Valley Regional officially joins Dartmouth Health system

Valley Regional Hospital is seen in the Claremont, N.H., on Feb. 8, 2022. MUST CREDIT: Washington Post photo by Joanna Slater

Valley Regional Hospital is seen in the Claremont, N.H., on Feb. 8, 2022. MUST CREDIT: Washington Post photo by Joanna Slater Joanna Slater

By PATRICK ADRIAN

Valley News Staff Writer

Published: 08-01-2024 8:31 PM

CLAREMONT — Valley Regional Hospital has officially joined the Dartmouth Health system, under an agreement that is intended to expand specialty care and to improve access to services such as mental health and substance use treatment, administrators of the partnering organizations said this week.

On Wednesday, Valley Regional, a critical access hospital with 25 beds and 350 employees, integrated with Dartmouth Health, a network that employs over 13,000 people and includes Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, five other hospitals, a visiting nurse and hospice program and clinics in New Hampshire and Vermont.

Under an agreement between the two organizations, Dartmouth Health will maintain essential services at the Claremont hospital for at least 10 years and will oversee a capital campaign to pay for and operate a new medical center building on the hospital’s campus.

“Both Valley Regional and Dartmouth Health share a deep commitment to expanding access to care throughout our region’s rural communities and believe that combining our resources will allow us to better meet the needs of patients in Sullivan County and the Upper Valley region, now and in the future,” said Jocelyn Caple, interim CEO of Valley Regional.

The agreement also stipulates that Dartmouth Health will fund and operate an addiction and treatment center at Valley Regional.

At present, Sullivan County residents must travel to DH’s Addiction Treatment Program in Lebanon to receive care, including counseling, Dan Wargo, director of TLC Recovery Programs, said in a phone interview.

Transportation is a barrier for many people seeking recovery from substance use disorders due to a lack of a vehicle or a driver’s license, Wargo said. TLC assists clients at its centers in Claremont and Newport with bus passes or vouchers, or sometimes by giving a ride.

But the round trip to Lebanon can add a couple of hours to a client’s appointment, which can be difficult if they have other responsibilities like a job or a family, Wargo said. Offering services closer to Claremont would benefit both its residents seeking treatment and DH, whose Lebanon-based addiction program serves a high number of Claremont and Newport residents, he said.

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TLC, whose addiction recovery services include peer-support groups, advocacy and guidance to accessing resources, has 170 registered clients, including 110 in Claremont and the remainder in Lebanon. In addition, its support groups draw between 10 to 20 people each meeting and 300 people received resource guidance this past year.

Since its founding in the 1890s, Valley Regional had been an independent hospital but has faced financial struggles in recent decades due to ongoing challenges impacting the health care industry. Fiscal strains that affect hospitals and health centers nationwide include rising labor costs, supplies, staffing shortages and inadequate reimbursement rates, according to a report from the American Hospital Association in May.

The merger will hopefully provide more financial stability to Valley Regional and possibly allow more patients to be served in Claremont, the city’s Mayor Dale Girard said

“We definitely need to have a medical facility locally,” Girard said. “To lose Valley Regional would put a large void in the city.”

Patrick Adrian may be reached at padrian@vnews.com or 603.727.3216.