[{"_1":2,"_124":-5,"_125":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76,88,100,112],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6642451,"mediaKeyId","2542976-120b32cb6041c08bdead2c15b863f9b9","parentId",2542976,"title","Division III schedules bill review; three bills listed for Monday and ongoing work planned for HB547 county reimbursement issue","audioSeconds",9606,"startMs",231000,"endMs",9837000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2542976-120b32cb6041c08bdead2c15b863f9b9&start=231&end=9837","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2542976-120b32cb6041c08bdead2c15b863f9b9/thumbnail_231000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6642451/New-Hampshire/Division-III-schedules-bill-review-three-bills-listed-for-Monday-and-ongoing-work-planned-for-HB547-county-reimbursement-issue","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6642451-c4c8676dc48ae7139e3720ed177d3361/orig.mp4?Expires=1771123594&Signature=oS1~GJ6EI-TrJNAGluE8QC0G3qQ4b-b337kOHIcnudGt8OPsGMNTMZi59Kikk3rC5WfeCUutWMG1hI84UtAHcxpUP2fqlAbMWPwDNz1z~0w7j8oojflRtVY9bUgHDRjaFwfU~SsDR8H~nDRvf6YshvHlt039~C2300SLWeNP32110nFYY7LFmrxR2aIyvhOqKIPj1HBFEx-KUGzpQZCDA9PC2GLlL0txuF2ISDcewto9LGMjStZJbt8GjbJ8pPyK0d2iQJqOQ-e-t0XrW0uUqyzTG12lCp0FFijia33wo3BRwxPc-~oLYM~eDwlUhzT2RoXPoboV-OjyysVwMQoadw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","New Hampshire Legislature","date","2025-03-11T17:39:21.467Z","article","At the opening of the Division III work session on March 14, committee members asked how many bills would be considered and how they would be scheduled. Chairman Edwards and staff confirmed they would place the bills the division intends to examine on the House calendar and described an initial two-step process: an introductory review in Division III followed by a second day to craft the recommendation to the full finance committee.

Clerk/Staff (Mr. Bridal) told members the three bills expected to be calendared for the coming Monday are House Bill 704, House Bill 7501, and House Bill 54; he said the calendar that comes out Thursday afternoon or Friday morning will list them. Members discussed timing and the committee chair indicated a plan to spend roughly one hour on each bill during the division’s initial review and then return for a second session to finalize recommendations.

Separately, members raised House Bill 547, a high-fiscal-note item about county reimbursement. Committee members and leadership described the fiscal magnitude as potentially very large (committee members referenced an estimate in the low hundreds of millions of dollars). Members said they plan to develop a public, multi-step process to review options and identify line-item proposals for potential inclusion in the finance committee recommendation; one member requested early transparency and draft materials several days before any vote so members and the public can review options.

Committee staff circulated multiple calendar notices during the hearing: publicized work sessions on March 17 (must-review bills), March 18, March 19 and March 20, plus an additional date (March 25) reserved for budget work. Leadership said they were trying to complete division work by March 26 to allow full finance committee handling before the house budget deadline in early April.

Ending: The committee will hold an initial work session on the three named bills Monday, March 17; members will get calendar notice and clerk staff will post bill entries. HB 547 will be handled through a public, iterative process with department and member input; no committee votes were recorded at the session.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","House Finance Division III (03/11/2025)","oneSentenceSummary","Chairman and staff told members the Division will list three bills in the House calendar for review next Monday (HB 704, HB 7501, and HB 54) and reserved multiple work-session dates; members also flagged House Bill 547 (county reimbursement) as a major fiscal item that will require separate, detailed consideration.","taxTitle","Finance - Division III, House of Representatives, Committees\t, Legislative, New Hampshire","taxId",17752,"location","New Hampshire","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6642456,"State leases Hampstead Hospital to Dartmouth Health; lease proceeds reserved for capital improvements",689,7775000,8464000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2542976-120b32cb6041c08bdead2c15b863f9b9&start=7775&end=8464","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2542976-120b32cb6041c08bdead2c15b863f9b9/thumbnail_7775000.jpg","/articles/6642456/New-Hampshire/State-leases-Hampstead-Hospital-to-Dartmouth-Health-lease-proceeds-reserved-for-capital-improvements","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6642456-2483f0d2f8809536324212e43997efe3/orig.mp4?Expires=1771123594&Signature=nhG~6BrvIMchaHc~NcLxxSZqGeMgwWNxBvnnjMdAPGtTn0bzKMQSsvVFdSbw3ks4-GTfQXscV8K2i2WDyozqGZr0qchvj6dnY0ubgLIBLN0ya3lpJQXWH-Hu5pDl06vB~VodG9eqfiWR8h3OGE7t0PCKaagqCHWw5cXHuixcbXD-dCiYgrX9NKTRnfAmBXWzHWFMEQFReLYmfqj9S0RYDU0snVa8vkezTS6pPFJgev43VVeYYurWUj5DdTi2k6G8nPEyHkB4XD5PMERQA5-s75944NILyqz~ULoXcDB~Kj0ICR8tihboZcEotqXII0z5OHIIpTnMxWhFK~MlKPKQPw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","DHHS staff told House Finance Division III that the state transferred operations of Hampstead Hospital to Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center under a set of contracts approved by the governor and executive council in December 2024.

Department counsel and staff said the state purchased the hospital in June 2022 and initially used a sole-source operator. In late 2023 and 2024 the department negotiated a lease, a joint operating-committee agreement, and a transition-services agreement with Dartmouth-Hitchcock. The lease and transition agreements took effect on February 3, 2024, and the transition-services contract was structured to run up to a year while Dartmouth-Hitchcock rolls up operations.

Under the lease the hospital operator agreed to pay the state an annual rent stream (DHHS cited roughly $1.3 million in the early years, subject to modest escalations) and the state agreed to a matching capital-investment obligation: the state will fund up to $3 million in capital investments provided Dartmouth-Hitchcock matches those funds (a roughly 50/50 arrangement up to that cap). DHHS said a draft bill in the Legislature (Senate Bill 118) would create a Hampstead Hospital residential treatment facility capital investment fund and route lease revenue into that account for the next biennium so the matching funds are immediately available without reappropriation delays.

Department staff noted that Hampstead’s operating budget lines were zeroed out in the governor’s proposed budget because Dartmouth-Hitchcock now operates the facility; however the lease provides ongoing revenue to the state and a mechanism to secure capital funding for required upgrades. Committee members asked whether positions that previously showed in the state’s FTE count still appear administratively; DHHS said the positions remain on the state’s position roster but many employees have transferred to Dartmouth-Hitchcock employment under the transition terms.

Ending: The committee was briefed on the contractual transition. DHHS said lease revenue will be directed to the capital fund while the transition is finalized; the department will provide additional details about the lease revenue stream and the timing of capital projects. No appropriation votes were taken by the committee.","Committee was briefed on the state’s transfer of Hampstead Hospital operations to Dartmouth-Hitchcock: the facility is now operated under a lease and transition agreements that include a matching capital-investment obligation and a proposed capital fund into which lease revenue would be deposited.",{"_33":89,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":90,"_41":91,"_43":92,"_45":93,"_47":94,"_49":95,"_51":96,"_53":97,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":98,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":99,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6642461,"New Hampshire Hospital credits Mission 0 and care-traffic control for shorter ED waits but reports a large discharge backlog",2004,5758000,7762000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2542976-120b32cb6041c08bdead2c15b863f9b9&start=5758&end=7762","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2542976-120b32cb6041c08bdead2c15b863f9b9/thumbnail_5758000.jpg","/articles/6642461/New-Hampshire/New-Hampshire-Hospital-credits-Mission-0-and-care-traffic-control-for-shorter-ED-waits-but-reports-a-large-discharge-backlog","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6642461-fed65e571e156bde24f88d5d50d57053/orig.mp4?Expires=1771123594&Signature=ZgwPOZ7VU8RuIdnHdGv9FI0Bg5DXsPF5x4pp8F8P4gVA8K8lrMky0gqfPNE28TJs3LSBqqScJyrELbPjLhxWASJwNZHHZd1TH0kvt4Nmkw5gDbEVQcRVzBsMxO8ymtgTZ5NBiSSnHvIKpLB-UQgGFP~u2-Q2Tp5KK4~qkZaaxDh6pnqWNs-8QchcSVCz2vVSmtJzpBepRZlx7oxxAtrksMg78i7CVFQenwAw2~nhbk8MgyBZTeH4w5HT2k-DhVJCSLBBj70rPNeFdtmF7XA7h1Vu0W0Q916ATObMdKAE9d7T4vl-YbQqc3-rDrekkderKzeyMmrgCwhRTfGlG399mQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Ellen Lapointe, CEO of New Hampshire Hospital, and Brett Mason, the hospital’s CFO, briefed House Finance Division III on March 14 about operations, staffing, and the hospital’s role in Mission 0 — a statewide initiative to reduce emergency-department and hospital boarding of people with behavioral-health needs.

Lapointe said New Hampshire Hospital is a 185-bed facility that focuses on acutely ill adults and that the hospital coordinates referrals from emergency departments, corrections and other designated receiving facilities. She highlighted the hospital’s Care Traffic Control (CTC) unit, which coordinates statewide bed referrals. Lapointe said CTC has helped reduce average emergency-department wait times by 43 percent and, in recent months, has reduced the average wait to under two days; the statewide number of adults waiting in emergency departments has dropped from the 30s to low single digits at times.

Despite these improvements, Lapointe said the hospital currently has a sizable internal population — roughly 90 to 100 people who would be eligible for discharge but who cannot be safely placed in community settings because the requisite supported housing, group homes or other placements are not available. She said average length of stay is skewed by this population; while many admissions have 15–30 day stays, the average across the hospital is higher because some individuals remain for months and a few have been in place for a year or more.

Lapointe also described ongoing projects including a new high-security unit (construction delayed by additional foundation testing), and said the hospital is preparing operational staffing plans for occupancy in the next biennium. On staffing, the hospital reported a full-time vacancy rate around 17 percent; nursing and mental-health-worker vacancies are in the low 20s. The hospital said it maintains active recruitment programs and that referral hires accounted for about 64 percent of new staff in recent months; the hospital’s retention rate exceeded national averages according to testimony.

Members asked where the hospital’s discharge bottleneck could be relieved. Lapointe cited need for more community-based options such as group homes, supported housing, landlord incentives and other Mission 0 components. Committee members asked about the hospital’s per‑diem cost (Lapointe said $1,599 per day) and noted that many of the discharge-eligible patients could be placed in less expensive community settings if they were available, delivering both savings and better alignment of care to patient needs.

Ending: Lapointe and the department were asked to return to committee with additional, more granular data on the discharge-eligible population, a clearer breakdown of required housing/service types, and the fiscal impact of moving patients from hospital care to those community-based settings.","Hospital leadership told Division III that Mission 0 and an in-house care-traffic control center have reduced emergency-department boarding and improved bed flow, but roughly 90–100 residents remain at the hospital who could be discharged if more community placements and supported housing were available.",{"_33":101,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":102,"_41":103,"_43":104,"_45":105,"_47":106,"_49":107,"_51":108,"_53":109,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":110,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":111,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6642466,"Glencliff Home cites high vacancies and asks for funded positions to sustain discharges to community",2311,3355000,5666000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2542976-120b32cb6041c08bdead2c15b863f9b9&start=3355&end=5666","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2542976-120b32cb6041c08bdead2c15b863f9b9/thumbnail_3355000.jpg","/articles/6642466/New-Hampshire/Glencliff-Home-cites-high-vacancies-and-asks-for-funded-positions-to-sustain-discharges-to-community","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6642466-89af5a2647fbd8318cf4db81e4012ced/orig.mp4?Expires=1771123594&Signature=gpHLI7AohfusfZAd56rU-M9WE-GgNc-66crU0FQ38Bp6k~-wP6X-I8CozENls4tw7vztmLS0TsUrriTx0Vgox1tOJXjFXDeriH835jDaQ-lPHC8rEmdsFoSbcF5wlAk~d6dlXxlhbtsiOYbRqnhYhPgkypQqZ3GXAhYSEEbYUy-pr-xWycW04D0wuSg0U4zne8GEGdiQL4iWzIyw4FgxggdNnt73aWa~Jx3rd5tNsXXtv2mntxtguuOFEmZHufVsAi9mu9cdRHZ-HPJ1VV5OBAqn-QWhTZU8qNKb9oMBCY42i9~oklrPavD497N3ZrzbeYantoLsCa4Somc0zc8Zfg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Todd (Louis Todd Bickford), executive director of the Glencliff Home, and Nathan White, DHHS chief financial officer, told the House Finance Division III that Glencliff’s work to discharge residents into community settings has shown progress but remains constrained by staffing and infrastructure challenges.

Glencliff is a CMS-certified nursing facility that serves people with serious mental illness and developmental disabilities. Bickford said the campus is remote and off-grid in places, which complicates infrastructure and broadband/Wi‑Fi delivery; the facility plans to install Starlink as a backup to improve resident access.

The home reported a substantial vacancy problem: overall vacancy across departments was reported near 37 percent, with nurses at about 51 percent and LNAs at about 52 percent; second-shift LNA vacancy was noted as high as 66 percent. Officials said they had capped admissions for safety several years ago and have been gradually raising census; a prior cap at 121 has been increased to a current target of 75 residents because staffing constraints previously required the cap. Bickford said Glencliff has 19 people on a fluid waitlist and estimated an average active wait time of about six months for applicants who complete paperwork promptly; he reported the facility discharged 11 residents to community placements in the prior year, a significant increase from a decade prior.

White and the director described the budget challenge: the Glencliff accounting unit contains a number of positions that are currently unfunded in the governor’s proposal (agency testimony listed 54 unfunded positions in the professional care accounting unit, including 16 nurses and 37 LNAs). Committee members pressed whether the missing positions effectively institutionalize a permanent vacancy rate and whether budgeted savings were being used to fund temporary contract (traveler) staffing instead. White said the department uses vacancy funding during the fiscal-year transfer process to pay for agency staffing when needed, but committee members warned that the proposed budget’s structure could make it difficult for the facility to hire permanent staff rather than rely on expensive travelers.

Members asked for a prioritized list of positions Glencliff would require to raise staffing to safe operational levels and how many positions would need funding to reduce agency contracts and overtime. Bickford said lowering nurse and LNA vacancies to around 30 percent would reduce reliance on agency staff and overtime and allow higher census numbers; he said he believed about one-third of the currently unfunded positions would need to be funded to achieve that target but cautioned that some openings have historically been difficult to fill.

Bickford and DHHS agreed to provide the committee with a prioritized personnel list and additional financial detail to support any targeted adjustments.

Ending: Committee members flagged the Glencliff staffing picture as a likely area for further budget scrutiny and asked department staff to return a prioritized staffing request that explains expected hires, recruitment prospects and fiscal impact.

","Glencliff Home leaders told Division III the facility’s vacancy rates for nurses and LNAs exceed 50%, limiting census and slowing movement of patients into community placements despite recent increases in discharges to the community.",{"_33":113,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":114,"_41":115,"_43":116,"_45":117,"_47":118,"_49":119,"_51":120,"_53":121,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":122,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":123,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6642471,"Veterans Home asks lawmakers for staff funding as census, waitlist grow",2556,742000,3298000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2542976-120b32cb6041c08bdead2c15b863f9b9&start=742&end=3298","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2542976-120b32cb6041c08bdead2c15b863f9b9/thumbnail_742000.jpg","/articles/6642471/New-Hampshire/Veterans-Home-asks-lawmakers-for-staff-funding-as-census-waitlist-grow","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6642471-10a9c73fec9df14fa71d2fc7fc9c5024/orig.mp4?Expires=1771123594&Signature=k22FpREaPGV9nfmZgJf4eAKx5rMFfp71b~NF1lKsPadL-YHVWO1twWBREitOPHgj8yEbXtsr7G87UqnNAPgxGwzJdsel4O~AiB1v~cngYnzlOW1faaEXnUu9cpmMGn26ThURQqtdpUPGlfoDv76EMvs9NHCSYWxn3FS5U4y8bagWcfzWVvx5xDu9JO5nsSKdS4GteSaoXYXCjbnEcDl9cGlJxmcMOZ-SClKVq0hAjjjqv7qKmzqtKw719RtHjMRgyA~ZMbLTGHcxmoRlnDToF0uDY5MQjgTL9jEdyhhXBzd0MiZd266bzC7XLA4yLRQQy6oPUrRwB~TfZSLcBxRzqw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Kim McKay, commandant of the New Hampshire Veterans Home, told the House Finance Division III on March 14 that the facility has reduced its admission waitlist but continues to struggle with staffing and rising prescription costs.

McKay opened by saying the home is licensed for 250 beds and budgeted for 225. Today the facility’s census is 35 residents with four more scheduled to arrive; another 36 applicants are in process. She said improved admissions casework has cut the typical application-to-admission wait from more than a year to about three to six months from the date an application is submitted.

Division members pressed McKay on staffing. She said the home deliberately holds some positions empty until census increases are warranted but that nursing and licensed nursing assistant (LNA) vacancies remain the priority. The home’s overall vacancy rate was described as about 35 percent; McKay said she deliberately holds positions such as housekeeping and laundry vacant until neighborhoods reopen. She said contracted nurses and overtime are used to cover shortfalls, especially on second shift, and that second-shift pay differentials are $4 an hour for nurses and $1.60 for LNAs, with a larger third-shift premium.

Jennifer Doyeg, chief financial officer for the Veterans Home, told lawmakers the budget is a rolled-up summary of the home’s entire request. Committee members asked about prescription drug spending; McKay said the facility contracts pharmacy services and bills the VA for medications related to service-connected disabilities, bringing in roughly $30,000 a month from VA reimbursements now. She said the home is participating in VA “catastrophic disability” applications that could make more medications fully reimbursable, and that national advocacy for an exemption that would let state veterans homes bill the VA directly for high-cost drugs is underway.

The commandant described two other funding streams: federal VA per-diem reimbursement (a portion of overall funding) and a dedicated donations/benefit fund used to pay for resident amenities such as cable television and holiday gifts. McKay said donations are overseen by the home’s board of managers and fiscal controls at the state level and are transferred into state accounts before spending. Lawmakers discussed a provision the home wants restored in HB 2 that would allow limited transfers between line classes for operational flexibility; members expressed concern about incentives to “inflate” one line to move money later and asked for tighter drafting or additional safeguards.

Lawmakers also asked about recruitment and retention programs; McKay described a new electronic learning-management system that will deliver required trainings and CEU credits, and said the home is pursuing outreach to community colleges, workforce portals and hiring fairs. She said retention — not only recruitment — is a central problem, with exit interviews showing staff leave for higher pay, sign-on bonuses, or more flexible schedules in the private sector.

Committee members asked for follow-up documents, including page references for budget lines discussed and further detail on gift/donation fund balances and transfer authority. McKay invited members to visit the campus and noted improvements such as new resident Wi‑Fi and conference-room video capability to support family participation in care-plan meetings.

The Veterans Home presentation elicited a series of operational follow-ups rather than any formal votes. Members noted they want clearer statutory or budget language for transfer authority, and several members urged the home and the department to develop specific, fundable retention incentives that could be evaluated during the budget process.

Ending: Committee staff will follow up on the home’s requested transfer authority language and on prescription-drug reimbursement questions; McKay said she will provide requested page citations and documentation to committee staff.","Administrators of the New Hampshire Veterans Home told the House Finance Division III they have cut wait times but face high vacancy rates, rising prescription costs and constraints on transferring donated funds — and asked for continued flexibility and funding tied to staffing and admissions.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Division III schedules bill review; three bills listed for Monday and ongoing work planned for HB547 county reimbursement issue

State leases Hampstead Hospital to Dartmouth Health; lease proceeds reserved for capital improvements

New Hampshire Hospital credits Mission 0 and care-traffic control for shorter ED waits but reports a large discharge backlog

Glencliff Home cites high vacancies and asks for funded positions to sustain discharges to community

Veterans Home asks lawmakers for staff funding as census, waitlist grow