New Hampshire is part of the New England region of the United States. Massachusetts, Maine, Vermont, the Canadian province of Quebec, and the Atlantic Ocean border New Hampshire. In 2009, New Hampshire’s population was 1,324,575 (U.S. Census). The Northern portion of New Hampshire is sparsely populated; the vast majority of the state’s population is located in the southern portion of the state. The fastest growth in New Hampshire has been along the southern border, which is within commuting range of Boston and other Massachusetts cities.
First settled by English fisherman in 1623, New Hampshire was one of the thirteen colonies rebelling against British rule during the American Revolution. As leaders in the revolutionary cause, New Hampshire delegates received the honor of being the first to vote for the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. Today, New Hampshire receives national and international attention for its presidential primary held very early in every presidential election year. New Hampshire is considered the most important testing grounds for candidates for the Republican and Democratic nominations.
While one of the nation’s smaller states, at 60 miles wide and 190 miles long, New Hampshire is divided into seven very different regions: Great North Woods, White Mountains, Lakes Region, Dartmouth/Lake Sunapee, Monadnock Region, Merrimack Valley, and Seacoast.
Because of New Hampshire’s scenic and recreational resources, tourism brings over $3.5 billion into the state annually. Of all New Hampshire’s regions, the White Mountains region is best known for outdoor recreation. New Hampshire boasts the White Mountains (highest mountain in the Northeast) and 6,288-foot Mt. Washington. It is the 800,000-acre White Mountain National Forest that shapes the region. The White Mountain’s major recreational attractions include skiing, snowmobiling, hiking, and mountaineering.
The City of Concord, in the Merrimack Valley region of New Hampshire, has served as the state capital since 1808. The State House, built in 1818, is the oldest State House in continuous use in the United States. There are over 5,000 people employed in the delivery of health care services in Concord, one of the largest concentrations of health care providers in New Hampshire. Nearly all of the hospital facilities, including Concord Hospital, New Hampshire Hospital, and HealthSouth Rehabilitation Hospital, are clustered along the Pleasant Street medical corridor. The New Hampshire Hospital (NHH)is a state-operated, publicly-funded hospital providing psychiatric services to residents throughout the state. The majority of patients admitted to NHH are admitted on an involuntary basis because they have been determined to be dangerous to themselves or others.
Manchester is New Hampshire’s largest city and the largest city in northern New England, which includes Vermont and Maine. Until 20 years ago, Manchester was a typical New England textile mill town. The textile mills have all but disappeared in Manchester with many of the mill workers’ downtown housing turned into up-scale residential condominiums. According to the New Hampshire Economic and Labor Market Information Bureau, Manchester’s two hospitals, Elliot Hospital and the Catholic Medical Center, are the city’s major employers.
Nashua is New Hampshire’s second largest city. After 1949, Nashua, like many New Hampshire towns, suffered empty mills left over from the now-departed textile industry. It was not until defense contractor BAE Systems moved into one of the closed mills that the city rebounded. Today, greater Nashua’s economy is built on manufacturing, software development, financial services, and retail services. Nashua is home to St. Joseph Hospital, a 208-bed acute care emergency and Level 2 Trauma Center and Southern New Hampshire Medical Center.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2009, 74.8% of the non-fatal occupational injuries occurred in service-providing industries. In New Hampshire, the Workers’ Compensation Division of the New Hampshire Department of Labor requires employers to provide no fault workers’ compensation insurance coverage for employees in case of accidental injury, death, or occupational disease arising out of and in the course of employment.
