Dan Lauffer

President & CEO, Thomas Health

By Alicia Willard

Growing up in Manor, PA, Dan Lauffer’s parents were insistent that he, his twin brother and his sister receive an education.

“My dad guided, encouraged and at times demanded we get an education,” he says. “As a welder for Westinghouse, he worked long, hard hours and wanted better for his kids.”

This guidance paid off for Lauffer, who moved to West Virginia in 1977 to attend Alderson Broaddus University and has since created a strong career in the field of health care.

“My whole career in health care has occurred in West Virginia, and all my opportunities and personal life have happened here,” he says. “All my memories gather around her.”

Taking a chance on a new field at the time, Lauffer pursued a career as a physician assistant after earning his bachelor’s degree in medical science in 1981. Landing his first job as a physician assistant at Thomas Memorial Hospital, he worked his way up to practice manager before leaving for Charleston Area Medical Center in the early 1990s to become director of patient access services. In 1987, he graduated from Marshall University with a master’s in health care administration. After returning to Thomas to serve as director of surgical services, Lauffer held several positions, including COO and CEO of Saint Francis Hospital and Putnam General Hospital, before finding his current home at Thomas Health.

“One of the greatest challenges of my career was making the switch from a clinical to managerial role,” he says. “There is nothing that replaces the personal gratification you feel when you help a patient get well. However, you realize that getting a patient well is dependent on many other professionals and processes to make it happen. I realized I could combine my clinical background with my management abilities and help more people get well. It was a real motivation for me then and still is today. It has led to a purposeful, meaningful career.”

After joining Thomas Health as COO in 2008, Lauffer quickly rose to CEO in 2015. Today, he communicates with physicians, department leaders, staff and board members to overcome challenges and work toward one common goal: caring for patients.

“The challenges the hospital industry faces today are multifaceted and complex and require leaders to communicate intensely, work with all key players and be willing to change course in an uncertain environment,” he says. “No day is the same, but the focus on the patient has to be the center of what we do. Getting the operational and clinical processes to align to achieve a good patient outcome is the most rewarding part of my position.”

During his time as a health care executive, Lauffer has overcome many significant challenges while achieving great outcomes. He oversaw the completion of the Cardiac Percutaneous Intervention (CPI) project at Saint Francis Hospital in 2007. Authorized by the West Virginia Health Care Authority as a pilot project, CPI was trialed to see if angioplasty and stenting could be safely performed in hospitals without on-site cardiac open-heart services. This six-year project saved countless lives and led to the approval of CPI at other hospitals in the Mountain State. Lauffer also initiated the Thomas Health Cares initiative and helped bring Thomas Hospital out of Chapter 11 Bankruptcy during a global pandemic.

“Bankruptcy in West Virginia is often associated with closures and financial ruin,” he says. “Our board, physicians and employees opted to move forward courageously with a vision to survive and preserve the organization’s future. It took more than three years to achieve this goal, and it would not have been possible without our dedicated board, physicians and employees who continued providing needed clinical services to the community without interruption.”

Lauffer has been the recipient of several awards, including the 2004 Alderson Broaddus University Alumni Achievement Award, the American Heart Association’s Gold Heart and the Regents Award from the West Virginia chapter of the American College of Healthcare Executives. Whether it is pursuing a personal goal or working on a clinical project, Lauffer attributes his success to his persistence and ability to adapt.

“The only constant in life is change. As a leader in health care, I have learned the only things you can do are adapt and focus on the things you can control,” he says. “Persistence in what I have set as a goal, communicating it to others and developing relationships common to the goal are what have made me successful.”