online submission form as it allows for more direct, timely receipt and review of your concerns. Learn more about filing a complaint at www.jointcommission.org/resources/patient-safety-topics/report-a-patient-safety-concern-or-complaint/.

If you have questions about how to file your complaint, you may contact the Joint Commission at 1-800-994-6610, 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM Central Time, weekdays.