Tag: finance

Lehigh Valley has seen a growth in medical services this year with new hospitals, the expansion of emergency rooms, and walk-in clinics.

The health care companies said the expansions are to improve patient access and provide convenient service.

Lehigh Valley Health Network opened Lehigh Valley Hospital-Dickson City in Lackawanna County in May.

The campus on Main Street includes a 100,000-square-foot state-of-the-art hospital and a previously opened Health Center. The hospital has seven operating rooms and two procedure rooms, a 19-bay emergency room, a helipad and 24 private inpatient rooms, the hospital said.

“This campus will be an indispensable part of the community, healing its residents and helping them live their best lives,” said Dr. Michael Rossi, LVHN executive vice president and chief clinical officer. “Great health care is part of what makes a community special.”

LVHN also completed the third phase of Lehigh Valley Hospital-Hecktown Oaks in Lower Nazareth Township, Northampton County, in June.

The expansion includes an intensive care unit (ICU) for patients over 18, which opened in July and a Healing Garden.

The intensive care unit includes eight ICU beds and 12 progressive beds that allow physicians to triage patients before moving them. The ICU beds are in private rooms with bathrooms.

“The health and safety of our community was at the forefront of the design of the ICU at LVH–Hecktown Oaks,” said Dr. David Burmeister, LVHN’s chair of Emergency and Hospital Medicine.

Also in June, Good Shepherd Rehabilitation Hospital hoisted the final steel beam on its new hospital in Center Valley across from The Promenade Shops at Saucon Valley. The hospital is slated to open in June 2023.

The four-story, 76-private-room rehabilitation hospital will focus on providing advanced inpatient rehabilitation services to people seeking care for stroke, spinal cord injury, brain injury and other complex conditions, the hospital said.

The current facility in South Allentown will be used for outpatient and support services once the new hospital opens, Good Shepherd said.

And St. Luke’s University Health Network broke ground in August on its new four-story, 165,000-square-foot patient care building at its Monroe Campus, just off Route 611 in Stroudsburg.

“With the construction of the patient care tower, St. Luke’s is meeting the strong and growing demand for our nationally recognized healthcare services and keeping them close to home,” said Don Seiple, president of St. Luke’s Monroe Campus. “Our investment in growth is fueled by the trust the residents of Monroe County have in our providers. It will also allow us to meet the projected demand for our expert care in the future.”

The addition will double the size of the existing hospital. The new patient care tower, which is expected to open in early 2024 will house a general medical-surgical unit with 36 beds, additional operating and procedure space, expanded outpatient programs and a state-of-the-art interventional radiology suite as well as shell space for future development.

St. Luke’s also opened a new emergency room at its Anderson Campus in September to meet growing demand.

SLUHN said the hospital just off Route 33 at 1872 St. Luke’s Boulevard in Bethlehem Township, Northampton Conty, is a Level II trauma center and has increased capacity from 31 to 45 beds.

The expansive three-bed state-of-the-art trauma bay has dedicated radiology services, including an integrated built-in x-ray arm that extends over all three bays and is adjacent to the GE CT scanner, decreasing the time needed for testing, diagnostics and results.

St. Luke’s Anderson’s Emergency Department has seen an increase in patients due to changes in the healthcare landscape, a hospital spokesman said. Individuals who delayed care during the pandemic are now experiencing complications from serious chronic conditions.

“This enhanced and enlarged emergency department will allow us to accommodate the robust patient volume we experience at St. Luke’s Anderson in a much more efficient manner,” said John B. Wilson, chief of Emergency Medicine, St. Luke’s Anderson Campus. “Due to overwhelming demand, the original emergency department quickly outgrew its space, so additional beds were added in 2013. Now we have moved into an even larger, brand-new space to continue meeting that demand.”

SLUHN also opened an expanded emergency room in August at its hospital at Hamilton and 17th streets in Allentown.

The renovations include a relocated ER entrance to improve patient access and the addition of a new waiting area and treatment areas.

“In keeping with St. Luke’s mission of treating our patients as our first priority, this (entrance) location will make access easier for those who are coming from the parking deck to find either the ER or main hospital entrance,” said Bill Moyer, president of St. Luke’s Allentown Campus. The ambulance entrance will remain on the hospital’s north side.

Geisinger St. Luke’s will enter the Pottsville market with the opening of a primary care facility at 2650 Woodglen Road, West Pottsville Oct 24.

The Geisinger St. Luke’s Health Center-Pottsville, a single-story 21,000-square-foot building, formerly the McCann School of Business and Technology, has primary care, physical therapy and diagnostic services.

“On behalf of the board, management, physicians and staff of GSL, we are honored and pleased to be able to provide Pottsville residents access to the high-quality, award-winning care for which our organization is well known,” said Gabe Kamarousky, president of Geisinger St. Luke’s Campus.

In February, LVHN formed the Lehigh Valley Orthopedic Institute to enhance its current bone and joint care.

“Letting the future come to us isn’t an option,” said LVHN president and CEO Brian Nester. “The creation of Lehigh Valley Orthopedic Institute allows us to shape the future of orthopedic care in northeastern Pennsylvania, to innovate on a level that provides unparalleled depth and breadth in high-quality care delivery, research and patient experience across the entire musculoskeletal spectrum. That’s a big plus for the communities we serve.”

The Orthopedic Institute’s creation is a natural extension of an organization that combines the strengths of Coordinated Health, which LVHN acquired in 2019, and Lehigh Valley Health Network as the region’s leading orthopedic service provider, LVHN said.

Coordinated Health orthopedic practices are now part of Lehigh Valley Orthopedic Institute.

St. Luke’s also opened its first walk-in mental health clinic at 211 N. 12th St., Lehighton in June; its Women & Children’s Center, 555 Delaware Ave, Palmerton, in May; and its Care Now, 120 Pine St., Tamaqua in May.

LVHN opened a new health center on West Seventh Street, Pennsburg, Montgomery County in March.

And HNL Lab Medicine opened several new sites this year including patient service centers at Mt. Bethel Plaza, 2165 Mount Bethel Highway, Northampton County; 4098 Bath Pike (Route 512), Suite 102 in Bethlehem, Northampton County; and Lehigh Valley Health Network Health Center in Pennsburg, Montgomery County.

“HNL remains committed to the health and well-being of residents in and around the Lehigh Valley, and we continue to expand patient access to laboratory testing in the region,” said Jessica Bargilione, director of marketing for HNL Lab Medicine.

HNL Lab Medicine also moved its patient service center from Kutztown to the Maxatawny Marketplace shopping mall in October to increase patient access, it said.