Representatives of Lehigh Valley Health Network held a community forum for township residents Oct. 6 in Fellowship’s Zentz Community Center, 3000 Fellowship Drive.

The forum was meant to answer questions and respond to comments in more detail. The proposal has been discussed at Whitehall commissioners’ meetings for the last few months, but this was held with the intention of inviting greater community involvement and comment.

Ed Dougherty, LVHN chief business development officer, explained the rationale behind the proposal for the hospital along MacArthur Road.

LVHN said it aimed to meet the needs of the growing Whitehall community. The Lehigh Valley reportedly has the fastest-growing rate of 18- to 34-year-olds in Pennsylvania. The 65 and older population has also remained steady in the township.

“The fact of the matter is somewhere around 80% of the people from Whitehall Township who have gone to Cedar Crest or Muhlenberg hospitals for care could go to the proposed health campus and receive the appropriate care that they need,” Dougherty said.

The proposed facility would decrease travel time, he said. LVHN studied travel time to and from Cedar Crest and Muhlenberg from different points and times and determined the proposed facility could save up to 38 minutes round-trip.

The potential health campus could help people get care sooner. Additionally, it would help take stress off Cedar Crest and Muhlenberg, allowing them to become highly specialized tertiary care facilities.

LVHN representatives also gave a more detailed look into the proposed health campus.

The two items that have remained constant in the ever-changing proposal are the two-story hospital and 60,000-square-foot medical office building.

The hospital would have the capability for inpatient and outpatient care, surgery, imaging and more. The medical office building is meant to consolidate care in the township and add more specialty services.

The proposed helicopter pad raised concerns from many township residents.

In its first year of operation, Hecktown Oaks, which the proposed campus is modeled after, only had nine helicopter flights.

The helipad lights would be on a timer and would only be turned on when a helicopter is landing or taking off. Further, LVHN said it would work to develop a flight path that caused minimal disturbance.

Residents were also concerned about increased traffic.

Engineer Scott Pidcock urged people to think about the development in relation to a residential development. If the land were developed residentially, it could cause more traffic than the proposed hospital, as 102 homes can fit on the land where the overlay is proposed, with an additional 52 on the land north of that. Those homes would cause more traffic than a 48-bed hospital and medical offices would, he said.