
Karen Clements, RN, FACHE
Chief Nursing Officer
Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center & Community Group Practices
Karen Clements has been CNO of Dartmouth-Hitchcock since June 2016. She joined Dartmouth-Hitchcock in 2013 and has held several pivotal roles within the medical center focusing on quality, patient and staff engagement, and elevating the role of the nurse leader. During the past several years, Ms. Clements has been a primary developer of projects such as nursing redesign, the Regional Patient Placement and Transfer Center, and creation of an Emergency Services line. Ms. Clements is the ACHE Regent for New Hampshire and past president of the Northern New England Association of Healthcare Executives, an ACHE chapter. She also serves the community as past president of the Lebanon-Riverside Rotary Club. Before coming to D-H, Ms. Clements worked with Eastern Maine Healthcare Systems in Bangor for 23 years, initially as the nurse manager of the ED, trauma and urgent care, then as the administrative director of several service lines. During her final three years at EMHS, she served as CNO/vice president of patient care services at The Acadia Hospital, the only Magnet-certified freestanding psychiatric hospital in the country.
Ms. Clements proudly served in the U.S. Army Nurse Corps from 1988 to 1999. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in nursing from the University of Maine’s School of Nursing; a master’s degree in business from Husson University; and a master’s degree in healthcare delivery science from Dartmouth College. She is board certified in healthcare management as an ACHE Fellow.
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