St. Lukes Hospital Welcomes Samuel Flanders, MD, as New Executive Vice President | St. Louis

St. Luke's Hospital Welcomes Samuel Flanders, MD, as New Executive Vice President

Chesterfield, Mo. , July 21, 2021

Earlier today St. Luke’s Hospital announced the appointment of Samuel Flanders, MD, to the health system’s newly created position of executive vice president for quality, safety and population health. In this leadership role, Dr. Flanders will serve as St. Luke’s principal quality strategist, helping the organization achieve its goals for growth and excellence in patient and provider satisfaction.

Dr. Flanders is nationally known for his expertise in these areas, having served as senior vice president, chief quality and safety officer of Beaumont Health, Michigan’s largest health system, for 13 years prior to accepting the executive role with St. Luke’s. Beaumont is a 3,400-bed academic and community health system in metro Detroit with eight hospitals and nearly 5,000 physicians. Dr. Flanders introduced the Toyota Production System at the system’s flagship Beaumont Royal Oak Hospital, resulting in significant reductions in mortality, length-of-stay and costs. His many accomplishments in the role also include designing and leading the Beaumont Quality Academy to teach the principles of high reliability via front-line driven quality improvement.

During Dr. Flanders’ tenure, Beaumont’s hospitals achieved several quality metrics-based accomplishments. Each of the health system’s eight hospitals received one or more “high performing” Best Hospitals ratings from U.S. News & World Report, with three hospitals achieving a total of 19 nationally ranked specialties. Three of Beaumont’s hospitals have also achieved the coveted Magnet Hospital honor for excellence in nursing and patient care as well as excellence in professional nursing practice.

Prior to joining Beaumont Health, Dr. Flanders was senior vice president of medical quality for 10 years at Clarian Health Partners (now Indiana University Health) in Indianapolis beginning his work with the academic medical center as chief medical officer for its physician hospital organization, Methodist Medical Group, in 1998.

Dr. Flanders earned his bachelor’s degree in computer science from the University of Michigan. He received his medical degree from the University of Illinois College of Medicine and completed his residency in pediatrics at Methodist Hospital of Indiana. His current and past faculty appointments include his work as associate professor in the Department of Pediatrics at Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine, clinical assistant professor of Pediatrics at Indiana University School of Medicine and adjunct professor at Butler University, College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences.

“I’m absolutely thrilled to be joining St. Luke’s,” said Dr. Flanders. “When I visited with the team, I was so impressed by the experience, loyalty, and enthusiasm of everyone I met. I’m also a strong believer in the potential of St. Luke’s as an independent community healthcare provider to deliver the highest quality and value in healthcare.”

At St. Luke’s, Dr. Flanders will oversee multiple areas with responsibility for care quality, patient safety, regulatory affairs, population health and clinical analytics.

Shane Cerone, St. Luke’s President and Chief Executive Officer, expressed his enthusiasm for Dr. Flanders joining the health system’s leadership team, stating, “St. Luke’s has an excellent reputation for delivering exceptional healthcare. Dr. Flanders shares our commitment and passion to make a difference in people’s lives by offering the highest quality of care while implementing strategies that help us fulfill our vision to reduce the cost of care to our patients and the corporations that pay for healthcare. I look forward to working with him and all of our team members in the years ahead to improve the health of our patients and the communities we serve.”

About St. Luke's Hospital:
St. Luke's Hospital is an independent, nonprofit healthcare provider committed to improving the quality of life for its patients and the community. Since its founding in 1866, St. Luke's has grown from a single hospital location to an advanced network of care providing personalized healthcare services in over 60 specialty areas at its 493-bed hospital in Chesterfield, Mo. and 143-bed St. Luke's Des Peres Hospital. It also offers more than 30 other locations across the greater St. Louis area, bringing quality healthcare services close to home. St. Luke's is nationally recognized for high quality and safe care, consistently earning high patient satisfaction scores. In St. Louis, St. Luke's is the exclusive alliance provider for the nation's No. 1 heart hospital, the Cleveland Clinic Heart, Vascular and Thoracic Institute.