After the pandemic ends, the Dartmouth-Hitchcock health system will be allowing as many as 2,000 employees to continue to work remotely at least part of the time on a permanent basis.

D-H Vice President Brenda Blair told the Valley News that the Lebanon-based organization has found that allowing remote work “is increasing our ability to recruit and retain our staff,” including employing workers outside of New Hampshire and Vermont.

The positions eligible for remote work include those in human resources, information technology, finance and some clinical secretaries, she said.

Blair characterized the shift as one from “remote by necessity,” which the health system adopted in March 2020, to “remote by design.”

Dartmouth-Hitchcock, the state’s largest private employer, has almost 14,000 employees statewide, according to the 2021 edition of New Hampshire Business Review’s Book of Lists. — JEFF FEINGOLD