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 largest private employer, serves patients across New England. Dartmouth Health provides access to more than 2,300 providers in nearly every area of medicine, delivering care at its flagship hospital, Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center (DHMC) in Lebanon, NH. Its network of hospitals, outpatient centers, clinics and home care facilities, spans a broad geographical area. Year after year, DHMC is named the #1 hospital in New Hampshire by U.S. News & World Report, and is consistently recognized for high performance in numerous clinical specialties and procedures. Dartmouth Health includes Dartmouth Cancer Center, northern New England’s only National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers and one of less than than 60 total nationally; Dartmouth Health Children’s, which includes the state’s only children’s hospital (Children’s Hospital at DHMC/CHaD) and more than 20 locations around the region; eight member hospitals in Lebanon, Keene, Claremont, Hampstead, and New London, NH, and Windsor and Bennington, VT; Dartmouth Health Home Care; Dartmouth Health Connected Care Center for Telehealth, serving patients as far away as Texas; and more than 30 primary and multi-specialty clinics across New Hampshire and Vermont. Through its partnership with Dartmouth College, Dartmouth’s Geisel School of Medicine and the White River Junction VA Medical Center, Dartmouth Health trains nearly 400 medical residents and fellows annually and performs cutting-edge research and clinical trials with international impact. Dartmouth Health and its more than 16,000 employees are committed to serving the healthcare needs of everyone in the communities it serves and to providing every patient with exceptional, state-of-the-art, personalized care. Learn more at dartmouth-health.org.