Lehigh Valley Health Network has announced that the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at Lehigh Valley Reilly Children’s Hospital and the intensive care unit at Lehigh Valley Hospital (LVH) - Muhlenberg will receive $4.5 million of state Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program (RACP) grants for support and expansion of capacity.

The grants were secured by state Senators Pat Browne (R-16th) and Lisa Boscola (D-18th) and state Representatives Ryan Mackenzie (R-134th) and Jeanne McNeill (R-133rd).

“Convenient access to specialized care is something the people of our communities need, expect and deserve,” said Brian A. Nester, DO, MBA, President and Chief Executive Officer of LVHN. “This funding will bring life-saving care to more people, and we thank our elected officials for their partnership and support of world-class health care at LVHN.”

Lehigh Valley Reilly Children’s Hospital will receive $3.5 million to expand its 32-bed NICU at LVH - Cedar Crest. When the project is complete, the facility will have 46 to 50 Level IV NICU beds; negative pressure rooms, which help prevent the transmission of airborne diseases, and special procedure rooms. Expert neonatologists and nurses in the NICU provide care to vulnerable babies and ensure that each family and baby receive the highest level of care and support.

LVH - Muhlenberg will receive $1 million to add eight new ICU beds adjacent to its ICU, bringing the total to 28 beds. In September, LVH - Muhlenberg began operating as a Level II trauma center. Additional ICU beds will help get patients from the emergency department to a critical-care bed faster.

“As the Lehigh Valley continues to grow, additional demand has been placed on the region’s healthcare infrastructure, making the need for capacity expansion necessary,” Browne said.

“The Lehigh Valley is blessed with a tremendous network of health care systems that have been called upon in ways never imagined just 20 months ago, and they have responded,” Boscola said.

Said Mackenzie, “This expansion will provide critical health care access for compromised newborns in our region.”

Said McNeill, “The intensive care unit cares for all types of critically-ill patients, and the added capacity will provide benefit to the entire Lehigh Valley.”

The Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program is a Commonwealth grant program administered by the Office of the Budget for the acquisition and construction of regional economic, cultural, civic, recreational and historical improvement projects. RACP projects are authorized in the Redevelopment Assistance section of a Capital Budget Itemization Act, have a regional or multi-jurisdictional impact, and generate substantial increases or maintain current levels of employment, tax revenues, or other measures of economic activity.