Council Approves Funding to Provide National Jobs to Hampstead Hospital Workers – InDepthNH.org

PAULA TRACY, InDepthNH.org

CONCORD – Mental health nurses, social workers and administrative staff at the new Hampstead Hospital for young people could become government employees after the Executive Council created a new costing group of more than $17 million to bring them on Wednesday.

The court also heard from the Commissioner of Agriculture that about half of the $8 million in crop losses had been allocated and he felt that the remaining money could be used to help agriculture in general, not specific farmers, as conscience his to close the farms. out of the two, the weather events of 2023 were not as bad as he feared.

And the council also refused to remove from the table the request of the Commissioner of Education to accept the contract with Kahn Academy which is disputed for $ 2.3 million and Frank Edelblut said that the time has expired for the school year to get the curriculum in front. of students.

The council refused to take the matter off the table and Edelblut said the government had lost an opportunity.

CONFIRMED

Staff at the Hampstead hospital are likely to be staff or gig workers with Wellpath the current contractor, who took over the running of the facility when the government buys the private hospital in 2022.

Wellpath’s contract expires on June 30.

Mary Hitchcock Memorial Hospital was selected through a competitive bidding process to serve the medical needs of the youth and adults of the recently signed contract. The health care center in the Upper Valley will bring its own doctors to attend to the mental health needs of the youth, but staff including pharmacists, therapists, program staff, counselors, registered nurses and supervisors, staff the public and administrative support staff are not. part of the hospital contract.

According to Lori Weaver, commissioner of the Department of Health and Human Services, the department expects about 890 children and adults to be served at the hospital in the State Fiscal 2025 budget.

Executive Councilor Joe Kenney of Wakefield, a Republican, asked whether the state should keep everyone.

“It’s our intention to keep them all without the prescribing physicians,” said Weaver, who will provide clinical support. “We are asking them all to stay.”

Executive Councilor Janet Stevens, R-Rye, asked where the state stands in terms of trying to meet the population’s goals as there are currently not enough workers to maintain the beds.

“Just because we have a capacity of 65 (patients) doesn’t mean we have the need,” Weaver said.

In previous meetings he noted that there were only one or two children waiting to be admitted and waiting in the emergency rooms of the hospital. Adequate staffing has been a challenge, however, and remains a limiting factor.

The government had too many children with such a problem in the emergency room before the opening of Hampstead which served adults and children. Now they are just children. The 100-acre campus could be the new home for those cared for at Manchester’s Sununu Youth Centre, formerly the Youth Development Centre, which is set to close.

EXECUTIVE ADMINISTRATIVE JUDGE HON

David King, who served as an administrative judge on the state Circuit Court, is retiring after more than 30 years of government service. He was honored with a proclamation issued by Gov. Sununu.

Councilor Stevens also noted his service during the COVID-19 pandemic when he kept the courts open and thanked him for his service during those years.

SIGNIFICANT LOSSES IN MENTAL HEALTH FACILITIES

The council received $5 million from the American Rescue Plan Act to address operational losses at mental health facilities nationwide. The funds have been approved by the Joint Budget Committee and require final OK from the council.

Katja Fox, director of the division of behavioral services within DHHS, says there have been losses but the state is taking steps to reduce those losses at this rate.

Medicaid payments didn’t arrive at the centers until much later, he said. He said there is an issue of unpaid care, which is what aggravates the problem.

He said: “We are asking for this extra money for the institutions and for the funds to be sent directly to the vendors.”

CROP LOSS

About 40 farms that lost crops, mainly apples and peaches last year during the snow and floods, were given money to cover part of their losses and the rest, about half of what was given to the Department of Agriculture. the rest.

Farmers have expressed concern that the fund has been set up by the department.

Executive Councilor Cinde Warmington, a Democrat from Concord who is running for governor, said she is concerned that the program has spent less than the $8 million allocated to the program under the American Rescue Plan Act.

Commissioner of Agriculture and Food Markets Shawn Jasper said his department is finishing the last farms and said there is about half of the money left in the team.

Although he previously hinted that there could be another round where the loss rate is reduced, allowing more farms to earn money, he said there is no way to extend that now and he he is looking for ways to help “agriculture in general.”

He suggested that the money could be allocated to the University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension and various conservation districts and said he was trying to see if that would be allowed under ARPA rules.

He said: “To my surprise, the losses were not as high as we expected.

Some apple growers have lost their entire year’s crops.

Jasper said for him “it wasn’t just about the loss of property but making sure that the farms don’t shrink,” saying “overall, that’s very good news.”

Warmington asked if he wanted help from the farmers on how to use the remainder.

He said at this time, “no” but said he might reach out to the NH Farm Bureau Federation.

He said his idea is to work with the expansion of agriculture in stages with an eye on climate change.

Although he intended to do well, he said that the program was criticized by farmers who were not happy with the program, and he indicated that he should contact them.

He said: “I really agree, but he noticed a recent media report on this issue where farmers who got money were interviewed and some were very happy. .

“We all know how reporting goes sometimes,” Jasper said.

After the meeting, Warmington said that he was not sure how the farmers he spoke to about the matter felt about the program, but he said it was important that he talk to them directly.