On Friday, February 7, 2025, the Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) and New Hampshire Hospital announced that no adults are waiting in a New Hampshire hospital emergency department for a bed in an inpatient psychiatric treatment facility. There are two adults waiting in correctional facilities. As a result, New Hampshire Hospital will end the day with open beds for the first time in recent memory.

“This is amazing news as we continue efforts to strengthen our mental health system and ensure every Granite Stater struggling with mental health challenges gets the care he or she needs,” said Governor Kelly Ayotte. “I thank DHHS and all of our Mission Zero partners for their efforts to improve care and outcomes for patients across our state.”

“The goal of Mission Zero is to eliminate the practice of emergency department boarding for good. Today gets us closer to that goal,” said DHHS Commissioner Lori Weaver. “The collaborative efforts among DHHS, the New Hampshire Hospital Association, NAMI NH, hospitals, and advocates are making a real difference in the lives of the people we collectively care for. This is a significant milestone and gets New Hampshire one step closer to resolving this seemingly intractable problem.”

In addition to the wait list reaching zero, the ongoing work of Mission Zero is making an impact on other barriers to eliminating the waitlist, including:

• During the 12-month period ending January 1, 2025 (1/1/2024-1/1/2025), the average daily waitlist dropped 43% from the prior 12-month period (1/1/2023-1/1/2024).
• In addition to these overall reductions in number of people on the waitlist, the amount of time patients are waiting is decreasing even in months when higher numbers of patients present to the ED. For example, in December 2024, patients averaged 1.61 days of waiting, a reduction of more than 3 days of waiting despite there being nearly twice as many patients needing a bed (110 in December 2024 compared to 62 in January 2024).
  The waitlist is updated daily here.

The Mission Zero Dashboard is available to the public and includes data on the key drivers of New Hampshire’s ED boarding challenge:

• Prevention and Community-Based Access
• Inpatient Care & Coordination
• 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, which can be accessed here.

For more information on Mission Zero, please visit https://www.dhhs.nh.gov/programs-services/mental-health/mission-zero.