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Acute care facility fills need in tri-county region
Lehigh Valley, Pa. (July 13, 2023) – ) Lehigh Valley Health Network (LVHN) has started construction on a new hospital in Gilbertsville, Montgomery County to help meet increasing demand for accessible, convenient ER and inpatient care.
Lehigh Valley Hospital (LVH)–Gilbertsville, LVHN’s first in Montgomery County, is expected to open by fall 2024. A medical office building on the same site – the Health Center at Gilbertsville – is slated to open at the same time.
Construction is underway on land at Route 100 and Grosser Road, near the current Wawa convenience store and gas station.
The new hospital is a type of facility known in the health care industry as a neighborhood hospital, with a full-service ER and limited number of inpatient beds. The footprint, at about 22,000 square feet, is smaller than other LVHN hospitals in the region such as LVH–Cedar Crest near Allentown or LVH–Muhlenberg in Bethlehem.
However, this will be a fully licensed hospital offering accredited acute care – 24 hours a day, seven days a week – in a state-of-the-art facility. Patients requiring surgery or higher levels of care will be stabilized and transferred to other, higher-equipped LVHN hospitals as needed.
The new hospital will have extensive lab, imaging and pharmacy services. All of the lab and imaging services, including X-ray, ultrasound, CT scan and MRI, will also be available for any patient requiring these services as an outpatient.
The Health Center at Gilbertsville, at about 57,000 square feet, will house a variety of medical services, including Lehigh Valley Physician Group (LVPG) primary care and pediatrics, obstetrics and gynecology, orthopedics, rheumatology, physiatry, cardiology, cardiac and nuclear testing, breast health services, adult and pediatric rehabilitation and cardiac rehabilitation. HNL Lab Medicine also will be on-site.
“LVH–Gilbertsville and the Health Center at Gilbertsville will give residents more convenient access to emergency and hospital-level care, along with robust ambulatory services located closer to where they live, work and play,” said Brian A. Nester, DO, MBA, President and Chief Executive Officer, LVHN. “Easy access can improve patient engagement and help individuals live their healthiest life.”
The hospital and health center are LVHN’s second and third facilities in Montgomery County. The Health Center at Pennsburg opened in March 2022. Construction continues for LVHN’s first neighborhood hospital in Macungie, Lehigh County. The health network broke ground for that project in December. Lehigh Valley Hospital–Macungie is slated to open by July 2024. The companion medical office building, the Health Center at Macungie, could open as early as this winter.
“We’re proud to expand the services we offer in this region and connect patients with world-class care that includes the expertise of our five health institutes as well as Lehigh Valley Reilly Children’s Hospital,” Dr. Nester said.
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.
“LVH–Gilbertsville provides an exciting health care option not currently available in this region,” said John Pierro, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, LVHN. “This facility offers more capability than an ExpressCARE, with experience and expertise to treat the same cases that would traditionally be treated and released at a larger hospital. LVH–Gilbertsville will offer a convenient alternative to residents of this region.”
Lehigh Valley Health Network (LVHN) includes 13 hospital campuses, four in Allentown, two in Bethlehem, one in Easton, one in East Stroudsburg, one in Hazleton, two in Pottsville, one in Dickson City, and one in Lehighton, Pa.; 28 health centers; numerous primary and specialty care physician practices; 20 ExpressCARE locations including the area’s only Children’s ExpressCARE; 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 third largest children’s hospital in Pennsylvania, provides care in more than 30 specialties and general pediatrics. Lehigh Valley Hospital–Cedar Crest is ranked as the region’s No. 1 hospital for nine straight years and has been recognized among Pennsylvania’s top 10 hospitals for nine consecutive years by U.S. News & World Report. Lehigh Valley Hospital (LVH)–Cedar Crest, LVH–17th Street and LVH–Muhlenberg are the Lehigh Valley’s only Magnet® hospitals for nursing excellence. Additional information is available by visiting LVHN.org or following us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram.
Information provided to TVL by:
Jamie L. Stover
Media Relations Specialist
Marketing & Public Affairs
Lehigh Valley Health Network
Allentown, PA 18105
