Lutheran Health Network regional president and CEO Mike Poore announced Friday that he will be stepping down from his position at the end of May.
In a statement to the staff at Lutheran, Poore stated it was time to “return home,” despite noting his original intent to stay with the network “much longer.” Poore has served as the regional president and CEO of Lutheran since August 2017.
In January, Poore told The Journal Gazette he was seeking a new CEO while maintaining his title as regional president. He stated his desire to spend more time on “strategic initiatives” and that he “just needed help.”
Poore says he will hand off his responsibilities to Mark Medley, and will work with the network “to ensure a smooth transition.”
Here is the full statement Poore sent to his staff:
Dear Lutheran Health Network Team,
Today, I want to share some personal news with you. After thinking about this for the past several weeks, I’ve decided that this is the right time for me to return home. I will be concluding my work with the Lutheran Health Network by the end of May. It was difficult to reach this decision and it is equally hard to share this news with you now because it had been my intention to be a part of the LHN team for much longer. But, I believe this is the right decision for me and for my family at this time in our lives and I hope you will understand.
I want you to know I am very confident in the future of LHN. I know with all my heart that each of you wants the very best for Lutheran, our team, our patients and the region. I am grateful to have had the opportunity to work with you these past two years and I hope you agree we’ve made progress. More than anything, I appreciate the way you take care of your patients and each other. Your caring spirit – that’s the Lutheran I’ve come to know and admire.
Over the next few weeks, I’ll be transitioning my responsibilities to Mark Medley and I’ll be working with our hospital and network leadership teams to ensure a smooth transition. Since arriving in northeastern Indiana, Mark has quickly assessed important opportunities for LHN and I’m confident that his experience and vision will accelerate progress in many areas. We have great leadership across our network – in our medical staff leaders, employees and administrators – and I know things will continue to move forward in a positive way.
I hope I will have opportunities to speak personally with as many of you as possible as I wrap up my time here. I want you to know how much I appreciate you, what an honor it has been to serve as a Lutheran leader, and that I wish you the very best always.
With my sincere gratitude,
Mike
