Good Shepherd President & CEO Sally Gammon to Retire in 2013

Allentown, PA -- Sally Gammon, FACHE, Good Shepherd Rehabilitation Network’s President & CEO since 1997, has announced her intention to retire from the organization in 2013. The Good Shepherd Board of Trustees has commenced a search for Good Shepherd’s next President  & CEO.  Sally intends to remain involved with Good Shepherd and the local community after her retirement.

Sally joined Good Shepherd in May 1997 and led the organization’s transformation from a local rehabilitation provider and home for the disabled to a nationally recognized post-acute care health system. As a high-energy senior executive, Sally has a proven reputation for combining creative, visionary leadership and pragmatic business acumen within rapidly changing environments.

Sally strives to carry out the mission that Good Shepherd’s founders, the Raker family, began more than 104 years ago – providing independence and hope for people with disabilities. She manages a complex system of post-acute rehabilitation services that include inpatient programs, outpatient services, research and technology delivery and long-term care. Under Sally’s leadership, Good Shepherd has quadrupled in size and budget and has expanded its scope of services, growing from a $45 million to a $201 million organization.

When Sally began her tenure at Good Shepherd, the organization consisted of a rehabilitation hospital and long-term care facility in Allentown and a Work Services division. With Sally’s vision, Good Shepherd expanded to include a licensed long-term acute care hospital for critically ill patients. Good Shepherd operates inpatient rehabilitation facilities at Easton Hospital, Pocono Medical Center and Wayne Memorial Hospital in Wayne, Pennsylvania. Good Shepherd also has a long-term care facility for the severely disabled in Bethlehem. Growth also occurred with Good Shepherd’s outpatient centers, expanding from 4 to 21 locations in 7 counties. In July 2009, Good Shepherd opened the 16-bed Good Shepherd Hospital Pediatric Unit in Bethlehem, the only inpatient rehabilitation unit in the area for children.

Sally provided strategic leadership in the creation of Good Shepherd Penn Partners, a joint venture between Good Shepherd Rehabilitation Network and Penn Medicine in Philadelphia that became operational in July 2008. Good Shepherd is the majority owner of the joint venture and manages and provides inpatient and outpatient post-acute care for Penn Medicine. Good Shepherd Rehabilitation Network and Good Shepherd Penn Partners have a combined 412 inpatient beds, 34 outpatient sites and more than 2,000 employees.  Sally serves as chair of the Good Shepherd Penn Partners Board of Trustees.

In 1997, Good Shepherd served nearly 10,000 individuals. In fiscal year 2012 (July 1, 2011 to June 30, 2012), Good Shepherd served more than 61,000 people. While growing at this extraordinary rate, Good Shepherd maintained its “A” bond rating.

In partnership with the Good Shepherd Board of Trustees, Sally initiated in June of 2000 a $40-million capital campaign, which achieved its goal 18 months ahead of schedule and raised $51 million. The campaign supported the multi-year transformation of Good Shepherd’s south Allentown campus that was dedicated in 2006 and encompasses a high technology apartment building, a parking deck, healing gardens and the Good Shepherd Health & Technology Center. The 64,000-square-foot Good Shepherd Health & Technology Center houses The Harry C. Trexler Center for Rehabilitation Technology, outpatient orthopedic therapy and neuro-rehabilitation, a large warm-water pool for aqua therapy, the outpatient pediatrics program, a radiology suite, Optimal Fitness and The Spine & Joint Center.

Sally began her professional career as a physical therapist for the State of Connecticut and at Easter Seals Rehabilitation Center in Manchester, New Hampshire, progressing to the Director of Physical Therapy.  She was appointed Administrator of The Easter Seals Rehabilitation Center of Southern New Hampshire and then as Vice President of Fiscal Affairs at Easter Seals Society/Goodwill Industries of New Hampshire/Vermont, Inc., achieving the position of CFO and Vice President of Fiscal Affairs at this organization.  She was appointed Division Director of Oncology, Rehabilitation and Orthopedics at Health Northeast/Elliot Hospital in Manchester, New Hampshire.  Prior to joining Good Shepherd, Sally was President and CEO of The Rehabilitation Center of Fairfield County in Bridgeport, Connecticut, an affiliate of Yale-New Haven Health System. 

Sally received a bachelor’s degree in physical therapy from the University of Connecticut and an MBA from Rivier College in Nashua, New Hampshire. She also is a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives (FACHE).

Sally received the following awards and recognition: the 2012 Annual Leadership Excellence Award of the American Medical Rehabilitation Providers Association (AMRPA); President’s Proclamation from Allentown City Council on January 7, 2008; the 2007 Spotlight Award from the Eastern Pennsylvania Business Journal; 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; and the 2003 Spirit of Wellness Award from the Arthritis Foundation, Lehigh Valley Chapter. 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.

Sally served as the Chair of the United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley’s 2010 Community Campaign. The campaign raised $9,732,000 – a 4 percent increase over the previous campaign. Sally also serves on the following boards: DeSales University; Lafayette Ambassador Bank Board of Directors; RJ Fellows Program Board at Muhlenberg College; and Tyler & Company Northeast Regional Leadership Advisory Board. She previously served on the Allentown Art Museum of the Lehigh Valley Board of Associates, and for 10 years served both the volunteer board of Lehigh Valley Workforce Investment Board and the United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley Board. Sally is a member of the Eastern Pennsylvania Healthcare Executive Network.