Good Shepherd Rehabilitation names Thea Burke as Chief Nursing Officer

ALLENTOWN, Pa. — Good Shepherd Rehabilitation has appointed Thea Burke, DNP, RN, NE-BC, as Senior Vice President and Chief Nursing Officer for the rehabilitation network.

In this executive role, Burke oversees all nursing and patient-care operations across the organization, bringing more than 30 years of leadership experience in nursing, hospital operations and system-level transformation. She also served in the U.S. Army Nurse Corps, achieving the rank of Major.

“Thea has led teams across large health systems and small community hospitals, improved patient care, built strong nursing programs and helped hospitals run more efficiently,” said President & CEO Michael Spigel, PT, MHA. “Thea has a proven ability to work across departments to solve problems, support staff and make care better for patients and families.”

Before joining Good Shepherd, Burke served as Interim Chief Nurse Executive for UofL Health’s Jewish Hospital, Heart Hospital and Frazier Rehabilitation and Neuroscience Center in Kentucky. She has also held senior nursing leadership roles at Jefferson Health, Tower Health and Penn Medicine, where she drove system-level improvements, strengthened clinical quality and built high-performing, collaborative nursing teams.

Burke earned her Doctor of Nursing Practice from Chamberlain University, a Master of Science in Nursing from the University of Pennsylvania and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Boston College, where she studied on an Army ROTC scholarship. She has completed executive education at The Wharton School and the Chief Nursing Officer Institute.

Good Shepherd Rehabilitation is an independent, not-for-profit rehabilitation network with more than 1,100 employees across eight counties in eastern Pennsylvania. The network, headquartered in Allentown, provides comprehensive services for all ages and abilities, including a 76-bed inpatient rehabilitation hospital, a 20-bed inpatient pediatric rehabilitation hospital, an 18-bed long-term acute care hospital (LTACH), two long-term care homes totaling 159 beds, more than 20 outpatient rehabilitation and physician clinics and managed-care partnerships with assisted living facilities throughout the Lehigh Valley. Good Shepherd also partners with Penn Medicine to deliver rehabilitation and specialty services at more than 30 locations in the greater Philadelphia region and New Jersey through GSPP Rehabilitation, the Official Therapy Provider for Penn Medicine.