The Allentown Area Chamber of Commerce chose St. Luke’s Sacred Heart Campus, Fourth and Chew streets, Allentown, to receive its 2020 Good Neighbor Award, which Hospital President Frank Ford accepted during the Chamber’s virtual Annual Awards Reception Aug. 11.

“This award affirms St. Luke’s commitment to improving the health and wellbeing of the residents of inner-city Allentown,” said Ford, who was born and raised near the hospital.

“While we have made great progress, there’s much more work to be done. Our focus and passion, along with that of our community partners, is to make this neighborhood a great place to live,” Ford said.

The Chamber bestows the Good Neighbor Award to an individual or organization that has provided exemplary community service for the betterment of the City of Allentown and its citizenry. Previous honorees include Charlie Thiel, PPL, Bill Grube, Iron Pigs and Rich Mar Florist.

St. Luke’s has enhanced health services in the area into which it moved in 2017 with the merger with Sacred Heart.

In two years, the network invested more than $31 million to improve and expand clinical and educational spaces and made essential infrastructure repairs.

Efforts are gaining ground, led by St. Luke’s employees and community leaders, to address the barriers to better health that confront the inner-city residents, such as access to primary care, jobs, healthy food, early childhood education and substance use treatment.

“St. Luke’s Sacred Heart Campus is the epitome of a good neighbor with the enhancements made to this once-distressed community hospital,” said Miriam Huertas, senior vice president of the Chamber.

”They have revitalized numerous buildings and patient floors and strengthened and expanded vital health care services.

“Converting The Sigal Center, across from the hospital, into a federally-qualified health center and expanding access to critical primary care, pediatrics and women’s services have opened the door to better health for this underserved population,” Huertas said.