Your Health. Your Community. Your Hospital.
Rowe Health Center 603.747.2900

Cottage Hospital in the Press

Below are stories and articles that have appeared in the press about Cottage Hospital.


November 2021

Caledonian Record

 


April 2021

Cottage Hospital Welcomes Familiar Face as New Leader

by Adam Sullivan, WCAX-3

Click the screengrab below to watch the full story on WCAX-3

WOODSVILLE, N.H. (WCAX) - Cottage Hospital in Woodsville, New Hampshire, has a new CEO. Adam Sullivan sat down with Holly McCormack to discuss the current challenges of a small rural hospital and what lies ahead.

Taking over the reins of a rural hospital during a pandemic is not exactly an easy task, but that is exactly what Holly McCormack, the new CEO at Cottage Hospital has on her plate. “There are always financial challenges,” McCormack said.

She already knows the 300 employees at the hospital well because she’s worked there the past decade. Every morning, McCormack has made it a practice to do her own rounds to check in and see if the staff feels supported, or they can better address issues. “We need to make sure that we have volume and we need to take care of patients at the right time and the right place,” McCormack said.

Like other hospitals around the region, Cottage saw significantly less traffic during the early days of the pandemic and the numbers are still not back to normal. In her prior role, McCormack was the chief nursing officer. “I understand what it’s like and what it feels like to be in that position of being a front line nurse,” she said.

That includes organizing vaccination clinics like one held back in February. She says vaccine distribution, along with COVID-19 testing, will be part of the mission moving forward. “As the pandemic starts to shift over the next few months, the hospitals and health care will be assuming more responsibility,” McCormack said.

Moving forward, there will be a renewed focus on what the hospital does well, including specialties like acute psychiatric care. And why should patients choose Cottage over the larger Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center less than an hour away? For McCormack, it’s an easy choice. “I think that the pitch to them is that they can have high-quality, high-touch care right here close to home,” McCormack said.

But patients are not the only people the hospital needs to attract. “Primary focus is workforce development.” She says nurses, technicians, IT, and almost every department has shortages.

And to address those workforce concerns, the hospital is looking toward the next generation. This July, it will be hosting a weeklong event targeting high school students so they can explore future careers in the industry.

Copyright 2021 WCAX. All rights reserved.


April 2021

Cottage Hospital names new CEO

Staff report

WOODSVILLE — Cottage Hospital has looked from within its ranks, promoting a veteran administrator to serve as CEO of the Woodsville facility.

Holly McCormack, who served as chief nursing officer at Cottage Hospital since 2016 and started there in 2010 as director of inpatient services, has succeeded Maria Ryan as CEO, the hospital announced on Tuesday.

“Holly is known by those around her as an authentic leader. Integrity, transparency, consistency and goal-driven are attributes that describe her style,” the hospital said an announcement of her promotion.

McCormack was named Nurse Leader of the Year by the New Hampshire Nurses Association in 2017 and is now the president-elect of the organization. She earned a bachelor’s degree in nursing from the University of Rhode Island and worked as a nurse or manager in the Ocean State for 15 years before making the move to Cottage Hospital, according to her LinkedIn profile. She subsequently earned a master’s degree in nursing in 2015 from St. Joseph’s College in Maine.

McCormack, the mother of triplets, ran her first marathon in October, the hospital said.

Ryan, who had led the 35-bed hospital for a decade, announced in December that she would step down early this year.

See the original article from Valley News here.


 

November 2020

Caledonian Record Health & Wellness Insert


October 2020

2020 Business Excellence Winner: Karen Woods of Cottage Hospital

See the full story & Karen's acceptance speech here.


September 2020

Flu Season is Upon Us -- Written by Steve Brash

 


June 2019

Small NH hospital remains relevant as others struggle to survive

WOODSVILLE, N.H. (WCAX) Rural hospitals around the country have been struggling to make ends meet, including the Springfield Hospital, which is expected to file for bankruptcy. But the Cottage Hospital in Woodsville, New Hampshire appears to be bucking that trend.

Read the full story and see the video on WCAX.com.

 


December 2018

NH’s TOP Women-Led Businesses & Nonprofits

For the past seven years, Business NH Magazine has shined a light on women leaders in NH to demonstrate the economic influence of this sector of the economy. The inaugural list had 50 companies with at least $1 million in revenue. This year, the list includes 91 businesses.

Click here to read a PDF of the article.

 


November 2018

Happy National Rural Health Day!   (11/15/18)

Congratulations to the New Hampshire Rural Health Coalition for being named a 2018 National Community Star! Coalition Chair, Maria Ryan, was commended for bringing in policymakers to have meaningful discussions with the rural hospital CEO’s. State rural health personnel also noted that Ryan encouraged them to speak up and partner with the CEO’s to provide the best care to all peoples.

Greg Vasse, the Program Director for the Foundation for Healthy Communities commented, “Maria’s leadership was highlighted by advancing the stature of the Rural Health Coalition as a forum for engaging the leadership of rural healthcare in New Hampshire.  She recruited Governor Sununu, State Senator Bob Guida and DHHS Commissioner Jeff Meyers each to attend a meeting of the RHC.  Her term will serve as a benchmark for others in terms of the engagement of healthcare and political leaders. And, she was an absolute joy to work with!!!”

Read the full story on nhha.org.

 


September 2018

Cottage Hospital Pairs Summit Healthcare’s Interoperability Solutions with athenahealth Platform to Improve Efficiencies and Communication

Community Hospital Adopts Innovative New Products to Enhance Care Coordination

Braintree, Mass., September 20, 2018 – Summit Healthcare, a leader in healthcare integration and automation solutions, has announced an enhanced partnership with Cottage Hospital. Cottage Hospital has been a long-time interface engine customer of Summit’s and has recently decided to expand their interoperability strategy by utilizing Summit Healthcare’s more advanced solutions.

Located in Woodsville, NH, Cottage Hospital has been serving the residents of Upper Connecticut Valley for 110 years. It is a 35-bed critical access hospital that has been well recognized over the years for providing exemplary care. Its staff of just over 250 employees provides low-cost, high-quality health care by staying up-to-date with the latest industry initiatives and technology solutions. It is currently utilizing anthenahealth as its EMR.

Read the article on summit-healthcare.com.

 


September 2018

“Big-Ticket” Cottage Hospital Auxiliary Raffle

Click here to download the article.

 


October 2017

Cottage Hospital’s Ray of Hope Celebrates Successful First Year

 

Since its much-lauded inception in October 2016, Cottage Hospital’s Ray of Hope Unit has successfully helped a multitude of older patients navigate through their mental health challenges and get back to a healthier lifestyle. To gear up for another groundbreaking year, Cottage will host its second annual fundraising benefit for the Ray of Hope Unit on October 20, 2017.

Read the PDF of the Press Release.

 


September 2017

On Their Game: CEO Maria Ryan works to keep Woodville hospital a step ahead

 

This extensive article was published in Enterprise, the business magazine of the Upper Valley.

Read a PDF of the article.

 

 


  January 18, 2017

Becker’s Speaker Series: 4 Questions with Cottage Hospital CEO Dr. Maria Ryan

Note: This article was originally published in Becker’s Hospital Review. On Monday, April 17, 2017, Dr. Ryan will speak on panels at the Becker’s Hospital Review 8th Annual Meeting in Chicago.

Maria Ryan, PhD, currently serves as CEO of Woodsville, N.H.-based Cottage Hospital, a rural hospital that serves 22 towns between New Hampshire and Vermont.

Dr. Ryan is board certified as a family nurse practitioner with a specialty in emergency medicine and has a vast portfolio in hospital leadership, including tertiary, community, for-profit, nonprofit and rural settings. Under Dr. Ryan’s leadership, Cottage Hospital has received numerous accolades for quality, efficiency, innovation and low cost. Most recently, Dr. Ryan was selected as a recipient of the New Hampshire Business Review’s Outstanding Women in Business Award 2017. She holds a doctorate in healthcare administration and a master’s degree in nursing.

Becker’s Hospital Review

Read the article on beckershospitalreview.com.

 


September 29, 2016

North Country Relaunches Geriatric Unit

A new 10-bed inpatient geriatric psychiatric unit at Cottage Hospital in Woodsville will open in October that will also provide training to nursing students at White Mountains Community College (WMCC).

Business NH

 


September 19, 2016

Longtime Partnership Reboots To Respond To Community Needs In New Geriatric Psychiatric Unit

The Berlin Daily Sun

Read the article on berlindailysun.com.

 


August 1, 2016

Cottage Hospital to open new Geriatric Behavioral Health Center

Center to focus on mental health of elderly patients

Listen to the story on WMUR.

 


July 13, 2016

Cottage Hospital Raising Funds for Geriatric Behavioral Health Unit

By Darin Wipperman, Salmon Press

Read a PDF of the Littleton Courier Article.

 


December 17, 2014

Cottage Hospital Keeps Evolving

By Darin Wipperman, Salmon Press

Read a PDF of the article.