BY TIMOTHY LAROCHE
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CLAREMONT — HOPE for New Hampshire Recovery, which closed the doors to its center here this week, received a reprieve in the form of $20,000 to reopen and find a funding source to remain open.
While Claremont center Manager Wayne Miller says that while a long-term solution has yet to be found, the announcement that Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center will put up $20,000 in bridge funding shows promise.
Following news that the Manchester-based non-profit would close the doors of four recovery centers, the organization began seeking changes. The centers were located in Claremont, Berlin, Concord and Franklin.
The organization announced last month that it would consolidate operations in its Manchester office for financial reasons. Its philosophy is based on coaching addicts through recovery.
Members of the organization’s board of directors say the closures follow a period of financial stress. Rather than risk an organization-wide bankruptcy, board members made the decision to consolidate efforts at the flagship Manchester center.
“There’s going to be many people who will be involved in trying to find a solution to ensure that the services delivered by HOPE for [New Hampshire] Recovery are still delivered in the community,” Mayor Charlene Lovett said.
Miller met with city government representatives, community leaders and members of the organization’s administrative team last week to discuss ways to keep the center open. While discussions are scheduled to continue this week, Miller said, he is confident that a long-term solution will be found.
“There were a lot of ideas and expressions of support for the center, me and especially our members who will be without a recovery community center (as it currently exists),” Miller said. “The conversation was so fluid and dynamic that I feel confident in saying that a new recovery center is going to be developed in the community. How soon we can make that happen and what a new recovery center would involve are discussions that this group and I will continue having.”
The New Hampshire Executive Council’s approval on Wednesday of a $600,000 peer recovery support provider contract between the organization and the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services also opens funding for the Berlin and Franklin centers to reopen. As part of the contract review process, NH DHHS released a report this week detailing insufficient financial and business controls in the organization.
The department issued several recommendations to the organization to its improve operations following a late-November site review. In developing the report, the department reviewed documentation from the organization’s Manchester flagship center and interviewed with staff at the Claremont, Concord and Manchester locations.
While the report said that the organization was “in reasonable financial health” until June 2017, board of directors member Joe Graham said last month that the closing of four centers was the result of financial troubles at the organization that arose later in the year.
“We found that the agency had inadequate formal policies and procedures and lacked [board of directors] approval,” the report said. “In addition, the agency did not sufficiently submit required financial and program data or adhere to accreditation standards as outlined in the contract.”
The review found several deficiencies in human resources, contract administration and business areas including: lack of documentation for staff training and staff development plans, a lack of supervision notes included in personnel files, insufficient reporting of group coaching sessions and meeting minutes, insufficient data collection and reporting, a lack of Medicaid billing and a lack of policies covering weapons, nepotism, criminal background checks and budget procedures.
In response, the organization promised improved financial controls and reporting and the development of more formal human resources procedures.
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