CSAP: The North Country Health Consortium

CPH includes the following services and programs:

For additional information about any of these programs, please contact us:
North Country Health Consortium, Inc.
262 Cottage St, Suite 230
Littleton NH 03561
603-259-3700 (phone)
603-444-0945 (fax)

Public Health Network

North Country Public Health Network

Who we are:

The North Country Public Health Network (NCPHN). NCPHN is housed within the North Country Health Consortium. The Consortium receives funding from the state of NH Division of Public Health (DHHS-DPHS).

NCPHN is one of 15 public health networks in the state of NH.

Why:

NH does not have county health departments and has only a few local health departments. After September 11, 2001, the state realized that there was a gap in public health infrastructure in NH. They developed the public health networks to change that.

What we do:

NCPHN is responsible for preparing for and responding to public health incidents / emergencies.

Preparedness:

NCPHN holds RCC (Regional Coordinating Committee) meetings every month (Third Monday of every month 10:00am-11:30am). Municipal officials (i.e. EMDS, health officers, etc.) attend, as well as representatives from social service agencies and the five hospitals in our region.

NCPHN maintains and updates the region’s PHEPRP (public health emergency preparedness and response plan).

Response: ex. H1N1: NCPHN held over 50 clinics and administered over 2,300 vaccines in the region.

Where:

The service area has 36 communities in Coos and Northern Grafton Counties and serves a population of ~57,000 people.

What we’re doing currently:

NCPHN is currently working on revising the Multi-Agency Coordinating Entity (MACE) and regional point-of-dispensing (POD) plans. The state has developed a new template to streamline the POD planning process. There are 6 PODs in this region.

NCPHN is also responsible for developing contingency plans in the event of a mass disaster where hospitals would be incapacitated and reach medical surge capacity, and the region would have to set up and operate acute care centers (ACCs). NCPHN recently purchased medical supplies for the regional cache of strategic assets.

New Hampshire Immunization Program: The Northern NH Immunization Coordinator works to meet CDC recommendations for immunization against vaccine-preventable diseases across all populations within the North Country Region. Our region is one of six regions in the state of NH to participate in the NH Immunization Program.

Volunteer management plan: Through the NCHC offices, we operate the Northern NH Medical Reserve Corps (NNH MRC). The MRC is a national organization, under the Office of Civilian Volunteer Medical Reserve Corps and sponsored by the US Surgeon General. The mission of the Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) is to improve the health and safety of communities across the country by organizing and utilizing public health, medical and other volunteers.

For additional information, please contact: Amy Holmes, MHA, Community and Public Health Director (603) 837-2519 x228 aholmes@nchcnh.org

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New Hampshire Public Health Network (NHPHN)

The New Hampshire Public Health Network (NHPHN) works to assure coordinated and comprehensive delivery of essential public health services and serves as a local liaison with state agencies involved in the public's health and safety.

The Network is comprised of community-based partnerships involving broad public health interests [PowerPoint, 1.1 MB] including local health departments and health officers, fire, police, emergency medical services, health care providers, social service agencies, schools, media and advocacy groups, and leaders in business, politics and faith working together to address complex public health issues.
New Hampshire began funding community partnerships in 2000 to improve local public health capacity throughout the State. Currently there are 15 public health partnerships serving all of New Hampshire towns and residents.
"Government has a unique responsibility to promote and protect the health of the people built on a constitutional, theoretical and practical foundation. However, government public health agencies alone cannot assure the nation's health.... There is growing recognition that individuals, communities, and various social institutions can form powerful collaborative relationships to improve health that government alone cannot replicate."
- Institute of Medicine, The Future of the Public's Health in the 21st Century, 2003

Vision

The concept of a public health system describes a complex network of individuals and organizations that have the potential to play significant roles in creating the conditions for health. The components parts of a potential system can act for health individually, but when they work together toward a health goal, they act as a true system - a public health system.

The importance of an effective local public health system recognizes that health improvement is best achieved at the local level. Local communities can identify health problems, galvanize a community response, and devise appropriate local solutions based on available resources.

The vision for the Public Health Network is to:

Serve as a local, collaborative entity with collective responsibility for the health and safety of community residents;
Coordinate comprehensive health improvement efforts at the local level including assuring sufficient capacity for effective response to emerging public health threats;
Assure the delivery of The Essential Services of Public Health at the local level;
Serve as the local liaison with state agencies involved in the public's health and safety;
Coordinate the effective use of state prevention and health promotion funds at the local level.

What We Do
All public health network coalitions are working to engage the broad public health interests in their region to develop expanded leadership and organizational capacity for addressing community and public health problems.

Each community coalition has identified locally responsive strategies for supporting community health improvement that reflect local needs and opportunities. However, all partnerships are encouraged to engage in a common set of activities that form the core of public health network responsibilities. To organize a comprehensive and coordinated local response to protect and promote health, the public health partnerships must:

Assess local public health capacity
Monitor the health status of the community
Assure adequate capacity for diagnosis, investigation and response to health threats
Identify priority health problems in a community
Develop strategies for addressing local health concerns
Coordinate community assets to address local needs
Assess the impact of a local response and make continuous improvement
Serve as liaison with state health agencies

Funding support for the NH Public Health Network provided by:
NH DHHS
Division of Public Health Services
29 Hazen Drive
Concord, NH 03301-6504
Tel: (603) 271-5194
Neil Twitchell, Administrator
Ntwitchell@dhhs.state.nh.us
Web site: www.dhhs.state.nh.us

NH Department of Safety
Bureau of Emergency Management
33 Hazen Drive
Concord, NH 03305
Tel: (603) 271-2231 or (800) 852-3792
Jennifer Harper, Bioterrorism Coordinator
jharper@nhoem.state.nh.us
Web site: www.nhoem.state.nh.us

Technical Support

Community Health Institute (CHI)
501 South Street, 2nd Floor
Bow, NH 03304 USA
Tel: (603) 573-3300
Jonathan Stewart, Executive Director
jstewart@jsi.com
Web site: www.nhchi.org

New Hampshire Institute for Health Policy and Practice
4 Library Way, Hewitt Hall, Suite 202
University of NH
Durham, NH 03824
Tel: (603) 862-1128
Holly Tutko, Research Associate
Holly.tutko@unh.edu
Web site: www.ecnh.unh.edu

Carroll County Public Health Network
Ms. Carlene Ferrier, RN, MPH Executive Director
Carroll County Coalition for Public Health
PO Box 250
Center Ossipee, NH 03814
Tel: 603.301.1252
carlene@c3ph.org
www.c3ph.org

Franklin/Bristol Public Health Network
Mr. James Richardson
Public Health Network Coordinator
841 Central Street
Franklin, NH 03235
Tel: 603.934.0177 ext. 135
Fax: 603.934.2805
jrichardson@ccntr.org

Great North Woods Public Health Network
Amy Holmes
Great North Woods Public Health Network Coordinator
7 Main Street, Suite 7
Whitefield, NH 03598
Tel: 603.837.2519 ext. 224
aholmes@nchcnh.org

Greater Derry Public Health Network
Mr. Garrett Simonsen, Program Coordinator
Derry Area Health and Safety Council
Derry Municipal Center
14 Manning Street
Derry, NH 03038
Tel: 603.845.5539
Fax: 603.845.5129
garrettsimonsen@ci.derry.nh.us

Greater Exeter Public Health Network
Susan Geier
Greater Exeter Public Health Network Coordinator
20 Court Street
Exeter, NH 03833
Tel: 603.418.6404
sgeier@exeternh.org
Website: www.greaterexeter.org

Greater Manchester Public Health Network
Brita Nettleton, MPH
Senior Public Health Specialist
Manchester Health Department
1528 Elm Street
Manchester, NH 03101-1350
Tel: 603.624.6466 Ext. 317
Fax: 603.624.6584
bnettleton@manchesternh.gov

Greater Monadnock Public Health Network
Eileen Fernandes
Greater Monadnock Public Health Network Coordinator
Cheshire Medical Center
580 Court Street
Keene, NH 03431
Tel: 603.354.5454 x2130
Fax: 603.354.6674
efernandes@cheshire-med.com
Website: http://co.cheshire.nh.us/PublicHealth

Greater Nashua Public Health Network
Ms. Patricia Crooker
Public Health Network Coordinator
18 Mulberry Street
Nashua, NH 03060
Tel: 603.589.4507
Fax: 603.594.3452
crookerp@nashuanh.gov
www.gonashua.com

Greater Plymouth Public Health Network
Ms. Donna Quinn
6 Post Office Square
Plymouth, NH 03264
Tel: 603.536.1731
dquinn@midstatehealth.org

Greater Portsmouth Public Health Network
Julie Ann Day, MBA
Public Health Coordinator
1 Junkins Avenue
Portsmouth,NH 03801
Tel: (603) 610-7302
Fax: (603) 427-1593
jaday@ch.cityofportsmouth.com

Greater Sullivan County Public Health Network
Jessica McAuliff, MPH
Public Health Network Coordinator
5 Nursing Home Drive
Unity, NH 03743
Tel: 603.398.2222
Fax: 603.542.2829
phn@sullivancountynh.gov

Laconia/Meredith Public Health Network
Ms. Susan Laverack, Network Coordinator
780 North Main Street
Laconia, NH 03246
Tel: (603) 528-2145
Fax: (603) 527-3790
slaverack@lrpph.org

Strafford County Public Health Network
Ms. Katie Kemen
Health and Safety Council of Strafford County
652F Central Avenue
Dover , NH 03820
Phone: 603.335.0168
Fax: 603-953-0066
kkemen@hscstrafford.org
www.healthandsafetycouncil.org

Upper Valley Public Health Network
Chris Christopoulos
Lebanon Fire Department
12 South Park Street
Lebanon, NH 03766
Tel: 603.448.8810
chris.christopoulos@lebcity.com
www.mvhi.org

NORTH COUNTRY HEALTH CONSORTIUM
262 Cottage St, Suite 230 · Littleton NH 03561 · 603-259-3700 (phone) · 603-444-0945 (fax)

North Country Health Consortium: Public Health Network