Francis Salerno, MD

When Francis Salerno, MD, envisioned himself as a physician in his early 20s, he could see his patients and colleagues during their interactions. But complications from diabetes took his eyesight when he was 29 years old. At the time, he was a first-year medical resident, had been married for five months and was an expectant father.

“My immersion into blindness started abruptly and without warning,” says Salerno, associate chief of geriatrics at Lehigh Valley Health Network (LVHN). “It was both frightening and humbling.”

Over the past 23 years, Salerno has blazed a path in the Lehigh Valley for care of the elderly population, serving as LVHN’s first chief of geriatrics. His passion for life, thirst for knowledge and service to the aged and the blind was honored by the Center for Vision Loss when it presented Salerno with its Chrysalis Award at its annual dinner Thursday at DeSales University. Read More »

Lehigh Valley Health Network has been recognized for commitment to workforce diversity as evidenced by receipt of the Trailblazer Award, which was given during the Breaking the Glass Ceiling awards gala. This honor, from the YWCA of Bethlehem, highlights the network’s efforts in racial, ethnic and gender inclusion, like Debby Patrick (right), vice president of human resources, which ultimately makes the health network a better place to work and receive care.  We were nominated for the award by a long-time friend of the network, Merry Landis of Fine Art Resources in Allentown.