Lebanon, N.H.-based Dartmouth-Hitchcock's Executive Vice President for Integrated Delivery Systems and Chief Academic Officer John D. Birkmeyer, MD, has tendered his resignation, according to a Valley News report. The health system did not give a clear reason for his departure. He has worked at Dartmouth-Hitchcock since 2014.
Dartmouth-Hitchcock CMO Ed Merrens, MD, will take over Dr. Birkmeyer's responsibilities.
Dr. Birkmeyer's departure comes on the heels of a number of problems at Dartmouth-Hitchcock. He was involved in the decision to hire "hundreds of employees in clinical research and the psychiatry department after Dartmouth College restructured its Geisel School of Medicine," the report notes.
In addition, Dartmouth-Hitchcock recently announced lay off between 270 and 460 employees by the end of 2016. The layoffs are an attempt to cut costs after closing the fiscal year that ended June 30 with an unexpected $12 million deficit.
Dr. Birkmeyer's resignation is the latest in a string of leadership departures. Dartmouth-Hitchcock CFO Robin Kilfeather-Mackey left earlier this year, as did Mark Israel, director of the Norris Cotton Cancer Center.
A trained general surgeon, Dr. Birkmeyer worked at Ann Arbor-based University of Michigan before coming to Dartmouth-Hitchcock.
"It was an honor to help lead clinical and academic affairs at D-H these last couple years, but this was the right time for us to go in different directions," said Dr. Birkmeyer when Valley News reached out to him for comment.