Leapfrog Honors Pennsylvania Leader as ‘Outstanding Healthcare CEO’

From Becker’s Hospital Review

Richard Anderson, longtime president and CEO of St. Luke’s University Health Network, is this year’s recipient of the Steven Schroeder Award for Outstanding Healthcare CEO from Costs of Care and The Leapfrog Group.

The award was established to celebrate “a hospital and/or health system CEO who has demonstrated courageous and ethical leadership addressing the twin issues of affordability and quality.”

Mr. Anderson has been at the helm of Bethlehem, Pa.-based St. Luke’s for nearly 40 years, steering its transformation from a community hospital to a 15-campus system, according to a Dec. 17 news release from the health system. He has also led efforts to expand the network’s education programs, including the establishment of Temple St. Luke’s School of Medicine, the only medical school campus in Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley region. St. Luke’s is a nonprofit, integrated system with more than 350 outpatient sites and a workforce comprising more than 20,000 employees.

The health system consistently earns top accolades in major quality and safety programs, including Leapfrog Safety Grades and CMS Hospital Star Ratings. All of St. Luke’s 11 hospitals eligible to participate in the Leapfrog safety survey received “A” grades this year, and 10 of its hospitals earned the highest rating of five stars in CMS’ quality program.

The annual award is named after Steven Schroeder, MD, who spent much of his career mentoring healthcare leaders on advocating for greater affordability and quality in care delivery. He is a professor of health at UC San Francisco and former president and CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

This marks the seventh annual edition of the award from The Leapfrog Group and Costs of Care, a nonprofit organization focused on advancing healthcare affordability.

Read more about the award and past recipients here.