Heather Moquin has been appointed head of New Hampshire Hospital, the state's psychiatric hospital. She succeeds Lori Shibinette, who was tapped by Governor Chris Sununu to lead the Department of Health and Human Services.
Moquin, a registered nurse, has been at New Hampshire Hospital for just under two years as the Chief Operating Officer. Before that she worked as an administrator at different nursing facilities around the state.
Moquin inherits challenges in addressing the long-running backlog of patients who are forced to wait in emergency rooms before being admitted to New Hampshire Hospital. She'll also oversee a new plan to transfer youth patients out of the hospital to make room for additional adult patients.
The hospital also faces an ongoing lawsuit over its practice of transferring some patients to the state’s Secure Psychiatric Unit, which is located at the state prison.
