New Hampshire state officials will hold a series of public forums next month over a proposed merger between two major health-care systems in New Hampshire, which include facilities in Keene and Peterborough, The Keene Sentinel reports.
First announced in January 2019, the merger would combine Dartmouth-Hitchcock Health — a Lebanon-based network of five hospitals, including Cheshire Medical Center in Keene — with GraniteOne Health, which comprises three hospitals, including Peterborough’s Monadnock Community Hospital.
Officials with the two systems have said that by forming a combined entity, they hope to address a growing demand for integrated care, which focuses on a patient’s biological, psychological and social health. The merger would also give Dartmouth-Hitchcock, the largest hospital system in New Hampshire, access to new markets while helping Granite OneHealth reduce the cost of supplies and medications and also offer better employee health benefits, the officials said.
The two systems have signed an agreement to become Dartmouth-Hitchcock Health GraniteOne. If the merger is approved, all of the organizations involved would keep their current names and local leadership, the two systems announced previously. Read more.
