A service that provides wheelchairs, computer-accessibility equipment and other technologies for some 900 disabled state residents will be shifted to the state from the Crotched Mountain Foundation, which has shut or transferred a number of services recently due to financial constraints.
“It always required subsidies. We have operated it at a loss for 10 years,” said David Johnson, vice president of communications for the non-profit Crotched foundation, concerning the service known as ATech, which stands for assistive technology. “We’ve tried really hard, we’ve built in efficiencies, reduced overhead, but the math just couldn’t work. The reimbursement rates don’t cover it.”
Johnson said the foundation, based in Greenfield, has spent about $5 million on ATech since beginning to operate it a decade ago. It is scheduled to be taken over by the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services at the end of February.
People scheduled to receive initial assessments from ATech will be contacted by the department or their managed care group to. New clients should work with their health plans or the Department to find providers.
“The services are not going away,” said Johnson. “It’s really returning to the state, which originally operated it.”
People who receive services through a Medicaid health plan can contact Lisa O’Connor at New Hampshire Healthy Families at 263-7230 or the Well Sense Health Plan Customer Care Line at 877-957-1300 for more information. Those who get services through the state can call 603-271-9384.
The bulk of ATech services involve helping mobility, either by providing wheelchairs, lifts or similar equipment or paying to modify homes with ramps and other aids. It also provides technology and assistance in other areas such as aiding those who have difficulty hearing or using a computer.
Crotched Mountain will continue to operate Refurbished Equipment Marketplace on Regional Drive in Concord. It refurbishes and sells used assistive technology equipment.
The Crotched Mountain Foundation was established in 1953 to provide services to adults and children with disabilities. It is best known for its 1,200-acre campus atop Crotched Mountain, which includes one the nation’s best systems of outdoor hiking trails that are accessible to the disabled.
The foundation has struggled with financial problems in recent years, however. In 2017, it closed the 62-bed hospital at the site citing declining patient admissions and difficulty attracting staff as well as not getting paid enough by insurers or government programs to cover costs, and last year it shut down audiology services.
