Under pressure from state regulators, Exeter Hospital has agreed to delay a series of planned cuts for six months, New Hampshire Attorney General John Formella said Wednesday.
Exeter Hospital has faced an uproar over its plans to cut neurology, podiatry, pediatric dentistry and allergy and immunology care at its Core Physicians practice, along with a widely used paramedic service.
The hospital initially told patients those services would end within weeks. But Formella said Wednesday the hospital had agreed to postpone the cuts after his office stepped in.
“We have at least secured a commitment from them that they will pause any discontinuation of services for six months while we do a complete and full review of what's happening here,” Formella said during a meeting of the New Hampshire Executive Council on Wednesday.
Massachusetts-based health system Beth Israel Lahey bought Exeter Hospital last year, after promising to expand services and make investments totaling $375 million over more than a decade.
Formella’s office approved that deal, after imposing a number of conditions. On Wednesday, he said his office will review whether the cuts at Exeter Hospital violate those terms.
“The actions of Beth Israel and Exeter over the last few weeks have raised a lot of concerns,” Formella said, “a lot of concerns for me as to whether they're complying with the terms of the final judgment, whether they're complying with all of their obligations under the law.”
“We've had a number of conversations the last couple of weeks,” he added. “We've had some very unpleasant conversations.”
In a statement Wednesday evening, Formella said Exeter Hospital had agreed to continue neurology, pediatric dentistry, podiatry, allergy and immunology, and its Advanced Life Support paramedic program for “up to six months.”
In the interim, Exeter Hospital has agreed to cooperate with the state’s review and create detailed transition plans for each service “to ensure that there is no lapse in patient care,” according to Formella’s statement.
Formella said during the meeting that Exeter Hospital would only be allowed to terminate a service during the six-month window if it can be transitioned to another provider, without negatively impacting patients.
“We're going to let them do that, as long as it can be done in a way that's appropriate,” he said.
In a statement Wednesday evening, Exeter Hospital spokesperson Sonya Vartabedian cited “significant challenges facing the healthcare industry" and said the cuts were part of an effort to ensure the hospital's "future stability."
"After continued discussions with the Attorney General’s Office, we have agreed to extend our podiatry, pediatric dentistry, neurology, allergy-immunology, and paramedic intercept services and ensure additional support to patients in this transition period," Vartabedian said. "We remain focused on delivering outstanding care and ensuring we have a strong and stable foundation to care for our community long into the future.”
