Dartmouth Health leaders recognized by Becker’s Hospital Review as some of the best in rural healthcare nationwide

Three Dartmouth Health system leaders have been named to Becker’s Hospital Review in its 2026 list of “Rural Hospital and Health System Presidents and CEOs to Know.”

Estevan Garcia, MD, DrPH, president and CEO of Southwestern Vermont Health Care; Michael Lynch, MD, MBA, president and CEO of Alice Peck Day Memorial Hospital; and Joseph Perras, MD, president and CEO of Cheshire Medical Center, received the nod. Becker’s recognized 146 rural hospital and health system leaders nationwide for their roles in expanding services, recruiting talented caregivers and investing in community health through thoughtful facility improvements and strategic growth. The list was developed through editorial research and nominations, and organizations cannot pay for inclusion.

Garcia became president and CEO of Southwestern Vermont Heath Care, a rural $220 million integrated delivery system, in January 2026. He draws on nearly 30 years of clinical practice and leadership across public health, higher education, and health system settings. A board-certified pediatrician and pediatric emergency medicine specialist, he previously served as chief medical officer for the Massachusetts Department of Public Health and wellness officer for Dartmouth College. Garcia has held senior leadership roles in community, academic and integrated delivery systems and has served on the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s national commission to transform public health data systems and on the boards of the Child Advocacy Center of Northampton, Mass., and GLMA, the nation’s oldest and largest association of LGBTQ+ and allied health professionals.

Lynch was appointed president and CEO of Alice Peck Day Memorial Hospital (APD) in September of 2025, having joined the organization in 2019 as chief medical officer. In that role, he led the implementation of Epic as the hospital’s electronic health record, integrated Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center’s (DHMC) hospital medicine team into APD’s patient services and transitioned DHMC’s emergency providers into the emergency department staffing. He also helped grow surgical services, guided the hospital through the Covid-19 pandemic and reinforced primary care as a cornerstone of community health. Prior to his tenure at APD, he served as executive medical director of same day services at Reliant Medical Group in Worcester, Mass. Lynch also practiced as an emergency physician at Concord Hospital, where he served as medical director of urgent care, president of Concord Emergency Medical Associates, chair of emergency medicine and chair of the Concord Hospital Charitable Trust. Lynch continues to practice clinically in emergency services and is a clinical instructor at Dartmouth’s Geisel School of Medicine.

Perras serves as president and CEO of Cheshire Medical Center (Cheshire) in Keene, N.H., where he oversees efforts to deliver the highest quality of care in the safest possible environment. Cheshire is the largest provider of healthcare in Cheshire County and serves as a regional referral center for parts of New Hampshire, Vermont and Massachusetts. Under Perras’ leadership, Cheshire has strengthened its commitment to patients, employees, and the community through growth of clinical service lines and a focus on long-term financial sustainability. He previously served as a chairperson of the American Hospital Association’s Small or Rural Hospital Council and was appointed to the AHA’s Institute for Diversity and Health Equity. Perras is a graduate of the Academy of GE Fellows Program and is focused on building successful value-based care programs in rural environments.

Dartmouth Health extends its congratulations to Garcia, Lynch, and Perras for this national honor and reaffirms its commitment to leadership excellence, clinical innovation and community-centered care across the system.