Tuesday, June 3, was a special day for St. Luke’s and its longtime leader, Richard A. Anderson, who marked his 40th anniversary as head of the health network.

Anderson, the longest tenured health care executive in the United States, has served as president and CEO of St. Luke’s University Health Network since 1985, overseeing St. Luke’s evolution into one of the larger health systems in Pennsylvania and western New Jersey.

In 1985, St. Luke’s was a single hospital in Bethlehem with an operating budget of $63 million. Today, SLUHN’s revenue surpasses $4 billion. With more than 21,000 employees, the network comprises 15 hospital campuses and more than 350 outpatient locations in 11 counties. Its operations include the largest trauma network in Pennsylvania.

Under Anderson’s leadership, SLUHN established the Lehigh Valley’s first and only regional medical school campus in partnership with the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University. It also continues to operate the nation’s oldest school of nursing, established in 1884. With over 2,700 students studying in over 100 medical disciplines, St. Luke’s has become the Lehigh Valley’s leader in medical education.

During Anderson’s tenure, St. Luke’s has received hundreds of national awards and recognitions for quality, including Leapfrog Safety Grade straight A’s at 11 St. Luke’s acute care hospitals; CMS five-star ratings at 10 hospitals; and Premier’s 100 Top Hospitals for 11 consecutive years including 2021, when St. Luke’s University Hospital in Bethlehem was recognized as the No. 1 Teaching Hospital in the Country.

Anderson was the 2024 recipient of the Steven Schroeder Award for Outstanding Healthcare CEO, awarded by Leapfrog, the national patient safety advocacy group. One of the health care industry’s most prestigious individual honors, the Schroeder Award recognizes a hospital or health system CEO who has demonstrated courageous and ethical leadership in addressing the twin issues of affordability and quality of health care.

Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group, said of Anderson at the time: “He has dedicated his career to putting patients first and truly leads by example.

“As a result, St. Luke’s is a beacon of excellence showing the lifesaving power of great leadership.”

In 2010, in recognition of Anderson’s leadership and accomplishments, St. Luke’s board of trustees voted to name its then-newest hospital, built on a 500-acre tract of land in Bethlehem Township, The Richard A. Anderson Campus.

Anderson earned a master of public health in health care administration at the University of Pittsburgh and completed his undergraduate work at the University of Illinois, where he was a three-year varsity “I” letter winner for swimming and a recipient of the George Huff Award for Proficiency in Athletics and Scholarship.