Joanne M. Conroy, MD, has led Dartmouth Health as
chief executive officer and president since 2017. As
the leader of New Hampshire’s only academic health
system, including its flagship hospital Dartmouth
Hitchcock Medical Center (DHMC), Dr. Conroy has led
significant positive change and growth. Highlights of
this work include a dramatic turnaround in Dartmouth
Health’s financial performance, the addition of
Southwestern Vermont Health Care as a member of
Dartmouth Health, the completion of two major
expansion projects, and a strategic planning process
that is guiding the organization into the future.
Under Conroy’s leadership, Dartmouth Health expanded the footprint of DHMC to 460
inpatient beds, with the April 2023 completion of a $150 million expansion of a new patient
pavilion in Lebanon, NH. In 2021, Dartmouth Health expanded its Dartmouth Hitchcock Clinics
Manchester, NH location with an Ambulatory Surgical Center. Both projects increased access to
key clinical services for patients, brought the use of advanced state-of-the art technology to the
bedside and enhanced delivery of the world-class care that patients and families have come to
expect from Dartmouth Health.
Dr. Conroy has long been a formidable force and is a vocal advocate for increasing the role of
women in leadership, including as a founding member of Women of Impact, a group of
healthcare executives addressing complex problems in the industry. Her recent national and
regional awards and honors include the 2021 Steven Schroeder Award for Outstanding
Healthcare CEO given by the LeapFrog Group being named the 2022 Citizen of the Year by the
New Hampshire Union Leader, and to Becker’s Hospital Review’s 2022 “Top 113 Great Leaders
in Healthcare” list. She is often singled out as a role model for other women who aspire to
become leaders and agents for positive change in healthcare. In 2018 and 2022 Conroy was
Joanne M. Conroy, MD 2
named one of the “100 Most Influential People in Healthcare” by Modern Healthcare and was
included in the magazine’s inaugural listing of Women Leaders Luminaries in 2019. She has
been named to Boston Business Journal's “Women of Influence” list, and Beckers’ Hospital
Review’s 2023 and 2024 “130 Women Hospital and Health System leaders to Know,” the “135
Nonprofit Hospital and Health System CEOs to Know,” and the “36 Women Physician Leaders to
Know’ lists. She was included in Becker’s Top 40 CEO Influencers list for 2023. Under her
leadership, DHMC continues to be annually ranked as the #1 ranked hospital in New Hampshire
by U.S. News & World Report and Newsweek.
Prior to joining Dartmouth Health, Dr. Conroy served as CEO of Lahey Hospital & Medical
Center in Burlington, MA, and as chief healthcare officer for the Association of American
Medical Colleges in Washington, DC. She has served as chief medical officer, vice president of
academic affairs and executive vice president of the Atlantic health system based in Florham
Park, NJ. While serving as executive vice president, Dr. Conroy was named president and chief
operating officer for the Morristown Memorial Hospital (now called Morristown Medical
Center) in Morristown, NJ. She held several academic and administrative leadership positions at
the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC), including president of the MUSC medical
staff, director of Residency Education for the Department of Anesthesiology, chair of the
Department of Anesthesia & Perioperative Medicine, associate vice president for Medical
Affairs, executive medical director and senior associate Dean of the MUSC College of Medicine.
She received her undergraduate degree in chemistry from Dartmouth as a member of only the
second class to admit women. As an undergraduate, she was the recipient of a Robert Sloan
scholarship from Singer Corporation. Dr. Conroy received her medical degree from MUSC,
where she completed her residency in anesthesiology, serving as chief resident for one year.
Dr. Conroy is board certified with the American Board of Anesthesiologists. On January 1, 2024
Conroy became chair of the American Hospital Association Board. She lives in Hanover, New
Hampshire.