Joanne M. Conroy, MD, who serves as CEO of Dartmouth Health, will serve as chair of the AHA in 2024.
The American Hospital Association (AHA) board of trustees announced the organization's chair-elect designate on Saturday.
Joanne, M. Conroy, MD, will serve as AHA chair-elect in 2023, then as chair of the AHA in 2024, where she will be the top-elected official of the national organization.
Conroy, who is also a member of the AHA executive committee and operations committee, serves as president and CEO of Dartmouth Health, an academic health system in rural New Hampshire. In 2021, she also chaired the AHA task force on primary care.
"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," Conroy said in a statement. "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."
Conroy has led Dartmouth Health since 2017, which includes the 396-bed flagship hospital Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center, four additional hospitals, a home health agency, the state's only children's hospital, and ambulatory care clinics across New Hampshire and Vermont.
During her tenure, she oversaw expansion initiatives, guided the system through the COVID-19 pandemic, and built a partnership with the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth. She also led the health system in being an early signatory of the "TIME'S UP" healthcare initiative to increase gender equity and safety in the healthcare sector.
Conroy is also a co-founder of "Women of Impact," a nonpartisan group of women healthcare executives, committed to "realign the healthcare system to meet the needs of all Americans."
Prior to joining Dartmouth Health, Conroy served as CEO of Lahey Hospital and Medical center in Burlington, Massachusetts. She also served as chief health care officer for the Association of American Medical Colleges in Washington, DC. Additionally, she has served in leadership roles within Atlantic Health System and the Medical University of South Carolina.
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Melanie Blackman is a contributing editor for strategy, marketing, and human resources at HealthLeaders, an HCPro brand.