Mt Ascutney Hospital and Health Center (MAHHC) has announced that Leesa Taft, Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP), Advanced Registered Nurse Practitioner (ARNP), and Family Nurse Practitioner Certification (FNP-BC) has been appointed to the newly created position of Director of Clinical Operations in Primary Care.
In this role, Taft has overall responsibility for primary care clinical operations at the Windsor campus, and Ottauquechee Health Center in Woodstock. She will lead ongoing improvement efforts related to quality and patient safety consistent with MAHHC’s designation as an NCQA Level III Patient-Centered Medical Home and its participation in the OneCare Vermont Accountable Care Organization.
According to Dr Joseph Perras, President, CEO, and Chief Medical Officer of MAHHC, Taft will work closely with leadership at MAHHC and OHC. “As an institution, we have multiple partners at the local, state, and federal level,” he explained, “and our clinics have become more complex in regard to reporting of quality and patient satisfaction metrics. Moving forward, some of the reimbursement we receive for the services we provide will be tied to these metrics. As Director of Clinical Operations, Leesa will be instrumental in helping us focus on maximizing the value of everything we do, enhancing quality while containing costs. As someone who grew up in this community, she understands this value in terms of how it can improve the lives of those we serve.”
Taft recently earned her Doctorate of Nursing Practice (DNP) from the University of New Hampshire (UNH). The DNP degree focuses on evidence-based practice, quality improvement and systems leadership.
Before assuming her new role, Taft had served as Associate Medical Director at MAHHC, overseeing clinical practice for nurse practitioners and physician assistants in the Windsor office while serving as an ARNP in the primary care clinic. Prior to that, she served as Assistant Medical Director. She received her master of science in nursing (MSN) in 2005 from UNH, graduating summa cum laude, and the same year became board certified as an ARNP. Before that, Taft worked as a pediatric nurse at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center as well as a Nursing Supervisor at MAHHC. She is a veteran of the United States Air Force, where she achieved the rank of Sargent and became an Operations Management Specialist. Taft is a 1986 graduate of Windsor High School.
A resident of Windsor, Vermont, where she lives with her husband and four children, Taft has been a member of the MAHHC team since 2003.
About Mt Ascutney Hospital and Health Center
Founded in 1933, Mt Ascutney Hospital and Health Center (MAHHC) is a not-for-profit community hospital network in Vermont including the critical access-designated Mt Ascutney Hospital and Historic Homes of Runnemede, a senior residential care campus, in Windsor, as well as the Ottauquechee Health Center in Woodstock. Affiliated with the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Health System, MAHHC provides primary care and a comprehensive suite of specialty services, along with 25 inpatient beds, a therapeutic pool and an acclaimed, fully modernized 10-bed Acute Rehabilitation Center. Mt Ascutney Hospital and Health Center is dedicated to improving the lives of those it serves and is at the hub of a wide network of community resources that have partnered to cover gaps in services, and improve overall population health. One of the largest employers in the area, MAHHC acknowledges its employees as its greatest asset and has been recognized by the Governor’s Office with an Excellence in Worksite Wellness award.
Mt Ascutney Hospital and Health Center is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF), is a recent recipient of Best Practice recognition by the National Rural Health Association (NRHA) for health care quality, and is recognized by the American Hospital Association (AHA) as one of the “Most Wired” hospitals for integration of technology to boost clinical performance. The National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) has awarded MAHHC with Level 3 status, the highest level of medical home designation.