Goodwin Community Health and Families First Complete Merger

Janet Laatsch, CEO of Greater Seacoast Community Health

Goodwin Community Health of Somersworth and Families First Health & Support Center of Portsmouth announced Jan. 2 the completion of their merger, originally announced in May. Both Families First and Goodwin will continue providing services at all current locations,  under their current names, while the organization’s overarching legal name becomes Greater Seacoast Community Health.

Janet Laatsch will lead the merged organization as CEO. Laatsch, who has expertise in finance and nursing, has served as CEO of Goodwin since 2005. Helen Taft, executive director of Families First since 1989, retired on Dec. 31, 2017. The merged organization’s board of directors is comprised of former board members from Families First and Goodwin. The proposed board chair is Valerie Goodwin, formerly of the Goodwin board; the proposed vice chair is Barbara Henry, formerly of the Families First board.

The merged entity will be one of NH’s largest community health centers, serving almost 18,000 local adults and children, many of them uninsured, underinsured or lacking access to affordable, quality health care. The combined organization will improve patient care and health outcomes throughout the Greater Seacoast region through clinical integration and increased access to care and services. Patients may gain flexibility by eventually having the option of being seen at Families First facilities in Portsmouth and Seabrook, Goodwin Community Health in Somersworth, or mobile health clinics in five Seacoast towns.

“This merger expands our collective ability to help shape the future of health care delivery in our region and to create more access to much-needed care for patients,” says CEO Janet Laatsch. “It also provides opportunities to expand relationships with new and existing health partners, improve staff recruitment and retention and, most importantly, better address gaps in access to quality health care and family support.”

The Post-Merger Facts
Here’s a look at the combined organization resulting from the merger of Families First Health and Support Center and Goodwin Community Health.

CEO: Janet Laatsch, RN, MBA

Employees: 260 full-time equivalent

Health Center patients: 16,500

Health Center visits: 70,000

Family Program clients: 1,825

Budget: $18.9 million

Locations: Somersworth, Portsmouth, Seabrook and mobile clinics in Portsmouth, Exeter, Hampton, Dover and Rochester.

Services at Families First and Goodwin: Primary care, prenatal care, dental care, counseling, medication‐assisted treatment for substance abuse, intensive outpatient treatment for substance abuse, breast and cervical cancer screenings, child development screenings, insurance and benefits enrollment, care coordination.
 
Other services at Families First: Home visiting for families facing challenges, parenting classes, family programs, drug discount program, mobile health and dental clinics.
 
Other services at Goodwin: Pharmacy, WIC nutrition services; partners with SOS Recovery Community Centers in Durham, Dover and Rochester.

For more information, visit GoodwinCH.org and FamiliesFirstSeacoast.org.