Lehigh Valley Health Network (LVHN) received one of the largest gifts in its history from Lehigh Valley philanthropists and business owners J.B. and Kathleen Reilly.

The sizable gift, the amount of which has been kept private per the family’s wishes, is dedicated to supporting enhancements to programs, services and facilities of the Children’s Hospital, now named Lehigh Valley Reilly Children’s Hospital, located at Lehigh Valley Hospital - Cedar Crest, Salisbury Township.

A new designated entrance for Lehigh Valley Reilly Children’s Hospital will be built. The Children’s ER, said to be the only one of its kind in the region, will grow by 14 beds and open in 2021.

The Reillys’ gift will bring more than 30 pediatric specialties, from childhood cancer to cystic fibrosis, under one roof.

The donation updates to the hospital’s Level IV neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), said to be the highest level NICU in the area, and construction of a new pediatric inpatient unit, with 30 private rooms and child-friendly touches, such as doors labeled by colors and animals and spaces for families and children.

The region’s only Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) will be expanded to 12 beds with additional spaces for families. Additional Child Life Specialists will be hired to help children cope emotionally while they’re in the hospital.

“The Reillys have provided a transformational gift that will dramatically impact pediatric care across our region,” President and Chief Executive Officer of LVHN Brian Nester, DO, MBA, FACOEP, said. “Rare and generous gifts like these have the opportunity to improve the lives of children and families for decades to come.”

“With the consolidation into a true children’s hospital, we will grow services and touch even more lives,” Physician-in-Chief of Lehigh Valley Reilly Children’s Hospital Nathan Hagstrom, MD, said during a naming celebration Nov. 15.

The Reillys know first-hand what it is to have a child face a life-threatening health issue. Years ago, on two separate occasions, both of their daughters’ lives were saved by doctors at LVHN before being transferred outside the region for specialized care.

“We learned a lot,” Kathleen Reilly said in an interview in her home. “How important it is to be close not just to health care, but to pediatric health care.”

The Reillys hope their gift will help care for the children of the Lehigh Valley and beyond for many years to come.

“If children don’t have good health, it’s very hard for them to succeed and thrive in other ways,” Kathleen Reilly said. “I would like the children’s hospital to be considered a jewel in the crown of the Lehigh Valley. The Lehigh Valley deserves it, and I hope the community will rally to support it.”

This is not the first time the Reillys have given to LVHN.

In 2016, the family also gave to what became the Reilly Children’s Surgery Center, which focuses on minimally-invasive and state-of-the-art technologies for the hospital’s smallest patients. The surgery program will be expanded to include care for congenital defects, hearing impairments and gastrointestinal disease.

According to LVHN, it has cared for more children than any other health system in the area since the 1970s. LVHN opened the Children’s Hospital at Lehigh Valley Hospital - Cedar Crest in 2012.

Lehigh Valley Health Network includes eight hospital campuses - three in Allentown including the region’s only facility dedicated to orthopedic surgery, one in Bethlehem, one in East Stroudsburg, one in Hazleton and two in Pottsville; 26 health centers caring for communities in seven counties; numerous primary and specialty care physician practices and 18 ExpressCARE locations throughout the region including the area’s only Children’s ExpressCARE at the Health Center at Palmer Township; pharmacy, imaging, home health services and lab services; inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation services; and preferred provider services through Valley Preferred.

Specialty care includes: trauma care at the region’s busiest, most-experienced trauma center treating adults and children, burn care at the regional Burn Center, kidney and pancreas transplants; perinatal-neonatal, cardiac, cancer care, orthopedics, and neurology and complex neurosurgery capabilities including national certification as a Comprehensive Stroke Center.

The Lehigh Valley Cancer Institute, the Lehigh Valley Heart Institute and the Lehigh Valley Institute for Special Surgery give clinicians of the highest caliber the necessary infrastructure, programs and partnerships to help community members stay healthy and provide the most advanced treatment when needed.

The Lehigh Valley Cancer Institute is a formal member of the Memorial Sloan Kettering (MSK) Cancer Alliance, a transformative initiative to improve the quality of care and outcomes for people with cancer in community health care settings, including access to key MSK clinical trials.

Robotic surgery is offered in 10 specialties across the health network with more than 10,000 procedures performed since 2007.

Lehigh Valley Hospital - Cedar Crest has been recognized among the Top 5 hospitals in Pennsylvania by U.S. News & World Report for five consecutive years.

Lehigh Valley Hospital - Cedar Crest, Lehigh Valley Hospital - 17th Street and Lehigh Valley Hospital - Muhlenberg are national Magnet hospitals for excellence in nursing.

Information: LVHN.org