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.

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.

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.

CONCORD, NH — During the past two weeks, four prior fugitives of the week were apprehended and are now in custody, according to the New Hampshire Department of Corrections.

Another fugitive, Melissa Ann Giuliana, who was also suspected of “violent tendencies” and was wanted on a probation violation after being convicted on drug charges and failing to appear, has also been found. She was featured in mid-July. Corrections received a tip that she was at her father’s house in Lynn, Massachusetts, according to a report. Police in Lynn went to the home on Oct. 22 and arrested her.

“A stolen vehicle was located at her father’s residence,” investigators said.

Officials said Giuliana remains in custody in Massachusetts, where she faces additional charges related to a pursuit that resulted in a crash with a Mass. State trooper cruiser and “potential involvement in other thefts,” officials said.

“Once extradited to New Hampshire,” a corrections statement said, “she will face charges for the probation violation, vehicle theft, operating after suspension, and animal cruelty, among other pending investigations.”

On Nov. 20, Richard Gary Blais, 39, was featured. He was wanted on a probation violation after a drug conviction.

Blais was arrested two days later after corrections received a tip that he was at a Manchester address.

Members of the NH Department of Corrections Probation-Parole, Manchester Police Department, and Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Department determined he was in the basement, but according to corrections, Blais initially refused to come out.

“However, before a K-9 unit was deployed, he exited the basement and cooperated with the arrest,” a report stated.

Blais was taken to the Hillsborough County House of Corrections, where he is being held on a parole warrant.

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