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MEDICAL PROVIDERS Elizabeth Chang MSN, FNP-BC Family Medicine Read More Keith Dominick MD Pediatrics Read More Nicolle Hyder FNP - C Nurse Practitioner Read More Karen Mather PA - C Family Medicine Read More Khai Ngo PA-C Family Medicine Read More Autumn Warren PA-C Family Medicine Read More Katherine Cherna-Kelleher RN, MSN, FNP - C Family Medicine Read More Melissa Eastman MSN, APRN, FNP-BC Family Practice Read More William J Kassler MD, MPH Internal Medicine, Public Health Read More Igbal Mohamed PA - C Family Medicine Read More Michelle Rey MSN, APRN, FNP-C, FNP-BC Family Medicine Read More Tonya Younger MSN, APRN, FNP-C Family Medicine Read More Mary Cullen DO Family Practice Read More Barry Alan Frank DPM Podiatry Read More Peter Kiprop MD Family Practice Read More Jessica Montemayor PA - C Family Medicine Read More Kristin Schmidt PA - C Family Medicine Read More Christopher Diamond MD Family Medicine Read More Katherine-Starr Goodwin PA Family Practice Read More Kristin Logan PNP - BC Pediatrics Read More Gavin Muir MD Family Practice Read More Amy Siemanowicz APRN Nurse Practitioner Read More

Explore the Ready, Set, Launch program at Amoskeag Health. This initiative offers resources and support to help parents and caregivers prepare for and navigate key transitions in their family’s journey. Ready, Set, LAUNCH Because it Takes a City to Raise a Baby Home Visiting for All There is no guidebook for bringing home a new baby! Our Ready Set LAUNCH program is for newborns and their families who live in Manchester and give birth at Elliot Hospital. We want to make the first few weeks of caring for newborns a little easier. The Ready Set LAUNCH service is customizable to what YOU need. Newborn Navigators are bilingual Community Health Workers trained to assist families with newborns. They're experts in local resources and can connect you with services like mom's groups, lactation consultants, and childcare scholarships. Your Newborn Navigator can also connect you with free Nutrition and Cooking Classes, support access to SNAP and WIC, or to the local diaper pantry. As parents themselves, they understand how hard the first few months can be and can provide support during those early days at home. About Newborn Navigators Meet a Newborn Navigator Any parent or caregiver of a newborn who resides in Manchester is eligible to receive this FREE, one-time service! You will be introduced to the service at discharge or receive a call from our Newborn Navigator. Our Newborn Navigators will meet you in the hospital and tell you about our service. They will offer to meet you remotely for your visit. Navigators will follow up with you after you leave the hospital and give you a Welcome Baby Bag prior to the visit. How Does Ready, Set LAUNCH Work? Your Newborn Navigator will ask you how your first few weeks have been for you, your child, and your family. Your Navigator will see whether there was anything you wish you had or anything you currently need. Y our Navigator can work with you to make referrals if you'd like them. Your Navigator will determine if you may benefit from, and are eligible for, Enhanced Navigation which provides you with up to five additional home visits to build additional resources and support. Your Navigator will follow up with you after your visit to make sure you and your family are doing well. What Happens During a Home Visit? Since its inception in 2021, the Newborn Navigator has met with 1,433 families at Elliot Hospital, conducted 436 home visits, and referred 482 times to services like Manchester Diaper Pantry, WIC, SNAP, and various food banks. Ninety of these families received services in a language other than English - 80% in Spanish and 20% spread over Dari, French, Nepali, Pashto, Portuguese, and others. About Our Community Impact Interested in learning more about our programs or getting involved with our community impact? Email CommunityInitiatives@AmoskeagHealth.org

IMPORTANT UPDATE At Amoskeag Health, we are committed to providing the best possible care for our patients while making strategic decisions for our future. As part of our commitment to improving and streamlining services, we will close our McGregor Street location on Friday, November 22, 2024. This closure is part of a temporary consolidation of our locations, as we look ahead to the future opening of the Mark Stebbins Community Center on the West Side of Manchester. McGregor Street Location Closure The McGregor Street site is our smallest location and has played an important role over the years. During the pandemic, it served as our only acute care site, allowing us to deliver essential services safely. However, since early 2023, McGregor has only been open part-time, focusing primarily on wellness visits due to its limited size. Since March 2020, many of our patients from the west side have been receiving their care at our three other locations on Hollis Street, Elm Street, and Tarrytown Road. These larger sites offer a wider range of services, allowing us to meet patient needs more effectively. The closure of McGregor will allow us to strengthen and focus our care at these larger facilities. Why Are We Closing McGregor? While McGregor is closing, this decision is part of a larger plan for the future. We are preparing for the development of the Mark Stebbins Community Center, which will provide expanded facilities and services with easy access for residents on the West Side. We are very excited about plans for the Mark Stebbins Community Center and the opportunities it will bring. Plans for the Future The McGregor Street location will close on Friday, November 22, 2024. As we approach the closure date, patients with appointments scheduled at McGregor will be contacted to reschedule their appointments at one of our other locations. Moving forward, all future appointments will also take place at these sites, where patients can continue to see their regular provider. If transportation to any of the three locations is a concern, we will help arrange transportation to ensure care remains uninterrupted. Next Steps for Patients Closing the McGregor site allows us to allocate resources more effectively and continue delivering comprehensive care at our larger locations. This decision supports our ongoing efforts to provide high-quality care and ensures the financial sustainability of our services as we prepare for the future. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us. You can reach us at (603) 626-9500. Thank you for your support as we work to strengthen integrated healthcare services to our community. Supporting Quality Care

The first-of-its-kind program has connected more than 2,700 Manchester families to care In its 10-year history, the Manchester Adverse Childhood Experiences Response Team (ACERT) has responded to more than 8,000 incidents involving children. The multidisciplinary program has connected more than 2,700 children and families affected by domestic violence and other crimes to the care and support they need to heal. On Thursday, October 8, partners, local organizations, advocates, and elected officials gathered at SEE Science Center to celebrate ACERT’s 10th anniversary and reflect on the program’s impact over the past decade. The nation’s first program of its kind, ACERT has earned the support of Governor Kelly Ayotte, Senator Jeanne Shaheen, Senator Maggie Hassan, Congressman Chris Pappas, and Mayor Jay Ruais. At Thursday’s celebration, Ruais thanked the professionals and community partners who have sustained the program. “This milestone demonstrates the power of collaboration and of supporting children and families. The ACERT approach recognizes that trauma does not have to define a child's future, and that timely intervention, compassionate support, and strong community connections can help children heal and thrive.” The core ACERT team includes advocates from the Manchester Police Department, Amoskeag Health, and YWCA New Hampshire. Each partner delivers unique skills, resources, and services to link families to dedicated, trauma-informed care that addresses both the emotional and physical needs of children. Kris McCracken, President and CEO of Amoskeag Health, said, “I love that the success of ACERT doesn’t belong to any one organization. It is the result of the collaboration among all the core partners, first responders, and community partners who have said yes when a family needed help.” Once a family establishes a connection with the core team, they gain access to a close-knit network of a dozen Manchester-based organizations. These partners provide specialized services focused on the safety and healthy development of children and families. “That lasting impact is possible because of the extraordinary community partnerships that make ACERT what it is today,” said Caroline Knight, Executive Director of YWCA New Hampshire. “We may be the ones who connect families to services, but it's our community partners who open their doors, walk alongside them, and help them move forward. As we celebrate ten years of ACERT, we are deeply grateful for their commitment and look forward to building even stronger partnerships in the years ahead.” ACERT began in 2016 as a small effort to fill a gap in follow-up support for Manchester children. It has since grown into a robust referral network that has expanded to several New Hampshire cities and drawn interest from communities beyond the Granite State. The ACERT Technical Assistance Center (TAC) offers training, tools, coaching, convening, and monitoring and evaluation to communities interested in implementing the program. Manchester Police Chief Peter A. Marr credits ACERT as a contributor to the city’s declining crime rates over the last several years. “As just one piece in a larger puzzle, ACERT can’t take all the credit. But I absolutely believe it’s contributed to the more resilient community Manchester has become,” Marr said. “When we help one child, we help a family, and when we do it for thousands of children, we have an opportunity to change the community.”

About 1 in 8 women in the U.S. will develop breast cancer at some point in her life, and an estimated 382,640 women will receive a diagnosis this year alone. The numbers are sobering, but there is real reason for optimism. When breast cancer is caught early through screening, the 5-year relative survival rate is over 99%. Keep reading to learn how screening works, who is at higher risk, which symptoms to watch for, and what support is available. Why Screening Matters Advances in screening, research, and treatment methods have helped reduce breast cancer death rates by 44% since 1989. Women who get screened regularly are 26% less likely to die of the disease than those who do not receive screenings. Several tests can reveal abnormalities in the breast. Your health provider can perform a clinical breast exam during an office visit by physically examining your breasts. Mammograms are recommended for women 40 and older, as well as for those at higher risk. A mammogram uses low-dose X-rays to capture images of breast tissue and can often spot cancer before a lump can be seen or felt. If your provider finds an area that needs further attention during a screening, or if you have symptoms that align with breast cancer, you may be referred to a specialist to perform additional tests to confirm diagnosis. Who Is at Higher Risk? Breast cancer doesn’t always have a clear cause, but certain factors raise the odds. You’re considered high risk, and should be screened regularly, if any of the following apply: You’ve had breast cancer before Breast cancer runs in your family history You carry a genetic mutation linked to higher risk, such as a BRCA gene change You received chest radiation therapy before age 30 Symptoms to Watch For Although rare, men can get breast cancer as well since all people are born with some breast cells and tissue. Everyone should know the warning signs. The most frequent sign is a new lump or mass, although most lumps turn out to be noncancerous. A lump that is hard, painless, and irregular in shape is more suspicious, but cancerous lumps can also be soft, round, tender, or painful. Other signs include: Swelling in all or part of a breast, even without a lump Dimpled skin that resembles an orange peel Red, dry, flaky, or thickened skin on the breast or nipple Breast or nipple pain A nipple that turns inward Nipple discharge that isn’t breast milk Swollen lymph nodes under the arm or near the collarbone Having one of these symptoms doesn’t mean you have cancer. Hormonal changes and benign breast conditions can cause many of them. Try not to panic, and let your provider help you figure out what’s going on and what to do next. Life After a Diagnosis Breast cancer statistics can be frightening, but there is also hope in the numbers. Roughly 66% of breast cancers are found early, before spreading beyond the breast, when treatment is typically more successful. For cancers caught at this localized stage, the 5-year relative survival rate exceeds 99%. More than 4 million breast cancer survivors are living in the United States today. These figures highlight why proactive screening is so important: it gives you the best chance of finding and treating cancer at its earliest stage. How Amoskeag Health Can Help Amoskeag Health is a Breast and Cervical Cancer Program (BCCP) screening site for the State of NH providing free breast and cervical cancer screening to eligible patients. An Amoskeag Health Nurse provides education, support, and assistance to navigate through the program’s options. The cancer screening program is supported by funding from the State of NH’s Department of Health and Human Services BCCP Program and Dartmouth Hitchcock’s NH Colorectal Cancer Screening Program. Please talk to your Primary Care Provider for more information. If you’ve recently been diagnosed with breast cancer and want help coping with the stress and emotions of treatment, Amoskeag Health’s Behavioral Health Clinicians are also available to support your mental health. To learn more about Amoskeag Health’s screening services, click here.

Dr. Mary Cullen has achieved board certification in the subspecialty of addiction medicine through the American Osteopathic Association, a milestone she says reflects a personal commitment that began more than a decade ago. By 2013, Dr. Cullen had already spent three years providing primary care to Amoskeag Health patients and had grown deeply familiar with their needs and concerns. Recognizing how limited resources were for pregnant women with substance use disorders, she began offering medication treatment for this underserved population. What started as an effort to fill a gap in care soon grew into a major component of the community health center's services, as word spread and more patients sought help. After more than ten years of gaining knowledge about and treating substance use disorder, Dr. Cullen began pursuing her board certification. Among other program requirements, candidates must practice a minimum of 1,000 hours of addiction medicine in a two-year period and complete ongoing medical education. While the extensive certification exam required many hours of studying, Dr. Cullen says it was a welcome challenge because this preparation strengthened the care she provides her patients. "For me, this certification is not simply a professional accomplishment,” says Dr. Cullen. “It reflects my commitment to treating substance use disorders with the same compassion, evidence-based care, and medical expertise that I bring to every other aspect of my practice. I am proud to have pursued this path and grateful for the opportunity to continue helping patients and families affected by addiction." Today, about a third of Dr. Cullen’s practice at Amoskeag Health is devoted to addiction medicine and supporting patients on their recovery journey. In addition to this new certification, Dr. Cullen is board certified in Family Medicine. To learn more about Dr. Cullen, click here. To learn more about Amoskeag Health's Substance Use Treatment Program and Medication Assisted Treatment, click here.