The New Hampshire Attorney General’s Consumer Protection and Antitrust Bureau set the terms for Concord Hospital’s $30 million acquisition of LRGHealthcare on Tuesday, requiring among other things that it strengthen obstetrical services, although Chief Executive Officer and President Robert P. Steigmeyer said the labor and delivery services that ended in 2019 would not return. LRGHealthcare said at the time that there were too few deliveries to support the service.
Kevin Donovan, president and CEO of LRGHealthcare, said about 50 hospital employees were not offered jobs with the new owner, and a handful of those who were offered jobs declined to accept them. However, 1,138 individuals did accept jobs with Concord Hospital which now will operate LRGHealthcare’s two hospitals as Concord Hospital-Laconia and Concord Hospital-Franklin. Concord also will be handling clinical programs and services provided by HealthFirst Family Health Center in Laconia.
Steigmeyer also said Concord Hospital will be looking to restore orthopedic services in Laconia. It was unable to reach a new agreement with Advance Orthopaedic Specialists which, under its contract with LRGHealthcare, received subsidies that exceeded the business it brought in, according to a source close to the hospital. Concord Orthopedics, which is not affiliated with Concord Hospital, also could not reach an agreement with AOS, but does provided local services through Speare Memorial Hospital in Plymouth.
Cannabis Differs From Alcohol
Matt Simon of the Marijuana Policy Project testified against Senate Bill 60 during a hearing before the House Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee on Wednesday, saying that it is wrong to extend prohibitions on open containers of alcohol to marijuana. The bill provides that “no driver shall transport, carry, possess, or have any marijuana within the passenger area of any motor vehicle or OHRV upon any way in this state except in the original container and with the seal unbroken.” Simon argued that someone with an open can of beer or bottle of whiskey in a car is probably drinking it, but cannabis is more like having an open pack of cigarettes and does not mean the person is smoking in the vehicle.
The bill has already passed the Senate on a 21-3 vote last month, but opponents outnumbered supporters 95-33 during the House committee hearing. Heather Marie Brown, a member of the New Hampshire Therapeutic Cannabis Medical Oversight Board, called the bill “a direct attack against patients and undermines patients.”
Dr. Jerry Knirk, a Democrat from Freedom who serves as a state representative and co-chair of the oversight board, said medical marijuana is not the same as recreational use, and he suggested providing an exemption from the provisions of the bill for patients and caregivers, an amendment supported by Michael Holt of the Department of Health and Human Services.
Tuftonboro Police Chief Andrew Shagoury, representing the New Hampshire Association of Chiefs of Police, said too many drivers are under the influence of cannabis. “This is not about legalization or decriminalization,” he said. “This is about public safety and vehicles on public ways.”
Consent vs. Coercion
Franklin Police Chief David Goldstein, speaking for the New Hampshire Association of Chiefs of Police, advocated for a change in Senate Bill 40, which would prohibit police from pressuring a vehicle owner to consent to a search of a vehicle after the driver initially refuses to consent. Goldstein wanted a change in the bill’s language to clarify that a person could not be detained “solely” for refusing to consent to a vehicle search. He said that, as written, the bill would mean that, if an officer sees “blood dripping from the trunk,” he would have to avoid further communications with a driver who did not consent to the search. An officer should be able to detain an individual and investigate further if he observed something suspicious, Goldstein said.
Like other people in law enforcement, Goldstein did not oppose the bill, but thought changes were necessary. The American Civil Liberties Union New Hampshire supported it as written. A similar bill was approved by the House and is now going before the Senate for review.
University of New Hampshire Law School professor Buzz Scherr objected to inserting a word into the bill, saying it would cause confusing by inserting subjectivity. He said that established legal precedent ensures that an officer can detain a person and the vehicle if blood is dripping from the trunk.
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