Lebanon, N.H.-based Dartmouth Health laid off 124 employees and canceled 303 open positions at its flagship academic medical center and Southern Region clinics, the eight-hospital system announced Sept. 15.
The eliminations affect Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon and Dartmouth Hitchcock Clinics Southern Region, according to a statement shared with Becker’s. The cuts include consolidating and restructuring executive roles and administrative leadership, along with eliminating select programs.
Patient revenues continue to be outpaced by operating expenses, which have grown 12%, the statement said. Labor, supply and drug costs are rising while insurers pay less and take longer to pay, according to the statement. In the second quarter of 2026, Dartmouth Health reported an operating loss of $52.5 million and an operating margin of -4.8%. The next quarter, the system recorded an operating loss of $22.9 million, or a -2% operating margin compared to a year prior.
Three programs were eliminated. In August, the system ended its tele-ICU and tele-ED services, which it said were unsustainable at their current scale without external support. It dissolved the New England Alliance for Health, a 2009 collaboration among community hospitals, behavioral health centers and home health agencies that the system said had outlived its purpose as members joined larger systems. And it cut its Lean Six Sigma Yellow Belt and Green Belt employee training program, which the system said outside vendors can deliver more cost-effectively.
More than half of the facilities affected by the tele-ICU and tele-ED cuts are Dartmouth Health members, and leadership is working with them on alternative patient care plans, the system said.
The reductions stem from the system’s Acceleration to Transformation Office, created in April to review operations — including capital spending, contracts, billing, supplies, programs and workflows — and identify savings. The office has already reduced travel and conference participation and cut reliance on contract “traveler” positions, while continuing capital projects aimed at expanding patient capacity.
“Eliminating positions is among the most difficult decisions any organization can make, given the impact on our colleagues and their families,” Joanne Conroy, MD, CEO and president of Dartmouth Health, said in a statement. “At times, however, difficult choices are necessary to ensure Dartmouth Health is sustainable and well-positioned for the future.”
Affected employees will be offered resources, transition support and opportunities to pursue other roles within the system, Dartmouth Health said. The system does not expect the cuts to affect patient care.
New Hampshire’s only academic health system and largest private employer, Dartmouth Health has more than 16,000 employees, over 2,300 providers and eight hospitals across New Hampshire and Vermont.
