Valley Preferred Adds Two Members to its Board of Trustees

Valley Preferred, the preferred provider organization aligned with Lehigh Valley Health Network (LVHN), which supports physicians and other health care providers excel in practice, has added two members to its Board of Trustees. They include Robert Kruklitis, MD, PhD, MBA, FCCP, and Terry Purcell, President of Lehigh Valley Health Network’s newest facility now under construction in Mahoning Township.

Both appointees are active in furthering the growth and scope of Valley Preferred, through its affiliation with health care data analytics and LVHN wholly owned subsidiary Populytics, Inc., leadership in regional population health initiatives, and groundbreaking work in innovative payer contracting to perform successfully in value-based care.

Robert Kruklitis, MD, PhD, MBA, FCCP joined the LVHN medical staff in 2004 and has served as director of interventional pulmonology, chief of pulmonary medicine, vice chair of clinical programs in the department of medicine, and assistant medical director for medical specialties within Lehigh Valley Physicians’ Group (LVPG). He is a clinical associate professor of medicine at University of South Florida and is a fellow in the College of Chest Physicians. His interests include bronchoscopy, lung cancer, COPD, and asthma. He has established several novel and innovative bronchoscopic programs in the Lehigh Valley and is a worldwide expert in advanced bronchoscopic technologies.

As Medical Director and Vice President of Transformation for the network, Dr. Kruklitis provides clinical expertise in the discovery, development, and implementation of innovative designs, processes, and technologies to provide optimal health care. He works closely with LVHN executive management, clinical chairs, Populytics, and service line vice presidents to link innovation and transformation into network strategies for population and community health.

Terrence (Terry) Purcell is President of Lehigh Valley Hospital (LVH)-Carbon, the newest campus being constructed by Lehigh Valley Health Network, located along Route 443 in Mahoning Township near Lehighton. He is currently overseeing construction of the new facility and will be responsible for all management and operations when it is completed in the spring of 2022. He joined LVHN in October 2018 as the Vice President of Market Development. Prior to joining LVHN, he spent almost 25 years in the Carbon County area working for Gnaden Huetten Memorial Hospital, Blue Mountain Health System, and served as President of the St. Luke’s Gnaden Huetten and Palmerton Campuses. He is a member of the Safe Schools Task Force and has been working with area school districts on keeping their students, faculty, and administrative employees Covid-safe.

Terry earned a Master of Business Administration from Wilkes University and Bachelor of Business Administration from Bloomsburg University. He serves on the Board of Directors of Hospital Central Services, Inc., as Vice President  of East Central Area Health Education Center, and is a member of the Carbon, Monroe, Pike, and Wayne counties Workforce Investment Board and is a former Chairman of the Board of Directors of Hospital Central Services Corporation. He formerly served as a member of the Mahoning Area School Board.