Joanne Conroy, a hospital executive in Burlington, Mass., will be the next CEO and president of Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center. Conroy will take over the role in August after the departure of James Weinstein.
Dartmouth-Hitchcock is the state's largest health system, with about 12,000 employees and 24 clinics in New Hampshire and Vermont. Conroy, an anesthesiologist, will be the first woman to lead the Lebanon-based system.
Dartmouth-Hitchcock has struggled financially in recent years, and Conroy will be tasked with navigating both local challenges and changes in federal health policy.
"Our system can be significantly affected by the swipe of a legislator's pen," she said Thursday. "I hope that whatever comes out of D.C. right now will focus on not disrupting care for patients who finally have access to health care."
She pointed to Dartmouth-Hitchcock's role in the southern part of the state as an area of particular focus, along with managing relationships with affiliate health centers.