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New Hampshire

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  State Contacts
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New Hampshire covers 8,968 square miles, with a 2011 estimated population of 1,318,194 people – with 496,434 people living in rural New Hampshire (USDA-ERS). Concord is that state capital. The state’s largest cities are Manchester, Nashua and Concord. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 94.6% of the state’s population is white, 1.3% is Black/African-American, and 2.9% is of Hispanic/Latino origin (2011).

The state has 13 hospitals identified by the Flex Monitoring Team as Critical Access Hospitals (March 2013). There are 12 Rural Health Clinics in New Hampshire (Kaiser, 2012), and 10 Federally Qualified Health Centers provide services at 52 sites in the state (Kaiser, 2010). 11.0% of New Hampshire residents lack health insurance (Kaiser, 2011).

According to the USDA Economic Research Service, the average per-capita income for New Hampshire residents in 2009 was $42,646, although rural per-capita income lagged at $40,215. Estimates from 2010 indicate a poverty rate of 10.7% exists in rural New Hampshire, compared to 7.4% in urban areas of the state. 2010 ACS data reports that 9.9% of the rural population has not completed high school, compared to 8.5% of urban populations. The unemployment rate in rural areas is 5.2%, while the rate in urban New Hampshire, is 5.6% (USDA-ERS, 2011).

For a national comparison, please see an overview of the United States.


Data Sources
U.S. Census Bureau: State & County QuickFacts; USDA Economic Research Service: State Fact Sheets; Kaiser Family Foundation State Health Facts; Flex Monitoring Team: Critical Access Hospital List

State Contacts

Directory of Rural Health Contacts: New Hampshire
Contact information for people and organizations in New Hampshire with an interest in rural health.

Organizations

Bi-State Primary Care Association (BSPCA)
State/regional organization
Works to foster the delivery of primary health care services to medically underserved and geographically, culturally, and linguistically isolated persons in the states of New Hampshire and Vermont.

Carsey Institute
Nonprofit/Foundation
Is located at the University of New Hampshire and supports research on vulnerable families, community development and rural America.

Center for Rural Emergency Services and Trauma (CREST)
State/regional organization
Works to improve rural emergency services and trauma care in rural communities in New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine and surrounding areas.

Center for Rural Partnerships at Plymouth State University
State/regional organization
Works with diverse local populations and community leaders including elected officials, community groups, schools, developers and others to preserve and enhance New Hampshire's rural quality of life.

ConnectNH
State/regional organization
Is a public/private partnership with organizations throughout New Hampshire dedicated to developing an affordable, interactive videoconferencing network utilizing high-speed telecommunications.

Endowment for Health
State/regional organization
Works to improve the health and reduce the burden of illness for the people of New Hampshire, especially the vulnerable and underserved.

HUD Community Development Block Grants: New Hampshire
Federal government
Contact information for the State CDBG program. Provides funding for community development projects.

National Network of Libraries of Medicine, New England Region (NN/LM-NER)
State/regional organization
Supports collaboration among 16 regional libraries and over 500 library and information centers in the states of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont.

New Hampshire Area Health Education Center (AHEC)
State/regional organization
Provides healthcare workforce development.

New Hampshire Children's Trust Fund (NHCTF)
Nonprofit/Foundation
Supports community-based programs that prevent child abuse and neglect through grantmaking and other types of assistance.

New Hampshire Citizens Health Initiative
State/regional organization
Creates and sustains a public dialogue that will improve the systems that finance and provide health care in New Hampshire.

New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services (NHDHHS)
State government
Helps people in partnership with families, community groups, private providers, other governmental agencies and many thousands of foster parents, neighbors, and citizens.

New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services: Minority Health Office
State government
Focuses on the provision of culturally and linguistically appropriate services to New Hampshire's residents. Maintains communication with racial, ethnic and other medically underserved populations to create partnerships to enhance the overall health of the communities by addressing health disparities.

New Hampshire Division of Child Support Services
State government
Helps families establish and enforce child support orders, both medical and financial. Can also establish paternity with or without the help of the courts.

New Hampshire Fuel Assistance Program
State/regional organization
Provides telephone numbers to local Community Action Agencies to learn about fuel assistance program.

New Hampshire Hospital Association (NHHA)
State/regional organization
Works to enhance the clinical and economic performance of hospitals, improve public confidence in hospitals, and expand access to coverage and care for the citizens of New Hampshire.

New Hampshire Recruitment Center
State/regional organization
Represents medical and dental practices throughout New Hampshire in their search for qualified health care professionals including but not limited to: physicians, nurse practitioners, certified nurse midwives, physician assistants, dentists and dental hygienists.

New Hampshire Regional Extension Center
State/regional organization
New Hampshire State Health Information Technology Regional Extension Center (REC) that helps health care providers become meaningful users of electronic health records by providing information and technical assistance.

New Hampshire Rural Health & Primary Care Program
State government
Offers technical assistance to rural health care providers and organizations, supports clinician recruitment and retention efforts, and disseminates healthcare related information to rural healthcare stakeholders. A division of the Department of Health and Human Services.

New Hampshire: North Country Health Consortium
State/regional organization
A rural health network, created in 1997, as a vehicle for addressing common issues through collaboration among health and human service providers serving Northern New Hampshire.

Northeast Regional Center for Rural Development (NERCRD)
State/regional organization
One of four regional rural development centers in the nation. Focuses on rural issues including community and economic development, food systems, natural resources, and entrepreneurship. Serves a 12 state area in the Northeast region which includes CT, DE, MA, NJ, NY, RI, PA, WV, NH, ME, MD, VT.

NorthEast Telehealth Resource Center
State/regional organization
One of the telehealth resource centers funded by the federal Office for the Advancement of Telehealth. Assists health care organizations, health care networks, and health care providers in the implementation of cost-effective telehealth programs to serve rural and medically underserved areas and populations. Includes Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut and New York.

Resources for Communities and People Solutions
State/regional organization
Works with communities of all sizes to address a broad range of needs.

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development: New Hampshire
Federal government
Works to increase homeownership, support community development and increase access to affordable housing. The HUD state office provides information about HUD housing programs and local contacts for the state.

USDA Rural Development State Offices: Vermont and New Hampshire
Federal government
Committed to helping improve the economy and quality of life in all of rural America. The Rural Development State Office provides information about Rural Development programs and applications for financial assistance.

Tools

ERS State Fact Sheet: New Hampshire
Website
Lists statistics on population, educational attainment, employment, income, farm characteristics, and farm financial indicators for the state.
Sponsoring organization: USDA Economic Research Service

National Healthcare Quality Report State Snapshot: New Hampshire
Website
Health care quality report for the state, based on the National Healthcare Quality Report.
Sponsoring organization: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality

New Hampshire Health Centers Data
Website
Provides access to information on Federally Qualified Health Centers for the state. Includes a map of FQHC locations, as well as information on the populations served by health centers, services provided, staff, patient visits, costs of care, and use of electronic health information.

New Hampshire KIDS COUNT Data Center (KCDC)
Website
Provides data on child well-being for the state.
Sponsoring organization: Annie E. Casey Foundation

New Hampshire QuickFacts
Website
Basic demographic and economic statistics for the state, with links to county-level data.
Sponsoring organization: U.S. Census Bureau

New Hampshire State Health Facts
Database
The latest state-level data on demographics, health, and health policy, including health coverage, access, financing, and state legislation. Individual state profiles and 50-state comparisons.
Sponsoring organization: Kaiser Family Foundation

NN/LM New England Region: New Hampshire Resources
Website
Overview of the state and provides links to state agencies, health associations, and other resources for residents of New Hampshire.
Sponsoring organization: National Network of Libraries of Medicine, New England Region

See also: State-by-State Resources: Tools

Maps & Map Collections

New Hampshire Rural Definition Maps
Geographic coverage: New Hampshire
Set of maps showing the geographic coverage provided by 9 different rural definitions for the state.
Sponsoring organization: USDA Economic Research Service
Date: 2000

See also: State-by-State Resources: Maps

Funding

BJ’s Charitable Foundation
Funding for hunger prevention, self-sufficiency, healthcare, and education to those who are underserved.

Claneil Foundation Special Project Fund
Provides seed funding to emerging nonprofits, or to new projects of established organizations in the areas of education; environment; health and human services; and hunger and nutrition.

Dollar General Youth Literacy Grants
Funding to schools, public libraries, and nonprofit organizations to help students who are below grade level or experiencing difficulty reading.

Entergy Micro Grants
Provides grants for projects that effectively impact arts and culture; community improvement/enrichment; education and literacy; the environment; or healthy families.

Gladys Brooks Foundation Grants
Offers grants for libraries, educational institutions, hospitals, and clinics.

National Network of Libraries of Medicine New England Region Funding
Provides funding for National Network of Libraries members located in the New England region to assist them in conducting outreach and technology projects.

Nonprofit Training Resource Fund
Grants to organizations for employees to attend approved classes and courses that will enhance their job performance.

Inactive Funding

Inactive Funding Opportunities - Lists additional funding programs for this state that are not currently accepting applications. Programs that are inactive may be offered again in the future.

Documents, Reports and Other Publications

Carsey Five-Year Report, 2008-2013: Building Knowledge for Families and Communities
Sponsoring organization: Carsey Institute
Reports on the research activities of the Carsey Institute including addressing the challenges and opportunities facing rural families and communities and understanding the complex effects of policy changes in different parts of rural America.
Date: 2012

Case Studies on Transit and Livable Communities in Rural and Small Town America
Author(s): Sean Barry
Sponsoring organization: Transportation for America
Collection of 12 case studies providing examples of how small cities, towns, and rural regions across the country are transforming themselves into more livable communities.
Date: 09 / 2010

Changing Faces of New England: Increasing Spatial and Racial Diversity
Author(s): Keneth M. Johnson
Sponsoring organization: Carsey Institute
Discusses racial diversity in New England. Includes information about rural or Nonmetropolitan New England.
Date: 2008

Continuity and Change in Coos County: Results from the 2010 North Country CERA Survey
Author(s): Chris R. Colocousis, Justin R. Young
Sponsoring organization: Carsey Institute
Examines community problems, environmental and economic concerns, and community cohesion and confidence in the local government in Coos County, New Hampshire.
Date: 2011

Coos County Youth and Out-of-School Activities: Patterns of Involvement and Barriers to Participation
Author(s): Erin Hiley Sharp
Sponsoring organization: Carsey Institute
Looks at patterns of youth participation in structured out-of-school activities in rural Coos County, New Hampshire.
Date: 2012

Demographic and Economic Profile: New Hampshire
Author(s): Kathleen K. Miller
Sponsoring organization: Rural Policy Research Institute
Discusses demographic and economic data including population, race, education, age, poverty, income, and more. Includes maps and graphics.
Date: 02 / 2009

Demographic Change in the Northern Forest
Author(s): Kenneth M. Johnson, Miranda H. Mockrin, Susan I. Stewart
Sponsoring organization: Carsey Institute
Examines the population redistribution in the Northern Forest, which includes counties scattered across northern and central Maine, New Hampshire, New York, and Vermont.
Date: 03 / 2012

Forging the Future: Community Leadership and Economic Change in Coös County, New Hampshire
Author(s): Michele Dillon
Sponsoring organization: Carsey Institute
Case study to investigate how local community leaders in rural New Hampshire (Coös County) assess the initiatives, challenges, opportunities, and progress in the North Country during this time of economic transition.
Date: 07 / 2012

Help in a Haystack: Youth Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services in the North Country
Author(s): Meghan L. Mills
Sponsoring organization: Carsey Institute
Addresses substance abuse and mental health problems faced by youth in rural northern New Hampshire.
Date: 2010

Hospital Performance Measurement in Rural New England: Recommendations for Improvement
Sponsoring organization: New England Rural Health RoundTable
Serves as the foundation for developing a set of useful quality indicators and measures that Critical Access Hospitals in New England can use.
Date: 03 / 2010

How Far Would You Drive for Fresh Food? How Some Rural New Hampshire Residents Navigate a Dismal Food Landscape
Author(s): Jennifer J. Esala
Sponsoring organization: Carsey Institute
Describes the experiences of eighteen rural New Hampshire mothers with young children trying, and often struggling, to secure healthy, affordable, and quality foods.
Date: 2011

Mapping Food Insecurity and Food Sources in New Hampshire Cities and Towns
Author(s): Sally K . Ward, Barbara Wauchope
Sponsoring organization: Carsey Institute
Presents a geographic picture of the towns and cities in New Hampshire at risk for food insecurity.
Date: 04 / 2012

Navigating the Teen Years: Promise and Peril for Northern New Hampshire Youth
Author(s): Anne Shattuck
Sponsoring organization: Carsey Institute
Discusses the challenges that teenagers face growing up in rural areas of New Hampshire.
Date: 2009

New Hampshire Demographic Trends in the Twenty-First Century
Author(s): Kenneth M. Johnson
Sponsoring organization: Carsey Institute
Summarizes current population redistribution trends in New Hampshire and shows how fertility, mortality, and migration contributed to these trends.
Date: 05 / 2012

Small Business Profile: New Hampshire
Sponsoring organization: Small Business Administration
Profile of the state's economy, covering the number of firms, industry composition, small business income, banking, women and minority business ownership, and employment.
Date: 2 / 2013

Stretching Ties: Social Capital in the Rebranding of Coos County, New Hampshire
Author(s): Michele Dillon
Sponsoring organization: Carsey Institute
Reports on how rural New Hampshire's, Coos County used rebranding as an economic development strategy to create strong personal and institutional relationships within their community.
Date: 10 / 2011

Teachers Matter: Feelings of School Connectedness and Positive Youth Development Among Coos County Youth
Author(s): Nena F. Stracuzzi, Meghan L. Mills
Sponsoring organization: Carsey Institute
Analyzes data on two groups of rural New Hampshire youth and reports that a sense of school connectedness is one of the most important factors in promoting socio-emotional well-being and positive youth development.
Date: 2010

Too Much Free Time: Coos County Youth Who Are Least Involved in Out-of-School Activities Are Most Likely to Use Drugs and Alcohol
Author(s): Erin Hiley Sharp
Sponsoring organization: Carsey Institute
Reports on the links between out-of-school activity involvement and cigarette and tobacco, alcohol, and marijuana use among eleventh graders in rural Coos County, New Hampshire.
Date: 2010

What's for Dinner? Finding and Affording Healthy Foods in New Hampshire Communities
Author(s): Nena Stracuzzi, Sally Ward
Sponsoring organization: Carsey Institute
Reports that more than one in ten New Hampshire households experience food insecurity, and there is considerable variation across the counties in the state.
Date: 2010

Youths' Opinions About Their Opportunities for Success in Coös County Communities
Author(s): Erin Hiley Sharp
Sponsoring organization: Carsey Institute
Examines youths’ beliefs in Coos County, New Hampshire about their access to educational and occupational opportunities in their rural community.
Date: 2012

See also: State-by-State Resources: Documents

Journals

New England Rural Health News
Newsletter of the New England Rural Health RoundTable
Sponsoring organization: New England Rural Health RoundTable

Success Stories

Caring Community Network of the Twin Rivers Project
This project will enhance existing mechanisms and expand the capacity of the network to provide effective, coordinated, and accessible services throughout the region that improve health outcomes of uninsured clients with chronic illness and provide appropriate services such as emergency room care.

Rural Outreach for Improvement of Chronic Disease Management Project
The focus of the Rural Outreach for Improvement of Chronic Disease Management Project is implementation of a chronic disease management program for individuals with diabetes,chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and congestive heart failure in rural southwestern New Hampshire.

Northern Telepsychiatry Initiative
The Northern Tele-psychiatry Initiative will improve the mental health of children and teens, reduce the number of admissions to child psychiatric in-patient units, and help prevent the inappropriate prescribing of psychotropic medications by primary care practitioners to children and adolescents.

Page last updated 5/9/2013
Topic last reviewed 10/3/2012

Events
Oct 24 - 25, 2013
2013 16th Annual Symposium
New England Rural Health RoundTable
Pre-Conference Workshop: Enhancing Collaboration to Improve the Care of Rural Veterans - Introduction to VHA for Community Providers and Health Care Organizations
Radisson Hotel
Nashua, NH
Contact:
  802.453.5475
  neruralhealth@gmail.com


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Funding for this project was supported by Grant Number U56RH05539 from the Office of Rural Health Policy, Health Resources and Services Administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The contents of this website are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the funder.