Lisa Chervanka went from concerned to elated as the saga of the sale of three local hospitals facing financial challenges played out and a new owner emerged.
Praised by U.S. Rep. Rob Bresnahan, R-8, Dallas Twp., for her 30-plus years of service in the nursing field, Chervanka was slated to serve as the congressman’s guest during the State of the Union address Tuesday night.
The Carbondale Twp. woman, who works as a nurse at Regional Hospital of Scranton, serves as the clinical lead for interventional radiology.
“Lisa represents the very best of northeastern Pennsylvania,” Bresnahan said. “For decades, she has shown up for our community as a nurse, caring for patients when they are at their most vulnerable and making sure families get the care they deserve. Her commitment to service does not stop at the hospital doors; it extends through her entire family’s dedication to our country and our Commonwealth. I am proud to welcome Lisa to Washington for the State of the Union and to recognize her lifelong service to our community.”
Bresnahan announced Jan. 28 the finalization and approval of the change of ownership of Regional Hospital of Scranton, Moses Taylor Hospital, and Wilkes-Barre General Hospital to Tenor Health from their previous owner, Community Health Systems. The change in ownership took effect earlier this month, with the approval coming after a months-long negotiation to keep the hospitals open.
Chervanka praised Bresnahan’s efforts to ensure local hospitals would remain open amid challenging times.
“I’m incredibly grateful for Rep. Bresnahan and his work to keep our hospital open, as well as everything he has done in Washington to advocate for working families like mine,” she said. “Keeping our doors open means our patients get the care they need, and people like me get to keep doing the work we love for our community. I am very excited to join Rep. Bresnahan for the State of the Union in Washington, D.C.”
She said there is a growing need for qualified people to join the profession, even as new nurses join the fold.
“Our seasoned nurses who trained the younger ones are aging out rapidly, and there are not enough filling in as quick as we need them,” she said.
Many of the longtime nurses at Regional were able to breathe a sigh of relief after the sale was finalized, knowing Regional Hospital would remain open, Chervanka said.
“For all of us who hung on, we were elated,” she said. “A lot of us who were there had watched the place dwindle over the course of time, and were very scared of what it was going to do to our community. We had Mid Valley Hospital close, Marian Community, Tyler Memorial … we were very concerned — where were those patients going to go?”
The One, Big, Beautiful Bill Act, signed in 2025, which provides a temporary federal income tax deduction for qualified overtime pay from 2025 through 2028 has been much appreciated by many nurses, Chervanka noted.
“Nurses are thrilled with the overtime bill — it’s a big positive,” she said. “For years, it’s bumped a lot of nurses up into a different tax bracket, and it kills them. Let me tell you, there is talk about that every day.”
Chervanka started her career at Mid Valley Hospital in 1994, working first as an emergency room registered nurse and rising to the position of chief nursing officer. When Commonwealth Health closed Mid Valley Hospital in 2014, Chervanka moved to Regional Hospital of Scranton as emergency nurse manager and was later named Clinical Manager of the Year in 2016.
Chervanka’s husband, John, is an Air Force veteran and retired Pennsylvania State Trooper and fire marshal. The couple has three children, including a current Air Force Airman, specializing in bioenvironmental engineering at Travis Air Force Base, who celebrated his one-year anniversary in the Air Force on Tuesday, and a daughter who works at the Northeast Regional Crisis Stabilization Center in Wayne County.
Bresnahan added that Chervanka’s perseverance throughout the past three decades speaks to her character and dedication to the nursing profession.
“She’s been a part of this roller coaster of a ride, and, obviously, healthcare is so important in northeastern Pennsylvania,” he said. “From a perspective of thinking of a more qualified guest, I can’t think of any. It was just a perfect time to showcase the incredible career that you can have inside of nursing.”