Lehigh Valley Health Network (LVHN) leaders and invited guests cut the ribbon for the opening of the Family Health Pavilion at Lehigh Valley Hospital (LVH)-Muhlenberg, Bethlehem.

The four-story, 161,000-square-foot Pavilion features the Family Birth and Newborn Center on the second and third floors and the Inpatient Rehabilitation Center on the first floor. The fourth floor will be shell space for future growth.

The opening marks the first time babies will be born at LVH-Muhlenberg in the Bethlehem hospital’s 55-year history.

The facility, completed ahead of schedule and under the budget of $93.6 million, is the first new building constructed on the LVH-Muhlenberg campus since a 188-all private-room patient tower opened in 2005. LVHN officials anticipate about 2,000 babies will be delivered each year at the new Pavilion, which is creating about 145 new patient care jobs.

“Our hope is this new facility will offer promise and joy for families who choose to deliver at our Family Birth and Newborn Center,” said Mary Bianchi, Vice President, LVHN’s Women’s and Children’s Service Line. “Our promise is that we will do all we can to create a personal birth experience so special that families can’t imagine delivering anywhere else.”

Bianchi said the Center offers what new and expectant moms have said they want and expect from a modern birthing experience. The facility includes a mother-baby unit with 20 private suites where mothers and babies can room-in together and families can stay; 10 labor, delivery and recovery rooms with spa-like bathrooms with options for hydrotherapy during labor; and a Level II neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) with 10 private rooms for babies born at 32 weeks or later.

Terry Capuano, LVHN’s Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, said patients in the 28-bed Inpatient Rehabilitation Center will receive a minimum of three hours of intensive, specialized rehab therapy at least five days a week for approximately two weeks, including physical, occupational, and or speech therapy.

“We know that patients in our community will benefit from these quality services,” Capuano said. “Having inpatient rehabilitation right here means adults won’t have to leave the LVH-Muhlenberg campus to get the short-term rehab they need to thrive.”

Capuano said patients using the Center will be recovering from stroke, neurological disorders, orthopedic injuries, amputations and post-surgical conditions.

The Pavilion offers an outdoor courtyard for peaceful respite and therapy patients as part of their treatment; a café; a supervised play space for children; the Grace Shop, a gift shop run by the LVH-Muhlenberg Auxiliary, and a parenting education room where families can learn about child care, breastfeeding, car seat safety, grand-parenting and more.