Ray Williams has three tiny medical “valves” nestled in the bottom lobe of his left lung, designed to help him breathe easier. Called the Zephyr endobronchial valve, each pencil-eraser shaped device serves as relief valve that helps expel air trapped in the diseased crevices of emphysema tissue caused by Williams’ years of smoking.

St. Luke’s lung specialists, pulmonologists Deborah Stahlnecker, DO, and Livia Bratis, DO, have been treating the 77-year-old Pocono man to help him improve his ability to inhale and exhale so he can move better and feel better. And the new technology that St. Luke’s pioneered in the Lehigh Valley in 2021, referred medically as bronchoscopic lung volume reductions (BLVR), offers his best reason for hope that will happen.

“I feel good, and I’m optimistic for improvement,” said Ray, who quit smoking in 2002. He walks up to five miles daily in addition to working out in pulmonary rehabilitation twice-weekly at St. Luke’s Monroe Campus near his home. His goal, shared by his doctors, is to increase his breathing capacity from his pre-procedure baseline of 30% to 45%, so he can exercise without becoming easily winded.

According to Dr. Stahlnecker, who implanted the Zephyr valves in Ray in March without invasive surgery, using a long camera-tipped tube, called a bronchoscope, the valves can take up to six months to reach maximal benefit, and she, too, believes they’ll do their job.

Ray, and his wife, Judy, who live in Stroudsburg, are effusive in their praise for his doctors and other caregivers throughout St. Luke’s, both at the Bethlehem and Monroe campuses.

“Both doctors are marvelous, professional and compassionate,” said Judy. “Dr. Stahlnecker answered all of our questions about the Zephyr procedure and was never in a rush.”

The inpatient nursing staff who took care of Ray also get a shout-out from the couple. In particular Ricky Castro, RN, who was his Medical ICU nurse at St. Luke’s Bethlehem after Dr. Stahlnecker put in the valves in March.

“Ricky was outstanding and very attentive with Ray,” explained Judy. “He walked him around the floors the day after the surgery, took his time with him and was very caring.”

They nominated Castro for a DAISY award, which celebrates and recognizes nurses for going above and beyond for their patients and families. 

“Ray was motivated and determined to move around after his procedure,” Castro, who has previously won a DAISY award, said. “It’s nice to be recognized.”

The kind of top-notch, personal care Ray is experiencing at St. Luke’s comes as no surprise to them, given their long-term and happy history with their favorite network.

Judy gave birth to their two children at the Bethlehem campus. Ray had radiation treatments for prostate cancer at Monroe. And Judy’s life was saved after being flown to Bethlehem for treatment of a burst brain aneurysm in 2007.

“We’ve had a great experience with St. Luke’s every time,” said Judy. “All the staff and doctors have been phenomenal.”

“And we’re so happy St. Luke’s built a hospital up here near our home (St. Luke’s Monroe Campus) to make this wonderful care more accessible.”

About St. Luke’s

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 350+ 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 oldest School of Nursing, established in 1884, and 52 fully accredited graduate medical educational programs with more than 500 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 10 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:
Sam Kennedy