Jefferson Health President Baligh Yehia will take over leadership of Lehigh Valley Health Network effective immediately, according to to the health system.
Yehia has led the legacy Jefferson Health organization since the merger with LVHN last August. He also will now lead the legacy LVHN organization, focusing on driving growth and unification of the combined health system, according to a statement from Jefferson.
Before joining Jefferson in 2023, Yehia was president of Ascension Medical Group, senior medical director at Johns Hopkins and deputy undersecretary for health — community care in the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. He recently was .
Dr. Brian Nester, who has led LVHN since being appointed president and CEO in 2014, has been given an expanded role as chief operating officer of Jefferson. He will lead key systemwide operations. Those include Jefferson Health Plans — the health system’s noncommercial insurance marketplace — ambulatory services, information systems and technology. He also will oversee Jefferson’s joint venture portfolio and related businesses.
These changes are a part of Jefferson’s larger integration strategy, according to Jefferson.
“These leadership updates mark an important milestone in our integration journey as we create a stronger foundation for growth, innovation and excellent patient care,” Dr. Joseph G. Cacchione, CEO of Jefferson, said. “This positions us to better serve our communities today and well into the future.”
When the two networks combined in August, they created one of the largest not-for-profit health systems in the U.S., with 32 hospitals, more than 700 locations and about 65,000 employees across eastern Pennsylvania and southern New Jersey.
In the seven months since the merger, the combined network has expanded CAR-T cell therapy to LVHN’s Cedar Crest campus, unified the nursing and patient experience team, integrated technology platforms and grown Jefferson Health Plans, especially in the counties served by LVHN.
However, the two networks have not fully integrated yet. Insurance networks are one such area where the two remain separate. Jefferson due to a breakdown in contract negotiations, however, this will not affect LVHN or its patients, a Jefferson spokesperson said.
Along with the changes to Yehia and Nester’s positions, there have been a couple other notable leadership changes: Annette White, who has served as chief legal officer of LVHN and special enterprise counsel for Jefferson, has taken a role as executive vice president and chief administrative officer. Mark Whalen of Jefferson has had a change in title to chief strategy and transformation officer, from chief strategy, administrative and integration officer.
