Bill Crossin has come full circle,

Crossin joined St. Luke's Miners Memorial Hospital, Coaldale, in its human resources department in 1996 before serving as its president for the past 13 years.On Thursday, Joel Fagerstrom, chief operating officer and executive vice president for St. Luke's Health Network, announced that Crossin will be joining the senior leadership team of the human resources department of St. Luke's Hospital and Health Network, effective Monday, May 3.Under Crossin's leadership, Miners Memorial became part of St. Luke's Network in June, 2000.Crossin previously held the positions of chief human resources officer for the Wyoming Valley Health Care System and vice president for human resources for Wilkes-Barre General Hospital before coming to Miners Hospital.Ed Nawrocki, president of St. Luke's Quakertown Hospital for the last six years, will assume the position of interim president of St. Luke's Miners, while retaining his position in Quakertown. Nawrocki has been with St. Luke's Network for 11 years and has held various senior leadership positions in Network operations.Crossin, who resides in Sugar Notch near Wilkes-Barre, said it will be his decision as to whether he relocates to Bethlehem. He will commute from his current residence for the time being."Our Network is growing," said Crossin. "From my perspective, my background is in human resources. I am fortunate to have this new opportunity to return to my professional roots and I am looking forward to this next chapter in my career."This is a good move for me and my family, given the stressors that come with a job such as being president of a hospital. I welcome the new challenges it will bring, as well as the opportunity to continue to contribute to our Network. I love working with all the people of our Network."Crossin said his new position will involve traditional human resources responsibilities such as benefits, compensation and employee relations."I consider it to be a generalist role," he said."What I hope the job evolves into is having a consulting role with the other entities within our Network. That's what I'll be striving for and moving toward."Most successful organizations in this country, whether you are in health care or not, recognize that employees are their most valuable asset, and I can say that about St. Luke's Miners. Our Network has between 6,800 and 7,000 employees, and I feel the same way about all our employees as I do with those here at Miners. I do enjoy working with people very much, and this will give me an opportunity to concentrate on that within our Network, and that's something I'm really looking forward to doing."Crossin stated that Miners has experienced growth during his tenure as president due to the support of its board of trustees and staff. "We've gone from a hospital that was losing literally a couple million dollars a year to a hospital that, with the help of the Network, has been able to change that in a positive direction."A hospital our size doesn't make that kind of progress without tremendous support, and the board of trustees, the St. Luke's Health Network, the management team and professional staff here have been nothing short of fabulous. This is without a doubt the finest group of people I have ever worked with in my entire career."I have been truly blessed to work with the employees, physicians, board of directors, and community friends of Miners. It has been rewarding to be part of this special team."Crossin feels Nawrocki will continue in similar fashion during the transition."I will miss everyone at Miners, but I am confident the hospital and its employees and physicians are in excellent hands." he remarked. "Ed's extensive expertise and experience provide me the opportunity to step away to my new position."The recruitment process to identify a new president is expected to begin soon.