Health
Amid talk of booster shots, focus remains on getting more people fully vaccinated
As Pfizer and federal agencies argue over the need for a COVID-19 booster shot, an associate professor of medicine at the Dartmouth Geisel School of Medicine sees a different priority: getting more people vaccinated now. “I think what we really need to think about is the order in which this is (done),” said Dr. Michael […]
State’s medicinal marijuana industry has stabilized, but barriers to growth remain
The video announcement was framed like a victory address. Standing before a woodpile, Prime Alternative Treatment Center CEO Keenan Blum gave the center’s Facebook followers a breathless update: the New Hampshire medical marijuana dispensary was lowering its prices. Prime had increased its growing capacity, bumped up its offering of cannabis strains, and reduced expenses, Blum […]
Commentary: Black and Latino communities often have low vaccination rates – but blaming vaccine hesitancy misses the mark
By early July 2021, nearly two-thirds of all U.S. residents 12 years and older had received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine; 55 percent were fully vaccinated. But uptake varies drastically by region – and it is lower on average among non-white people. Many blame the relatively lower vaccination rates in communities of […]
Commentary: Questions and answers about the Delta variant
As the Delta variant takes hold, the unvaccinated are in for a rude awakening. It’s not just ignorance – they’re begging for a Darwin Award. Unfortunately, thanks to all these unvaccinated knuckleheads, vaccinated Americans are now being put more at risk, too. The Delta variant is a mutant strain of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Early estimates […]
Insurance carriers must cover mandated ultrasounds, commissioner says
New Hampshire health insurance carriers must cover the ultrasounds mandated by the state’s new abortion law, the state Insurance Department said last week. In a memo sent to all of the state’s health insurers and released to the public July 1, Insurance Department Commissioner Chris Nicolopoulos said insurers must treat the ultrasounds as a “covered […]
As health care workforce shortage persists, employers boost incentives
It’s a good time to be looking for a job in health care. Catholic Medical Center is offering $10,000 signing bonuses to registered nurses with three years of experience. Rockingham County is offering not only signing bonuses to licensed nursing assistants but also tuition and a paycheck while they get their license. State corrections officials […]
Executive Council denies contract for rehabilitative program for health care workers
In a 4-1 vote, the Executive Council on Wednesday denied a contract for a rehabilitative program for health care workers following an outcry from the medical community in New Hampshire and beyond. But the current contract, held by New Hampshire Professionals Health Program, is expiring, which left the council scrambling to find a solution and […]
Council unanimously approves $52.4 million for community mental health centers
New Hampshire’s Executive Council gave a green light to a broad expansion of the state’s community mental health centers Wednesday, finalizing a proposal that advocates have called “transformational.” In a unanimous vote, councilors voted to devote $52.4 million in state and federal funds toward building out the 10 centers, which provide mental health services to […]
Audit demand could delay funding, interrupt care at reproductive health centers
A new requirement that Planned Parenthood and other family planning organizations be audited by the Department of Health and Human Services could cause the Executive Council to delay state funding, councilors said Wednesday. Funding contracts for Planned Parenthood, Equality Health Center in Concord, Lovering Health Center in Greenland, Amoskeag Health in Manchester, and others are […]
Community mental health centers on the precipice of a ‘transformational’ moment
This story was updated June 30, 2021 to correct the spelling of Brian Collins’s name. The state’s 10 community mental health centers would be able to expand services significantly and offer statewide mobile crisis response under a contract going before the Executive Council Wednesday. “This is really transformational and something I have not experienced in […]
Shaheen seeks federal help in replacing money for reproductive health care cut from state budget
U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen said Friday she has asked the secretary of the federal Department of Health and Human Services to replace money for reproductive health care that lawmakers cut from the state budget they passed Thursday. In a follow-up virtual roundtable with several New Hampshire health care providers, Shaheen said she is also concerned […]
Bill easing restrictions on churches during state of emergency headed to governor’s desk
Churches would be no more restricted than Home Depot and liquor stores during the next state of emergency under a bill that passed the House and Senate Thursday. While churches were not closed during the pandemic, their attendance capacity was limited in the pandemic’s early days. Many businesses were restricted far less. In its initial […]