New businesses

Planet Fitness opened at the Upper Valley Plaza off Route 12A in West Lebanon this fall.

Dazzle Nail Salon opened on Washington Street in Claremont this fall.

Wendy’s opened on Washington Street in Claremont this January.

Business and nonprofit expansions

The Arcade & Birthday Party Center opened at Blackbeard’s Cove Adventure Golf in Claremont this fall.

The Claremont Visitors Center was renamed the Mike Satzow Visitors Center this fall in honor of the long time Claremont resident’s dedication to the city.

The Richards Group, a Brattleboro, Vt.-based insurance and financial services firm that has a branch in Hanover, purchased the Washburn and Wilson Agency of Bethel, from Melvin and Matt Washburn.

RePlay Arts, a White River Junction-based nonprofit organization that provides free art supplies to community members and organizations, in addition to running workshops, has moved to 87 Maple St. in downtown White River Junction.

Business new hires and leadership changes

Norwich Technologies hired Lou Minion as its new controller and Michael Scott Duplessis as its new IT manager.

Nonprofit organization new hires and leadership changes

Ivan Beckman is the new director of the U.S. Army’s Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (CRREL) in Hanover. Beckman, of Hanover, was previously CRREL’s deputy director. Before coming to CRREL, he served as commander of the U.S. Army Engineer and Research Development Center.

Dr. Lauren Geddes Wirth is the new CEO and president of New London Hospital, which is part of the Dartmouth Health network. Geddes, who was previously interim CEO and president, replaces Tom Manion, who is now chief operating officer of Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center.

Dr. Matthew Foster is the new CEO and president of Mt. Ascutney Hospital and Health Center (MAHHC) and Valley Regional Hospital, which are part of Dartmouth Health. He previously served as interim chief medical officer at Johnson Health Center in Lynchburg, Va.

Michael B. Mulhern is the new director of the Dartmouth Hitchcock Advanced Response Team (DHART). He previously worked as a search and rescue flight paramedic for the U.S. State Department before joining DHART in 2012.

Frances McLaughlin is the new executive vice president of Billings Farm & Museum in Woodstock. She was previously executive director of the Farm & Wilderness Foundation and Farm & Wilderness Conservation in Plymouth, Vt.

Andrew Pinard is the new interim executive director of AVA Gallery and Art Center in Lebanon. Pinard, who previously led the Claremont Opera House, replaces Shari Boraz, who is retiring after three years of leading the nonprofit organization.

Heidi Reynolds is the new executive director of Friends of Mascoma in Canaan. Reynolds, of Canaan, has previously worked at the Montshire Museum of Science, Northern Stage and AVA Gallery and Art Center. She replaces Katherine Plumley Stewart, who had been serving as interim executive director.

Saint-Gaudens Memorial, a nonprofit organization that promotes the legacy American sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens and partners with the National Park Service’s Saint-Gaudens National Historical Park in Cornish, has named Jackie Schalk as its first full-time executive director.

Dr. Paul Boutin has been promoted to chief medical officer of Health Care and Rehabilitation Services (HCRS), a Springfield, Vt.-based organization that has offices in White River Junction and Windsor. Boutin was previously medical director at HCRS.

Dartmouth Health hired the following providers in October and December:

Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center: Dr. Sheila R. Barnett, anesthesiology; Dr. Michael A. Bova, pain management; Dr. Robert N. D’Angelo, cardiology; Bethanie K. Davies, general surgery; Dr. Bradley A. Eckert, palliative medicine; Lisa R. Edson, urology; Dr. Mohamed I. Elsheikh, general surgery; Nichole L. Haas, geriatric medicine; Gabriella A. Harmon, hematology/oncology; Elizabeth L. Howland, obstetrics and gynecology; Thanh H. Huibers, comprehensive wound healing center; Hayleigh J. Kein, hematology/oncology; Dr. Nupur Lala, medical oncology; Dr. Lina Ma, anatomic pathology; Jacob W. Mozier, oral and maxillofacial surgery; Dr. David M. Naeger, diagnostic radiology; Dr. Anais A. Ovalle, infectious disease; Dr. Hannah S. Reuman, palliative medicine; Dr. Ivy L. Riano Monsalve, medical oncology; Andrea J. Schimke, pain management; Rachel M. Snider, neurology; Brandon L. Steves, general surgery; Dr. Xiaonan Sun, neurosurgery; Dr. Thamolwan Surakiatchanukul, ophthalmology; Dr. Henry J. Tannous, cardiac surgery; Cheng Chin Wang, neurology; Caroline R. Weisheit, neurology; Miranda A. Bacon, audiology; Travis R. Barcelow, anesthesiology; Amber H. Bardsley, otolaryngology (ear, nose and throat); Dr. Anna L. Benvenuto, obstetrics and gynecology; Dr. Monika A. Bernas, cardiology; Abigail M. Blake, cardiology; Carlos E. Borges, critical care/MICU; Toni M. Curry, psychiatry; Dr. Liam L. Donnelly, clinical pathology; Dr. Alyssa C. Ehrlich, psychiatry; Dana M. Ferrari-Light, thoracic surgery; Dr. Josephine T. Fisher, internal medicine; Dr. Mohanad H. Gabani, cardiology; Melanie L. Garcia, critical care/MICU; Sara W. Gussenhoven, cardiac surgery; Sydney L. Hanford, cardiac surgery; Adam M. Harris, neurosurgery; Dr. Charlotte V. Hastings, obstetrics and gynecology; Dr. John E. Howe, pulmonary and critical care medicine; Dr. Claudiu-Gily Ionescu-Tajti, internal medicine; Dr. Anastas Kostojchin, cardiology; Daniel M. Mackin, psychiatry; Dr. Jennifer A. McCoy, maternal and fetal medicine; Dr. Katherine L. Mistretta, orthopaedic surgery; Dr. Michael T. O’Loughlin, diagnostic radiology; Dr. Samuel A. Rackley, anesthesiology; Jessica E. Tullington, general surgery; Makenzie A. Welch, cardiology; Dr. Mounica Yanamandala, cardiology; Dr. Kirthi S. Bellamkonda, cardiac surgery; Emily J. Bowman, physiatry; Dr. Prashanthi Divakar, otolaryngology (ear, nose and throat); Drue A. Lorenz, MPAS, neurosurgery; Dr. Njambi W. Mathenge, cardiology; Alexandra P. Pappas, psychiatry; Beverly V. Reynolds, neurology; Amy L. Dasso, general surgery; Melissa J. Porter, vascular surgery; and Rebeka A. Thorgerson, plastic surgery.

Dartmouth Cancer Center: Dr. Joerg Rathmann, medical oncology; Dr. Charles J. Gaulin, hematology & oncology; Dr. Elaine P. Kuhn, breast oncology; Dr. Tara L. Kaufmann, medical oncology; and Anne C. Rodenbach, hematology/oncology.

Dartmouth Health Children’s: Dr. Zoe W. Frolking, general pediatrics; Mohamed T. Jasser, child and adolescent psychiatry; Margaret A. Maher, pediatric gastroenterology; Dr. Mathew S. Lemberger, child and adolescent psychiatry; Dr. Sebnem Ozdogan, pediatric pulmonology; and Bethany L. Dewkett, neonatology; Dr. An V. Huynh, allergy and clinical immunology.

Dartmouth Hitchcock Clinics Heater Road: Dr. John D. Nuschke, III, sleep medicine; and Eric C. Harbeck, psychiatry.

Alice Peck Day Memorial Hospital: Dr. Hulda Magnadottir, neurosurgery; Dr. David M. Naeger, tele-radiology; Dr. Harold J. Pikus, neurosurgery; and Patrick A. Schembri, neurosurgery.

Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center and New London Hospital: Dr. Rachel L. Krcmar, emergency medicine; Dr. Brian D. Barnacle, diagnostic radiology; and Dr. Graham M. Tooker, neuroradiology.

Alice Peck Day Memorial Hospital and Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center: Jonathan S. Harmon, hospital medicine; Dr. Vinod Krishnappa, hospital medicine; Dr. Edward A. Cantos, hospital medicine; Dr. Meghan R. Hickey, hospital medicine; Dr. Stephen B. Marko, emergency medicine; Dr. Timothy R. Siegel, general surgery; and Dr. Samantha J. Yarmis, emergency medicine.

Alice Peck Day Memorial Hospital and New London Hospital: Alyssa M. Pearl, neurosurgery.

Alice Peck Day Memorial Hospital, Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center, Mt. Ascutney Hospital and Health Center & New London Hospital: Dr. Vivek C. Yagnik, diagnostic radiology.

Mt. Ascutney Hospital and Health Center: Dr. Sabrina K. Khalil, ophthalmology.

Dr. Angelo E. Volandes is the new vice chair of research for department of medicine at Dartmouth Health, Geisel School of Medicine. He was previously an internal medicine practitioner at Massachusetts General Hospital.

Nonprofit organization board appointments

Rita B. Gylys was elected president of the Windsor County Mentors Board of Directors. Gylys, who was previously treasurer of the board, succeeds Megan Culp, who served as board president for around a decade.

Susan A. Reeves, chief nursing executive at Dartmouth Health, was elected chair of the New Hampshire Hospital Association (NHHA) board of trustees. Tom Manion, chief operating officer at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center, was reelected to a two-year term on the NHHA’s board of trustees.

Bise Wood Saint Eugene, of Lebanon, was elected to serve a three-year term on the Public Health Council of the Upper Valley’s Board of Directors.

Herschel Nachlis, associate director and senior policy Fellow of the Nelson A. Rockefeller Center for Public Policy and the Social Sciences at Dartmouth College, and research assistant professor in Dartmouth’s Department of Government, has joined Granite United Way’s Board of Directors.

Nonprofit grants and donations

The Bridgewater (Vt.) Area Community Foundation earned a $204,950 grant from the Canaday Family Charitable Trust for energy efficiency, sustainability and resiliency projects at the Bridgewater Area Community Center (BACC) and Bridgewater Community Childcare.

The Unitarian Universalist Congregation of the Upper Valley in Norwich earned a $33,885 grant from the 2024 National Clergy Renewal Program to enable its minister, Rev. Jan Hutslar, to take a five-month sabbatical to walk two actual pilgrimages — St Cuthberts Way and the Pilgrimage of Hildegard von Bingen, along with taking part in other renewal activities.

The DH Center for Rural Health Equity earned an $8,000 grant from the Northeast Delta Dental Foundation to expand a program that trains health providers to administer silver diamine fluoride treatment.

Dartmouth Health Advanced Response Team (DHART) received a $6.7 million donation from Les Haynes’ estate. The funding will go toward purchasing new equipment, starting an EMT certification program and expand to southern New Hampshire, according to a news release from Dartmouth Health.

Dartmouth Health’s Population Health Department earned a five-year, $5 million federal grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Human Services Research Administration to expand maternal health programs throughout the state through its New Hampshire Perinatal Quality Collaborative.

Dartmouth Health received a $14 million gift from the estate of Walter and Carole Young to establish the Walter and Carole Young Pancreas Center at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center, to create the Walter and Carole Young Center for Digestive Health and the Walter and Carole Young Professorship in General Surgery at Geisel School of Medicine.

Dartmouth Health and the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth researchers earned a five-year, $3 million grant from National Institutes of Health’s National Institute of Mental Health to study how to improve life expectancy for those who live with mental illness.

Nonprofit expanded programs

Giesel School of Medicine and Guarini School of Graduate and Advanced Studies at Dartmouth College have joined together to start a new online master’s degree program in implementation science. The online-only program will take full-time students nine months to complete and 18 months for part-time students to complete. Enrollment for the September 2025 semester is currently open and more information can be found at https://healthsciences.dartmouth.edu/education/degree-programs/master-science-implementation-science/program-overview.

Eight high school students graduated from the licensed nursing assistant (LNA) registered apprenticeship program this fall. The new program — the first of its kind in New Hampshire — was started by Valley Regional Hospital, River Valley Community College (RVCC) and ApprenticeshipNH, according to a news release from Dartmouth Health, of which Valley Regional is part. The students took an eight-week program during this past summer — Jacqueline Smith, Cara Bouchard, Makaila Gallow, Emma Kainu, Monica Jaycox, Sarah Wheeler, Breanne Robertson and Niko Sanville — all passed the licensing exam.

The Community College of Vermont (CCV) and the Vermont Department of Corrections (DOC) has expanded the Corrections Post-Secondary Education Initiative (CPSEI) partnership, through which DOC staff and Vermonters who are incarcerated can take college courses. Students who were previously incarcerated can now take two classes per semester for a full year after they are released from incarceration. More information: ccv.edu/corrections.

Awards and other honors

Hartford Parks and Recreation Department recreation specialist Tatum Barnes earned the Vermont Recreation & Parks Association’s Young Professional Award.

Lebanon resident Marc Cousineau, who serves as director of Catholic Charities NH’s Community Services program, earned the “In His Footsteps” award for his “exceptional service to the community,” according to a news release from the Manchester-based nonprofit organization. Cousineau has worked at Catholic Charities for more than 40 years.

Kelly and Leo Valia, who live at Mascoma Valley Cooperative in Canaan, earned ROC-NH’s Above & Beyond award for their volunteerism in the resident-owned manufactured housing park.

Douglas Hackett, Hanover Police Director of Communication, earned the Public Safety Communications Director of the Year award from the Association of Public Safety Communications Officials (APCO) Atlantic Chapter.

The Clara Martin Center, a nonprofit organization that provides mental health and substance misuse treatment in Bradford, Vt., Chelsea, Randolph, White River Junction and Wilder, among other Vermont communities, honored the following community members during its annual meeting and awards ceremony: Brian Kravitz, director of outreach, Central Vermont Adult Education Services, 2024 Vocational Services Award; Timothy Eberhardt, Spiritual Care Coordinator at Gifford Medical Center, 2024 Arnold Spahn Community Award; and Kathy Robbins, psychiatric nurse practitioner, 2024 Martin Family Excellence Award.

The Clara Martin Center also honored the following employees for their longevity at the nonprofit organization — Five years: Kristine Babcock, Brian Barnard, Pam Bean, Jo-An Morin and Sharon Wilson; 10 years: Carol Blanchard, Richard Braun, Kohl Comtess, Alexander DeLeon, Danielle Drown, Wanda Jackson, Isaac Turnbaugh and Rachel Yeager; 15 years: Michele Sargent; 20 years: Jenni Campbell and Brock Davis; 25 years: Gretchen Pembroke; 30 years: Chris Titchenal; and 35 years: Nancy Duranleau and Gretchen Linton.

Enfield, Lebanon and Newport, along with 15 other New Hampshire communities, were named “Housing Champions” for “supporting affordable, accessible, and sustainable housing development” by the New Hampshire Department of Business and Economic Affairs.

Kendal at Hanover earned an Employment Leadership Award for its work with people with disabilities from the New Hampshire Department of Education’s Bureau of Vocational Rehabilitation and the New Hampshire Council on Developmental Disabilities.

The New Hampshire Business Review honored the following Upper Valley businessowners during its 22nd Annual Business Excellence Awards Ceremony in October: Betsy Harrison and Susan Borchert, co-founders, Counseling Associates of New London, small business health care category; and Carolyn Isabelle, system VP, talent acquisition and career development, Dartmouth Health, large business health care category.

Nathan Douglas Gardner, northern coordinator for Windsor County Mentors, has been awarded a $1,300 scholarship by MENTOR to attend the 2025 National Mentoring Summit in Washington, D.C.,

Becker’s Hospital Review’s named New London Hospital CEO and president Dr. Lauren Geddes as one of its 90 critical access hospital CEOs to know for 2024.

Becker’s Hospital Review’s named Dartmouth Cancer Center to its 2024 list of hospitals and health systems recognized for excellence in oncology.

Jessica K. Salwen-Deremer, a Dartmouth Health psychologist who is also director of the health care system’s Behavioral Medicine for Digestive Health program, earned the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation New England chapter’s 2024 Rising Healthcare Leader award.

Alice Peck Day Memorial Hospital has earned a Level 1 Geriatric Emergency Department (GED) accreditation from the American College of Emergency Physicians. According to a news release from Dartmouth Health, APD the first critical access hospital in the country to achieve this designation.

The CHaD HERO race raised $825,000 in October for child and family support services at Dartmouth Health Children’s.

The New Hampshire Hospital Association honored three Dartmouth Health employees at its annual meeting in October: John T. Broderick Jr., senior director of external affairs, Lifetime Achievement Award; Dr. Patrick R. Hattan, psychiatrist and associate medical director for New Hampshire Hospital, Medical Staff Award for outstanding service; and Charles G. Plimpton, treasurer of the Dartmouth-Hitchcock/Dartmouth Health Boards, secretary of the Dartmouth Health Board and chair of the Finance and Development committees, Outstanding Trustee of the Year Award.

Samantha A. House, section chief of pediatric hospital medicine at Dartmouth Health Children’s and an associate professor in pediatrics at the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, was elected to the Society for Pediatric Research.

Dr. JoAnna K. Leyenaar, a professor of pediatrics and at the Dartmouth Institute at Geisel, was elected to the American Pediatric Society.

Dartmouth Health was named the “Coolest Employer for Young People” for 2024 by Stay Work Play New Hampshire.

New Hampshire Business Review named the following Dartmouth Health providers to its 2025 New Hampshire 200 list, which honors leaders who have contributed to the state’s economy and business climate: Dr. Jocelyn F. Caple, former CEO and interim president of Valley Regional Hospital; Dr. Stephanie A. Ihezie, neurosurgery medical resident at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center; Dr. Julie Kim, section chief of pediatric hematology/oncology at Dartmouth Health Children’s, and associate professor of pediatrics at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth; Dr. William C. Torrey, chair of the department of psychiatry and section chief of outpatient psychiatric services at Dartmouth Health, Raymond Sobel Professor of Psychiatry and professor of Health Policy and Clinical Practice at Geisel; and Dr. Lauren A. Geddes Wirth, CEO and president of New London Hospital.

Best Place for Working Parents, a national organization, gave Dartmouth Health a “Best Place for Working Parents” designation.

The White River Junction-based Visiting Nurse and Hospice for Vermont and New Hampshire honored the following employees at its annual Employee and Volunteer Appreciation event: Tammy L. Tarsa, chief clinical officer, Excellence in Leadership Award; Bethany Yaeger, clinical operations assistant, Administrative Professional of the Year; Dawna J. Lawrence, personal care assistant, Paraprofessional of the Year; and Heidi J. Smith, spiritual care counselor, Carole Lechthaler Award for Exemplary Professional Practice.

Tonya J. Carlton, system director of clinical pharmacy services at Dartmouth Health, earned a spot in the Carol Emmott Fellowship Class of 2025, which supports women in health care leadership.

A team of occupational and environmental medicine employees led by Dr. Karen L. Huyck earned a Resilient Workplace Innovation Award from the United States Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy for developing the Vermont Retaining Employment and Talent After Injury/Illness Network.

Information for this column was compiled using news releases emailed to Valley News staff. To have business or nonprofit organization news included in the next edition of Enterprise, email biznotes@vnews.com prior to March 21.