Dube Building now has its first COVID patient

LACONIA — The first homeless COVID-19 patient is now being housed in a building on the old Laconia State School grounds, according to city officials.

Mayor Andrew Hosmer said the state contacted the city police and fire chiefs on Monday afternoon to notify them that the patient was being brought to the Dube Building.

Hosmer said he did not know if the patient had tested positive for coronavirus, or was COVID-symptomatic and awaiting test results.

A spokesman for the state Joint Information Center said, the state would not release any specific information about the patient. 

The mayor said he was pleased that the state had followed the established protocol of notifying the city in advance before the patient was brought to the facility, located off North Main Street.

Under the agreement between the city and the state, the Dube Building is being used only as a flex facility to house patients who have a medical referral, and if there is no other shelter available to house them.

Police Matt Canfield said he was notified at noon Monday by the state Department of Health and Human Services that a patient was en route to the Dube Building. The building now has 24-hour police security. Canfield said an officer is for the most part inside the building, but occasionally goes outside to conduct a security check around the grounds. In addition, the police cruiser which is assigned to that part of the city will periodically cruise around the area as an additional security check.

The state is to reimburse the city for the cost of the police protection.

The Dube Building is part of cluster of state-owned building located on a 235-acre campus that was once the location of the institution for people with developmental disabilities. It closed in the 1980s.

Hosmer pointed out that if the patient needs any non-emergency medical treatment, they will be taken to the community they came from for that care.

He said he did not know what community the patient came from.

Also on Monday, the city received a response to a letter Hosmer sent to the state setting forth the conditions it wanted the state to follow regarding the use of the Dube Building for homeless COVID patients. Hosmer’s letter was sent with the concurrence of the City Council.

The reply, signed by Assistant Safety Commission Perry Plummer, contains assurances that state will abide by several conditions, including: the Dube Building will only be used if no other facility is available; it will be staffed with people who have experience in drug abuse and mental health counseling; the state will be responsible for all transportation to and from the facility and will take patients back where they came from once the quarantine period is over; and that State Police will also be be patrolling the area around the building, which is located next to the entrance of Ahern State Park.

As recently as last week Plummer said the building could be used to house up to 20 homeless people, but hoped that would not be necessary.

Hosmer said he was pleased the state put the conditions under which it would manage the facility in writing.

“Plummer and the governor’s office were sensitive to our concerns, and I appreciate that,” Hosmer said.

The mayor said he toured the building on Sunday when a training session for emergency responders was underway. He said he was impressed with the preparations the state had made to have the facility ready for COVID patients and that training for personnel involved in operating the facility was “thorough and extensive.”