Council agrees to help fire department expand mobile integrated health program

LACONIA — Councilors approved applying for a grant to expand the city's mobile integrated health program, during a meeting Monday night.

The program is a collaboration between Laconia Fire Department, Concord Hospital-Laconia, and Partnership for Public Health. The fire department’s initial grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration will expire in September 2027.

Fire Chief Tim Joubert and his department requested support from council to apply for funding through the Foundation for Healthy Communities GO-NORTH initiative. This would assist them in expanding the mobile health program, aimed at addressing health concerns early on, managing chronic illnesses, and reducing unnecessary 911 calls by connecting clinical care and public health with emergency services.

Since the program launched in 2024, Laconia Fire Department has become a “leader in the state” due to its success, with other communities turning to Laconia to learn about the program and its funding.

The grant would support the mobile health program with up to $500,000 per year for five years. City Manager Kirk Beattie said the grant would not require any matching funds from the city.

“We're trying to improve and expand upon an existing program, which is a different part of this grant. So, not only will we be able to improve services in Laconia, but we can also branch out to other surrounding communities, as well. And in the future, hopefully through building purposes and contracts, we can also get some revenue to help sustain this program,” Joubert said.

With additional funding, Laconia Fire would add paramedic positions and a dedicated medical director, as well as expanding into communities like Belmont and Northfield.

“So, the biggest thing with the program, is that we want to make sure that no one's falling through the cracks, and there's continuous care, without interruption,” Joubert said. “We've been able to do that for the last two-plus years, and have the data to prove that.”

The program has a strong focus on the Lakes Region's aging and elderly community, who make up a majority of the population in Belknap County.

“Chronic diseases we deal with quite a bit. The community healthcare workers assist with transportation, food insecurity, things like that,” Joubert said. “We get referrals to patients from our providers here at Laconia Fire Department, plus doctors through Concord Hospital-Laconia. So, again, we're seeing a diverse group of people, but most of it is chronic disease, specifically, really, in the elderly population.”

Joubert is eager to continue expanding the program with additional funding, to help as many patients as possible.

“In Laconia, right now with the program that we have, we're just scratching the surface with what we could do to help people avoid unnecessary transports to the ER, to get them to the right care at the right time and at the right place,” Joubert said. “By expanding the program, I think we can do that, as well as some of our area departments that maybe don’t have the populations or the quantity, but do have the needs in small pockets.”

At the meeting Monday, councilors voted unanimously to support the Laconia Fire Department in applying for the grant. If awarded, the grant will return to council for a first reading and public hearing before it would be approved.

“One of the things that I'm really excited about is there might not need to be an MIH program in every single town in New Hampshire. The populations just aren't there,” Joubert said. “But, if we work collaboratively, we should be able to encapsulate a lot of those people that are falling through the cracks.”