{"id":150655,"date":"2026-08-17T22:28:31","date_gmt":"2026-08-18T02:28:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thevalleyledger.com\/?p=150655"},"modified":"2026-08-17T22:28:31","modified_gmt":"2026-08-18T02:28:31","slug":"st-lukes-college-of-health-sciences-welcomes-first-in-person-class-for-respiratory-care-and-radiography-programs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thevalleyledger.com\/?p=150655","title":{"rendered":"St. Luke\u2019s College of Health Sciences Welcomes First In-Person Class for Respiratory Care and Radiography Programs"},"content":{"rendered":"

Featured Image: Bri Storm, a St. Luke\u2019s MRI Clinical Assistant and a student at the St. Luke\u2019s College for Health Sciences.<\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

St. Luke\u2019s College of Health Sciences marked another major milestone today as it welcomed its first in-person group of students for its Respiratory Care and Radiography programs on the first day of fall classes.<\/p>\n

The College begins the semester with full enrollment for both programs, including all 58 seats filled in Radiography and all 16 seats filled in Respiratory Care. The strong enrollment reflects growing interest in accessible, career-focused health care education and the need for skilled professionals in high-demand fields across the region.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are thrilled to welcome our new students to campus as they begin this exciting next step in their education,\u201d said Mary Grace Simcox, EdD, RN, President of St. Luke\u2019s College of Health Sciences. \u201cOur summer session went very well, and now we are especially excited to have students here in person to learn, grow and prepare for their future careers through classroom instruction and clinical rotations on campus.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is exactly why the College was created \u2014 to provide students with meaningful opportunities to pursue health care careers while helping strengthen the workforce our communities rely on.\u201d<\/p>\n

Located on the campus of St. Luke\u2019s University Hospital in Bethlehem, St. Luke\u2019s College of Health Sciences offers associate degree programs in Radiography and Respiratory Care, a fully online RN to BSN program, and general education courses. The Respiratory Care and Radiography programs provide students with hands-on learning, classroom instruction and clinical experiences designed to prepare them for essential roles in patient care.<\/p>\n

The College also continues to offer rolling admissions for its fully online RN-to-BSN program and General Education courses, providing students and working professionals with flexible opportunities to continue their education and advance their careers.<\/p>\n

For students like Bri Storm, a St. Luke\u2019s employee and MRI Clinical Assistant, the College represents a pathway to a long-term career in health care. Bri, 33, of Lehighton, graduated from college with a degree in recreation management and began her career in marketing for a ski resort. After joining St. Luke\u2019s, however, she discovered a new direction. Through a variety of roles across the Network, she developed an interest in medical imaging and decided to pursue a career in the field.<\/p>\n

Over the past year, Bri completed advancer coursework at local community colleges while continuing to work and gain experience at St. Luke\u2019s. She is now a member of the College\u2019s inaugural class and plans to graduate, earn her certification, and advance into X-ray, MRI and other imaging specialties.<\/p>\n

Bri said the College\u2019s program is an ideal fit because it allows her to continue her education while maintaining full-time employment.<\/p>\n

\u201cI still need an income,\u201d she said, noting that classes are scheduled throughout the week in a way that minimizes disruption to her work schedule. She also credits the support of her supervisors and colleagues, who, she said, \u201cwant to see me grow.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bri\u2019s journey is one example of the opportunities St. Luke\u2019s College of Health Sciences is creating for students seeking a direct, supportive path into health care. Prospective students can learn more about programs, admissions and upcoming opportunities at\u00a0StLukesCollege.org<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

About St. Luke\u2019s<\/strong><\/p>\n

Founded in 1872, St. Luke\u2019s University Health Network (SLUHN) is a fully integrated, regional, non-profit network with annual net revenue of more than $4.5 billion. With 23,000+ employees at 16 hospital campuses and 350+ outpatient sites, it is the Lehigh Valley\u2019s biggest employer.<\/p>\n

The Network\u2019s 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\u2019s Children\u2019s Hospital is based at the Bethlehem Campus.<\/p>\n

Dedicated to advancing medical education, St. Luke\u2019s is the preeminent teaching hospital in central-eastern Pennsylvania. In partnership with Temple University, the Network established the Lehigh Valley\u2019s first and only four-year medical school. It also operates the nation\u2019s oldest continuously operated School of Nursing, established in 1884, and 60+ fully accredited graduate medical educational programs with 550+ residents and fellows. Additionally, the St. Luke\u2019s College of Health Sciences opened in 2026.<\/p>\n

In a 2025 study by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, St. Luke\u2019s achieved the highest quality score of the nation\u2019s recognized top three highest performing health systems. This objective recognition, based on public data reported to the government, reaffirms St. Luke\u2019s preeminent position as THE BEST OF THE BEST among the most respected health care systems in the United States.<\/p>\n

St. Luke\u2019s has been named a Leapfrog Group Top Hospital and a Newsweek World\u2019s Best Hospital. In 2026, all of the Network\u2019s eligible hospital campuses were awarded Medicare\u2019s highest ratings for quality, efficiency and patient satisfaction. The Network also earned straight A\u2019s for safety from Leapfrog across all of its acute care hospitals. It has earned 100 Top Hospital designations from Premier 12 years in a row, including in 2026 when the Network was identified as THE #1 MEDIUM-SIZE HEALTH SYSTEM IN THE COUNTRY. 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 SLUHN\u2019s information technology applications such as telehealth, online scheduling and online pricing information.<\/p>\n

Information provided to TVL by:
\nSam Kennedy<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Featured Image: Bri Storm, a St. Luke\u2019s MRI Clinical Assistant and a student at the St. Luke\u2019s College for Health Sciences. St. Luke\u2019s College of Health Sciences marked another major milestone today as it welcomed its first in-person group of students for its Respiratory Care and Radiography programs on the first day of fall classes. … Continue reading St. Luke\u2019s College of Health Sciences Welcomes First In-Person Class for Respiratory Care and Radiography Programs<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":150656,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"{title}\r\n\r\n{excerpt}\r\n\r\n{url}","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[69],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-150655","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-in-the-valley"],"acf":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thevalleyledger.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Bri-Storm.jpg?fit=672%2C372&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/150655","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=150655"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/150655\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":150657,"href":"https:\/\/thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/150655\/revisions\/150657"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/150656"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=150655"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=150655"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=150655"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}