David K. Bausch

David K. Bausch was born in and has been a life-long resident of Allentown.  He is retired from the USAir Force, having served in Medical Administration for 20yrs.  Mr. Bausch has had a long and distinguished career in public service in the Lehigh Valley.  He is a former Administrator of the Quakertown  Hospital and the Administrator of Cedarbrook Home and Hospital .  He served as Lehigh County Executive for fourteen years, and now serves on the Allentown Health Board as an appointee of the City of Allentown. Mr. Bausch is a graduate of Muhlenberg College with post graduate studies in Long Term Care Administration. He is a board member of the Century Fund and the Community Foundation and is a member of  Abe Joseph Sertoma Club and Allentown Rotary Club.  He is also a founding member of Meals on Wheels in the Lehigh County.

David G. Beckwith, Ph.D., D(ABMM), FAAM 

David G. Beckwith, Ph.D. is President and CEO and Clinical Director of Health Network Laboratories in Allentown, Pennsylvania.

Dr. Beckwith received his doctoral degree in biology with a concentration in virology from Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PA. He is Board certified in Medical and Public Health Microbiology by the American Board of Medical Microbiology. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology. Dr. Beckwith served as Director of Clinical Microbiology at St. Luke’s Hospital, Bethlehem, PA for 13 years before becoming the Clinical Director of Laboratories at Lehigh Valley Hospital in 1987. Dr. Beckwith remained in that position while advancing in the administrative ranks at the LVH becoming the vice president of professional clinical services in 1994 with responsibility for radiology, and occupational therapy in addition to lab. In 1996 HNL moved to a centralized core laboratory facility with one of the first lab robotics systems, a consequence of a 4 company partnership with Lehigh Valley Hospital. In 1997 Dr. Beckwith was named one of the most interesting laboratory innovators by The Dark Report. In 1998 Health Network Laboratories was established as a for-profit Pennsylvania Limited Partnership by Lehigh Valley Health Network. Dr. Beckwith has authored or co-authored over 35 publications with subjects ranging from the laboratory detection of bacteremia to the development of strategic partnerships. 

 

Dr. Beckwith has always had an interest in public health and was appointed to the Bethlehem Board of Health when it was first formed in 1980. He has served as its Chairman for twenty-six years.   
An active member of the Bach Choir, he currently also serves as President of the Board of the Bach Choir of Bethlehem. 

Dr. Beckwith lives in Bethlehem with his wife of 33 years, Carol. They have two adult children, Matthew and Ashley.

Robert B. Black, MBA 

Mr. Black is a principal of Morris Black & Sons, Inc., a 102 year old building products distributor in the Lehigh Valley.  He received his MS degree in Industrial Administration from Carnegie-Mellon University in 1969 and worked previously for Shell Oil Co. and the Federal Trade Commission. 

 

Mr. Black has been active in a number of community organizations and boards, including Valley Youth House, SkillsUSA., Allentown Rotary Club, RenewLV Leadership Council, St. Lukes Hospital-Allentown, and Congregation Keneseth Israel.  As a board member of the Lehigh Valley Partnership, he has been a long-time proponent of regional solutions to the issues and problems facing the Lehigh Valley; he believes strongly that a bi-county health department is one of the most important regional initiatives of the past 20 years in terms of its impact on the quality of life in our community. 
Mr. Black lives in Allentown with his wife (of 40 years), Laura, and has two grown daughters, Wendy and Stefanie and one adorable granddaughter, Hannah.

Eric J. Gertner, M.D., M.P.H., F.A.C.P.,

Dr. Gertner serves as Associate Chief for External Programs in the Division of General Internal Medicine at Lehigh Valley Health Network.  A graduate of Princeton University, he received his medical degree from UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and his master’s degree in public health from the Drexel School of Public Health. Dr. Gertner completed his residency in Internal Medicine at the Medical College of Pennsylvania, where he was Chief Medical resident.  He is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians. Dr. Gertner received national recognition from the American Medical Association Young Physicians’ Section with its Community Service Award in 2006, and regional recognition from the Latino Leadership Alliance of the Lehigh Valley for community service in 2008. Dr. Gertner currently serves on the Board of Directors for Casa Guadelupe Center in Allentown, and the East Central PA Area Health Education Center (AHEC). He was appointed by Governor Rendell to the Pennsylvania Chronic Care Commission, and serves as Chair of the Pennsylvania Medical Society Council on Patient Advocacy and the Workgroup for Cultural Competency and Medical Diversity. A native of Lakewood, NJ, he is interested in care for underserved populations and those with chronic illnesses.

Carol A. Kuplen, RN, MSN

Carol Kuplen serves as a Senior Vice President and Chief Nursing Officer for St. Lukes Hospital & Health Network. A graduate of Pittston Hospital School of Nursing, Carol also received a BSN from Georgetown University and an MSN from the University of Pennsylvania. In 2004 she completed a Johnson & Johnson – Wharton Fellowship for Nurse Executives at the University of Pennsylvania. Carol’s interest in public health was sparked due to her clinical specialty of cancer and experiencing first hand the impact that comprehensive prevention, education and early detection can have on this challenging disease in our communities.

 

Originally from Pittston, Carol has lived in Bethlehem since 1987 where she and her husband Frank raised their three wonderful children Elizabeth, Emily and Tyler. The newest addition to their family, Yianna, their beautiful 14 month old granddaughter, is a constant source of delight and wonder.

David T. Lyon, MD, MPH, Board Chairman

Dave Lyon is the Executive Vice President for Medical and Academic Affairs at Easton Hospital.  He was Chairman of the Northampton County Interim Board of Health from 2005 thru 2007.  During 2007, he also served as a member of the Northampton-Lehigh Bi-County Public Health Work Group.  Dr. Lyon worked for many years with the New York State Department of Health and with the Schenectady and Jefferson County (NY) Departments of Health.  He is currently a member of the Easton Area School District School Health Council.

A graduate of SUNY Upstate Medical Center and Columbia University School of Public Health, Dr. Lyon completed his clinical training at the University of Pennsylvania.  He is board-certified in Internal Medicine, Gastroenterology, Medical Management, and Health Care Quality.  During his career, he has served on several medical school faculties in the Departments of Medicine and Community & Preventive Medicine and currently holds the academic rank of Clinical Professor at Drexel University College of Medicine.  He has authored numerous publications, served as an editorial reviewer for several professional journals, and received research/development grants from many sources − including the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Cancer Institute (NCI).

Ilene Prokup, M.S., RN, PHNCNS, BC. 
Vice-Chairman

Ilene Prokup is an Associate Professor of Nursing at Kutztown University and an Epidemiologist with the Northeast Regional Cancer Institute.  She received a BS in nursing degree from Skidmore College, MS in community health nursing from Boston University, and is currently a doctoral candidate in epidemiology at the Joseph P. Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University.  She is board-certified as a clinical specialist in public health nursing by the American Nurses Credentialing Center.

 

Ms. Prokup has been active with a number of professional and community organizations and boards. In addition to serving on the Lehigh Valley Board of Health, she serves on the Board of Directors of the Literacy Center of the Lehigh Valley.   A long-time of supporter of a county health department, Ms. Prokup believes that public health needs and problems do not stop at a city or county’s borders, nor do they target specific groups within a community .  Public health is for everyone, everywhere. 

 

Born and raised in Allentown, Ms. Prokup now resides in Lower Macungie Township with her husband Michael.  They have two grown children, and – most importantly – one wonderful granddaughter, Hannah.

John F. Reinhart, M. Ed.

John Reinhart, a 1967 graduate of Bangor Area High School, has been superintendent of the Bangor Area School District since 1998.  As such, he has spearheaded dramatic changes in this rural school district of 3,600 students.  After spending 14 years teaching in the Easton Area School District, he returned to his home district as principal of the Five Points Elementary School.  Since that appointment, he has served as principal of the Washington Elementary School, Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction and Acting Superintendent. 

He has been active with the United Way of the Lehigh Valley on numerous projects and is currently leading a Community Schools initiative in Bangor.  Since 1995, he has led the district’s economic development efforts which have resulted in the Portland Industrial Park, the district’s only business/industrial park.  A graduate of Mansfield University and Lehigh University, John is currently a doctoral student at Widener University. John is the founder and Executive Director of the Bangor Area School District Education Foundation, Inc., President of the St. David’s Welsh Society of the Slate Belt and the President of the National Welsh American Foundation.  He has been awarded Lifetime Membership in the National PTA, the Bangor Area High School Alumni Association’s Distinguished Educator Award and the Bangor Elementary PTA’s, Child Advocacy Award.  In 2002, the United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley presented him with its Leaders in Community Building Award.  A lifetime resident of the Slate Belt area, John resides in Pen Argyl with his wife Judy. They are the parents of two daughters and the grandparents of two grandchildren. 

Halyna I. Stegura, R.N., M.S.N.

Halyna Stegura is recently retired with over 30 years progressive leadership and executive experience in the home health care field.  In executive positions she was responsible to a Board of Directors of Medicare certified home care, hospice, private duty and/or community health organizations.  Administrative experience involved strategic planning, customer service, performance improvement and fiscal management.  Ms. Stegura was also involved in multiple community partnering initiatives with the goal of achieving a healthier community.  Mrs. Stegura received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree from William Paterson College followed by a Master of Science in Nursing degree with a Community Health and Administrative Role Focus from Texas Woman’s University in Houston Texas.  Current and previous Community and Leadership activities include:  Board of Directors of the Allentown West Rotary; Executive Committee of the Council of Home Health of the Hospital and Healthsystem Association of PA; Leadership Lehigh Valley graduate and Board Member; Health Care Advisory Council Member for former Congressman Patrick Toomey; Bethlehem Partnership for a Healthy Community Advisory Board Member.

Residing in Lower Macungie Township, Mrs. Stegura and her husband Mike are proud parents of 4 children. She is passionate about bringing a Regional Public Health System to the Lehigh Valley.