Laconia's loss becomes Plymouth's gain: Former Concord Hospital docs hired by Speare

PLYMOUTH — Drs. Gurvinder Bali and Valentin Milchev abruptly lost their jobs with the internal medicine department of Concord Hospital-Laconia in September. Less than two months later, they found a new home at Plymouth’s Speare Memorial Hospital.

The doctors were two of three unceremoniously fired by administrators of the Concord Hospital system. Their loss left as many as 6,000 patients without a primary care doctor and in need of making new appointments and relationships, according to the estimates of another physician fired at the same time, Dr. Daniel Kallmerten.

Kate Tarbox, a spokesperson for Speare Memorial Hospital, confirmed Monday that Bali began working there this month, and Milchev is expected to begin working in January, both for Speare Primary Care.

“Specializing in internal medicine, Drs. Milchev and Bali are dedicated to providing exceptional primary care to adult patients,” Tarbox wrote in a press statement on Wednesday. “They often serve as a patient’s first point of contact for most medical issues, can diagnose, treat, and prevent disease, and counsel patients on wellness. They develop life-long relationships with patients and make recommendations based on each patient’s unique situation.”

Milchev, who provided primary care to Laconia for 25 years, said he’s eager to continue helping patients in January.

“I am excited to continue practicing internal medicine in central New Hampshire, contributing to the health and well-being of those who live here,” he said in the release. “Especially in the friendly and collaborative environment at Speare Primary Care.”

Bali, who also worked in internal medicine, said he’s happy to work for an organization looking to increase access to services and providers.

“Speare’s interest in growing as an organization by adding services and providers for the betterment of the community ensures the health and well-being needed in rural New Hampshire,” Bali said. “It is beneficial that patients have access to multiple services under one roof in a warm and welcoming environment.”

Patients can call Speare Primary Care to schedule an appointment at 603-536-1881.

Following the departure of Bali and Milchev from Concord Hospital-Laconia, hospital spokesperson Dawn Beers reiterated Concord Hospital's commitment to the Lakes Region and said their goal is to add two to three primary care providers over the next year, and one new provider would join the team in November. 

But three of Laconia’s representatives to the state Legislature — Republicans Steven Bogert, who’s also a city councilor in Ward 5, and Mike Bordes, and Democrat Charlie St. Clair, sent a letter to Concord Hospital President Robert Steigmeyer on Oct. 30, expressing concern regarding a potential reduction of medical services Lakes Region residents may experience. 

“As you know, this area has an aging population, which is reliant on quality, readily accessible healthcare. Any decrease in these services concerns them,” the letter read in part. “Many of these patients have complex medical conditions, which require frequent office appointments. Being forced to change providers or having to travel long distances to receive care is a barrier that many of them cannot easily overcome.”

The representatives expressed concern regarding a potential for reduced services, as well as appreciation toward Concord Hospital’s acquisition of facilities in Laconia and Franklin about five years ago, adding they’d support a public meeting with hospital officials to discuss their concerns and hear the hospital’s plans for health care in the Lakes Region moving forward.

“If Concord Hospital-Laconia were to decrease services, as one of Laconia’s largest employers, we are concerned about the job-related loss that could occur, as well as the increased burden that would be placed on our pre-hospital ambulance services, and community healthcare support teams,” the letter read.

But none of Laconia’s state representatives received a reply from executive leadership at the hospital. Bordes said he wasn’t necessarily surprised by their silence, but thought asking to have a public meeting to express constituents' concerns was appropriate.

“I don’t think that we were asking much from them,” he said. 

Bordes said he’s received feedback from his constituents who expressed concern regarding a decrease or loss in services provided to residents of Laconia and the surrounding areas. A consolidation of primary care services in Concord would have a disproportionate impact, particularly upon older patients or those without reliable transportation, and Bordes said the idea of patients traveling long distances to complete routine appointments like a CAT scan is not ideal.

“Which is a little absurd, in my view,” he said.

St. Clair echoed Bordes’ concerns, noting he was born at the hospital, and medical services have been provided to the community there for generations.

“It is concerning, I was born there in 1950 for God’s sake,” he said. “That hospital’s been there for a long time.”

He, too, received feedback from constituents who expressed concern about services offered there. He remembered Concord Hospital’s acquisition of LRGHealthcare — the state approved the $30 million acquisition in 2021 — and said people at the time were optimistic about the future of medicine in the Lakes Region, adding that the hospital serves many people outside of the City of Laconia.

“Everybody thought it was going to be great,” he said.

“It would be a disaster for a lot of people, it would be a real hardship — it’s a good hospital up there.”

Bogert said he’s as concerned today as he was when he signed the Oct. 30 letter, and noted many of the older or retired residents of the Lakes Region rely on primary care at Concord Hospital-Laconia. 

“I’m always concerned with the medical services within town,” he said. “Concord Hospital-Laconia takes care of a lot of these people.”

Bogert pointed to the reduction of birth care at the Laconia facility — the maternity ward was closed in 2018 and hasn’t reopened — noting it's a hardship placed upon new families, and said he hoped other patients wouldn’t have to drive all the way to Concord to obtain routine medical care.

“That’s kind of inconvenient if you’re in the middle of labor,” he said. 

He also expressed concern regarding the potential impacts to municipal emergency medical services which could occur if medical care is further reduced in Laconia or if it’s consolidated in Concord to a greater degree.

Concurrent with local anxieties regarding the availability of primary care in the Lakes Region, Concord Hospital-Laconia added two new providers. Dr. Sana Fatima joined Concord Hospital Internal Medicine in Laconia on Nov. 18, hospital spokesperson Dawn Beers said Friday afternoon. Earlier in the month, Dr. Peter Moran joined the primary care practice in Gilford, and Beers said another physician is expected to join that practice soon. 

Beers said there are 55 primary care providers across the Concord Hospital system who are accepting new patients, 10 of whom work in the Lakes Region. 

“We continue to invest in primary care by actively recruiting with a goal of increasing the number of primary care providers in this region,” she said in an emailed response to questions.

And when asked if Steigmeyer had received the letter written by Bordes, Bogert and St. Clair and if he’d considered their suggestion of attending a public meeting to address the concerns of community members, Beers said he’d already met with various stakeholders to hear their concerns regarding local primary care.

“President and CEO Robert P. Steigmeyer and members of our senior leadership team have been meeting with community partners, healthcare organizations, and business leaders in the Lakes Region to discuss the healthcare needs of this area and share investments being made in programs and services.”