Lehigh Valley Health Network (LVHN) has cut the ribbon to provide access to what’s said to be the largest and most advanced Emergency Department in Pennsylvania at Lehigh Valley Hospital (LVH) - Cedar Crest, Salisbury Township.

The $111-million investment will bring the number of care spaces to more than 200 in the Emergency Room (ER).

The new ER adds 130,000-square-feet of space to the hospital’s ER, bringing the size to almost 160,000-square-feet.

The project includes an expanded adult Emergency Department, new observation unit and trauma facilities.

The next phase of construction now underway includes an expanded Children’s ER.

The ribbon-cutting was held Dec. 7 on social media by LVHN leadership, including Brian Nester, DO, MBA, FACOEP, LVHN President and Chief Executive Officer.

About 90,000 adult and pediatric patients receive care in the LVH - Cedar Crest ER annually.

“Everything you need during an emergency is right here,” said David Burmeister, DO, LVHN Chair of Emergency and Hospital Medicine.

Even though the coronavirus pandemic began after construction of the new ER was well underway, special considerations were included because of COVID-19 and will benefit the community and healthcare workers.

The considerations include enhanced air circulation so that it’s being circulated out of the building more regularly, along with the addition of multiple negative pressure airflow rooms.

Increased space in the waiting room allows for greater social distancing. Pods were created in the ER. Each pod is made up of 12 rooms. The pods allow for dividing groups of rooms to help prevent the spread of viruses like the coronavirus.

Burmeister said that, as 2020 has demonstrated in the Lehigh Valley, United States and the world, it’s impossible to predict the exact number of patients who will need care at any given time.

“What we do know is that this facility makes us even more prepared for the unpredictable and that we will always provide care to people who are experiencing the most critical symptoms first,” said Burmeister.

“This plan has multiple patient-centered additions and efficiencies built into it, including major diagnostic testing, laboratory and trauma enhancements. Everything for providing acute care for our patients is available within this facility,” Burmeister said.

The “patient experience” was a major consideration in developing the new ER, according to Burmeister.

Dedicating an observation unit adjacent to the new emergency department for those who need additional care before discharge allows for more comprehensive, connected care. The ER and observation spaces include all private rooms with the latest technological advances.

It includes more than 120 adult beds available for emergency care, compared to the previous 47 beds; and 27 beds in the Children’s ER, up from 12 beds, when that portion is completed. The adult and Children’s ERs have their own entrances and waiting areas.

The expanded facility includes three trauma bays, with the ability to add a fourth; a dedicated MRI and CT scan; a dedicated full-service laboratory; critical-care space; cardiac testing; physical therapy, and behavioral health services. There are large waiting areas, ample parking with valet services, a café, and more amenities for patients and families.

For patients who need additional care but do not require an inpatient hospital stay, the expansion includes a 35-bed observation unit adjacent to the ER. Keeping these patients in the new observation unit will create efficiencies and eliminate confusion by helping patients understand they’re not being admitted to the hospital. The observation unit is staffed by clinicians from the hospital unit where observation patients now receive care.

Access to the new ER has been improved. New traffic patterns will have ambulances enter the hospital campus off Fish Hatchery Road instead of the patient entrance off Cedar Crest Boulevard.

The LVHN MedEvac helipad is now elevated above the new ambulance entrance with immediate access to the ER and Level 1 Trauma Center.