As published in The Caledonian-Record on Thursday, March 30, 2023
By Robert Nutter
At Littleton Regional Healthcare (LRH), we have been committed to providing high-quality, compassionate, and accessible healthcare in a manner that brings value to all across the greater North Country of New Hampshire and the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont since 1907. This mission is the driving force behind the work we do every day of the year. Ensuring that we can adhere to this mission in ever-changing times is an ongoing challenge that we face and requires LRH to continually look at how we should adapt to best serve our patients.
Over the last few years, the LRH Board of Trustees and leadership have engaged in a strategic planning process that focused on looking forward and have determined that LRH needs to be very intentional to be successful in carrying out this mission over the long term. The healthcare landscape is constantly evolving, and it is becoming more difficult for rural hospitals to fulfill their mission and fully serve their communities. As the largest provider of healthcare in the North Country, it is essential that LRH not simply exist – but grow and thrive.
While we have been fortunate to recruit many highly skilled and talented medical providers, professionals, staff, and caregivers, workforce challenges across healthcare remain a high concern. Ongoing investments in medical technology, information technology, and facilities are necessary, and we must remain current to address community healthcare needs. These are only a few of the challenges we face when we work to ensure that the services we provide as a critical access hospital can be delivered in ways that maintain our financial viability well into the future.
Based on the strategic planning work, the Board of Trustees, the Medical Staff Leadership, and the Executive Team have begun a comprehensive exploration process to thoroughly analyze and evaluate potential affiliation options that align with our vision to provide exceptional patient care and grow to meet future community needs, while enabling us to maintain our local identity.
We do not foresee any impact on our employees, our daily operations or on the care we provide to our patients. We are fully committed to maintaining the highest standards of quality care and patient satisfaction, and our focus remains on providing this exceptional care to the communities we serve. We will continue to ensure that our staff needs are a top priority and remain the employer of choice.
As the leading and largest provider of healthcare in Northern New Hampshire, LRH is a vibrant and financially strong organization. Our organizational strengths – led by our highly committed team – will guide us through this process and ensure that we will continue to be the essential healthcare institution in the region well into the future.
In summary, our Board of Trustees has a responsibility to continually look for ways to improve LRH and help us continue to fulfill our mission well into the future. These steps to explore potential affiliation partners is in alignment with these responsibilities. We are confident that the process will help us determine if there is a partner who complements the resources we have in place to further our mission of providing high-quality, compassionate, and accessible healthcare.
Robert Nutter is the President & CEO of Littleton Regional Healthcare.
