Connect with us

New Hampshire

Dartmouth Health could take charge of Hampstead Hospital, N.H.’s mental health facility for children – The Boston Globe

Published

on

Dartmouth Health could take charge of Hampstead Hospital, N.H.’s mental health facility for children – The Boston Globe


The state bought the hospital in 2022 from a for-profit provider as an investment in the state’s continuum of care for mental and behavioral health. In 2023, the state decided it would also build a new youth detention facility alongside the hospital on the same campus. After facing criticism and safety concerns with a prior contractor, the state inked a deal this year with Dartmouth Health to provide clinical services at the hospital.

Current employees at Hampstead Hospital are working in temporary positions set to expire at the end of June, unless extended. Some councilors told WMUR last month they worry the temporary status could contribute to high turnover.

Advertisement

Under the proposed deal with Dartmouth Health’s Mary Hitchcock Memorial Hospital, however, current non-union employees of Hampstead Hospital would be offered jobs with the nonprofit. Employees who are currently covered by a union contract or collective bargaining agreement would continue to be employed by the state.

In explaining the proposal to the executive councilors, New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services Commissioner Lori A. Weaver wrote that the transaction is expected “to strengthen the facility’s ability to attract, retain, and train a robust workforce.”

Weaver said the $34 million operating budget that her agency recently submitted for Hampstead Hospital in the coming biennium “would be greatly reduced” if this deal takes effect.

The proposal calls for Mary Hitchcock Memorial Hospital to buy Hampstead Hospital’s operational assets for $631,000, then lease the 89,000-square-foot facility from the state as part of a joint operating agreement. The rent would start at nearly $1.2 million per year and increase 2.5 percent per year thereafter.

The facility offers more than 40 beds for children and adolescents, including a 23-bed secure acute psychiatric unit, according to the state.

Advertisement

Following an initial seven-year lease period, Dartmouth Health would have the option to re-up for three five-year extensions, according to the terms of the proposed contract. Whenever the lease expires or is terminated, the state would have the right to re-purchase Hampstead Hospital’s operational assets to keep running the facility.

Not everyone was immediately on board with the Sununu-backed deal. State Representative Erica Layon, a Republican from Derry who is sponsoring legislation to establish permanent state jobs for Hampstead Hospital staff, said on social media that leaders “should have a vibrant discussion” about which operational model would be best for the facility. Layon urged the councilors to table the contract until their final meeting on Dec. 18.


A version of this story first appeared in Globe NH | Morning Report, our free newsletter focused on the news you need to know about New Hampshire, including great coverage from the Boston Globe and links to interesting articles from other places. If you’d like to receive it via e-mail Monday through Friday, you can sign up here.


Steven Porter can be reached at steven.porter@globe.com. Follow him @reporterporter. Amanda Gokee can be reached at amanda.gokee@globe.com. Follow her @amanda_gokee.

Advertisement





Source link

New Hampshire

N.H. lawmakers to vote on increasing tolls, civil rights, and k-12 education – The Boston Globe

Published

on

N.H. lawmakers to vote on increasing tolls, civil rights, and k-12 education – The Boston Globe


One proposal (Senate Bill 627) would generate more than $53 million per year in estimated revenue for turnpike projects by essentially doubling what certain cars pay on the state’s toll roads.

The cash fare for Hampton’s main toll booth on Interstate 95, for example, would jump from $2 to $4 for cars and pickup trucks. The toll wouldn’t increase at all for motorists who use New Hampshire’s E-ZPass transponders.

“Surrounding states already have the same in-state discount structure in place,” Democratic Representative Martin Jack of Nashua wrote on behalf of a House committee that unanimously recommended the bill.

A potential hitch: Governor Kelly Ayotte. She’s expressed opposition to the whole toll-hiking idea, and proven she’s not afraid to use her veto pen.

Advertisement

Modifying civil rights standard

Another proposal (Senate Bill 464) would add a few words to the state’s Civil Rights Act. Instead of addressing conduct that is merely “motivated by” a legally protected characteristic, the proposed revision would address conduct that is “substantially motivated by hostility towards the victim’s” protected characteristic (such as their race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, sexual orientation, sex, gender identity, or disability).

The prime sponsor, Republican Senator Daryl Abbas, an attorney, testified the change was small and aligned with the law’s intent. But the attorney who oversees the Civil Rights Unit at the New Hampshire Department of Justice, Sean Locke, testified in opposition, saying the proposal could reduce protections, especially since the meaning of “substantially” is somewhat vague.

Advertisement

The House is also weighing a proposed amendment that would add a few more words than Abbas’s version, potentially narrowing the Civil Rights Act’s applicability a bit further.

Open enrollment for K-12 schools

A third proposal up for a vote on Thursday (Senate Bill 101) would make every K-12 public school in New Hampshire an “open enrollment” school. That way, students could freely choose to transfer to a district other than the one where they live.

The proposed policy is controversial, partly because of how schools are funded. Districts rely mostly on local property taxes to cover their costs, as the state government chips in relatively little, and property tax rates vary widely from one community to the next. That generates concern about who will foot the bill when a student transfers.

In light of those concerns, Republicans are offering a compromise amendment to SB 101 that would require the state to provide more money per pupil that a district receives via open enrollment, as the New Hampshire Bulletin reported. Democrats are offering their own amendment to establish a study commission on this topic, rather than adopt the proposed policy now.

Advertisement

Lawmakers have until May 14 to take action on the bills that came from the other chamber, though they have until June 4 to iron out any discrepancies.

Amanda Gokee of the Globe staff contributed to this report.


This story appears in Globe NH | Morning Report, a free email newsletter focused on New Hampshire, including great coverage from the Boston Globe and links to interesting articles elsewhere. Sign up here.


Steven Porter can be reached at steven.porter@globe.com. Follow him @reporterporter.





Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading

New Hampshire

Boston MedFlight expands into NH

Published

on

Boston MedFlight expands into NH


Boston MedFlight often touches down at the scene of some of the worst tragedies in New England – where minutes can mean life or death for a victim. The critical care transport operation is now expanding with a new base in New Hampshire.

The organization is hosting an open house at the new Manchester location on Thursday.

Boston MedFlight flies a critical care transport paramedic and nurse on every flight. Jaik Hanley-McCarthy says their helicopters and ground vehicles are equipped to handle just about any emergency medical procedure.

“Anything that can be done in the ICU,” explained Hanley-McCarthy. “We have a mobile lab so we can draw blood and run labs in real time.”

Advertisement

Boston MedFlight now has five bases across the region.

“Having a base in Manchester just expands this Boston-level care even further north to the more remote areas of the state,” said Hanley-McCarthy.

Boston MedFlight operates as a network of bases and some of the locations are staffed 24 hours.

Chief Executive Officer Maura Hughes says the nonprofit operation survives on public and private donations.

“We provide about $7 million in free care every year to patients,” said Hughes. “Not every hospital can be everything to every patient. We’re really the glue that keeps the health care system together.”

Advertisement

Heather Young says her daughter, Teighan, is still alive because she was flown for a critical assessment and procedure after falling off a truck and hitting her head.

“She should not be driving and walking and talking and all the things she’s doing as quickly as she is,” said Young.

Teighan just turned 18 and plans to go to college to study the medical field.

“I want to be a nurse and help other people,” she said.

It’s stories like this that keep the men and women who work Boston MedFlight focused on their mission.

Advertisement

“I think we just go call by call and try to do the best we can,” said Hanley-McCarthy. “I think when we stop and truly think about it, I think that weight is pretty heavy.”

Boston MedFlight also has a yearly reunion where patients and the team get together here in Bedford to meet and check in on their progress. It really shows you how connected they are to the people they help.



Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading

New Hampshire

Hiker who set out in warm spring weather found dead after snowstorm in New Hampshire mountains

Published

on

Hiker who set out in warm spring weather found dead after snowstorm in New Hampshire mountains


NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

A Massachusetts hiker who set out in warm spring weather was found dead deep in New Hampshire’s White Mountains after a snowstorm dumped several inches of snow in the area, authorities said.

Kent Wood, 61, of West Roxbury, was discovered Tuesday evening on a remote section of the Kinsman Pond Trail in Franconia Notch, about 5.5 miles from his vehicle, according to New Hampshire Fish and Game.

Wood had driven to Franconia Notch on April 17 for a weekend camping and hiking trip, and set out on a hike the next morning in warm, clear weather, officials said. Family and friends last heard from him Saturday afternoon.

Advertisement

When he failed to return or make contact for two days, officials said relatives reported him missing Tuesday morning, prompting a large-scale search.

HIKER IDENTIFIED, POPULAR TRAIL CLOSED AFTER DEADLY FALL A UTAH’S ZION NATIONAL PARK

An aerial view of Franconia Notch State Park in New Hampshire, where a hiker was found dead on Tuesday. (Joseph Sohm/Universal Images Group, File)

Rescuers quickly learned Wood had packed for mild conditions, not the three to five inches of snow that fell in the area between Sunday and Monday.

Fog hovers over a narrow road through Franconia Notch in the White Mountain National Forest in New Hampshire on Dec. 27, 2021. (Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis)

Advertisement

Search teams from Fish and Game, PEMI Valley Search and Rescue, and the Army National Guard launched a coordinated effort, focusing on the Lonesome Lake and Kinsman Pond areas.

FAMILY’S SPRING BREAK HIKE TURNS INTO LIFE-OR-DEATH RESCUE AFTER PARENT FALLS 70 FEET OFF UTAH CLIFF

Conservation officers located Wood’s body around 7:41 p.m. Tuesday. Crews carried him out overnight, reaching the trailhead shortly after 1 a.m. Wednesday.

Franconia Notch and the Appalachian Trail are seen in New Hampshire on Sept. 21. (Carol M. Highsmith/Buyenlarge/Getty Images)

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

Advertisement

Since Friday, six hikers from Massachusetts have been rescued in the White Mountains, Fish and Game said.

Officials are reminding hikers that winter conditions still grip the mountains, with snow, freezing temperatures and rapidly changing weather.



Source link

Continue Reading
Advertisement

Trending