The New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) and New Hampshire Hospital announced that on Friday, December 6, 2024, there were no adults in hospital emergency departments (ED) waiting for inpatient psychiatric treatment. This marks the first time since DHHS began collecting data on the waitlist nearly four years ago (February 2021) that zero has been achieved.

“Mission Zero set New Hampshire on a path to ensuring timely access to mental health care,” said Governor Chris Sununu. “Our work is not yet finished, but it is clear that our efforts have made great progress and are delivering results.”

“Even one person waiting for a bed is too many, so today is a good day,” said DHHS Commissioner Lori Weaver. “For the past 14 months, our Mission Zero partnership has worked across the mental health system to develop new solutions to the issue. While we still have much work to do to eliminate the wait list for good, reaching zero today demonstrates that Mission Zero is working for the people of New Hampshire.”

Additional signs of progress include:

• Between November 1, 2023-November 1, the average daily waitlist declined 35%.
• In that same timeframe, the waitlist has dropped into the single digits prior to reaching zero today, which had not occurred since tracking began four years ago.
• The amount of time patients wait for a bed continues to decrease. In October 2024, patients waited less than two days, three fewer days than the year prior.

DHHS has launched the Mission Zero Dashboard, which focuses on the key drivers of New Hampshire’s ED boarding challenge: Prevention and Community-Based Access; Inpatient Care & Coordination; and Discharge Barriers. Information on the number of adults waiting involuntarily in the Emergency Department for an Acute Psychiatric Bed can be found under the Inpatient Care & Coordination tab of the Mission Zero Dashboard.