Cris Collingwood//April 20, 2022//

St. Luke’s University Health Network (SLUHN) has joined the Children’s Hospital Association (CHA).
SLUHN will collaborate through the association to advance innovation in the quality, cost and delivery of care – better serving all children, the network said in a press release.
Membership in CHA represents St. Luke’s commitment to improving the health of children and improving the quality, safety and cost of pediatric health care.
“Participation in the Children’s Hospital Association offers us access to a network of institutions and people who understand the unique health care needs of children and how to best address them,” said Dr. Jennifer Janco, chair of Pediatrics at St. Luke’s University Health Network.
In 2020, St. Luke’s opened an eight-bed Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU), providing advanced care to critically ill children close to home, she said.
St. Luke’s continues to expand pediatric specialty services and will be opening the first and only free-standing pediatric specialty center in Center Valley later this year.
The specialties to be housed at the center include nephrology, gastroenterology, cardiology, pulmonology, developmental, neurology, endocrinology, child and adolescent behavioral health, physical therapy and occupational therapy, pediatric primary care, and pediatric nutrition.
In addition, St. Luke’s pediatric inpatient unit is being renovated and relocated adjacent to the PICU at St. Luke’s University Hospital – Bethlehem. St. Luke’s has made a significant capital investment in new infrastructure over the past few years to support the network’s ongoing pediatric growth, the network said.
“We welcome St. Luke’s to our national community,” said Mark Wietecha, Children’s Hospital Association president and CEO. “Our ability to transform children’s health for the better takes all of us working together and learning from each other for greater impact.”