Mary Lou Mastro is retiring as the south region CEO of NorthShore-Edward-Elmhurst Health at the end of the year.

Joseph Dant, president of Edward Hospital in Naperville, will become the south region president and Yvette Saba, system vice president of operations of Edward Elmhurst Health, will succeed Dant as hospital president.

Both promotions are effective Jan. 1.

“Although I am excited to join my husband in retirement, I will miss the place that has been my second home for 34 years,” Mastro said in a news release. “It has been an honor to serve with trustees, physicians, leaders and employees who consistently demonstrate remarkable expertise, dedication, empathy and professionalism.”

Mastro was instrumental in the merger of Edward-Elmhurst Health with NorthShore University HealthSystem in early 2022, creating the third-largest health system and the second-largest physician network in Illinois, with total revenue of nearly $5 billion expected in the first year of operation.

The new system features 25,000 team members, 6,000 physicians, nine hospitals and more than 300 ambulatory locations serving patients across six counties in northeast Illinois, from Waukegan in Lake County to Crest Hill in Will County.

“I’ve been fortunate to share Lou’s vision of partnership and witness firsthand her tireless dedication to bringing our two organizations together to deliver exceptional community-connected care,” J.P. Gallagher, president and CEO of NorthShore-Edward-Elmhurst Health, said.

“Anyone who works with Lou knows that her devotion, intelligence, tenacity and commitment to doing the right thing allows her to achieve anything she sets her mind to,” he said.

Mastro, who began her career in health care as a staff nurse at Rush Presbyterian St. Luke’s Medical Center in Chicago, took over as system CEO for Edward-Elmhurst Health in January 2017 when Pam Davis retired.

Under Mastro’s leadership, the Edward-Elmhurst Health earned numerous honors and rankings, including recognition for four consecutive years as a Merative (formerly IBM Watson Health) 15 Top Health Systems in the medium health systems category.

The Lombard native was president and CEO of Elmhurst Hospital from 2013-2017, where she oversaw record volume growth and financial stability.

From 2002-2017, Mastro was CEO of Linden Oaks at Edward in Naperville and vice president of architectural and construction services for Edward.

While at Linden Oaks, Mastro advocated for increased community awareness of mental illness and led an effort to develop a regional program on responding to signs of mental illness and substance use.

Mastro started at Edward in 1988 as director of cardiovascular services. She later became executive director of the Edward Cardiovascular Institute and vice president of operations.

Mastro has been a trustee on the Illinois Hospital Association Board, past chairman of the American Hospital Association Governing Council for Psychiatric and Substance Abuse Services, a fellow in the American College of Healthcare Executives and a board member of the Boys & Girls Club of Chicago and the Kennedy Forum Leadership Council.

Dant joined Edward-Elmhurst Health in October 2017 as system vice president of the Physician & Ambulatory Network.

He replaced Bill Kottmann, who stepped down as president and CEO of Edward Hospital in Naperville in 2019.

Before joining Edward-Elmhurst Health, Dant was the system vice president for strategic planning and business development for Northwestern Memorial Healthcare and the system vice president of operations at Northwestern Lake Forest Hospital.

From 2003-15, he served in a variety of roles at Kish Health System in DeKalb and before that worked at Provena St. Joseph Hospital in Elgin.

He was a U.S. Navy officer from 1987-1991 and earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Notre Dame and an MBA from Benedictine University in Lisle.

Saba has more than 30 years of health care leadership experience, working in academic and community hospital settings.

Since joining Edward Hospital in 1991, she has led numerous service lines and departments, including cardiovascular, women and children’s, emergency, laboratory and occupational health. Saba earned her bachelor’s degree in nursing from St. Louis University, master’s degree in nursing from Rush University and MBA from Loyola University.

She is a fellow in the American College of Healthcare Executives.

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