Hospitals will operate seven of the nine hubs at the center of the Sununu administration's newly designed approach to treating substance abuse. But despite the promise of millions of dollars in aid, no hospitals in Manchester or Nashua chose to participate in the program.
Governor Chris Sununu says New Hampshire's "hub and spoke" system will be running by year's end. The goal is to put around-the-clock addiction services no more than an hour's drive from anyone in the state.
"Is it going to work perfectly on day one? Probably not, but that's OK. It’s about having a coordinated system, to get the feedback form different regions of the state to get the information, to get the data so that we are constantly making the system better."
While the bulk of the system's hubs will be run by hospitals, Sununu says in the state's two largest cities, the state will partner with Granite Pathways, a local subsidiary of national provider, FEDCAP.
"We approached hospitals in Manchester and Nashua and they did not want to participate under the contracts will be provided."
Most of the federal money the state is relying on to fund the new system - about $46 million over the next two years - is expected to be spent on services to patients.
