Sen. Ricciardi collapses at State House, recovering well
May 16—CONCORD — State Sen. Denise Ricciardi, R-Bedford, was recovering at a local hospital after suddenly collapsing on the floor of the Senate Thursday.
Ricciardi, 61, was walking out of the Senate chamber during an emotional debate on transgender athletes when she fell down behind a row of seated senators.
The Senate immediately went into recess and closed the chamber to the public while Ricciardi was attended to by first responders and then brought out of the State House into a waiting ambulance.
"Senator Ricciardi is conscious and has been taken to the hospital as a precaution. We wish her a swift and complete recovery," Senate President Jeb Bradley, R-Wolfeboro, said in a statement a short time later.
Seconds after Ricciardi fell, Sen. Suzanne Prentiss, D-Lebanon and a licensed emergency medical technician, quickly ran to Ricciardi to provide immediate assistance.
"Senator Prentiss, you did a great job," Bradley said with the other senators applauding their colleague.
Bradley also singled out State House Nurse Michelle Flanagan, Senate staff and Concord EMS personnel for their quick response.
Ricciardi is serving her second term in the Senate and chairs the Senate Transportation Committee.
She represents District 9, a 13-town district that spreads from her hometown of Bedford next to Manchester all the way east to the Vermont border.
Ricciardi was already running for a third term while Bedford Democrat Matthew McLaughlin was also seeking his party's nomination after having lost to Ricciardi in 2022.
