Dartmouth Health has submitted plans to the city of Concord for a 36,000 square-foot expansion of its Concord facility, according to an email statement from media relations specialist Cassidy Smith on behalf of Dartmouth Health.
The additional space will enhance Dartmouth Health’s ability to address “the growing healthcare needs” of Southern New Hampshire, Smith wrote.
“We are excited to bring additional care options to the community, and we look forward to working through the local review process and will share additional details as planning progresses,” Smith added.
Geisel School of Medicine professor Emma Dean, who specializes in health economics, said that having nearby medical services “matters a lot” for patients who need specialty care, as specialists and subspecialists can be “key” in providing the “best care” to patients.
“If you think about someone who needs specialty care who’s living in southern New Hampshire, if [they] need super specialized care, [they] would either have to travel to Boston or travel to Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center,” which is located in Lebanon, N.H., Dean said. “That travel distance can make a big difference in quality of life.”
Geisel School of Medicine professor and vice chair of the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice Carrie Colla said that access to behavioral healthcare — a specialty focused on treating mental health — is “particularly important for population-level health.” Behavioral healthcare is “a place where New Hampshire has really been lacking, where we need to expand access,” Colla said.
Dean noted that improving access should go “beyond just the direct medical system” and into expanding quality care regardless of background.
“From what we’ve seen, no matter how you look at it, people who have come from lower socioeconomic backgrounds have fewer resources and are less able to access special care,” Dean said. “So if you want to close those barriers … we need to be considering how to reform policy.”
Colla said that she thought the Concord expansion “reflects the growing healthcare needs” of southern New Hampshire.
“If you look at population metrics of where growth is happening in New Hampshire, it’s mostly in the South,” Colla said. “One of the things we try to do is get patients access to specialty care as close to their homes as possible.”
Access is “a high priority” for Dartmouth Health, she added.
“There are tremendous opportunities based on telehealth and artificial intelligence to work towards further integration of care across the Dartmouth Health system in ways that will really impact patients,” Colla said.
Jeremiah Rayban is a reporter and editor for The Dartmouth from Wilmington, Del., majoring in economics. Outside of The D, he enjoys reading, art and trivia.
