East Stroudsburg, Pa.-based Pocono Health System will become a part of Allentown, Pa.-based Lehigh Valley Health Network effective Jan. 1, with a leadership change marking the transition.
The health systems gained regulatory approval for their merger a year and a half after declaring their intended combination. Under the agreement, East Stroudsburg, Pa.-based Pocono Medical Center will become Lehigh Valley Hospital-Pocono.
As a part of the changeover, PHS' president and CEO Jeff Snyder will resign from his role effective Dec. 31. Mr. Snyder has been CEO of PHS for three years. He decided to vacate his position to pursue leadership in a different capacity, according to a hospital statement.
Elizabeth Wise – who served as PHS' COO and CNO for the past two years – will assume the role of acting president of Lehigh Valley Hospital-Pocono on Jan. 1.
She previously served as CNO and vice president of patient care services at New Brunswick, N.J.-based Saint Peter's University Hospital and CNO and senior vice president at Washington (D.C.) Hospital Center. Ms. Wise also served in leadership roles at Newark, Del.-based Christiana Care Health System and the Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick.