WellSpan Names Allen Fasnacht President of Lewisburg Hospital

WellSpan promoted Allen Fasnacht to president of WellSpan Evangelical Community Hospital in Lewisburg on Jan. 8, 2026, after Kendra Aucker announced her retirement. Fasnacht, who previously served as vice president of patient care services and chief nursing officer at the hospital, holds a Doctor of Nursing Practice, a Master of Science in Nursing and is a registered nurse. Her new responsibilities include overseeing operations at the 131-bed community hospital and coordinating systemwide patient safety, quality, care management and performance improvement processes.

The choice of an internal, clinically trained leader signals a priority on continuity of care and operational stability in a hospital that serves Union County and surrounding communities. Hospital leadership transitions can affect staffing, service lines and community partnerships; promoting a long-serving clinical executive aims to limit disruption to patient services and ongoing quality initiatives.

Local officials welcomed the promotion and emphasized continuity. Union County Commissioner Jeff Reber expressed well wishes for Fasnacht’s leadership into the hospital’s next phase, and Lewisburg Mayor Kendy Alvarez commented about continued collaboration between the hospital and the community. Those endorsements reflect municipal and county interest in maintaining access to inpatient care, emergency services and outpatient programs that many residents rely on, particularly older adults and people with chronic conditions.

Fasnacht’s background as chief nursing officer places frontline clinical experience at the center of executive decision making. That experience is likely to shape priorities such as patient safety protocols, nursing workforce stability, care coordination for high-need patients and performance improvement efforts that affect clinical outcomes. For a community hospital, those priorities have direct public health implications: preventing avoidable readmissions, maintaining emergency department capacity and sustaining primary and specialty services locally reduces barriers to care for low-income and transportation-limited households.

The promotion also occurs against broader structural challenges facing community hospitals, including workforce shortages, rising costs and complex payer dynamics. Leadership continuity can support ongoing grant and partnership efforts, strengthen relationships with health and social service agencies, and help target resources toward equity-focused programs that address social determinants of health.

WellSpan will continue to manage system-level quality and safety initiatives with Fasnacht coordinating those efforts for the Lewisburg facility. As the hospital moves forward under new leadership, residents and local officials will be watching how operational decisions affect access, staffing and the hospital’s role in community health.