"We greatly appreciate the hard work and dedication of our clinical services staff who have provided Outpatient, Intensive Outpatient, Impaired Driver Care Management, and Residential Services to hundreds of NH residents over the past three years.”
--Becky McEnany, NCHC Interim CEO
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Transitions for Friendship House and SUD Programs |
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For the last three years, the Friendship House and Substance Use Disorder (SUD) Clinical Services, managed by the North Country Health Consortium (NCHC), has provided services to residents of Northern NH and beyond. A complete transformation
included setting up a new building, expanding treatment beds from 14 to 28, and
achieving a prestigious designation from the Commission on the Accreditation of
Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF). Since that time, NCHC has provided addiction-related
treatment and counseling services to 533 people for residential treatment, and more than
800 individuals for evaluations and outpatient treatment, addressing this significant
public health need.
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At an October Special Board Meeting the NCHC Board of Directors has made the decision to seek another entity to provide SUD Clinical services, with a full transition by the end of December. Mike Lee, NCHC Board Chair said:
"North Country Health Consortium assumed operations of the Friendship House when there was no apparent home for it because there was, and still is, a significant need for high quality treatment. Unfortunately, it has been a continuous challenge to cover costs
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for the high-quality services delivered, which was significantly magnified by COVID. The Board of Directors applauds the dedicated staff for all of their efforts and successes serving people with substance use disorder." |
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The Governor has allocated CARES Act funding to NCHC that will allow
the following programs to stay open through the end of December:
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North Country students embarking on Passion Projects after Fall 2020 UP Granite Youth Conference |
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The Fall 2020 UP Granite Youth Conference launched an opportunity for middle and high school students in Northern NH to find a creative outlet and voice in the form of a Passion Project this Fall. NCHC's Substance Misuse Prevention (SMP) team has partnered with both local and out-of-state professionals
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in their respective crafts who will lend their time to mentor students for an after-school group meeting virtually for six weeks in any one of the following disciplines: |
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- Community Radio
- Celebrity Photography
- Multimedia Production
- Theater Arts
- Comic Book Drawing
- Podcasting/Art of Storytelling
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Public Health Network kicks off suicide prevention
The North Country Public Health (PHN) Network kicked off a 5-year initiative that focuses on suicide prevention, intervention, and postvention training to address the region’s 10 to 24-year-olds, a group identified as high-risk for suicide.
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The PHN hosted a virtual event over two days, including a training and planning session lead by the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) New Hampshire. The training provided youth-serving organizations with the resources to identify, screen, refer, and treat at-risk youth. Participants included representatives from: Northern Human Services, SAU36, SAU 3, White Mountains Community College as well as |
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NCHC, including the Student Assistance Program (SAP) Coordinator and Impaired Driver Care Management Program (IDCMP). Input from a strategic planning session will guide the next steps for five years of allocating suicide prevention training and resources in the region. |
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AskPETRA promotes "Save One Life" Naloxone campaign
AskPETRA has debuted its "Save one Life" Naloxone campaign, which aims to reduce stigma around using Naloxone, while encouraging individuals to "be the hero" and carry the opioid overdose reversal antidote. The campaign features poignant black and white graphics of the faces of everyday people who saved a life-- of a loved one or someone else's-- because they were carrying Naloxone.
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As part of the campaign, the AskPETRA team continues with distribution of up to 200 kits containing doses of Naloxone, information and other supplies for administration and storage. To request a kit for your group or yourself, contact: [email protected]
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Have 20 minutes? Take this survey about SUD resources in your community:
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NH CHW Coalition names Annette Carbonneu Stakeholder of year, to pursue State certification for CHWs |
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NCHC’s own Senior Program Manager, Annette Carbonneau, was awarded CHW Stakeholder of the Year at the NH Community Health Worker (CHW) Coalition’s 1st Annual Meeting on Oct. 7! Annette leads Ways2Wellness CONNECT and the Wellness And Recovery Model (WARM), NCHC’s two programs that deploy CHW services.
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Annette was nominated for her leadership to grow the W2W CONNECT program in its infancy, her never-ending support of her CHW staff, as well as her commitment to building relationships with local healthcare networks in the State to spread the word on the role and value of community health workers. |
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At the NH CHW Coalition Annual Meeting, the membership also made the important decision to move forward with pursuing certification for community health workers in the State of New Hampshire. |
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HASMPC lights up for Red Ribbon Week
To commemorate Red Ribbon Week on Oct. 23-31, HASMPC worked with local EMS agencies to light up red several buildings in the Haverhill area communities, including the Fire Departments of North Haverhill and Bath:
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North Country Observes Drug Take Back Day in October |
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In October, NCHC's Substance Misuse Prevention team worked with the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) and local police departments to facilitate Drug Take Back Day across the region. The twice yearly event, which encourages community members to safely dispose of unused, unwanted, and expired medications at a participating drop-off site so they don't end up in the wrong hands or waterways, took hiatus in April due to COVID-19 safety concerns and Stay-at-Home orders. On October 24, Take Back Day was back to traditional in-person collection. |
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Public Health Network offered 3 community drive-thru flu clinics |
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The Public Health Network (PHN), partnered with the State and local municipalities as well as Weeks Medical Center and Ammonoosuc Community Health Services, hosted three Saturday drive-thru flu clinics throughout October in Littleton, Woodsville, and Lancaster.
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Seasoned at providing flu clinics at schools to students throughout the region every Fall, the Public Health Network implemented its first ever drive-thru vaccination clinics . With the ongoing pandemic, uncertainties around school openings during planning led the team to pivot to a model that would allow ample room for safe social distancing. This flu season, vaccines were also offered to adults, for the first time, as well as children. |
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3rd Annual LNA Celebration goes virtual |
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This year, the three-year running "Day of Learning, Celebration, and Renewal for Licensed Nursing Assistants (LNAs)" went virtual! Open to LNAs and their advocates throughout New Hampshire, attending LNAs from North Country Institutions came from Coos County Nursing Hospital and St. Vincent de Paul Rehab and Nursing Hospital. The afternoon offered four breakout sessions, which allowed attendees to receive continuing nursing education credits. |
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Topics covered included: Self- care for the caregiver during these unprecedented times, Caring for patients with respiratory needs, Empathy and compassion fatigue-how to stay strong, Healthy eating and lifestyle to be our best selves as caregivers, as well as a keynote presentation entitled, "LNAs Practicing What We Preach - Just for the Health of It" from motivational speaker/LNA from the Lakes Region, Gina E. McGuire. Event partners included North Country Healthcare, Northwoods Center for Continuing Education, NH Health Care Association, NH Sector Partnership Initiative, and the Morrison Communities.
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Two more sessions left of this virtual 4-part educational town hall series on how we can prevent a surge of HIV/AIDS in our rural North Country communities. You can register and participate in as many sessions as you want! Here are dates and topics of the remaining sessions, which meet on Tuesday @ 3-5 pm:
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November 17: Medical Care- Treatment as Prevention and PrEP*: An Effective Response for Rural Providers to HIV Prevention (*prescription that has shown to be highly effective for preventing HIV)
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December 1 (World AIDS Day!): HIV Testing and Linkage to Medical Care: Increasing Access to Medical Care and Support Services in Rural Communities
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Region 7 IDN Quarterly Meeting |
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WHEN: November 19 @ 9 - 11:30 am
WHAT: Hear updates on the progress our region has made towards integrated care as well as next steps as we approach the end of the DSRIP, the allocation plan for the remaining incentive funds, and multiple success stories, thanks to the hard work of IDN7 partners!
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Join us @ NCHC's 2020 Annual Meeting! |
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