NHPBS, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Health to host virtual screening with creators of Workforce Housing Doc

October 7 at Noon

(DURHAM – September 20, 2021) – New Hampshire PBS, in partnership with Dartmouth-Hitchcock Health (D-HH), will host the final in a series of virtual events to engage communities in solutions-focused conversations about the jobs and workforce housing crisis in the Granite State.

Even before COVID-19 hit in 2020, New Hampshire was facing the reality of an aging workforce, limited housing and daycare options, and for many, limited access to reliable high-speed internet. The problem is even more acute today.

COMMUNITIES AND CONSEQUENCES II is a multi-platform project from demographer Peter Francese, writer and former Agriculture Commissioner Lorraine Stuart Merrill, and filmmaker Jay Childs. New Hampshire PBS is the presenting station.

The project is designed to help communities rethink how they plan, legislate and partner to create something new and help their communities thrive.

The final COMMUNITIES AND CONSEQUENCES II online engagement event takes place on October 7, from noon to 1pm. “The goal of the series has been to engage and inspire local communities to find their own solutions to the workforce housing crisis facing the state,” says NHPBS Vice President and Chief Content Officer Dawn DeAngelis.

D-HH is the lead sponsor of the engagement initiative that has made it possible for a series of virtual screening and discussion events to take place since March 2021.

“As one of the largest employers in our state, these issues significantly impact Dartmouth-Hitchcock Health and we are pleased to be supporting a program like Communities and Consequences II that takes a hard look at both the problems and the solutions before us,” says Joanne M. Conroy, MD, CEO and President of D-HH.

D-HH is the lead sponsor of the engagement initiative that has made it possible for a series of virtual screening and discussion events to take place since March 2021. The final COMMUNITIES AND CONSEQUENCES II will be moderated by Sally Kraft, MD, Vice President of Population Health at Dartmouth-Hitchcock (D-H).

Communities across the state are struggling with how to provide places for people of diverse ages and income levels. The film and companion book explore the tensions between traditional New Hampshire values like family, community, equal opportunityand local control and taxation.

“It’s those tension points that are sparking positive change,” says filmmaker Jay Childs who has attended dozens of town planning, board and committee meetings as part of his research. “One thing I hope viewers take from the film is that there are many people in communities all over the state who are working to make New Hampshire more welcoming and accessible to everyone – despite some well-documented resistance.”

Peter Francese says, “This project is about communities working together and the future of New Hampshire. We encourage everyone to read the book, watch the film and then go out, get involved and make a difference.”

To learn more about the series and to register, visit www.nhpbs.org/events.

COMMUNITIES AND CONSEQUENCES II is available online at: nhpbs.org/communitiesandconsequences.

Dartmouth-Hitchcock Health, New England Studios, LLC, Cathartes, DTC Lawyers, PLLC, EnviroVantage, Exeter Hospital, Heritage Home Service, New Hampshire REALTORS, New Hampshire Electric Cooperative, New Hampshire Housing Finance Authority, Anagnost Companies, Hitchiner Manufacturing Co., Inc., Orbit Group, Northeast Delta Dental, Chinburg Properties

About Dartmouth-Hitchcock Health: DARTMOUTH-HITCHCOCK HEALTH(D-HH), New Hampshire’s only academic health system and the state’s largest private employer, serves a population of 1.9 million across northern New England. D-HH provides access to more than 2,000 providers in almost every area of medicine, delivering care at its flagship hospital, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center (DHMC) in Lebanon, NH. DHMC was named again in 2020 as the #1 hospital in New Hampshire by U.S. News & World Report,and recognized for high performance in 9 clinical specialties and procedures. Dartmouth-Hitchcock Health includes the Norris Cotton Cancer Center, one of only 51 NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers in the nation;Children's Hospital at Dartmouth-Hitchcock, the state’s only children’s hospital; member hospitals in Lebanon, Keene, and New London, NH, and Windsor, VT, and Visiting Nurse and Hospice for Vermont and New Hampshire; and 24 Dartmouth-Hitchcock clinics that provide ambulatory services across New Hampshire and Vermont. The D-HH system trains nearly 400 residents and fellows annually, and performs world-class research, in partnership with the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth and the White River Junction VA Medical Center in White River Junction, VT.