St. Luke’s University Health Network proudly celebrates its 2024 Resident and Fellow graduates – physicians and providers who have completed specialty training through more than 50 residency and fellowship programs at St. Luke’s University Health Network.

The 32nd Annual Graduation Ceremony was held June 14 at the ArtsQuest Center at SteelStacks in Bethlehem. More than 60 physicians will remain with St. Luke’s – an enormous benefit to the greater Lehigh Valley as approximately 40% of St. Luke’s physician vacancies are filled by resident and fellow graduates each year.

As one of the nation’s top teaching hospitals, St. Luke’s attracts, cultivates and retains talent and expertise, ensuring the region will continue to enjoy local access to the highest standards of medical care.

“Providing top-quality clinical care and innovative education programs where they are needed most throughout our local communities has always been our goal,” said J.P. Orlando, Ed.D, Chief Graduate Medical Education Officer. “Our residency and fellowship programs are designed to create physician pathway programs that will benefit the 11 counties we serve in immeasurable ways for generations to come.

“More than 500 residents and fellows are enrolled in our programs, and about 10,000 applicants apply each year. St. Luke’s is consistently ranked among the Top Teaching Hospitals in the country. Our graduates are a testament to the innovation and commitment to education St. Luke’s embodies, to the greatest benefit of our patients and community.”

Founded in 1872, St. Luke’s University Health Network (SLUHN) is a fully integrated, regional, non-profit network of more than 20,000 employees providing services at 15 campuses and 300+ outpatient sites.  With annual net revenue of $3.4 billion, the Network’s service area includes 11 counties in two states: Lehigh, Northampton, Berks, Bucks, Carbon, Montgomery, Monroe, Schuylkill and Luzerne counties in Pennsylvania and Warren and Hunterdon counties in New Jersey. St. Luke’s hospitals operate the largest network of trauma centers in Pennsylvania, with the Bethlehem Campus being home to St. Luke’s Children’s Hospital.

Dedicated to advancing medical education, St. Luke’s is the preeminent teaching hospital in central-eastern Pennsylvania.  In partnership with Temple University, the Network established the Lehigh Valley’s first and only four-year medical school campus.  It also operates the nation’s longest continuously operating School of Nursing, established in 1884, and 45 fully accredited graduate medical educational programs with more than 400 residents and fellows. In 2022, St. Luke’s, a member of the Children’s Hospital Association, opened the Lehigh Valley’s first and only free-standing facility dedicated entirely to kids.

SLUHN is the only Lehigh Valley-based health care system to earn Medicare’s five-star ratings (the highest) for quality, efficiency and patient satisfaction.  It is both a Leapfrog Group and Healthgrades Top Hospital and a Newsweek World’s Best Hospital.  The Network’s flagship University Hospital has earned the 100 Top Major Teaching Hospital designation from Fortune/PINC AI 11 times total and eight years in a row, including in 2023 when it was identified as THE #4 TEACHING HOSPITAL IN THE COUNTRY.  In 2021, St. Luke’s was identified as one of the 15 Top Health Systems nationally.  Utilizing the Epic electronic medical record (EMR) system for both inpatient and outpatient services, the Network is a multi-year recipient of the Most Wired award recognizing the breadth of the SLUHN’s information technology applications such as telehealth, online scheduling and online pricing information.  The Network is also recognized as one of the state’s lowest cost providers.

Information provided to TVL by:
Gary Blockus