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State says it has ‘very limited’ supply of monkeypox vaccine
This story was updated Aug. 10, 2022 at 11 a.m. to correct the state’s number of vaccine doses. While the number of confirmed monkeypox cases in New Hampshire grows but remains low at 15, the state Department of Health and Human Services says the state has very limited supply of vaccine. According to the Centers […]
State training program aims to help health care providers better understand military culture
It’s a simple question the state’s military leaders would like more health care providers to ask patients: Have you or a family member served in the military? They say the answer can inform treatment, and the question can make a patient feel seen and understood – both critical to successful treatment. Aiming to increase awareness […]
State can’t deliver new dental benefits to adults on Medicaid without more dentists
The state’s victory this year in finally getting lawmaker approval to provide nearly 85,000 adults on Medicaid basic dental benefits will be short-lived if it can’t find more dentists like Chris and Derek Blackwelder. The two are among the approximately 16 percent of New Hampshire dentists who take Medicaid, a percentage some oral health advocates […]
New NH law requires National Suicide Prevention Lifeline to be included on student ID cards
Student ID cards for sixth graders up to college students must now include the 988 National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, under a law signed by Gov. Chris Sununu Wednesday. There is no requirement, however, that the cards also include the state’s crisis line, which may be a better option for those in New Hampshire with out-of-state […]
Attorney who represented church abuse victims defends state’s YDC settlement plan
Attorneys on opposite sides of settling sexual abuse claims against the Catholic Church 20 years ago now fiercely disagree over the state’s proposed plan for settling claims from hundreds of people abused while at the former state Youth Detention Center. In a July 29 letter to Attorney General John Formella, attorney Chuck Douglas, who represented […]
3.5 percent of NH children under 5 have received at least one COVID vaccine dose, analysis finds
New Hampshire is 14th among all states for the number of children under 5 who’ve received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. It ranked Vermont and Massachusetts second and third, respectively. The data was released in late July, about a month after the Food and Drug Administration […]
Hurdles lie ahead for new state lawsuit and federal opioid strike force
The state has sued the makers and distributors of opioids. Now state and federal law enforcement leaders are targeting three other players in an opioid drug epidemic that killed nearly 360 in 2021: the three largest pharmacy chains that distributed the medication, physicians who overprescribed it, and pharmacists who filled suspiciously large prescriptions. History suggests […]
‘A lifetime of addiction’: State public health leader sounds alarm about youth vaping
Nearly 34 percent of New Hampshire high school students and 50 percent of 12th grade boys have vaped, enough to make youth vaping a “huge public health crisis,” the state’s public health chief told executive councilors Wednesday. “We know we’ve heard from teachers, coaches, parents, everyone that this is a huge issue because we know […]
State sets deadline for proposals to purchase Lakes Region property
Hoping to turn conversations with several developers into offers, the state and its marketing firm have set an Aug. 19 deadline for proposals to buy 216 acres in Laconia that once housed the Lakes Region prison. “We had multiple interested parties who have been asking questions and meeting with people but they haven’t submitted anything […]
Council hands Sununu, health care providers fourth defeat on family planning contracts
Executive Council Republicans voted a fourth time in under a year against funding for three reproductive health care centers that provide low-cost cancer screenings, STD testing and treatment, and contraception to more than 17,000 Granite Staters. Following the vote, Gov. Chris Sununu, who has said he supports funding Planned Parenthood of Northern New England, Lovering […]
Family planning contracts head to Executive Council for fourth time
Executive councilors have voted 4-1 to deny funding to the state’s largest providers of low-income reproductive health care three times in less than a year. On Wednesday, the Department of Health and Human Services will ask them to reconsider – again. Democratic Councilor Cinde Warmington continued Monday to publicly support the family planning contracts. Republican […]
Department of Corrections looks to expand Berlin comfort dog program to Concord
The Department of Corrections provides officers and other frontline staff mental wellness and stress management training. It’s developing a peer-to-peer support program and creating “wellness spaces” within the prisons for staff when they need to decompress. And those at the Berlin prison can also call on Riley, a comfort dog owned by Lt. Michael Wedge. […]