The Foundation for NH Community Colleges received a $500,000 gift from Delta Dental for NHTI to address the demand for and shortage of dental hygienists and dental assistants. The gift is one of the largest in the history of the college and will support the expansion of NHTI’s dental clinic services to Medicaid patients.
“Northeast Delta Dental has long supported dental health for Medicaid patients,” NHTI President Patrick Tompkins said. “Through their vision and our partnership, for the first time NHTI will bring affordable oral hygiene care to this New Hampshire demographic that is important for the wellbeing of the Granite State.”
This investment from Delta Dental comes on the one-year anniversary of legislation that provided comprehensive Medicaid oral health benefits for NH adults. It enables NHTI to launch a three-year pilot initiative to expand the reach of the school’s Dental Hygiene Clinic, the educational facility on campus where students provide dental care to the public with close supervision by faculty.
“NHTI offers the only program in New Hampshire for training dental hygienists,” Tompkins said. “Expanding service to Medicaid patients in our Dental Hygiene Clinic also expands the training opportunities for students who will work in all our communities.”
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The funds from Delta Dental, combined with an equal investment from the college, will allow for the hiring of a Medicaid specialist and a supervising dentist. In addition, the funding will allow NHTI to make necessary upgrades to the program’s equipment and improvements in the program’s materials and radiology labs.
“It’s great for the community, and it’s an incredible opportunity for our students,” Lisa Scott, NHTI Dental Hygiene Program department chairwoman, said. “Our students will gain invaluable experience in treating these patients in a clinical setting.”
Established in 1970, the NHTI Dental Hygiene Program is recognized for its high-quality training that prepares students for this healthcare role serving patients in New Hampshire. Dental hygienists provide a range of preventive and therapeutic dental services, including assessments and care planning.
“With the expansion of Medicaid dental benefits, coupled with a continued dental hygiene shortage, the need for a skilled workforce is critical,” Tom Raffio, the president and CEO of Northeast Delta Dental, said. “We are committed to continuing to support the state’s only Dental Hygiene Program at NHTI and the needed expansion to sustain and grow the future dental workforce that is essential for the region.”
To learn more about supporting community college students, visit GiveNHCC.org.
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Caption: From left-to-right: Joseph Errante, DDS, Vice President of Network and Clinical Strategies, Northeast Delta Dental; Lisa Scott, NHTI Dental Hygiene Program department chair; Dr. Patrick Tompkins, NHTI president; Jennifer McGrath, Senior Manager, Corporate Giving at Northeast Delta Dental and Tom Raffio, President and CEO of Northeast Delta Dental.
Submitted by the Foundation for NH Community Colleges.
WILTON, N.H. (WHDH) – A woman died in a Wilton, New Hampshire, house fire Wednesday morning, according to the New Hampshire State Fire Marshal’s Office.
At 9:08 a.m., Wilton firefighters responded to Burns Hill Road after a caller said their home was filling up with smoke. When they arrived, a single-family home was on fire and they found out two people were still inside on the second floor.
A man and a woman were both taken out of the house by firefighters and taken to Elliott Hospital. The woman was pronounced dead and the man is in serious condition.
Officials have not released the name of the victim at this time.
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At this time, investigators are looking into the cause of the fire and are trying to determine if a power outage in the area played a factor. The fire is not currently considered suspicious.
(Copyright (c) 2025 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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Diane Durgin, 67, is accused of shooting at a Black man who inadvertently drove to her property after a prearranged truck part sale, prosecutors said.
A New Hampshire woman is accused of violating the state’s Civil Rights Act four times after she allegedly shot at a man because he was Black, prosecutors said.
Diane Durgin, 67, of Weare, N.H. could face up to a $5,000 fine for each violation she is found to have committed, the office of New Hampshire Attorney General John Formella said in a press release Tuesday.
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Durgin is also charged with criminal threatening against a person with a deadly weapon and attempted first degree assault with a deadly weapon, Michael Garrity, a media representative for the New Hampshire Attorney General, said in an emailed statement to Boston.com.
Durgin had a final pre-trial conference last week, Garrity said.
In a civil complaint filed Tuesday, Durgin is accused of threatening physical force against the victim, the AG said. Prosecutors asked the court to issue a preliminary injunction barring Durgin from repeating her alleged behavior and from contacting the victim and his family.
During the morning hours of Oct. 20, 2024, the victim claims, he “mistakenly” drove to Durgin’s home after a prearranged purchase of a truck part with a seller online, prosecutors wrote as part of their request for an injunction.
When the man — whom prosecutors identified in court documents as X.G. — arrived, Durgin allegedly stepped out of her home and approached his car with a gun “holstered by her waist,” prosecutors wrote.
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Upon noticing that X.G. was Black, Durgin allegedly “removed her gun and pointed it at X.G.,” prosecutors said in the injunction request.
While X.G. explained that he was lost, Durgin called the victim a “Black mother[expletive],” and threatened to “kill him,” prosecutors allege.
As the victim attempted to drive away, Durgin allegedly took her gun and fired two shots at the fleeing man’s car, missing both times, the AG’s office said.
While on the phone with a dispatcher, Durgin allegedly said she shot the man’s car because the victim is Black, the AG said.
“The guy is Black. And he, he…he says he’s meeting someone here and I think he’s coming here to steal,” Durgin allegedly said.
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Police located X.G. and brought him to the Weare Police Department, stopping along the way at the correct seller’s home to complete the truck part purchase, prosecutors wrote in court documents.
To prove a violation of the New Hampshire Civil Rights Act, the AG must show that Durgin “interfered or attempted to interfere with the rights of the victim to engage in lawful activities by threatening to engage in or actually engage in physical force or violence, when such actual or threatening conduct was motivated by race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, sexual orientation, sex, gender identity, or disability,” prosecutors said.
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