BEDFORD: In celebration of Primary Bank’s 10-year anniversary, it has started the Prime Time Business Contest, which will provide one New Hampshire business with a professionally produced, 30-second commercial and a 10-week multiscreen television ad campaign. Nominations for NH-based businesses are now open through February 25, 2025. The top 10 nominees will then compete for votes on social media, with one business selected as the “Primary Bank Prime Time Business.” Find more information at primarybanknh.com/prime-time-business-award.

BEDFORD: NH Life Sciences (NHLS) announced that Elliot Health System is the first health care organization in the state to join NHLS’ growing membership. As the most comprehensive nonprofit health care system in southern New Hampshire with the busiest emergency department in the state — caring for more than 55,000 patients annually — The Elliot is on the leading edge of advancing patient care in New Hampshire. Elliot Health System’s membership in NHLS opens additional opportunities for collaboration and partnership between industry and providers caring for patients at the bedside.

MANCHESTER: Eversource, Unitil and Lonza have signed new Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) that reinforce their commitment to sustainability and energy efficiency in New Hampshire. The goal of Eversource and Lonza’s MOU is to implement energy-efficiency retrofit measures at Lonza’s Portsmouth site, where Eversource will provide up to $3 million in aggregate incentives to implement retrofit and new construction measures, with the goal of lowering energy consumption on-site by 4% annually and reducing scope 1 and scope 2 greenhouse gas emissions by 40% by 2030. Separately, Lonza has signed an MOU with Unitil for 2024-2026 that is anticipated to yield a minimum expected saving of 300,000 annual therms. The savings will be delivered through efficiency measures in manufacturing processes, alongside an update to HVAC system operations – equivalent to heating over 600 homes each winter. This would yield a reduction in gas use at the facility of approximately 10% each year.

CONCORD: Nonprofit home health and hospice agency Granite VNA provided more than $6.3 million in community benefits during FY 2024 (October 2023 – September 2024). Charitable programs and services included community health services, foot care clinics, immunization clinics, nutritionist services, palliative care and subsidized care throughout the 72 communities the agency serves across central New Hampshire. Granite VNA’s key charitable investments in FY 2024 included: $2,369,060 in subsidized health services as a result of operating the Hospice House in Concord 24-hours-per-day, seven-days-perweek, year-round; $1,060,000 in government-sponsored health care; $245,009 in leadership development programs and trainings; $183,940 in providing clinical opportunities for undergraduate clinician training; $134,800 in charity care to individuals who are uninsured, underinsured or otherwise unable to pay out-of-pocket fees for service; and $126,438 in educational programs for community members of all ages to improve their quality of life and remain independent.