Rising costs and increased competition have led to a wave of hospital mergers over the past decade. Now, only five of New Hampshire’s hospitals remain unaffiliated with larger healthcare organizations. While some smaller hospitals have merged with Dartmouth Health — the largest health care system in the state — others have merged with nearby New Hampshire hospitals or looked south to Massachusetts.
And the merger and affiliation trend continues to play out in the Granite State as Catholic Medical Center is seeking a merger with the country’s largest for-profit health care system — HCA Healthcare — while Valley Regional Hospital in Claremont became the newest member of Dartmouth Health in late July. “If you watch the national news, every day there’s another merger or hospital closing,” says Darin Roark, president of Wentworth-Douglass Hospital in Dover, citing workforce shortages in nursing support personnel, and the demand for acute patient care as reasons. Wentworth-Douglass has been owned by Mass General Brigham since 2017.
“A hospital is a giant machine that takes a lot of professionals to bring care.” Roark says while Wentworth-Douglass had a smooth transition with Mass General Brigham, mergers can present challenges in terms of integrating cultures. “You can see that with Catholic Medical Center, which is a religious hospital merging with a private organization,” he says.
“And there is always going to be a fear of change, of being part of a bi.
