New England Sports Hub Event Honors First Responders

Somersworth, NH – A local cornhole tournament raised $3,000 for the Wentworth-Douglass Foundation, as well as other charitable causes benefitting service dogs and local sports organizations.

 

The ‘King of the Hilltop Cornhole Throwdown’ was hosted by New England Sports Hub in September, and featured hundreds of cornhole enthusiasts gathered at Hilltop Fun Center in Somersworth – the site of the organization’s future 135,000 square foot sports dome. The event honored first responders and the funds to support Wentworth-Douglass will be used to support The Lawson Family Mobile EMS Simulation Center.

 

“From the get-go, the Sports Hub team pledged to donate all registration proceeds to the local teams and organizations that helped us drive participation,” said Craig Riotto, Principal of New England Sports Hub. “Since the event was set to take place on 9/11, we also wanted to both honor and give back to first responders. That’s when Wentworth-Douglass Charitable Foundation raised its hand and told us about their mobile simulation center. It was a perfect fit.”

 

The Lawson Family Mobile EMS Simulation Center provides state-of-the-art, real-time training directly to EMS responders and Fire and Rescue personnel in the field, that is both cost-effective and community based.

“Our Lawson Family Mobile EMS Simulation Center has been an invaluable community partnership between Wentworth-Douglass Hospital and emergency first responders from Dover, Durham and surrounding Fire and Rescue teams,” says Brian Nicholson, Emergency Services Coordinator. “The training provided mimics emergency situations they see in the field that provide immediate critical care to patients in need.”

 

Emergency first responders receive continued education and are equipped with real-time training that saves lives and supports a healthy and strong community. Airway management, cardiac simulation, delivering a newborn and team training are some of the simulated training exercises that local providers have participated in.

 

“We are grateful to New England Sports Hub and Hilltop Fun Center for hosting such a fun event that raised critical funds and increased awareness of the importance of well-trained first responders and the impact they have on the community,” says Jackie Eastwood, Chair, Foundation Board of Directors.  “The funds raised from the King of the Hilltop Cornhole Throwdown will support continued education and training with local fire and rescue departments which ultimately improves patients’ outcomes and the health of our community.”

 

Along with a competitive tournament format, the event featured barbecue, a gelato truck, a beer tent, vendors, and all the attractions of the Hilltop Fun Center. Over twenty local/regional businesses partnered with Sports Hub to sponsor the event, with Atlantic Broadband, Wentworth-Douglass Hospital, and Bournival Jeep headlining the fields on event day.

 

(Photo: Durham Fire Department conduct EMS training with Wentworth-Douglass Hospital’s Lawson Family Mobile EMS Simulation unit.)

About Wentworth-Douglass Hospital

Wentworth-Douglass Hospital (wdhospital.org) is a not-for-profit charitable health care organization located in Dover, New Hampshire with a 115-year history of compassionate care and innovation. Serving the Seacoast communities since 1906, it is a family of 3,000 employees including 500+ registered nurses and a medical staff of over 480 physicians and advanced practitioners dedicated to the health, safety and well-being of residents and visitors to the Seacoast area of New Hampshire and Southern Maine. Wentworth-Douglass Hospital was awarded Magnet® designation in 2016, which was renewed in 2021, joined the Massachusetts General Hospital family in 2017 and includes a 178-bed hospital, several urgent care and walk-in facilities, multiple testing centers, Wentworth Health Partners (primary and specialty provider practices), The Works Family Health and Fitness Center, and the Wentworth-Douglass Foundation.