DURHAM: The University System of New Hampshire is planning to decrease its retirement contributions and lower benefits for many of its full-time staff as it looks to reduce system-wide spending by $17 million. Recently, USNH reduced the value of its medical plan through design changes, and committed to a 3% USNH subsidy cap, resulting in a greater individual contribution for staff and faculty. USNH is planning to reduce its retirement match to 8 percent, down from 10 percent previously. The system is also planning on removing dental coverage for employees, instead opting for a 100 percent employee contribution, making the benefit opt-in.

CONCORD: The state is reallocating some of its CARES Act funding, including $11.5 million for long-term care facilities, Gov. Chris Sununu said. Providers will get grants based on their Medicaid beds, and the program will include incentives for them to increase the number of occupied beds over the next two months. The state also is reallocating $3.2 million to more than 400 food pantries across the state. And an additional $6 million will go to shelters to help with increased operating costs tied to the pandemic.

BETHLEHEM: The New Hampshire Business Finance Authority has approved a $1 million loan for AHEAD Qtr. Inc. to improve and expand an existing addiction and recovery center located in Bethlehem. The renovations will involve facility upgrades and increasing the existing bed count from 36 to 44 beds (with a maximum capacity of 50). An increase in workforce will be added to help with the operations. The facility will be operated and managed by Amatus Recovery Centers, which offers substance use disorder treatment services through Blueprint Recovery Center in Concord and Bonfire Behavioral Health in the Seacoast area.

CONCORD: New Hampshire Federal Credit Union has appointed Tony Emerson as president and CEO. He succeeds John R. Young, who plans to retire at the end of 2021 after having served the credit union for more than 35 years, including 27 as president and CEO. Emerson previously served as president and CEO of IC Federal Credit Union in Fitchburg, Mass. Before that, he was president and CEO of the Credit Union League of Connecticut, where he managed and led the credit union trade organization.

CONCORD: A proposal to site New England’s first new landfill in over a decade in Dalton has sparked legislation that puts the focus on groundwater and how quickly the waste could come in contact with nearby bodies of water, possibly polluting them. The proposed bill says that landfills would need to be far enough from any bodies of water so that it would take five years for groundwater that may be carrying pollutants to reach a nearby lake or stream. The new legislation is a response to some of the main concerns that were raised in 2021 by opponents of House Bill 177, according to the bill’s prime sponsor, Rep. Edith Tucker, D-Randolph. The goal of the new legislation is to prevent pollution from contaminating bodies of water.

LEBANON: A new partnership between Dartmouth-Hitchcock and New Hampshire Legal Assistance aims to help young families with legal problems that harm their health. The two-year pilot program is a medical-legal partnership for families with young children in Sullivan County and the Upper Valley.

The goal is to identify health disparities in communities and address individuals’ unmet legal needs, such as ensuring emergency access to insurance benefits, preventing employment and education discrimination, and securing housing.

As part of the program, Dartmouth-Hitchcock will train staff about the legal rights of patients and offer community education series about medical-legal challenges.

NEW YORK: Howard Brodsky, cofounder of Manchester-based CCA Global Partners, was honored by the Floor Covering Industry Foundation at its annual gala dinner in October. Brodsky, chair and CEO of CCA Global, served as the foundation’s chair for over 15 years.

STRATHAM: The Richie McFarland Children’s Center, the Strathambased children’s charitable center, is being merged into Waypoint in yet another consolidation of New Hampshire nonprofit agencies. Both the McFarland Center and Manchester-based Waypoint, the oldest children’s charitable organization in New Hampshire, offer services on the Seacoast, although Waypoint has a wider range of programs and family resource centers throughout the state.