Turco
Turco

Two Upper Valley Health Centers Receive Federal Funding

Montpelier — Two Upper Valley health centers have received a portion of nearly $2 million in federal funds directed to Vermont to increase access to treatment for substance use disorder and mental illness.

Little Rivers Health Care Inc., of Bradford, Vt., received $168,812 and Springfield (Vt.) Medical Care System Inc., received $175,700. The money is part of $200 million released by the Health Resources and Services Administration to health centers in all 50 states. A total of 10 centers in Vermont will receive the funding. Ten New Hampshire centers received a similar level of funding from the program; none are in the Upper Valley.

The funds will be used to increase peer recovery support for Vermonters with opioid abuse disorders, build community education programs and implement programs to stop prescription drugs being misused, according to a news release from U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announcing the funding.

Although Vermont has been proactive in fighting the opioid epidemic, opioid-related overdose death rose 40 percent in the state between 2015 and 2016, the release said. Deaths have doubled since 2010.

Sunapee Cove Expansion To Serve Memory Care Needs

Sunapee — Sunapee Cove Assisted Living has begun work on a $4 million addition and renovation project that includes building a new memory care unit designed to serve people with dementia.

The project will increase the number of individual residential units from 42 to a mix of 53 independent, assisted living and memory care units.

“This expansion is needed in the Lake Sunapee Region,” Antony Venti, Sunapee Cove’s executive director, said in a telephone interview. “This population, as they’re aging, are having more memory care issues and we want to be able to adequately address them.”

The a new memory care unit will allow the facility to deliver specialized care to seniors suffering from Alzheimer’s and dementia.

The two-story, 14,000-square-foot addition will also include a new community room, health services area and lounge. Renovations will also be done to the existing four-story, 31,000-square-foot building, but the construction will completed in phases in order to have the smallest effect on residents. Finally, the outdoor area will be improved with patios and walkways to Lake Sunapee. North Branch Construction of Concord is handling the project, which is expected to be complete by fall 2018.

DHMC Doctor to Present on Transgender Health Care

Newport, N.H. — Dr. John Turco, an endocrinologist from Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, will speak tomorrow night in Newport about the medical needs of the transgender community. The talk will cover the gender identity spectrum, the timing and process of gender transitioning, hormones used in transitioning, gender-confirming surgery, and fertility issues associated with gender transitioning.

The presentation is part of the “Let’s Talk” series run by Rural Outright, an initiative to provide support and advocacy to LGBTQ people and allies in Sullivan and lower Grafton counties.

The talk will takes place at 6 p.m. at the Newport Medical Center, 11 John Stark Highway, Newport. The event is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be provided.

— Compiled by Kelly Burch