We work closely with partners—from schools and nonprofits to public health coalitions—to address the root causes of poor health like food insecurity, social isolation, and mental health challenges.
Greg Norman, Dartmouth Health’s senior director of community healthDartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center (DHMC) and Dartmouth Hitchcock Clinics, members of Dartmouth Health, provided more than $326 million in community benefits between July 2023 and June 2024, reinforcing its mission to advance health equity, expand access, and support community wellbeing across New Hampshire and Vermont.
The investment—representing more than 10% of DHMC total operating expenses—includes programs and services such as financial assistance, uncompensated costs of caring for patients with Medicaid, community health education, mental health initiatives, support for vulnerable populations, and partnerships addressing food security and substance use prevention.
“The real power of community benefits lies in collaboration,” said Greg Norman, Dartmouth Health’s senior director of community health. “We work closely with partners—from schools and nonprofits to public health coalitions—to address the root causes of poor health like food insecurity, social isolation, and mental health challenges.”
Key highlights from the most recent community benefits report include:
- $214 million in financial assistance and unreimbursed Medicaid costs, ensuring access to care regardless of a patient’s ability to pay.
- Providing financial support to prevention and early intervention services like the ALL Together substance misuse prevention coalition and DHMC’s medical-legal partnership.
- Support for behavioral health and suicide prevention initiatives, including DHMC’s Addiction Treatment Program and Moms in Recovery Program, and supporting recovery services offered at DHMC and by community non-profits.
- $1.3 million directed toward community health improvement services and direct community support.
- Continued investment in community organizations providing food supports, and in DHMC’s hunger and nutrition programs like the Cancer Center Food Pantry and Food is Medicine programs for pregnant and post-partum patients.
- Providing health education classes and support services to the public through DHMC’s Women’s Health Resource Center, Aging Resource Center, and the Heart and Vascular Center CARES program.
Additionally, DHMC absorbed $209 million in Medicare shortfall, enabling the care of thousands of seniors across the region.
“At Dartmouth Health, we believe in extending our care beyond the clinic or hospital walls. This commitment to community exists at each of our hospitals across our system,” said Joanne M. Conroy, MD, CEO and president of Dartmouth Health. “This investment is part of our commitment to improving lives, being part of our communities, and to building healthier futures for all who live in the region we serve. Our investments reflect both our responsibility and our deep gratitude to the places we call home.”
To read the full community benefits report, click here.
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.