About

As the smallest New Hampshire nursing home, and among the very last family-owned and independently operated, Hillsboro House has been serving families of the Contoocook Valley for fifty years. Our small environment allows us to care for our residents as individuals, to tailor our plan of care accordingly and it allows us the flexibility to address a wide variety of needs.

• An Alternative Nursing Home Environment

At Hillsboro House, we work hard to maintain an environment that is like a home, not an institution. We have the same capabilities as large nursing homes and are commonly recognized as among the highest quality facilities in the state. But we also know that, for our residents and their families, the environment of care is enormously important. So we work hard to ensure that our environment is that of a home.

• Consistency in Care Giving

There’s been a concerted effort in recent years to promote the idea of consistent assignment among nursing home providers. This effort is a result of the conclusion of researchers that a stable staff that minimizes the number of different caregivers leads to better outcomes for nursing home residents. The consistency engendered by the same nurses caring for the same residents each day results in better quality of care and a heightened sense of well-being for residents. Consequently, nearly every current nursing home quality initiative articulates as an explicit priority the move toward consistent assignment; most facilities have not yet achieved the goal.

Hillsboro House has had consistent staff assignment for nearly fifty years. To us, it has always made sense to support the personal and familiar relationship between our staff and our residents.

• A Stable Knowledgeable, Experienced Staff

Staff turnover among most nursing homes is significant. Turnover rates range from over 50 percent for nurses to more than 75 percent among nursing assistants. Turnover is associated with higher rates of hospitalization, lower staff ratios and lower quality clinical outcomes. These rates of staff turnover challenge efforts to introduce stability and consistency to the nursing home environment and they make it difficult for residents to maintain personal relationships with caregivers.

In contrast, staff members at Hillsboro House tend to stay around; the average length of service is more than seven years. That means that staff members at Hillsboro House are not only good at their jobs – they’re passionate about them. It’s also worth mentioning that caring for the elderly population is a specialized skill. That’s why our staff receive advanced and specialized training in clinical and psychosocial aspects of care that are unique to the nursing home population. They have advanced licensure in geriatric nursing and training in pain management, wound care and palliative care.

• The Right Care at the Right Time

In New Hampshire, approximately one of every five Medicare patients discharged from a hospital is readmitted within thirty days. In the elderly population, these hospitalization rates are associated with increased risk of iatrogenic illness and complications. Moreover, there are corresponding increases in the likelihood of consequent re-hospitalization, and for nursing home residents these transfers are disruptive and invasive. Nevertheless, about 15 percent of US nursing home residents are hospitalized in any six month period.

At Hillsboro House we have long been a leader with regard to evidence based interventions for the geriatric population. We are creative engineers of systems that prevent error and promote patient safety. We have formulated new methods to coordinate care models and developed innovative care pathways that allow for the safe, effective treatment of conditions most commonly associated with unnecessary transfer to acute care hospitals. As a result, our residents get the treatment they need and the personal, dedicated interaction with physicians they need without the disruptive experience of hospitalization.