Acute care facility fills niche between ExpressCARE locations and larger hospitals 

LEHIGH VALLEY, Pa. (Nov. 1, 2024) — Lehigh Valley Health Network (LVHN) broke ground today for a new neighborhood hospital near Tannersville in central Monroe County to help meet increasing demand for accessible, convenient ER and inpatient care.

Lehigh Valley Hospital (LVH)–Tannersville is expected to open in winter 2026.

The hospital is planned for a new health care campus on the site of the former Hunter Pocono Peterbilt truck dealership on Golden Slipper Road, close to major roads including Interstate 80 and Routes 33 and 611. It will be located less than 10 miles from Lehigh Valley Hospital (LVH)–Pocono, creating a health care hub in Monroe County.

A medical office building – Health Center at Tannersville – also will be part of the project and will open at the same time as LVH–Tannersville. The new hospital is a type of facility informally known in the health care industry as a neighborhood hospital, with a full-service ER and a limited number of inpatient beds. The footprint, at about 20,000 square feet, is smaller than other LVHN hospitals in the region such as LVH–Pocono and LVH–Hecktown Oaks.

The hospital will be a licensed and accredited acute care hospital, open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, housed in a state-of-the-art facility. Patients requiring surgery or higher levels of care will be stabilized and transferred to LVH–Pocono or other LVHN hospitals as needed.

Other in-house hospital services will include lab, imaging and pharmacy. Imaging services, including X-ray, ultrasound, computed tomography scan and MRI, also will be offered on an outpatient basis.

The Health Center at Tannersville, at about 30,000 square feet, will house a variety of medical services, including HNL Lab Medicine, LVPG practices including family medicine and cardiology, outpatient adult rehabilitation and cardiac and vascular diagnostic testing.

“This hospital will provide closer access to emergency and inpatient care for residents where they live and work, when and where they need it. It strengthens the entire health network for the benefit of our communities and their residents,” said Brian A. Nester, DO, MBA, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Jefferson, and President, LVHN.

David Burmeister, DO, Chair, Department of Emergency and Hospital Medicine, LVHN, said the neighborhood hospital model will deliver short ER wait times and favorable door-to-discharge times. “Patients will receive the same high-quality, compassionate care and exceptional patient experience that have made LVHN the gold standard in the region,” he said.

“LVHN’s first two neighborhood hospitals, LVH–Macungie and LVH–Gilbertsville, are proving that this type of hospital is fulfilling the health care needs of communities in eastern Pennsylvania,” said Holly Badali, President, Neighborhood Hospitals, LVHN. “This facility will offer more capabilities than an ExpressCARE, with experience and expertise to treat the same cases that would traditionally be treated and released at a larger hospital, such as LVH–Pocono.”

“As the region’s leading health care provider, we’re committed to making exceptional health care, including emergency care, more convenient and accessible across the board care here in the Poconos,” said Dr. Nester.

About Jefferson 
Lehigh Valley Health Network is now proudly part of Jefferson Health. Nationally ranked, Jefferson, which is principally located in the greater Philadelphia region, Lehigh Valley and Northeastern Pennsylvania and southern New Jersey, is reimagining health care and higher education to create unparalleled value. Jefferson is more than 65,000 people strong, dedicated to providing the highest-quality, compassionate clinical care for patients; making our communities healthier and stronger; preparing tomorrow’s professional leaders for 21st-century careers; and creating new knowledge through basic/programmatic, clinical and applied research. Thomas Jefferson University, home of Sidney Kimmel Medical College, Jefferson College of Nursing, and the Kanbar College of Design, Engineering and Commerce, dates back to 1824 and today comprises 10 colleges and three schools offering 200+ undergraduate and graduate programs to more than 8,300 students. Jefferson Health, nationally ranked as one of the top 15 not-for-profit health care systems in the country and the largest provider in the Philadelphia and Lehigh Valley areas, serves patients through millions of encounters each year at 32 hospitals and more than 700 outpatient and urgent care locations throughout the region. Jefferson Health Plans is a not-for-profit managed health care organization providing a broad range of health coverage options in Pennsylvania and New Jersey for more than 35 years.

 

Information provided to TVL by:
Brian Downs