Dartmouth Health Names Wendy Fielding New System Chief Financial Officer

Dartmouth Health made a leadership change this week, naming Wendy Fielding as its new chief financial officer. Fielding, who was promoted to chief financial officer of Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in 2021 after serving as vice president of financial planning, will succeed Daniel Jantzen, who is retiring after several years in the post. The appointment followed a national search.

The chief financial officer of a regional health system oversees budgets, capital planning, payer negotiations, and financial policies that can shape where and how care is delivered. For residents of Sullivan County, where Dartmouth Health is the dominant system in the Upper Valley and maintains affiliation or clinical relationships with several local hospitals and providers, the CFO’s decisions can affect the availability of services, investment in technology and facilities, staffing levels, and financial assistance programs.

Fielding’s internal promotion from the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center finance leadership team signals continuity in financial management at a time when rural and regional health systems face ongoing pressures from staffing shortages, rising operational costs, changing reimbursement rules, and the need to invest in telehealth and outpatient care. Her background in financial planning and multi-year stewardship of DHMC finances provides institutional knowledge that may inform systemwide budgeting and capital priorities across affiliated facilities that serve Sullivan County residents.

Jantzen’s retirement closes a chapter in system leadership and opens a transition period during which Fielding will finalize budgets and financial strategies for the coming fiscal cycles. The CFO role also involves working with clinical leaders to align financial decisions with patient-care priorities, and with community partners on programs that support underserved and rural populations. Those alignments determine, in tangible ways, whether new service lines are introduced locally, whether clinics remain open, and how much support is available for charity care and community health initiatives.

Local officials and health-care providers will be watching how the new finance leadership balances investments in regional access, cost control, and long-term sustainability. For individual residents, changes are likely to be incremental: potential shifts in where care is offered, continued emphasis on financial stability for partner hospitals, and decisions about capital projects that could affect facility upgrades or expansions in the Upper Valley. Fielding steps into the CFO role with directly relevant experience at DHMC, and her decisions in the coming months will play a central role in shaping health-care services used by Sullivan County patients.