Greater Seacoast Health Expands Community-Based Health Services

SOMERSWORTH, NH and PORTSMOUTH, NH — Greater Seacoast Health, the community health center with offices in Somersworth and Portsmouth as well as community-outreach programs, is expanding its reach by adding new sites and providers in its school-based and mobile-health programs.
 
“We have long known there was potential for our community-based health services to benefit more people, within a larger footprint” said Luke Mason, RN, who oversees Greater Seacoast’s delivery of health care at schools and community locations. “Now, by expanding our team of health care providers who have a passion for community-based health care and building new partnerships with more entities in the region, we can meet more of the need.”
 
The school-based health program within Somersworth High School and Middle School has been so successful and well-received since launching in 2023 that it has been expanded to include Spaulding High School and Rochester Middle School. The program offers high-quality medical and behavioral health care on-site — with consent from parents or guardians — so students don’t have to leave school, and parents/guardians don’t have to leave work. 
 
To better meet students’ behavioral-health needs, Greater Seacoast Health brought on Nicole Dale- Hogan, LICSW. Dale-Hogan has been providing compassionate, client-centered care to young people and families since 2010, working in schools, treatment centers and group practices. “Real change happens when we can meet those we work with where they are at,” Dale-Hogan says. “This is why I find providing quality and accessible resources within schools so important.” 

While Dale-Hogan provides mental-health care, nurse practitioner Kelly Faul, APRN, is entering her second year as the school-based program’s primary-care provider. Faul, who was a school nurse before bringing her advanced-practice certification to Somersworth High School and Middle School last year, was a strong advocate for expanding school-based health care to the Rochester schools.
 
Greater Seacoast is also expanding its Mobile Health Clinics, which offer easy-to-access medical and social work services at places like shelters, soup kitchens and community organizations in the Seacoast region. In recent years, clinics were scheduled one day a week at Cross Roads House and St. John’s Church in Portsmouth and another day at the Salvation Army in Rochester and the Community Action Program in Dover. The mobile health team also visited Southeastern NH Services and multiple Pop-Up Care Villages.
 
Today, the Mobile Health Program is in the process of expanding to operate five days a week. Earlier this fall, clinics were added at the food pantries We Care in Milton and Gather in Portsmouth. Starting in November, sites will be added at Hampton Beach, St. Vincent de Paul in Hampton and Rockingham Village Apartments in Seabrook, with more sites to come.
 
The increase in the number of clinics was made possible by dedicating the time of two new Greater Seacoast employees to the program: medical assistant Lauren Bernier and nurse practitioner Brooke Friedl, APRN.
 
“This role allows me to bring health care and resources directly into the community,” says Friedl. “Everyone deserves access to quality care, and I look forward to helping connect patients with the support and services they may need most.” Friedl became a board-certified Family Nurse Practitioner in 2023, after having worked as a registered nurse since 2013. She has worked in both Oklahoma and New Hampshire in hospitals, community health centers, home health care, and primary care practices.
 
No appointments are needed for mobile health clinics, and all are welcome to access services through them, regardless of ability to pay or insurance status. More information about the mobile health program and a schedule can be found at greaterseacoasthealth.org/services/mobile-health-care/ 
 
Greater Seacoast Health is a regional nonprofit health-care organization serving Portsmouth, Somersworth and surrounding communities. The organization provides integrated primary care, dental care, women’s health, behavioral health and family and social services, prioritizing accessibility, equity, and community-centered care. The Greater Seacoast Health network includes health centers in Portsmouth and Somersworth (formerly known as Families First and Goodwin Community Health, respectively); the Strafford County Public Health Network; WIC; and The Family Center. The Somersworth location also provides on-site pharmacy services for the community. 
 
For more information, visit GreaterSeacoastHealth.org; follow Greater Seacoast Health on Facebook, Instagram or LinkedIn (linktr.ee/GreaterSeacoastHealth); or send a message through tinyurl.com/MessageGSH.