Arthur W. Nichols has announced his retirement as president and CEO of Cheshire Medical Center/Dartmouth-Hitchcock Keene (N.H.).
Here are four things to know about Mr. Nichols, his retirement and his successor.
1. Mr. Nichols, who has served as CEO and president for the past 11 years, has stepped down as CEO and will formally retire as president on Oct. 31.
2. Don Caruso, MD, who has served as medical director in CMC/DHK's Office of the President since 2011, is now CEO and will begin the duties of president Nov. 1. Mr. Caruso was also leading Dartmouth-Hitchcock's Primary Care Service Line initiative, announced earlier this year. With Mr. Caruso's appointment as CEO, Dartmouth-Hitchcock physician Dr. Lora Council, who has worked with Mr. Caruso on the PCSL project as associate medical director, will serve as interim lead while a search committee seeks a successor for Mr. Caruso.
3. Mr. Nichols has served the healthcare needs of Keene and the Monadnock region for nearly 30 years. He joined Cheshire Medical Center in 1988, 10 years before Cheshire Medical Center and Dartmouth-Hitchcock started working together. The organizations originally partnered through a joint operating agreement that involved Dartmouth-Hitchcock Keene, a multi-specialty group practice that comprises the majority of CheshireMedicalCenter's medical staff. An affiliation agreement was finalized in March 2015.
4. Mr. Nichols currently serves as a board member of the New Hampshire Hospital Association, and is the immediate-past chairman. He also served as chair of the board of Voluntary Hospitals of America, New England. Additionally, Mr. Nichols represented New Hampshire on the American Hospital Association's, Regional Policy Board (Region 1), and is also a fellow in the American College of Healthcare Executives.