WASHINGTON (July 17, 2022) – The American Hospital Association (AHA) Board of Trustees has elected Joanne M. Conroy, M.D., Chief Executive Officer and President of Dartmouth Health, based in Lebanon, N.H., as its Chair-elect Designate. Dr. Conroy will be Chair-elect in 2023 and become the 2024 Chair of the AHA, the top-elected official of the national organization that represents America’s hospitals and health systems and works to advance health in America.

Since joining Dartmouth Health in 2017, Dr. Conroy’s leadership and commitment to improving access to, and the quality of, health care in New Hampshire and Vermont, and improving patient experience while saving the system money, has transformed the academic health system, resulting in an improvement in all areas of operation at the nation’s most rural academic health system.

She has overseen significant changes across Dartmouth Health, including the undertaking of two major expansion projects, guiding the system through the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, and a strategic planning process that will guide the organization into the future and build upon its partnership with the world-class Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth.
The Dartmouth Health system includes 396-bed flagship Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center; four other system member hospitals and a home health agency; Dartmouth Cancer Center; Dartmouth Health Children’s, including New Hampshire’s only children’s hospital; a multispecialty group practice employing more than 2,000 providers; and 24 ambulatory care clinics around New Hampshire and Vermont.

“The American Hospital Association is a powerful force in leading and advocating for hospitals and health systems around our country and, by extension, the patients and communities we serve,” said Conroy. “I’m deeply honored that my colleagues on the Board have elected me to serve as Chair, and I look forward to continuing to work with Rick Pollack and the AHA team in achieving our vision of a just society of healthy communities, where all individuals reach their highest potential for health.”

Dr. Conroy is a member of the AHA Executive Committee and Operations Committee. She chaired the AHA Task Force on Primary Care in 2021.

Previously, Dr. Conroy was CEO of Lahey Hospital and Medical Center, in Burlington, Mass. Prior to her leadership role at Lahey, Dr. Conroy served for more than five years as Chief Health Care Officer for the Association of American Medical Colleges in Washington, DC. She also held leadership roles with the Atlantic Health System and Medical University of South Carolina.

More People on the Move