Good Shepherd Rehabilitation Network President & CEO Sally Gammon Receives National Leadership Award

Good Shepherd Rehabilitation Network’s President  & CEO, Sally Gammon, FACHE, recently received the Annual Leadership Excellence Award of the American Medical Rehabilitation Providers Association (AMRPA), a national trade organization that supports medical rehabilitation. Gammon received the award at AMRPA’s Annual Medical Rehabilitation Education Conference in San Diego, California.

AMRPA’s Annual Leadership Excellence Award recognizes an individual who has improved, changed or impacted the field of medical rehabilitation through transformative leadership initiatives, life-long service in the field, local and national advocacy leadership, mentoring future leaders, improving patient outcomes, research and education.

In nominating Gammon for the honor, Harry Ting, PhD, FACHE, seniior vice president, Strategic Planning & Business Development, Good Shepherd, said: “Sally Gammon is a high-energy, visionary leader who has promoted the development of rehabilitation her entire career. As the leader of Good Shepherd for the past 15 years, she has transformed the organization from a small rehabilitation hospital, nursing home and vocational rehabilitation center to a major regional post-acute network covering most of eastern Pennsylvania.”

Gammon has served as president & CEO of Good Shepherd since 1997 and has been chair of the Good Shepherd Penn Partners Board of Directors since 2007. Under her leadership, the organization has grown from serving 10,000 to more than 60,000 patients each year and has increased annual revenue from $48 to $200 million.  Growth also occurred with Good Shepherd’s outpatient centers, which expanded from 4 to 21 in 7 counties.

Under Gammon’s leadership, Good Shepherd added sites and services, including a long-term acute-care hospital and the management or operation of inpatient rehabilitation units at Easton Hospital, Pocono Medical Center and Wayne Memorial Hospital. Good Shepherd also opened the region’s first inpatient pediatric rehabilitation unit, and transformed the urban Allentown campus into a park-like setting that includes the Health & Technology Center for leading-edge outpatient services. Gammon helped position Good Shepherd as a national leader in the use of assistive and rehabilitation technologies, such as the Ekso exoskeleton and the AlterG Bionic Leg (formerly Tibion bionic leg).

Gammon was instrumental in envisioning and developing Good Shepherd Penn Partners, a joint venture with Penn Medicine in Philadelphia that became operational in 2008. Good Shepherd is the majority owner of the joint venture and manages and provides inpatient and outpatient post-acute care for Penn Medicine.

Gammon is a leader in the Lehigh Valley community as well, currently serving on the boards of DeSales University, the RJ Fellows Program at Muhlenberg College and Lafayette Ambassador Bank. She also serves on the Tyler & Company Northeast Regional Leadership Advisory Board. Gammon served as the Chair of the United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley’s 2010 Community Campaign, which raised $9,732,000 – a 4 percent increase over the previous campaign. Gammon is a member of the Eastern Pennsylvania Healthcare Executive Network and is a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives (FACHE). 

Gammon has received numerous honors for her support of community partnerships and her leadership of Good Shepherd, including: the  President’s Proclamation from Allentown City Council in 2008; the 2006 Lehigh Valley Women of Distinction Award from the Girl Scouts-Great Valley Council; the 2005 Spirit of Leonardo Award from the Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce and the Da Vinci Discovery Center of Science and Technology; the 2005 Pennsylvania Association of Rehabilitation Facilities (PARF) Rehabilitation Leadership Award; the 2003 Spirit of Wellness Award from the Arthritis Foundation, Lehigh Valley Chapter; and the Spotlight Award from Eastern PA Business Journal.  In May of 2008, Sally received an honorary degree from Muhlenberg College, Allentown, Pennsylvania, and in May of 2009, she received an honorary degree from DeSales University, Allentown, Pennsylvania.