Councilors at their meeting on Monday night heard from Mayor Andrew Hosmer that his meeting with leaders at Concord Hospital went well, and included assurances they’re sticking around Laconia long-term.

The meeting, which took place in Concord last Friday, saw the mayor and City Manager Kirk Beattie meet with multiple hospital leaders, including Chief Executive Officer Robert P. Steigmeyer, to discuss the city’s concerns regarding the long-term sustainability of the Laconia campus of Concord Hospital.

“We had a very good discussion with lots of energy and lots of ideas shared,” Hosmer said.

The conditions within the hospital’s agreement with the former LRGHealthcare, approved by the state’s charitable trust division four years ago, provide the basis for uncertainty.

According to that agreement, struck between parties when LRGHealthcare sold its assets in going out of business, Concord Hospital agreed to continue operating the Laconia and Franklin campuses for a period of five years, “providing at least the level of service which exists as of the [closing]” and so long as the hospital maintained a reasonable operating margin, enough to cover expenses.

The $30 million transaction, approved by the state in 2021, followed years of financial hardship experienced by LRGHealthcare. Anxieties regarding the hospital’s long-term plans and their importance to the community have been discussed numerous times at city council meetings in recent months.

“[Beattie], very ably, expressed the concerns of the council about the future of the hospital and its most significant role in our community, and the value of having a sustainable, well-run, professional hospital in the community,” Hosmer said. “We did relay our request to them that they come before the city council — not all of them necessarily, but maybe someone from executive leadership and speak to all of you. I will say, there’s nothing firm, yet, but they are taking it into consideration and continuing to put a plan in place that provides for the long-term sustainability of the hospital here in Laconia.”

Hospital leaders apparently assured Hosmer and Beattie they’d continue to make investments in their infrastructure and their operations in Laconia, and Franklin, as well. They also told Hosmer and Beattie they intend to remain in Laconia beyond the initial five-year commitment.

“They have also indicated that they will continue to expand, in appropriate time, the breadth and array of services that are offered to the community as well,” Hosmer said.

“They were anxious, certainly, to assure this community and they’ve done so through a couple of meetings locally with groups, to assure the community that they are here for the long-term. And that the success of both Laconia and Franklin campuses is critical to their overall commitment to delivering high-quality health care to the residents and patients located between Concord, Merrimack County, and Belknap County here in Laconia as well.”

“Ultimately, I think we all know that the proof is in the action,” Hosmer said.

Ward 1 City Councilor Bruce Cheney said while the affirmations offered by the hospital were encouraging, he’d like the city to engage with a law firm which specializes in dealing with health care organizations, to represent Laconia’s interests.

“I’m pleased to hear what you have to say — I do, however, want to encourage this council to seriously consider in the near future my request that we seek counsel from an organization that deals primarily with hospitals,” Cheney said.

“Talk is cheap and they can tell us what they want. What happens, as you suggested, is what’s critically important. I don’t think this city can afford to lose its hospital, period, and I’d like to have somebody who, as I suggested previously, knows not only what questions to ask, but who to ask them of.”

Cheney said he and Beattie attended a meeting with the charitable trusts division, and their representatives agreed the city should seek legal counsel.

“She was very supportive of that idea,” Cheney said. “She thought that would be one of the best things we could do for the city, is to have competent counsel.”

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