Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, N.H., pointed a finger at the state in its formal reply to allegations of understaffing at New Hampshire Hospital, the state's psychiatric hospital in Concord, according to the New Hampshire Union Leader.
Michael Connolly, an attorney with the firm Hinkley Allen of Concord, wrote a letter Friday to Department of Health and Human Services Commissioner Jeffrey Meyers on behalf of Dartmouth-Hitchcock in response to a letter Mr. Meyers wrote to the hospital last week, which alleged contract violations and demanded solutions.
In Mr. Connolly's letter, the hospital admits to "minor deviations from the strict contractual terms," but said these deviations were accepted by DHHS, and that Dartmouth-Hitchcock "continued to perform under the agreement without notice or complaint," according to the report.
Mr. Connolly contends the state has forfeited its right to enforce sanctions on the hospital because it had not raised the issue in the past and because it undermined the hospital's recruitment efforts, according to the report.
Read the full report here.