The strength of our health system is directly connected to, and would not be possible without, the strength of our nursing staff.
Susan A. Reeves, EdD, RN, CENPSeven nursing professionals employed by Dartmouth Health were honored recently at the eighth annual New Hampshire Excellence in Nursing Awards. Presented by the New Hampshire Nurses’ Association and New Hampshire Magazine, and sponsored in part of Dartmouth Health, the Excellence in Nursing Awards honor the unsung heroes of the state’s healthcare community—those who go above and beyond to comfort, heal and educate—bringing to light how critical nursing is to achieving comprehensive healthcare.
The 2025 honorees across the Dartmouth Health system are:
- Justin B. Montgomery, MSN, APRN, interim vice president of nursing and a general internal medicine nurse practitioner at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center (DHMC), who received the Academic Nurse Educator-Researcher award
- Christine C. Gooley, MSN, APRN, an infectious disease and international health nurse practitioner at DHMC, who received the Advanced Practice Nursing award
- Tracy A. Galvin, DNP, MSN, RN, NEA-BC, chief nursing officer at DHMC, who received the Large Hospital Senior Nurse Leader award
- Catherine M. Amarante, BSN, RN, a geriatric nurse and honoring care decisions specialist at DHMC, who received the Gerontology Nursing award
- Chastity A. Hodgson, BSN, RN, TCRN, emergency department charge nurse at Cheshire Medical Center, who received the Emergency Nursing award
- Pamela R. Switzer, MSN, BS, RN, pre-operative and post-anesthesia care units nurse manager at Cheshire, who received the Large Hospital Frontline Leader award
- Nicole S. Wakeman, BSN, RN, inpatient services nurse manager at New London Hospital, who received the Small Hospital Frontline Leader award
“The strength of our health system is directly connected to, and would not be possible without, the strength of our nursing staff,” said Susan A. Reeves, EdD, RN, CENP, Dartmouth Health’s chief nursing executive. “Nurses are involved with virtually every aspect of patient care and have earned nursing’s status the most trusted profession. Every day across Dartmouth Health, our nursing professionals demonstrate the professionalism, expertise, and compassion that our patients expect and rely on. It takes equal part heart and grit to be a great nurse. Justin, Christine, Tracy, Catherine, Chastity, Pam and Nicole all embody this, and I’m so proud that they’ve been recognized among the best in their field in our state.”
For the full list of 2025 Excellence in Nursing Awards winners, visit nhmagazine.com/excellence-in-nursing.
About Dartmouth Health
Dartmouth Health, New Hampshire’s only academic health system and largest private employer, serves patients across New England. Dartmouth Health provides access to more than 2,300 providers in nearly every area of medicine, delivering care at its flagship hospital, Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center (DHMC) in Lebanon, NH. Its network of hospitals, outpatient centers, clinics and home care facilities, spans a broad geographical area. Year after year, DHMC is named the #1 hospital in New Hampshire by U.S. News & World Report, and is consistently recognized for high performance in numerous clinical specialties and procedures. Dartmouth Health includes Dartmouth Cancer Center, northern New England’s only National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers and one of less than than 60 total nationally; Dartmouth Health Children’s, which includes the state’s only children’s hospital (Children’s Hospital at DHMC/CHaD) and more than 20 locations around the region; eight member hospitals in Lebanon, Keene, Claremont, Hampstead, and New London, NH, and Windsor and Bennington, VT; Dartmouth Health Home Care; Dartmouth Health Connected Care Center for Telehealth, serving patients as far away as Texas; and more than 30 primary and multi-specialty clinics across New Hampshire and Vermont. Through its partnership with Dartmouth College, Dartmouth’s Geisel School of Medicine and the White River Junction VA Medical Center, Dartmouth Health trains nearly 400 medical residents and fellows annually and performs cutting-edge research and clinical trials with international impact. Dartmouth Health and its more than 16,000 employees are committed to serving the healthcare needs of everyone in the communities it serves and to providing every patient with exceptional, state-of-the-art, personalized care. Learn more at dartmouth-health.org.