How New Hampshire Licenses and Oversees Its Hospitals

New Hampshire has no county-run hospitals and no single statewide hospital system. A patchwork of independent community hospitals, regional health networks, investor-owned facilities and one academic medical center serves the state's roughly 1.4 million residents. Our directory lists 42 of them, from Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon to Upper Connecticut Valley Hospital in Colebrook, close to the Canadian border. Knowing who regulates these facilities helps when you have a billing dispute, a records request or a safety concern.

The Department of Health and Human Services licenses hospitals under RSA 151, the state chapter on health facility licensing. Its licensing staff inspect facilities, investigate complaints and confirm that services and beds match what a hospital is approved to run. Federal Medicare certification and accreditation, often through The Joint Commission, sit on top of the state license.

Nonprofit hospitals face another layer of review. The Attorney General's Charitable Trusts Unit receives their community benefit reports and reviews transactions that affect charitable assets. Individual clinicians are licensed elsewhere, through the Office of Professional Licensure and Certification. A complaint about a physician or nurse therefore goes to a different office than a complaint about the hospital itself.

Ownership varies more than most people expect. Portsmouth Regional Hospital and Parkland Medical Center in Derry are investor-owned, while most other facilities on this list are nonprofits. Wentworth-Douglass Hospital in Dover is affiliated with Mass General Brigham, a reminder that New Hampshire care is closely tied to Massachusetts systems. A county page in this directory is only a geographic filter. Counties generally run nursing homes and corrections, not hospitals.

Southern Cities Versus the North Country: How Access Differs

Hillsborough and Rockingham Counties: Many Options Close Together

The densest cluster of care runs along the I-93, I-95 and Route 101 corridors. Hillsborough County has the most listings, including Catholic Medical Center on McGregor Street in Manchester, St Joseph Hospital on Kinsley Street in Nashua and a St Joseph medical center in Milford. Smaller sites such as Monadnock Community Hospital in Peterborough serve towns well west of the interstates.

Rockingham County adds Portsmouth Regional Hospital, Parkland Medical Center, Exeter Hospital and Hampstead Hospital, a behavioral health facility. Nashua and Salem sit near the Massachusetts line, so many families there also weigh Boston-area systems. That choice usually comes down to insurance networks rather than drive time. Check your plan before any planned procedure.

Merrimack and Strafford Counties: The Capital Region and the Seacoast Edge

Merrimack County includes Dartmouth-Hitchcock Concord on Pleasant Street, Franklin Regional Hospital and New London Hospital. Concord is the state capital and works as a hub for the central part of the state. In Strafford County, Wentworth-Douglass Hospital in Dover draws patients from the Route 16 corridor and the Seacoast.

Coos and Grafton Counties: Long Distances, Smaller Hospitals

Coos County has only three listings: Androscoggin Valley Hospital in Berlin, Upper Connecticut Valley Hospital in Colebrook and Weeks Medical Center in Lancaster. Each is built for local emergencies, basic inpatient care and primary care. Complex cases such as major trauma, advanced cardiac surgery or specialized cancer treatment are often stabilized locally and then transferred.

That is where Grafton County matters. Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon is the state's academic medical center and a Level I trauma center. Dartmouth-Hitchcock also operates the DHART air ambulance service for critical transfers. Grafton County also lists Cottage Hospital in Haverhill, Littleton Regional Healthcare and Speare Memorial Hospital in Plymouth, which keep many residents close to home.

Many small rural hospitals hold federal critical access status. That designation limits bed counts and ties Medicare payment to costs, which helps these hospitals stay open. The tradeoff is a narrower menu of specialty services. Elsewhere, Valley Regional Hospital in Claremont serves Sullivan County, Cheshire Medical Center in Keene anchors the Monadnock region, and Lakes Region General Hospital in Laconia covers the lakes area. Memorial Hospital in Conway handles the busy Mount Washington Valley.

Picking the Right New Hampshire Facility Before You Leave Home

Not every listing is a full-service hospital. Salem Surgery Center on Stiles Road handles scheduled procedures, Crotched Mountain Rehabilitation Center in Greenfield focuses on rehabilitation, and Hampstead Hospital focuses on behavioral health. Calling ahead takes two minutes and can prevent a wasted trip. Use this checklist.

Primary care clinics and specialty practices are often owned by the same health system as the nearest hospital. A referral from your regular doctor therefore tends to point you toward one network, which keeps your records connected. You can still ask for a different hospital if your insurance covers it.

Behavioral Health and Rehabilitation Care in New Hampshire

Mental health capacity is one of the state's most discussed health care gaps. New Hampshire Hospital in Concord is the state-run psychiatric hospital, and Hampstead Hospital in Rockingham County provides inpatient behavioral health care. Even so, patients in crisis have at times waited in emergency departments for an inpatient bed. If you or a family member is in crisis, call or text 988 first. Trained counselors can often resolve the situation by phone or point you to local help.

Rehabilitation is another specialty. Crotched Mountain Rehabilitation Center in Greenfield specializes in rehabilitation and long-term support for people with complex disabilities. Most rehabilitation after a stroke, joint replacement or serious injury starts at the hospital that treated you. Case managers there arrange inpatient rehab, home health or skilled nursing. Ask for a discharge planner early, ideally the day you are admitted, because bed availability and insurance approval can take several days.

Finally, hospital phone numbers usually reach a main switchboard. Say the department you need, such as the emergency department, admissions, billing or medical records, and the operator will transfer you. Write down the name of the person you speak with and the date of the call. That small habit helps if you later need to dispute a charge or confirm what you were told.

Hospitals across New Hampshire provide a full range of medical services from emergency and trauma care to specialized treatment programs, with public and nonprofit facilities playing a particularly important role in serving uninsured and rural populations throughout the state.

Hospitals locations are available in 27 cities across New Hampshire. They are spread across 10 counties.

Cities with the highest concentration include Concord, Lebanon, Manchester, which serve as major medical centers with academic teaching hospitals, trauma centers, and specialized treatment facilities for the surrounding region.

Residents of New Hampshire should know their nearest emergency room location before a medical crisis occurs, and should check their insurance network to understand which hospitals in the state are covered under their plan.

Hospitals by Counties

B
C
G
H
M
R
S

Residents of New Hampshire who face large hospital bills should ask about financial assistance programs before the bill goes to collections. Most hospitals are required to notify patients about charity care options, and applications can often be submitted months after a visit.

Browse Hospitals by county across New Hampshire to find the nearest location.

Finding the Right Hospital Across New Hampshire

Start with the town where you live or work, then look at the next hospital over. In New Hampshire, a short drive can cross into a different health network, a different set of insurance contracts and sometimes a different county. St Joseph Hospital in Nashua and its Milford medical center share a name but are separate sites with separate addresses and phone lines, so check which one you need before you leave.

The phone numbers on each listing come from our database and are meant as a first call. Ask for the emergency department, the admissions desk or medical records, depending on your task. Hours, visiting rules and departments change, and winter weather can close back roads in the North Country and the Lakes Region. If a listing looks outdated, confirm it with the hospital directly and with your insurer.

Hospitals in the White Mountains see heavy seasonal traffic. Memorial Hospital in Conway, in Carroll County, serves year-round residents as well as hikers and skiers, so plan for busier periods on holiday weekends. Keep your insurance card and a medication list in your phone or glove box. Those two items speed up registration in any emergency department in the state.

The Department of Health and Human Services licenses hospitals under RSA 151. To report a concern about care, safety or conditions, contact the department's health facilities licensing office and describe what happened, when, and which unit was involved. Keep copies of dates, names and bills. Complaints about a specific doctor or nurse go to the Office of Professional Licensure and Certification instead. If the hospital is accredited, you can also report to The Joint Commission. Raising the issue first with the hospital's patient advocate or patient relations office often brings the fastest response.

Yes, for emergencies. Under the federal EMTALA law, a hospital with an emergency department must give a medical screening exam and stabilize an emergency condition regardless of insurance or ability to pay. That applies at places like Cheshire Medical Center in Keene or Lakes Region General Hospital in Laconia. Afterward, ask the billing office for a financial assistance application. Nonprofit hospitals must have a written financial assistance policy under federal tax rules. You may also qualify for NH Medicaid or a marketplace plan, so ask a hospital financial counselor to screen you.

Smaller hospitals such as Androscoggin Valley Hospital in Berlin, Weeks Medical Center in Lancaster and Upper Connecticut Valley Hospital in Colebrook stabilize patients and arrange a transfer when a condition needs a higher level of care. The emergency physician chooses the receiving hospital based on the specialty required and bed availability. Larger centers such as Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon accept many of these transfers. Air ambulance may be used when time is short or weather makes a long ground trip difficult. Ask the transfer team which facility will receive you and whether your insurer needs notice.

Contact the hospital's medical records or health information management department through the main number on its listing, such as 603-650-5000 for Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center. Federal HIPAA rules give you the right to inspect and copy your records, and the hospital generally must respond within 30 days. Expect to sign a written authorization and show photo ID. Hospitals may charge a reasonable, cost-based fee for copies, although patient portal access is often free. If you want records sent to a new doctor, name the recipient on the form.

Check the facility type before you go. Salem Surgery Center on Stiles Road in Salem is built for scheduled surgical procedures, not walk-in emergencies. Crotched Mountain Rehabilitation Center in Greenfield focuses on rehabilitation, and Hampstead Hospital in Hampstead focuses on behavioral health care. For a true emergency, call 911 so the ambulance crew can take you to the nearest emergency department. For a mental health crisis, call or text 988 at any hour. If you are unsure, call the listed number and ask which services they accept without a referral.

Federal rules require hospitals to post their standard charges online, including a list of shoppable services, so look for the price transparency page on the hospital's website. The New Hampshire Insurance Department also supports NH HealthCost, a tool for comparing what insurers pay for common procedures at different facilities. For planned care, ask for a written estimate and confirm that the hospital, surgeon, anesthesiologist and lab are all in your network. The federal No Surprises Act also limits out-of-network bills for emergencies. Keep every explanation of benefits in case you need to dispute a charge.