New facility to be located in Hanover Township, Pa., and will address growing demand for services

Lehigh Valley and King of Prussia, Pa. – May 15, 2024 – Lehigh Valley Health Network (LVHN) and Universal Health Services (NYSE: UHS) today held a ceremonial groundbreaking to commemorate the beginning of construction of the new three-story, 144-bed behavioral health hospital. The new joint-venture facility will be located on Macada Road in Hanover Township, Pa., across from the Lehigh Valley Hospital (LVH)–Muhlenberg campus.

At the groundbreaking event, the name of the new hospital was officially revealed:

The new Hanover Hill Behavioral Health is expected to open in fall 2025.

“Providing convenient access to high-quality, compassionate, behavioral health care has never been more paramount in our community,” said Brian A. Nester, DO, MBA, President and Chief Executive Officer, LVHN. “Hanover Hill Behavioral Health will centralize behavioral health resources in the community and triple LVHN’s current behavioral health bed capacity in the Lehigh Valley. By combining our decades-long commitment to addressing behavioral health and our local expertise with UHS’s vast experience, we’ll be able to harmonize diverse programming and offerings for our patients. Through this expansion, we will reach more people suffering with mental and behavioral health issues and provide comfort and relief to their family, friends, and loved ones who are also impacted. This is an exciting milestone for our organizations and the community that trusts us day in and day out.”

“We are excited to partner with LVHN on the construction of Hanover Hill Behavioral Health that will incorporate the latest innovative evidence-based care elements for maximum patient safety and clinical outcomes,” said Matt Peterson, President, Behavioral Health Division, UHS. “LVHN is an outstanding provider of critically needed services in the Lehigh Valley and surrounding region. Our missions are aligned, and we share a commitment to expand access to compassionate care and treatment for all populations in the region.”

“Those of us in behavioral health have long known that quality behavioral health care is crucial to a person’s overall well-being. We’ve also long realized that getting such care has been a challenge as the nation navigates a shortage of mental health resources,” said Edward Norris, MD, MBA, Chair, Department of Psychiatry, LVHN. “That became more apparent to the outside community especially during and after the pandemic, and we anticipate the needs will only continue to grow. That is why LVHN is investing in infrastructure and comprehensive behavioral health care for our community.”

Nester said LVHN provides inpatient and outpatient behavioral health services, including extensive tele-psychiatry programs. Demand for services has increased rapidly in recent years, and the pandemic has exacerbated the need for inpatient psychiatric capacity for all populations in the region.

“We know that with LVHN, we have a partner equally committed to our mission of behavioral health wellness. Together, we will enable more care for more patients, a core goal we continue to deliver upon with growth nationally as well as right here in Pennsylvania,” said Shelah Adams, Associate Vice President, Corporate Development, UHS.

“In developing the partnership, UHS and LVHN went through an extensive market needs evaluation to determine how to best integrate existing LVHN resources and overall community capabilities with the expertise of UHS, to provide an integrated behavioral health solution that meets LVHN’s regional health care delivery needs,” said Vic Radina, Senior Vice President, Corporate Development, UHS.

UHS is one of the nation’s largest and most respected providers of health care in the nation with more than 400 facilities globally. UHS behavioral health facilities located in Pennsylvania (Brooke Glen Behavioral Hospital, Clarion Psychiatric Center, Fairmount Behavioral Health System, Foundations Behavioral Health, Friends Hospital, Horsham Clinic, KeyStone Center, Roxbury Treatment Center, The Meadows Psychiatric Center, and Lancaster Behavioral Health Hospital, a joint venture with Penn Medicine) provide compassionate mental health care services delivered by staff dedicated to helping patients transform their lives for the better.

LVHN selected UHS as its partner because of its long-standing commitment to patient- and family-centered care, strong clinical outcomes and proven track record of partnering with community-based entities.

The new Hanover Hill Behavioral Health will be operated by the joint venture and will create more than 300 full-time jobs including nurses, clinicians, therapists, technicians and administrative staff.

Learn more: hanoverhillbh.com.

The new Hanover Hill Behavioral Health located on Macada Road in Hanover Township, Pa.

About Lehigh Valley Health Network

Lehigh Valley Health Network (LVHN) includes 14 hospital campuses, four in Allentown, two in Bethlehem, one in Easton, one in Macungie, one in East Stroudsburg, one in Hazleton, two in Pottsville, one in Dickson City, and one in Lehighton, Pa.; 29 health centers; numerous primary and specialty care physician practices; ExpressCARE locations, including two Children’s ExpressCAREs which are the only in the area; pharmacy, imaging, home health, rehabilitation and lab services; and preferred provider services through Valley Preferred. Specialty care includes: trauma care for adults and children, burn care at the Regional Burn Center; kidney and pancreas transplants; perinatal/neonatal, cardiac, cancer, orthopedics, neurology, complex neurosurgery capabilities including national certification as a Comprehensive Stroke Center, and robotic surgery in 10 specialties. Lehigh Valley Topper Cancer Institute, Lehigh Valley Heart and Vascular Institute, Lehigh Valley Institute for Surgical Excellence, Lehigh Valley Orthopedic Institute and Lehigh Valley Fleming Neuroscience Institute physicians provide the most advanced treatments. Lehigh Valley Topper Cancer Institute is a member of the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Alliance (MSK Cancer Alliance), an initiative that helps community providers improve the quality of cancer care and offers access to MSK clinical trials. Lehigh Valley Reilly Children’s Hospital, the community’s first and most trusted children’s hospital, provides access to the most pediatric specialties in the region and general pediatrics. Lehigh Valley Hospital (LVH) is ranked 27th in the country for orthopedic care and among the top 10 hospitals in Pennsylvania by U.S. News & World Report. LVH is also ranked by U.S. News & World Report as the top hospital in the Allentown metro area for the 10th year in a row. Lehigh Valley Hospital (LVH)–Cedar Crest, LVH–17th Street and LVH–Muhlenberg are the region’s only Magnet® hospitals for nursing excellence. Additional information is available by visiting LVHN.org or following us on Facebook , LinkedIn and Instagram.

About Universal Health Services
One of the nation’s largest and most respected providers of hospital and healthcare services, Universal Health Services, Inc. has built an impressive record of achievement and performance. Growing steadily since our inception into an esteemed Fortune 500 corporation, our annual revenues during 2023 were approximately $14.3 billion. In 2024, UHS was again recognized as one of the World’s Most Admired Companies by Fortune; in 2023, ranked #311 on the Fortune 500; and ranked #434 among U.S. companies on Forbes Global 2000 World’s Largest Public Companies.

Our operating philosophy is as effective today as it was upon the Company’s founding in 1979, enabling us to provide compassionate care to our patients and their loved ones. Our strategy includes building or acquiring high quality hospitals in rapidly growing markets, investing in the people and equipment needed to allow each facility to thrive, and becoming the leading healthcare provider in each community we serve.

Headquartered in King of Prussia, PA, UHS has approximately 96,700 employees and through its subsidiaries operates 27 inpatient acute care hospitals, 333 inpatient behavioral health facilities, 40+ outpatient facilities and ambulatory care access points, an insurance offering, a physician network and various related services located in 39 U.S. States, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the United Kingdom. It acts as the advisor to Universal Health Realty Income Trust, a real estate investment trust (NYSE:UHT). For additional information visit www.uhs.com.

 

Information provided to TVL by:
Brian Downs