Greater Nashua
For people in this New England mountain town, a health center’s closure leaves unanswered questions
FRANCONIA, N.H. (AP) — For more than two decades, Susan Bushby, a 70-year-old housekeeper from a rural ski town in New Hampshire's White Mountains, took comfort in knowing she only had a short drive to reach the community health center. The lodgelike medical building, which sits on a hill overlooking town, was like a second home for Bushby and many other patients. The front desk staff knew their names and never missed a chance to celebrate a birthday or anniversary. Staff photos of the wilderness that makes this place such a draw hung on the walls, and bumping into a neighbor in the waiting room was routine. But last month, this site of the Ammonoosuc Community Health Services in Franconia, a town of around 1,000 people, closed for good. Closure raises concerns Officials blamed cuts in Medicaid, the federal program that millions of low-income Americans rely on for health ...
