Dartmouth-Hitchcock will staff New Hampshire Hospital for at least three years if the Executive Council approves a $36.5 million state contract Wednesday.
The controversial agreement has been at the center of a labor dispute that pushed nearly a dozen hospital psychiatrists and medical workers out the door in July.
Dartmouth-Hitchcock has brought on seven people to replace those who left, and is expecting three more to start by September’s end, said Department of Health and Human Services Commissioner Jeffrey Meyers. Staffing levels are not a concern and the transition has gone smoothly, he said. “We think it’s gone very well.”
While the state runs New Hampshire Hospital and employs most staff, more than two dozen psychiatrists and advanced-level nurses work there under contract. Dartmouth-Hitchcock was the only bidder to take over the agreement from Dartmouth College, which has staffed the hospital since the 1980s. The transition spurred the labor dispute this year, when several hospital psychiatrists said Dartmouth-Hitchcock was unwilling to negotiate employment terms.
It’s not clear how the Republican-led council will vote. All five members approved a contract extension last spring that put Dartmouth-Hitchcock in charge through October, but several raised objections to the provider’s employment practices. They wrote to Meyers asking he reopen the bidding process, which did not happen.
Republican Councilor Joe Kenney, who represents District 1 in the North Country, is meeting with Meyers today to discuss the contract.
“I’m trying to get a feel from all sides, and decide how to proceed from there,” said Kenney, of Union.
The contract lasts until 2019, but can be terminated by the state at any time with 30 days notice. In addition to New Hampshire Hospital, it also provides staff at the state juvenile detention center in Manchester and the Glencliff Home. There’s an option to renew the agreement for two more three-year terms.
Concord Councilor Colin Van Ostern, a Democrat running for governor, plans to meet with Meyers today.
“Our first priority has to be ensuring patients at New Hampshire Hospital and Glencliff and other facilities get high quality care from an experienced healthcare staff,” said Van Ostern, who didn’t say how he plans to vote.
Dartmouth-Hitchcock did not return a request for comment.
(Allie Morris can be reached at 369-3307 or amorris@cmonitor.com.)