LVHN begins second phase of Hecktown Oaks hospital construction

The second phase of construction is set to begin on the new Lehigh Valley Hospital-Hecktown Oaks in Lower Nazareth Township. The new hospital is scheduled to open in the summer of next year.

Lehigh Valley Health network said phase two will add an additional 95,000 square feet of space. This part of the construction project is scheduled to be complete by next fall.

Phase two of the hospital project will include a four-story bed tower with 30 additional patient beds.

Only one of the four stories will be used initially, the other three will be held for future growth needs.

The tower will connect to the hospital to the north as well as the hospital’s helipad.

The helipad will be used for transferring emergency patients. A MedEvac helicopter will not be based at the site, however.

With the expansion, the campus on Hecktown Road just off Route 33 will include a 201,000-square-foot hospital, 35,000-square-foot Lehigh Valley Cancer Institute, 61,000-square-foot medical office building and an emergency room caring for adults and children, including an area dedicated just for children.

Bob Begliomini, president of LVH–Muhlenberg and LVH–Hecktown Oaks, said that in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the hospital is being built with state-of-the-art infection control and patient safety.

Some of the safety measures include, HEPA filters and UV lights within the rooftop HVAC system to control and eliminate bacteria, bacteria-resistant flooring, hand-sanitizing stations and Plexiglas dividers at the registration area.

“We’re taking extraordinary care at LVH–Hecktown Oaks to install the most advanced infection control technology as a commitment to patient safety,” Begliomini said in a release.