Partnerships like the Dartmouth Health Upper Valley Community Partner Pilot are critical programs for us at Dartmouth Health in our ongoing work to improve health outcomes in the communities we serve.
Joanne M. Conroy, MDDartmouth Health and the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) today announced the recent launch of the Dartmouth Health Upper Valley Community Partner Pilot, a regional initiative of New Hampshire Care Connections. New Hampshire Care Connections strengthens coordination between healthcare providers, community-based organizations, and state partners to better support the health and well-being of Granite Staters.
The Dartmouth Health Upper Valley Community Partner Pilotwas established with DHHS and Unite Us, the state’s technology partner for integrating health and community-based care. In collaboration with the Granite United Way, the Pilot is creating a regional network of health care and social service providers working together to improve how individuals and families access essential health and social services by creating a coordinated, secure referral system.
“Partnerships like the Dartmouth Health Upper Valley Community Partner Pilot are critical programs for us at Dartmouth Health in our ongoing work to improve health outcomes in the communities we serve,” said Joanne M. Conroy, MD, CEO and president of Dartmouth Health. “Gaps in communication between health and social service providers impact health and this can be improved by creating a system that links these entities together. I am proud that Dartmouth Health will play a role in the creation of such a system in the Upper Valley.”
New Hampshire Care Connections enables participating healthcare and community organizations to securely send and receive electronic referrals, track outcomes, and better understand community needs related to non-medical drivers of health, including housing stability, food access, transportation, and other critical supports.
“We are proud to partner with Dartmouth Health and Unite Us on this innovative project to connect healthcare providers, community organizations and other stakeholders on the issues that matter most to the people of the Upper Valley,” said DHHS Commissioner Lori Weaver. “The launch of the Upper Valley Community Partner Pilot marks a major milestone in our work to establish New Hampshire Care Connections. We are excited to learn from this first phase as we build regional networks throughout New Hampshire to create a statewide coordinated referral system that will help everyone in New Hampshire access the services they need to thrive.”
The Pilot will serve as a real-world demonstration of how coordinated referrals between healthcare and community-based organizations – supported by shared technology, aligned workflows, and strong community partnerships – can improve care delivery and patient outcomes.
“At the heart of this effort is a strong collaboration with Dartmouth Health, the NH DHHS, and community organizations across the Upper Valley,” said Taylor Justice, co-founder and CEO of Unite Us. “This work is driven by the community itself and by a shared commitment to ensuring that when someone needs help, local partners are connected and ready to respond in a coordinated and meaningful way. This approach helps individuals and families across New Hampshire live healthier, more stable lives.”
The Pilot is already underway, with community engagement activities beginning in January 2026 and a phased roll out of the New Hampshire Care Connections platform in spring 2026. Lessons learned during the pilot will inform continued rollout of the platform in other regions across New Hampshire.
“The Upper Valley has a collaborative network of service providers that is envied by other regions of New Hampshire,” said Lynne Goodwin, MSW, human services director for the city of Lebanon. “The effectiveness of that network is directly related to getting key providers at the table, strengthening our community connections, and developing successful methods of communication and coordination. I’m optimistic that with the support of NH DHHS, and leadership from Dartmouth Health as an anchor organization, we can successfully implement a closed loop referral system that improves people’s experience with health care systems in the Upper Valley and leads to better health outcomes.”
New Hampshire Care Connections is a statewide network of healthcare providers, human services agencies, and community-based organizations working together to support individuals and families by connecting them to needed services in real time. The network streamlines referrals, protects individual privacy and consent, and supports effective follow-up to improve experiences navigating the healthcare system and advance better health outcomes.
To learn more about the New Hampshire Care Connections project, or join the network, visit dhhs.nh.gov/programs-services/nh-care-connections.
About Dartmouth Health
Dartmouth Health, New Hampshire’s only academic health system and the state’s largest private employer, serves patients across northern New England. Dartmouth Health provides access to more than 2,000 providers in almost every area of medicine, delivering care at its flagship hospital, Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center (DHMC) in Lebanon, NH, as well as across its wide network of hospitals, clinics and care facilities. DHMC is consistently named the #1 hospital in New Hampshire by U.S. News & World Report, and is recognized for high performance in numerous clinical specialties and procedures. Dartmouth Health includes Dartmouth Cancer Center, one of only 57 National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers in the nation, and the only such center in northern New England; Dartmouth Health Children’s, which includes the state’s only children’s hospital and multiple locations around the region; member hospitals in Lebanon, Keene, Claremont and New London, NH, and Windsor and Bennington, VT; Visiting Nurse and Hospice for Vermont and New Hampshire; and more than 24 clinics that provide ambulatory and specialty services across New Hampshire and Vermont. Through its historical partnership with Dartmouth and the Geisel School of Medicine, Dartmouth Health trains nearly 400 medical residents and fellows annually, and performs cutting-edge research and clinical trials recognized across the globe with Geisel and the White River Junction VA Medical Center in White River Junction, VT. Dartmouth Health and its more than 13,000 employees are deeply committed to serving the healthcare needs of everyone in our communities, and to providing each of our patients with exceptional, personal care.