Lehigh Valley Health Network hosted its first in-person community annual meeting Dec. 7 at its hospital on Cedar Crest Boulevard in Allentown. Last year’s meeting was held virtually due to the pandemic.

The theme of the night was, “Excellent care always matters at LVHN.”

LVHN President and CEO Dr. Brian Nester said, “I am humbled to represent my colleagues, the 20,000 health care professionals of the LVHN family to share examples of our collective commitment to excellent care. It includes our pledge to make care easily accessible, our relentless drive to take health care to new heights, and our vow to deliver care with a compassionate, personalized touch.”

Nester said that over the last 18 months, LVHN has “experienced an unprecedented period of growth designed to give you – and people across Eastern Pennsylvania – convenient access to the care you need, close to home.”

This growth includes expansions, advancements in its institutes, opening of two new hospitals, and the creation of the Mobile Stroke Unit to bring stroke care to the home.

New locations

In May, LVHN held a ribbon cutting for its new hospital, LVH-Dickson City in Lackawanna County. The new hospital includes a 19-bay emergency room and 24 private inpatient rooms. The hospital campus also includes an Orthopedic Injury Center where patients can see an orthopedic specialist or surgeon without an appointment.

Also near Dickson City, LVHN acquired Delta Medix, which is now known as LVPG-Steamtown. The facility provides services ranging from surgery and radiation oncology to breast health and ear-nose-and-throat care.

Three weeks after LVH-Dickson City opened its doors, LVH-Carbon joined the network. The new hospital in Lehighton provides a range of primary and specialty care services in heart, cancer, surgical and emergency care.

Coming in spring 2023, LVHN plans to open the new Cancer Center at LVH-Hazleton. The three-floor facility will include a state of the art linear accelerator that treats cancer with precision radiation therapy. The facility will also include an infusion suite, a hematology oncology practice, radiation oncology services and availability oftelemedicine.

Other additions

In August, the LVHN Sports Performance Center in the Schuylkill Haven Area School District opened. The 30,000-square-foot facility includes batting cages, a weight room, running track, a large turf playing surface and areas for training and exercise classes.

”When we build, our aim is to create LVHN facilities that are smaller in size, easy to navigate and placed in locations where you can conveniently access the care you need,” Nester said.

LVHN is also expanding LVH-Hecktown Oaks in Northampton County. Since its ribbon-cutting in June 2021, the new hospital opened a four-story tower with 30 beds, a therapy gym and a state of the art intensive care unit. It recently received Level IV Adult Trauma Center accreditation and is LVHN’s fifth hospital with trauma center accreditation.

And just this month, LVHN broke ground for a new hospital in Lower Macungie Township. LVH-Macungie will be a neighborhood hospital with a full-service emergency care unit, and beds for inpatient care.

LVHN also created the Lehigh Valley Fleming Neuroscience Institute this year. It was made possible by a significant gift from the Fleming Foundation, established by the late businessman and longtime chairman of LVHN’s Board of Trustees Richard Fleming.

Physicians

and improvements

Joining the new institute are Dr. Greg Davis, who specializes in deep brain stimulation surgery, and Dr. Brandon Kujawski, who focuses on minimally invasive spine surgery.

The neuroscience institute’s Physician in Chief Dr. Steven Lewis has been appointed to serve as the secretary-general of the World Federation of Neurology. He will be creating curricula that will be used around the world.

Nester also shone a spotlight on the Lehigh Valley Topper Cancer Institute Physician in Chief Dr. Suresh Nair. He was appointed to the American Board of Internal Medicine’s Council as chair of its Medical Oncology Board.

“This is the top appointment for a medical oncologist in the United States,” Nester said.

LVHN’s cardio-oncology program also received an acclamation.

In 2015, cardiologist Dr. Deborah Sundlof and hematologist/oncologist Dr. Ranju Gupta launched the program to help minimize or prevent heart-related problems in people receiving cancer treatments. It is one of only 31 programs like it in the world and was recognized by the International Cardio-Oncology Society for excellent work.

Quality staff

Although there has been a nationwide labor shortage, Nester said LVHN continues to attract health care professionals.

“In 2022, LVHN will welcome more than 5,000 new colleagues, the most ever,” Nester said. “More than 1,700 of these hires provide care at the bedside.”

A few of these new physicians at LVHN include:

• Dr. Ben Jackson is the new chief of Vascular Surgery at the Lehigh Valley Heart and Vascular Institute. He specializes in aortic aneurysms and blockages in the carotid arteries. He comes to LVHN from Penn Medicine in Philadelphia.

• Dr. Eric Elgin is the new chief of Cardiology. He received the Bronze Star for his service in the U.S. Army as a battalion surgeon during Operation Iraqi Freedom.

• Hematologist/oncologist Dr. Amir Toor specializes in bone marrow and stem cell transplantations. He will lead a team that will launch the new stem cell transplant and cellular therapy program.

• And Dr. Sean Parsel joined the Institute for Surgical Excellence. He specializes in ear, nose and throat care, and head and neck surgery for both adults and children.