NH Health Department Holds Public Meeting on Hepatitis C Outbreak

Concord, NH - The New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services

(DHHS) Division of Public Health Services (DPHS) is holding a meeting for

members of the public to answer questions about the hepatitis C outbreak at

Exeter Hospital. The meeting will be held tomorrow night, Friday, June 15

at 6:00 pm in the Exeter High School auditorium at 1 Blue Hawk Drive,

Exeter (GPS address 315 Epping Road).



The purpose of the meeting is to explain the process of the investigation

by DPHS and answer questions about it for anyone interested. Speakers will

include Dr. Sharon Alroy-Preis, State Epidemiologist, Dr. Jodie

Dionne-Odom, Deputy State Epidemiologist, and Dr. José Montero, Director of

Public Health at DHHS.



“We realize there is a great deal of anxiety and that many people have

questions,” said Dr. Montero, “and as we have done for other outbreaks we

want people to be able to hear firsthand how the investigation has evolved

and where we are in the process.”



So far 20 patients have been identified as being infected with the same

strain of hepatitis C. The common link among all the patients is the

Cardiac Catheterization Lab and its recovery room at Exeter Hospital. DHHS

yesterday expanded the recommendation on patients of these units who should

be tested for the virus back to October 1, 2010 through May 25, 2012. This

is a change from testing recommendations set last week at April 1, 2011.

Exeter Hospital is in the process of contacting these newly identified

patients.



Hepatitis C is a viral infection transmitted by blood. It causes

inflammation of the liver that can lead to chronic health issues. It is

passed from person to person through contact with an infected person’s

blood.



Any patients who fit the above criteria can contact Exeter Hospital’s

Information and Referral Center to make an appointment for testing at (603)

580-6124. For questions and information about hepatitis C visit

www.dhhs.nh.gov/dphs/cdcs/hepatitisc/index.htm  or

www.cdc.gov/hepatitis/index.htm  or call the DPHS Bureau of Infectious

Disease Control at 603-271-4496.

US Rep Bass Announces Small Business Social Media Forum

April 6^th forum designed to help small businesses utilize online tools to grow their businesses

CONCORD, NH – Congressman Charles F. Bass (NH-02) today announced he is hosting a Small Business Social Media Forum on Friday, April 6, 2012 from 9:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. to give small businesses an opportunity to learn more about leveraging online tools in their business strategy.

Representatives from Facebook, Google, Yelp, the New Hampshire High Technology Council, and the New Hampshire Division of Travel and Tourism will give presentations about implementing an effective social media strategy to attract customers and grow one’s business.

The forum, which is free of charge, will be held in the Sweeney Hall Auditorium at the New Hampshire Technical Institute, located at 31 College Drive in Concord.  Individuals interested in attending should RSVP to Bass’ Concord Office at (603) 226-0064 or via email at Bass.Events@mail.house.gov.

Bass, a member of the House Subcommittee on Communications and Technology, said:

“Small businesses are the engine of economic growth in New Hampshire, and I am committed to finding ways to make it easier for them to expand and create jobs.  As part of my ongoing outreach and constituent service, I’m very pleased to offer this forum as a resource for small businesses interested in using online tools to grow their businesses. 

“With more and more individuals plugged in online, businesses need to develop strategies to communicate effectively with their customers and reach new ones.  I encourage any small business owner or employee to join us on Friday, April 6^th to hear directly from the social media experts.”

For more information, please visit http://bass.house.gov.

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http://bass.house.gov

U.S. Rep. Frank Guinta hosting Women's Conference

U.S. Representative Frank Guinta (R, NH-01) will host this important event Friday morning.  It is part of his ongoing “Getting Granite Staters Back to Work” jobs initiative. 

Congressman Guinta will deliver brief welcoming remarks.  The conference is open to the news media.

WHO:                 U.S. Rep. Frank Guinta

WHAT:               “Empower, Educate, Engage Women’s Conference”

WHEN:              8:30 a.m.         Friday, March 16

WHERE:            NH Institute of Politics Auditorium

                             100 Saint Anselm Drive

Manchester, NH

U.S. Rep. Frank Guinta to host first "Empower, Educate, Engage Women's Conference" on Friday, March 16th

(Washington – March 6, 2012)    Representative Frank Guinta (R, NH-01) is hosting a special conference designed to assist local women in finding jobs and furthering their careers.  The first Empower, Educate, Engage Women’s Conference will be held on Friday morning, March 16th.  The event is free and open to the public, and is part of Rep. Guinta’s ongoing “Getting Granite Staters Back to Work” jobs initiative.  It will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in the New Hampshire Institute of Politics Auditorium, 100 Saint Anselm Drive in Manchester. 

Several successful area business and professional women will share their insights and experiences during two panel discussions.  The conference will conclude with a presentation on career success and coaching by Catherine Taylor from Heels and a Briefcase. 

“It can be hard to find a good job in this down economy,” Guinta explained.  “‘Getting Granite Staters Back to Work’ means helping to get all of our citizens back to work.  This conference will help New Hampshire women strengthen their skills as they network and advance their careers.  When women succeed, all of New Hampshire succeeds.  Just as its name suggests, I’m hoping participants will leave this conference feeling empowered, educated and engaged to take their personal goals to the next level.” 

Conference Schedule

8:30-9:00

Registration/Sign In

9:00-9:10

Opening/Welcome

9:15-10:15

Panel 1  Leadership and Professionalism: (Teresa Rosenberger-President of Devine Strategies) Women in Business—Panel (Dianne Mercier, president, People’s United Bank New Hampshire; Mary Ellen Humphrey(formerly, Brown), Rochester Economic Development ·        

10:20-11:20

Panel 2  Women Inspiring Women/Take Action in Your Own Life: (Maureen Beauregard—President/CEO, Families in Transition)

Kim Bavaro, executive director, Upper Room; Marsie Silvestro, executive director, A Safe Place; Marcia Sink, president/ceo, CASA NH.        

11:30-12:30

Career & Success Coaching: (Catherine Taylor)

Heels & A Briefcase

Topics: Resume writing, how to dress, interview tips and more.

Bettencourt remarks at NH Grocers Association Press Conference

Press Conference this morning announcing new initiatives and a discussion of current economic trends regarding New Hampshire tourism and cross border sales.

Good morning and that you all for joining us this morning:

Today is about promoting the New Hampshire Advantage and its critical role in our state revenue system. It is an advantage that those of us who represent boarder communities know very well. This legislature understood and respected that our cross boarder advantage presents us with a budgetary tool and we put that into practice in our budget.

Let’s be very clear, at this time overall state revenues are not sagging behind projection. In fact, we are currently running a surplus over $10 million. However, our economy is far from out of the woods and we must remain vigilant. But we took several steps this legislative session to sharpen our cross boarder advantage because we know it is part of the solution in strengthening our economy.

It is well known that this budget cut the tobacco tax by 10 cents, but that wasn’t all that we did to sharpen our advantage, as Speaker O’Brien referenced. For communities like Windham and Salem, which I have the honor to represent, successful efforts to eliminate the lottery winnings tax and the rooms and meals fee reduction were critical. We also passed 43 pieces of legislation that deregulated our small businesses. Saying that small businesses, such as grocers, are the back bone of our economy must be more than a nice campaign slogan. Rather it is a philosophy to be governed on and we are doing just that.

All of this will have a positive impact on our economy and is already leading to job creation. In fact, just this month we are seeing the impact of the Republican pro-growth initiatives bringing confidence to both employers and workers. More than  2,200 New Hampshire citizens were able to find jobs this month, helping the working families across the state.  What’s more important is that almost 2,000 residents decided to get off the sidelines and join the labor force, showing that they are betting on a brighter future for our economy. We need to make sure that government is not a barrier to growing our economy

I do want to take a moment to debunk a myth that is being promoted by the critics of this budget. The idea that the tobacco tax cut was made at the expense of other services or caused budget cuts to be deeper is ludicrous. Budget writers moved forward with this tax cut on the basis of several economic studies that established that cutting this tax would produce greater revenue but the worst case scenario being that it would be revenue neutral. This is important for the public to remember as critics attempt to spread misinformation about this budget.

Additionally, while there has been a rush to note that tobacco revenue has lagged behind projections thus far, I remind everyone that this is a two year budget and we are less than 5 months into it. There is a long way to go and to say that this tax cut has not worked out at this early juncture of the budget is unwise and I would suggest is partisan politically motivated.

This legislature is focused, and will remain focused, on our economy and getting our citizens back to work. Some have suggested that raising taxes or implementing a sales or income tax is the only answer. We reject that kind of lazy legislating.  Our taxpayers and our economy simply cannot afford it. Instead, we made difficult but responsible spending reductions and found innovative cost savings.

Those of us in the I-93 corridor can appreciate that we put out an “open for business” sign on our state and are putting our citizens back to work by fostering a prosperous business-friendly atmosphere. We must become a magnet for new, relocating, or expanding businesses. We will continue to do this by seeking to cut taxes that affect the New Hampshire Advantage and scale back expensive mandates that have hurt the ability for businesses to thrive here.

These are the areas that this legislature has been focused and these are the areas we will remain focused.

Thank you for joining us this morning.