Port Washington resident Dan Kasle is excited by the positive changes he’s seen taking place at St. John’s Episcopal Hospital over the last several years. Serving on the Board of Trustees for Episcopal Health Services, Inc. (EHS), and as an Advisory Committee member of the hospital’s ICARE Foundation, he is aware of the favorable reactions from the hospital’s traditional donor base and Rockaway residents as well, to newly initiated programs and services. “It shows that the community is getting behind our excitement for the hospital and how EHS and the Foundation are working toward its future,” he says. Referring to the St. John’s ICARE Foundation, established in 2021 to benefit and support the charitable and educational activities of EHS, Dan adds, “I think it’s no small achievement what Nancy [Leghart, Executive Director of the Foundation] and the team have put together so far as an asset base for the Foundation. It continually seems to be gaining momentum.”

Retired since 2019, Dan was a Chief Financial Officer for several organizations, including the Church Pension Fund for the National Episcopal Church. While there, he met Rt. Rev. Lawrence Provenzano, EHS’s Board President and Chair which resulted in Dan’s entry to the EHS Board. Initially a guest of the Board, Dan officially joined about seven years ago. He currently serves as Chair of the Finance and Audit Committees, where his background in healthcare finance is a plus, and is also on the Executive Compensation Committee. 

Acknowledging the hospital’s less than warm embrace by the community not that long ago, Dan emphasizes how far St. John’s has come. “Since Jerry Walsh [CEO of Episcopal Health Services, Inc.] and his team have been in place, it’s made a world of difference. The community is reacting positively, the state is reacting positively and is putting their support behind it. The hospital’s become a valuable asset for the community.”

Among the assets Dan noted are the new Ambulatory building, Teaching Center, and the Margaret O. Carpenter Women’s Center, which opened in 2022. He’s confident this momentum will be maintained, saying, “I look forward to continuing this pace that we’ve been setting and continuing to evolve as a medical center for the Rockaways, one that the community can take pride in, can trust and can rely on.”

Dan and his wife of 47 years, Annette, raised two sons and are the proud grandparents of four.