Cedar Crest College

Forensic nursing program initiated

Cedar Crest College’s School of Nursing is leading the charge in addressing the nationwide shortage of forensic nurses with their new Certificate in Forensic Nursing. This innovative program has both an undergraduate and graduate option and is the first of its kind in the region, showcasing Cedar Crest’s commitment to addressing pressing health care needs.

Led by expert faculty in forensic science, social work and nursing, the curriculum for the Certificate in Forensic Nursing covers a diverse range of subjects, including the history, evolution and theoretical framework of forensic nursing, victimology, and legal and evidentiary issues in forensic nursing. Upon completion of the program, students will emerge as empowered leaders with the expertise to provide compassionate care for victims of crime, abuse or disasters without inflicting additional trauma associated with improper examination, evidence collection and preservation.

To learn more about this program, visit cedarcrest.edu/forensic-nursing.

St. Luke’s Health Network

New afib procedure introduced

St. Luke’s cardiac electrophysiology team is first in the Lehigh Valley and Northeastern Pennsylvania to offer Pulsed Field Ablation (PFA), a new and improved treatment for atrial fibrillation (afib). This common heart rhythm disorder affects nearly 40 million people worldwide and, if not treated, can cause the formation of blood clots or a stroke and congestive heart failure.

Pulsed Field Ablation is faster, safer and at least as effective as the conventional methods of ablation, which use radio-frequency and cryotherapy (cold temperatures) to remove problematic heart cells. Pulsed Field Ablation is a high-voltage electrical impulse delivered through a catheter through a small needle puncture in the vein in the patient’s leg, which renders targeted heart cells, at the top chambers of the heart – the atrium – inert and unable to generate an afib episode.

The first PFA cases in the Lehigh Valley and Northeastern Pennsylvania were performed on May 6 at the St Luke’s University Hospital Bethlehem Campus. As of mid-May, the team has completed 10 of these procedures. This technology also is available in select major heart centers in New Jersey, New York and throughout the nation.

Program’s first graduate

Mikala Leszcynski has earned the distinction of becoming the first graduate of St. Luke’s new Hospice and Palliative Medicine Advanced Practitioner Fellowship program. This yearlong program – which St. Luke’s University Health Network launched in August 2022 – equips qualified, committed and caring nurse practitioners and physician assistants with the clinical and academic expertise to become future leaders in hospice and palliative medicine.

St. Luke’s Hospice and Palliative Medicine AP Fellowship program is the first one in Pennsylvania and the 13th in the country. More information about St. Luke’s Hospice and Palliative Medicine AP Fellowship program is available by visiting the St. Luke’s website or emailing Jennifer Bloch or Erin Bendas, DO.

SportsPLex, pickleball facility launched

St. Luke’s University Health Network is pleased to announce the launch of St. Luke’s SportsPLex and Pickleball Lehigh Valley (PLV). St. Luke’s SportsPLex is one of the largest pickleball and indoor/outdoor sports facility on the East Coast, outside of Florida. And it is home to Pickleball Lehigh Valley.

St. Luke’s SportsPLex (formerly Parkland Pickleball Club) is a 75,000-SF former tennis and racket club that has been completely updated to support pickleball and other multisport activities. Housed within six 8000-SF “barrels” or bays there are 12 NBA-quality hardwood pickleball courts, 12 designated hard court pickleball courts and an Event Center which is also lined for pickleball, bringing the total indoor courts to 25.

St. Luke’s SportsPLex and Pickleball Lehigh Valley are located at 4636 Crackersport Road, Allentown.

Nursing education grant

St. Luke’s University Health Network recently received a $1.4 million grant to increase the number and capacity of nursing students to address the health care needs and improve patient outcomes of rural and medically underserved populations in Carbon and Schuylkill counties.

The grant, which provides funding over 3 years, is from the Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA) for the Nurse Education, Practice, Quality and Retention (NEPQR) Simulation Education Training (SET) Program.

The funding will create experiential learning opportunities that prepare nursing students to address health equity for rural and medically underserved populations, along with increasing the diversity of the nursing workforce.

Anderson designated ‘Center of Excellence’

The Labor and Delivery Unit and Obstetric Anesthesia Service at St. Luke’s Anderson Campus have been designated as a Center of Excellence by the Society of Obstetric Anesthesia and Perinatology, putting them in elite company with select, national organizations that provide the highest level of safe and effective anesthesia care for women and their babies.

The four-year designation recognizes institutions and programs that demonstrate excellence in obstetric anesthesia care and meet a benchmark of expected care to improve standards nationally and internationally, which focus on reducing mortality before, during and after childbirth.

With this designation, St. Luke’s becomes only the third health system in Pennsylvania to achieve this recognition, joining the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia; and University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.

Fortune’s Top 100 Hospitals designation

This is the 10th time in a row and the 12th time overall that St. Luke’s University Hospital has been recognized among the 100 Top Hospitals in the United States. St. Luke’s is the only health network in the greater Lehigh Valley region to ever earn this distinction.

The 100 Top Hospitals ranking, conducted annually since 1993, is the most prestigious honor for hospitals in the United States. It is based entirely on objective data and also as top performers are not subjected to the exorbitant, pay-for-play promotional fees associated with recognitions from other organizations such as U.S. News & World Report.

In Pennsylvania, a total of only six hospitals earned a place on the 100 Top Hospitals list. Three of the six are St. Luke’s campuses:

St. Luke’s University Hospital, which comprises the Bethlehem, Allentown and Sacred Heart campuses, was recognized among the 15 best Major Teaching Hospitals. No other hospital in the Major Teaching category this year has been named to the list more times than St. Luke’s.

St. Luke’s Anderson Campus was recognized among the 25 Best Teaching Hospitals.

St. Luke’s Miners Campus was among 20 winners in the Small Community Hospital category.

For more information, visit https://fortune.com/article/100-top-hospitals-2024-pinc-ai/.