Dr. Garcia has decades of experience in healthcare leadership, spearheading major initiatives and improvements within hospital systems and in a public health capacity.
Thomas H. Green III, chair of SVMC’s Board of TrusteesSouthwestern Vermont Medical Center (SVMC), a member of Dartmouth Health, has appointed Estevan Garcia, MD, as its CEO and president. He will succeed Thomas A. Dee, FACHE who will departing early January 2026.
“After an extensive search, and on behalf of the Board of Trustees and the Search Committee, I am pleased to share that Dr. Garcia will be leading SVMC as its next president and CEO,” said Thomas H. Green III, chair of SVMC’s Board of Trustees. “Dr. Garcia has decades of experience in healthcare leadership, spearheading major initiatives and improvements within hospital systems and in a public health capacity.”
Garcia, a specialist in pediatric emergency medicine, has most recently supported Dartmouth College in addressing the student mental health crisis by utilizing a public health preventative approach. Prior to this, he served as chief medical officer for the Massachusetts Department of Health. His role has included significant fundraising and outreach for new services, centers and buildings.
He has a 30-year career in healthcare, previously serving as chief medical officer at Cooley Dickinson Hospital, a Mass General Brigham affiliate, in Northampton, MA, and at Brookdale University Hospital, in Brooklyn, NY; vice president and medical director for risk management at Hospitals Insurance Company; and interim CEO of Tewksbury Hospital in Tewksbury, MA.
“Dr. Garcia has a breadth and depth of experience as a clinician, advocate and healthcare leader that is a strong fit for SVMC,” said Joanne M. Conroy, MD, CEO and president of Dartmouth Health. “He is in an excellent position to continue building upon all of SVMC’s growth accomplished under Tom Dee’s outstanding leadership, and expand SVMC and Dartmouth Health’s reputation of excellence in rural health delivery.”
Garcia is a fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics, earned a master’s in public administration in healthcare management and policy, and received a doctorate in public health. He has served on the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s National Commission to Transform Public Health Data Systems and the boards of the Child Advocacy Center of Northampton, MA, and of GLMA, the oldest and largest association of LGBTQ+ and allied health professionals.
He is also past president of the board of TreeHouse Foundation, an organization that creates intergenerational communities for families with foster children. Garcia and his husband, William, have fostered more than 20 children, and have raised three adopted children.
Garcia was selected following an extensive nationwide search, lead by a volunteer search committee, consisting of SVMC Board of Trustee members and Dartmouth Health leadership.
Dee, Garcia’s predecessor, held the position for 16 years, guiding SVMC through massive changes, including the integration with Dartmouth Health.
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.