Mr. Anderson has served as president and CEO of St. Luke’s University Health Network since 1985, making him the longest-tenured hospital system CEO in the nation. He oversaw the system’s evolution from an organization with a $63 million operating budget to one approaching $5 billion in 2025, operating 16 hospital campuses, more than 350 outpatient locations and 23,000 employees. Under his leadership, St. Luke’s has earned hundreds of national awards for safety and quality, including consistent Leapfrog safety “A” grades, CMS 5-star ratings, and Premier’s “100 Top Hospitals” recognition for 13 consecutive years. In 2025, the system was identified by the federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality as the top-ranked health system in the country for safety and quality. The network includes the Lehigh Valley’s first and only regional medical school campus in partnership with the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University, operates the nation’s oldest continuously operating school of nursing established in 1884, and maintains the largest network of trauma centers in Pennsylvania. Mr. Anderson also played a major role in establishing The Bethlehem Partnership for a Healthy Community, a nationally recognized model of more than 200 community partners working to improve health across the greater Lehigh Valley. In recognition of his leadership and accomplishments, St. Luke’s board of trustees voted in 2010 to name a 500-acre tract of land, including a new hospital campus, The Richard A. Anderson Campus. He received the 2024 “Steven Schroeder Award for Outstanding Healthcare CEO” from Leapfrog and the 2025 “Frank Marcon Award” from the Bethlehem Chamber of Commerce.
