Editor’s note: This is one of several A Look Ahead 2020 stories we are running this week in which we take a look at what 2020 has in store for our coverage area.
Monadnock Community Hospital in Peterborough and its partners have taken the next step in combining their systems, formally filing their agreement with the state’s Attorney General’s Office for review.
Pending state approvals, GraniteOne Health – a collaboration of three hospitals including Monadnock Community Hospital – and Dartmouth-Hitchcock Health are planning to combine certain services, which could take effect as early as this year. While the hospitals already work cooperatively in some areas, the combination would provide better access to specialty services like pulmonology, endocrinology and dermatology and telemedicine for MCH.
Monadnock Community Hospital officials said last year when the combination of services was announced that it is technically not a merger since each of the hospitals will maintain their own names and brands, and Catholic Medical Center, which is part of GraniteOne, will maintain its Catholic identity and religious guidelines.
The entities filed with the attorney general on Dec. 30, Lauren Collins-Cline, director of communications and public relations at Catholic Medical Center said in an interview Wednesday.
The Charitable Trust unit will be reviewing the filing, and holding several public hearings on the partnership over the next four months, which have yet to be scheduled, according to filings on the Attorney General’s website. Those hearings will be similar to public hearings already held by the involved hospitals, which took place in the impacted communities and gave residents and stakeholders a chance to weigh in on their concerns.
By law, the state’s Charitable Trusts Unit must review the proposed combination and issue a report with a recommendation by April 28.
“We’re looking forward to the process that lies ahead,” Collins-Cline said.
The filing will have to be reviewed by several state offices, including the state’s director of charitable trusts, the anti-trust bureau and the federal trade commission to ensure the combination doesn’t breach any state or federal laws, said Collins-Cline.
“Each agency has its own separate laws, a checklist, that they have to make sure the agreement complies with,” Collins-Cline said.
Persons interested in commenting on the transaction may do so by writing to charitabletrusts2@doj.nh.gov or to Director of Charitable Trusts, 33 Capitol St, Concord, NH 03301 by April 2, 2020. Documents relating to the combination may be viewed at www.doj.nh.gov/charitable-trusts/graniteone-health.htm.