Aspirus St. Luke's Names Eric Lohn & Nick Van Deelen, MD, Co-Presidents/CEOs

St. Luke’s Board of Directors has named St. Luke’s Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Eric Lohn and St. Luke’s Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Nick Van Deelen, MD, as Co-Presidents/CEOs of St. Luke’s. Lohn and Van Deelen began serving in these roles on an interim basis in early December 2020.

“Beyond proving this dual leadership model is excellent for St. Luke’s, they have also proven they are the right people to fill these roles,” said Herb Minke, Chair of St. Luke’s Board of Directors. “We have great confidence in them and their vision for St. Luke’s as we focus on innovating how we care for patients and grow.”

Minke added, “They are approachable, collaborative, inclusive, decisive leaders who welcome others’ insights, questions and feedback. They have also done a fantastic job of leading St. Luke’s through unprecedented times during this pandemic.”

Lohn has served as St. Luke’s CFO for eight years and has nearly 30 years of healthcare experience. Van Deelen has been with St. Luke’s for 24 years. He has served as CMO for the past year. Prior to that, he was an emergency medicine physician and led the Emergency Department as Medical Director. Lohn will also continue his role as CFO role and Van Deelen will continue as CMO.

“Both stepped up in special ways during the pandemic to become even more vital leaders at St. Luke’s and in the community,” said Brian Murphy, Past Chair of St. Luke’s Board of Directors. “Lohn provided incredible financial leadership through the economic challenges presented by the pandemic. Van Deelen was just stepping into his role as CMO when the pandemic hit, and has filled the role as incident commander admirably. Through that, he has also become the face of St. Luke’s, representing the organization and how it is handling this public health crisis with calm, empathy, experience and expertise.”

Lohn said while the healthcare industry is more challenging than ever, he looks forward to continuing in this leadership dyad and helping St. Luke’s realize its potential. “This will be a true partnership in leading the organization. I feel fortunate to work with such a patient-centered leader in Van Deelen, along with all of my colleagues throughout our entire healthcare system.”

Van Deelen shared, “I value the Board’s trust in us and look forward to working with Eric and the great employees across our organization to continue living our mission of putting the patient above all else, as we grow our culture, services, quality and safety.”