...I am totally confident that this partnership is in the best interest of LRH and the patients they serve, and we look forward to welcoming LRH into the Dartmouth Health family, strengthening both organizations in the process.
Joanne M. Conroy, MDAfter two years of extensive evaluation of various affiliation models, Littleton Regional Healthcare (LRH) is pleased to announce that its Board of Trustees has chosen Dartmouth Health (DH) as its preferred partner. LRH and DH have signed a letter of intent (LOI), which serves as the next step toward LRH joining the Dartmouth Health system.
The signing of the LOI by LRH and DH represents a key step forward in the affiliation process that will include substantial due diligence and regulatory review of the transaction by the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office.
LRH and DH share a strong commitment to providing high-quality, accessible healthcare, and both organizations are confident that coming together will enable LRH to maintain current programs and services while allowing it to grow to support the region’s future healthcare needs.
In early 2023, LRH announced it had entered into a comprehensive and intentional process, led by its board of trustees, to evaluate the potential benefits of affiliating with a larger healthcare system. This lengthy process involved many steps, including a request for proposals, thorough review of responses, and careful selection of a preferred future partner that best aligns with the organization's mission, vision, and values.
The LRH Board of Trustees set future-focused criteria for any potential partner to ensure affiliation would support LRH’s long-term sustainability and preserve LRH’s role as the trusted local healthcare provider for generations to come.
LRH and DH have a long and broad history of collaboration, with a focus on keeping care close to home and bringing more services to the greater North Country region. The two organizations have existing clinical service agreements in place in areas such as cardiology, dermatology, oncology, and sleep medicine, as well as several programs that support telemedicine provider-to-provider consultation.
“This decision marks a major step forward for Littleton Regional Healthcare and for the communities we serve. After careful review, discussion, and community-focused decision-making, our board of trustees has selected Dartmouth Health as our future system partner, and we are beginning exclusive negotiations toward full membership,” said Robert Nutter, president and CEO of LRH.
“Dartmouth Health and LRH share a crucial goal: providing the highest quality, easily accessible healthcare to a rural population,” said Joanne M. Conroy, MD, CEO and president of Dartmouth Health. “We have seen in recent years the increasing challenges for rural healthcare providers, and we know we are stronger together. We still have to go through the regulatory process, but I am totally confident that this partnership is in the best interest of LRH and the patients they serve, and we look forward to welcoming LRH into the Dartmouth Health family, strengthening both organizations in the process.”
LRH will hold a community listening session on Wednesday, October 22 at 5:00 pm for patients and the community. This session, hosted at LRH, will involve both LRH and DH leadership and serve as an opportunity to hear directly from the community about the transaction and how it can benefit those served by LRH.
“We began this process with very specific goals in mind – a continued focus on the quality, compassion, and personal touch patients expect from LRH, maintaining and expanding access to premier healthcare services, and ensuring our organization is well-positioned to serve this region well into the future,” said Nutter. “We firmly believe DH is the right partner that allows us to achieve these goals. By joining Dartmouth Health, we are not just preparing for the future, we are building a stronger, healthier future for our community together.”
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.