Leonard Parker Pool is regarded as one of the Lehigh Valley’s greatest leaders. As founder of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc., Lehigh Valley Health Network (LVHN), and the Wildlands Conservancy, to name just a few, he made significant contributions to the economic, health, educational, and civic well-being of his adopted community. He challenged others to aspire to a higher vision during his lifetime and continues to do so today, challenging the Dorothy Rider Pool Health Care Trust “To serve as a resource that enables Lehigh Valley Health Network to be a superior regional hospital and improve the health of the citizens it serves.”

In 2009, the Pool Trustees awarded $2,614,175 in support of a dozen programs that advance this mission and are consistent with the Pool Trust’s strategic alignment with LVHN. Among these commitments is support for the LVHN Family Medicine Department’s participation in the national P4 program (Preparing the Personal Physician for Practice), a comparative case study of 14 experiments driving innovation in physician education. Lehigh Valley’s eff ort has received national attention as a viable step toward the preparation of primary care physicians for the future. is work is also part of a larger goal to assure a patient-centered medical home for everyone in our region.

The Pool Trust has also underwritten the establishment of an Office of Sponsored Clinical Research (OSCR) within LVHN. When fully functioning, OSCR will provide management, coordination, information systems, and technical support for clinical trials. This support for expanded research is designed to help advance patient care in the Lehigh Valley and across the nation.

In the first quarter of 2009, Harold L. Paz, MD, stepped down as a Pool Trustee. Dr. Paz made significant contributions to the Trust’s work, with his knowledge and commitment to medical education and community health improvement.

In 2009, we welcomed James O. Woolliscroft, MD, as the 15th Pool Trustee. Dr. Woolliscroft is dean and Lyle C. Roll Professor of Medicine at the University of Michigan School of Medicine. An internationally recognized medical educator, he is and will continue to be a great asset to the Pool Trust and, through the Pool Trust, to the citizens of the Lehigh Valley.

Finally, we would be remiss if we did not express the Pool Trust’s congratulations to all the hospital and community leaders who worked tirelessly to make “La Vida Nueva,” the first community health center, a reality. Intended to operate once approvals are in as a Federally Qualified Health Center, Vida Nueva opened its doors for patients on June 1, 2009. In 2010, we look forward to celebrating the establishment of the first regional health department in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the first regional medical campus, the product of a partnership between LVHN and the University of South Florida.

John P. Jones III
Chairman

Edward F. Meehan
Executive Director