Cheshire Medical Center names Gina O’Brien, MD, as chief medical officer

Cheshire Medical Center, a Dartmouth Health member, has named pediatrician Gina L. O’Brien, MD, MBA, CPE, FAAP, as its new chief medical officer (CMO), effective January 21, 2024. She served as interim CMO since May 2023 and will continue to see patients in the pediatrics department.

“Dr. O’Brien has ably served as CMO in an interim role, during which time she has built strong relationships with our provider staff across the organization and serves as a vital bridge between our medical staff and senior leadership team,” said Cheshire president and CEO Joseph L. Perras, MD. “Her authentic leadership has been clear since my arrival back in August and I am thrilled that she accepted this position. It was a real win for Cheshire when we recruited Dr. O’Brien. Working with her during my first six months at Cheshire has been a privilege.”

O’Brien succeeds Cherie A. Holmes, MD, MSc, who stepped down as CMO to serve as the Designated Institutional Officer of Graduate Medical Education at Cheshire. She also sees patients in Cheshire’s Center for Pain and Spine.

O’Brien joined Cheshire Medical Center, serving initially as an associate CMO and a pediatrician, in June 2022. Prior to coming to Cheshire, she was most recently the senior medical director for population health at UMass Memorial Health in Worcester, MA.

In a healthcare career that spans more than two decades, O’Brien has held many roles, including chief of pediatrics at both Holyoke Medical Center in Holyoke, MA, and Cooley Dickinson Hospital in Northampton, MA. She also was founder and president of Sugarloaf Pediatrics in South Deerfield, MA.

O’Brien holds a doctor of medicine degree from the Georgetown University School of Medicine in Washington, D.C., and a master of business administration degree with a healthcare management focus from Isenberg School of Management at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.