By PAULA TRACY, InDepthNH.org
CONCORD – What could have been the start of a $45 million mental health hospital for the state in Epping was removed from the table of the state’s Executive Council for the third time Wednesday.
The $15 million deal would be the first installment to have Portsmouth Regional Hospital and its parent company HCA enter an agreement for seven years to operate what Health and Human Services Commissioner Lori Shibinette said is one of what is expected to be two similar projects within the next two years to deal with mental health needs in the state.
It would authorize the use of federal funds from the American Rescue Plan Act to provide capital defrayment to Portsmouth Regional Hospital and its parent company HCA to develop a consolidated behavioral health hospital.
There does not appear to be the three votes needed for the deal to pass yet.
Councilor Ted Gatsas, R-Manchester, said he would like to have seen the project go out to bid and that there could be other hospitals than Portsmouth/HCA interested.
Councilor David Wheeler, R-Milford, also said after the meeting he thinks it would be unprecedented for the state to give bricks and mortar it paid for to a private entity.
Councilor Cinde Warmington, D-Concord, said she is still waiting for a number of questions she has before the vote.
The contract did not disclose the location of this proposed hospital other than to state that the Town of Epping would be its home.
Gov. Chris Sununu, at his first press availability in his office since the pandemic, said after the meeting that there was an opportunity for the state’s hospital community to partner with the project and that there will likely be another hospital to bid on another statewide facility.
He said he feels that the answers to councilors’ questions will be answered and expects that the contract will come before the council in a matter of weeks.
The proposal for the Epping hospital states it would create 68 inpatient mental health beds for adults, 16 geriatric beds, 12 for adolescents, outpatient program with a capacity for 15, and two special programs focused on eating disorders and dual diagnosis mental illness and substance abuse treatment.
It may resurface in two weeks, likely if the votes are there to pass it.
State health officials said this would go a long way to solving the state’s so-called “emergency room boarding crisis” where there are not enough inpatient mental health beds to meet the needs of the state’s citizens and people are waiting placement in emergency rooms.
In her Dec. 13, 2021, letter to Sununu and state Rep. Karen Umberger, chair of the joint Legislative Fiscal Committee, Shibinette said that if federal funds were not available for this project, general fund dollars would not be used.
The plan was and still may be to dole out $15 million at various construction intervals until construction is expected to be completed in the fall of 2023.
Councilor Janet Stevens, R-Rye, may be expected to abstain from the vote due to a conflict of interest, as her husband is a doctor with ties to Portsmouth Regional Hospital.
Some Executive Councilors had also privately voiced concern about public-private partnerships as this would be and possible competition among other hospitals.
At a recent meeting, Wheeler noted a potential comparison to the state entering contracts with private ski operators like Vail Corporation which operates the state-owned Mount Sunapee. The state is encountering complaints about Vail overselling its products and crowded conditions on the roads and lift lines on some weekends and holidays.
Sununu said there is little that the state can do this year about that matter because the state did not control how many ski lift tickets are sold as part of the 20-year lease agreement.
Wheeler said the bottom line is in the fine print and that the deal needs to be nailed down well before he could vote on it.
These particular funds were going to be used to pay for an audit to set aside money as a state requirement and also for the contract with Portsmouth Regional Hospital and its parent, HCA to operate.
The Council did previously approve about $15 million also from federal American Rescue Plan dollars, to buy Hampstead Hospital to become a children’s mental health hospital, and the plan is to use existing staff at the private hospital and that is going forward.
Confirmations, Nomination
Consistent with the Constitution that judges must retire at age 70, New Hampshire Superior Court Associate Justice James D. O’Neill III of Laconia has announced he is retiring effective March 30 after serving on the court since 1988, at the urging of then-Governor John Sununu.
Councilor Joe Kenney of Union accepted the resignation with “reservation” noting O’Neill has been on the forefront of Lakes Region issues for decades. He lauded the long-time retiring judge.
The Council confirmed the governor’s nomination and reappointment of Nathan Noyes of New Boston as director of the State Police among other confirmations. The governor nominated two individuals to the University System of New Hampshire Board of Trustees. They are Kevin Knarr of Bedford and Christina Thornton of Pembroke who if confirmed will fill existing vacancies.
World War II Veteran Honored
World War II veteran Joseph Raymond “Red” Goulet, 99, of Portsmouth, who stormed Omaha Beach in Normandy, France, on D-Day and went on to serve as a volunteer Pease greeter, was honored by the governor and Executive Council with a commendation Wednesday.
Also honored for their service to veterans were Madeline Dreusicke and Bruce and Terry Brady.
Francophone Month
Francophone Month is March in New Hampshire, the governor proclaimed.
Those who have made a difference in New Hampshire were honored and a group of those individuals came to hear the proclamation.
French Canadians are the largest ancestry group in New Hampshire, Sununu noted.
Sydney Chevalier a native New Hampshire folk artist played some live music for the Council including a Janice Joplin tune and one from Vance Joy’s “Riptide” to start off the meeting.
Maskless Meeting
It was the first time since the pandemic began that just about all those who attended the Executive Council meeting were not wearing masks.
COVID-19 levels in the state have plummeted in recent weeks.
