Two president and chief executive officers of Dartmouth Health member hospitals were named to Becker’s Hospital Review’s annual ranking of rural hospital and health system presidents and CEOs to know. Susan E. Mooney, MD, MS, FACOG, CEO and president of Alice Peck Day Memorial Hospital (APD), and Thomas A. Dee, FACHE, CEO and president of Southwestern Vermont Medical Center (SVMC), were among the 118 healthcare leaders recognized for driving growth by expanding services, upgrading facilities and building skilled teams.
Mooney, an obstetrician-gynecologist by training, practiced at APD from 2000 to 2005. She left for two years to pursue fellowship training, then rejoined APD as medical director of quality, and later assuming the chief medical officer role. She became president and CEO in 2013. Becker’s noted that Mooney’s leadership has contributed to the hospital seeing the highest employee engagement rating within the Dartmouth Health system for the past two years, and that she created a diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging coordinator position in 2022, fostering an environment where everyone feels seen and heard.
Dee has been with SVMC since 2010, overseeing the hospital’s onboarding to Dartmouth Health in 2023, making it the system’s second Vermont-based hospital. Dee provides the strategic leadership necessary to ensure the delivery of high-quality, cost-effective care that meets community needs and responsibly utilizes fiscal, human and physical resources. He oversees the planning, directing and management of current operations, financial sustainability, future growth and program development. Becker’s highlighted his support for physicians, providers, nurses and staff through recruitment, development, compliance education and implementation, and continuing education opportunities.
Perras became CEO and president of Cheshire in 2023 after serving in the same role at Dartmouth Health member Mt. Ascutney Hospital and Health Center for six years. He is an internal medicine physician by training. Becker's noted that, under Perras, Cheshire provides the highest quality care in the safest possible environment for its staff and patients. Cheshire is the largest provider of healthcare in the county and serves as a regional referral center for parts of New Hampshire, Vermont and Massachusetts. Under Perras’ leadership, Cheshire has committed to its people, patients and community through growth of clinical service lines and long-term financial sustainability.
To view the full list of honorees, visit bit.ly/4niAXqL.
About Cheshire Medical Center
Cheshire Medical Center (Cheshire) is a Dartmouth Health member providing the communities in the Greater Monadnock Region a continuum of care spanning primary care and specialty medicine, to surgical services and acute inpatient care. For more than 130 years, Cheshire has been a key contributor to the health and vitality of the Monadnock Region. As a not-for-profit community medical center, Cheshire is deeply committed to delivering excellent care in a safe and welcoming environment. Cheshire is dedicated to being a great neighbor and serves as an integral community resource. Cheshire is the area's largest healthcare provider and leading employer. Along with the services delivered on their Keene campus and satellite locations, the Medical Center partners with local organizations to provide vital services and programs throughout the region. To learn more, call 603-354-5400 or visit the Cheshire Medical Center website.
About Dartmouth Health
Dartmouth Health, New Hampshire’s only academic health system and the state’s largest private employer, serves patients across northern New England. Dartmouth Health provides access to more than 2,000 providers in almost every area of medicine, delivering care at its flagship hospital, Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center (DHMC) in Lebanon, NH, as well as across its wide network of hospitals, clinics and care facilities. DHMC is consistently named the #1 hospital in New Hampshire by U.S. News & World Report, and is recognized for high performance in numerous clinical specialties and procedures. Dartmouth Health includes Dartmouth Cancer Center, one of only 57 National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers in the nation, and the only such center in northern New England; Dartmouth Health Children’s, which includes the state’s only children’s hospital and multiple locations around the region; member hospitals in Lebanon, Keene, Claremont and New London, NH, and Windsor and Bennington, VT; Visiting Nurse and Hospice for Vermont and New Hampshire; and more than 24 clinics that provide ambulatory and specialty services across New Hampshire and Vermont. Through its historical partnership with Dartmouth and the Geisel School of Medicine, Dartmouth Health trains nearly 400 medical residents and fellows annually, and performs cutting-edge research and clinical trials recognized across the globe with Geisel and the White River Junction VA Medical Center in White River Junction, VT. Dartmouth Health and its more than 13,000 employees are deeply committed to serving the healthcare needs of everyone in our communities, and to providing each of our patients with exceptional, personal care.