Joanne Conroy ’77 Named CEO, President of Dartmouth-Hitchcock

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The physician and alumna will begin work at D-H on Aug. 7.

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Physician and Dartmouth alumna Joanne Mather Conroy ’77 has been named chief executive officer and president of Dartmouth-Hitchcock and Dartmouth-Hitchcock Health, announced D-H Board of Trustees Chair Anne-Lee Verville.

The appointment was made by a unanimous vote of the board at a special meeting on June 14. Conroy, currently CEO of Lahey Hospital and Medical Center in Burlington, Mass., will begin work at D-H on Aug. 7.

Image removed.Joanne Conroy ’77 is currently CEO of Lahey Hospital and Medical Center in Burlington, Mass. (Photo courtesy of D-H)

“In Dr. Conroy, the trustees believe we have found an exceptional person to lead the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Health system,” says Verville. “The search committee and the board were particularly impressed by Dr. Conroy’s collaborative approach, communication skills, and demonstrated ability to think and work strategically to achieve key goals. We also appreciate her experience at Lahey, working to develop and drive an effective clinical integration strategy, expanding research and educational programs, and strengthening a culture of philanthropy.”

“Dr. Joanne Conroy is an excellent choice to lead the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Health system,” says President Phil Hanlon ’77. “A thriving partnership between the medical center and Dartmouth is important to our shared success. I am pleased to welcome Dr. Conroy back to the Upper Valley community and look forward to working with her.”

After graduating with a BA in chemistry from Dartmouth, Conroy received her medical degree from the Medical University of South Carolina. An anesthesiologist, she has received a number of awards and honors, including being named one of the “top 25 Women in Healthcare” by Modern Healthcare magazine and one of the “130 Women Hospital and Health System Leaders To Know” in 2015 and 2016 by Becker’s Hospital Review.

“Coming back to New Hampshire is like a homecoming for me,” says Conroy. “It will be wonderful to be back in a place I love, but more wonderful still to have the privilege of serving an organization I’ve long admired as a leader in patient-centered care and the evolution of care delivery.

“Dartmouth-Hitchcock combines the best of medical skill, technology, teaching, and research for the benefit of patients and families, and at the same time, never stops in its quest for improvement. I look forward to being part of that passionate quest in partnership with the patients of the region.”

Conroy follows James Weinstein, whose tenure as CEO will end on June 30. Conroy is “a dynamic leader who will carry forward the themes of population health and value-based care in new payment models, while continuing to create seamless integration across our system,” Weinstein says.

The 343-bed Lahey Hospital and Medical Center serves more than 1.2 million patients annually, and is the flagship center for the Lahey Health System as well as the teaching and partner research location for Tufts University School of Medicine. Conroy previously held leadership positions at the Medical University of South Carolina College of Medicine, Atlantic Health System, and the Association of American Medical Colleges.

Geisel School of Medicine Dean Duane Compton served on the CEO search committee.

D-H is a nonprofit academic health system serving communities in Northern New England. The system provides access to more than 1,000 primary care doctors and specialists in almost every area of medicine at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center; the Norris Cotton Cancer Center, the Children’s Hospital at Dartmouth-Hitchcock, four affiliate hospitals, 24 ambulatory clinics, and through the Visiting Nurse and Hospice for VT and NH. The D-H system trains nearly 400 residents and fellows annually, and performs world-class research, in partnership with Geisel and with the White River Junction VA Medical Center.

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