“It was just a beginning,” said Lehigh Valley Health Network-Hecktown Oaks Hospital CEO James Miller at the Nov. 1 opening of a new wing for hospital, Route 33 and Hechtown Road, Lower Nazareth Township.

A group of employees, Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce staffers and reporters gathered to commemorate the addition to the large hospital campus that opened in July.

“Our goal was to provide Northampton County residents with more access to LVHN’s services so they have a greater choice where they can receive health care in their community,” Miller said.

“The success of Lehigh Valley Health Network Hecktown-Oaks Hospital has blown us away,” said Miller.

The new structure is a 95,000-square-foot addition to the LVH-Hecktown Oaks Hospital.

A four-story “bed tower” will house 30 additional beds. Three of the floors in the tower will remain unfinished and be available for future growth.

The first floor of the tower will also house a “grab-and-go” café.

An intensive-care unit is to be added in summer 2022, Miller said.

The LVHN Hecktown-Oaks campus has a 107,000-square-foot hospital, 35,000-square-foot cancer center, 61,000-square-foot medical office building, health center and a 24-hour emergency room with space to care for children.

“The completion of phase two of LVH-Hecktown Oaks less than six months after phase one was completed exemplifies our commitment to provide convenient accessible care in our community,” said Miller.

The new tower, according to information supplied by the LVHN, features optimal safety and infection control measures, including indigo clean lighting.

According to an industry website, indigo clean lighting provides “safe, continuous SARS CoV2 killing protection. The technology uses 405nm LED visible light, which kills viruses, bacteria and pathogens in the air and?on surfaces.”

“As we continue to add more resources to our community, we are investing in the latest and greatest technology to keep our patients and colleagues safe,” said Pa Toselli, MD, and Chief Medical Officer, LVH-Hecktown Oaks Hospital.

During a tour of the addition, Acute Care Rehabilitation Manager Lee Ann Phillips showed visitors the facility where physical therapy and occupational therapy, including speech therapy, takes place.

“We provide therapy here for patients until they are ready for discharge or be moved to the next level of care,” said Phillips.