Awarded Grants

We are the largest community mental health center in the state seeking to increase the cultural competency of our staff. The project we are undertaking, as described in the attached letter, will assist us in this endeaver.

To manage effectively all aspects of merging Androscoggin Valley Hospital /Mountain Health Services (AVH/MHS) physician practices located in Berlin and Gorham into an expanded Coos County Family Health Service with FQHC status for all patients.

To increase the volume of care and to reduce waiting time for restorative care and oral surgery by serving as a site for the Tufts Dental School externship and to expand education, prevention and volunteer programs.

To implement the recent Greater Derry-Salem Regional Transportation action plan to improve transit in the Greater Derry/Salem region (area does not have a public transportation system or agency) through coordination and expansion of existing demand/response services and the eventual development of a standard fixed route bus service.

To develop a sustainable training program for qualified medical interpreters; to provide leadership in the develop a system that meets the interpretation needs of the Limited English Proficient (LEP) population statewide; to train and educate health professionals on cultural competency and use of medical interpreters; to provide outreach and education to LEP health consumers about medical interpretation; to develop a continuing education program for trained medical interpreters.

To create systemic change for strengthening New Hampshire's safety net by ensuring the sustainability of New Hampshire's community health centers (CHCs) to ensure the delivery of essential primary and preventive health care services to the uninsured and underinsured in New Hampshire.

To develop a program, In Shape, to improve the overall health status and increase the lower than average life expectancy for the population of adults who have, or are at risk of developing, a severe/persistent mental illness (SPMI) by targeting risk factors that contribute to increased mortality from diabetes, substance abuse and cardiovascular disease.

To develop and implement a comprehensive school-based dental program, grades K-3, which includes screening, chairside preventive treatment and education, community referrals for restorative care as needed, classroom education, and a fluoride rinse program at schools in eastern Cheshire County.

To prepare youth service providers in northern New England to meet the needs of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and questioning (GLBTQ) youth in order to enhance their health, safety and well-being.

To determine and implement a cost effective and sustainable system of oral health services to address the unmet oral health needs of the Strafford County community.

To implement a statewide coordinated program (all NH AIDS Service Organizations) to provide counseling, HIV Testing and referral activities using the Internet for the most at-risk for HIV as well as support individuals already diagnosed with HIV/AIDS.

To implement a pre-school-based oral health prevention program at the VNA Child Care & Family Resource Center in order to meet the complex oral hygiene needs of low-income, high-risk preschool children without access to dental care. To investigate with others the feasibility of to expand oral health services at the Center to the broader community by developing the site as a satellite of the Poisson Dental Clinic during off hours and to replicate the program in similar settings in Manchester and in other NH communities.