NHS removes more than 5 hospital directors in five months
At least 5 hospital directors in Greater Santo Domingo have been removed between January and May 2026, during the management of Julio Landrón, executive director of the National Health Service (SNS).
Landrón became head of the NHS on January 9, 2026; Since then, through some «surprise visits» to the hospitals that make up the national public network, some directors have been removed, and others have resigned from their positions.
The first dismissal was in February, that of Dr. Armando José Holguín Núñez, former director of the Salvador Bienvenido Gautier Hospital , who had held the position since May 2023. Holguín Núñez was replaced by Dr. Mingkingüeis Maarlem.
In early March, the former director of the Marcelino Vélez Santana Hospital , Willi E. Victoria Ramírez, resigned from his position without giving any reason. He had held the position since October 2020. Doctors Freddy Amaury, Rafael Lachapelle, and Carlos Almonte Ceballos took over as director and deputy director, respectively.
On May 8, Landrón swore in Andy De León Valenzuela as the new head of the Doctor Darío Contreras Traumatological Hospital .
The National Health Service (NHS) explained that the outgoing director, Joselin Valdez Offter, who had held the position since December 2025, would become supervisor of the hospitals in the National Traumatology Network. Valdez Offter replaced Dr. César Augusto Roque Beato, who served in the position for five years.
Recently, Henry Mesa was also sworn in as the current director of the Nuestra Señora de la Altagracia University Maternity Hospital (Humnsa), and Ernesto Rodríguez as the new authority of the Engombe Municipal Hospital.
The latter replaces Dr. Carmen Nurys Mateo, who took charge of the medical center in 2021.
Regional and municipal hospitals in the country’s interior have been no exception.
Landrón also swore in doctors Simón Bautista and Adderly Rodríguez Pichardo as directors of the Ramón Báez Municipal Hospital and the Inmaculada Concepción Provincial Hospital , located in Cotuí, Sánchez Ramírez.
Likewise, he has replaced the authorities of the Municipal Hospital of Villa Los Almácigos , in Santiago Rodríguez: Pedro Muñoz Vásquez and Rosalina Bernard Jiménez occupy the positions of director and deputy director, respectively.
And finally, I have appointed Catalina Fabián as the new director of the Ángel Contreras Provincial Hospital in Monte Plata.
Other appointments have been in the Peripheral Oncology Network , where Manuel Tadeo Escarramán was sworn in as coordinator, and in the Diabetic Foot Network, where Víctor Cabrera García was sworn in .
