Lifting of Final Steel Beam Symbolizes a New Era in Local Medical Care As Lehigh Valley Hospital Network Comes to Town

by Lesley Misko and Jane Stahl

Yesterday, in Gilbertsville, Douglass Township, PA, a steel beam lifted to the top of a newly framed building laid the foundation for a major change in community life, as Lehigh Valley Hospital Network (LVHN) completed the structural support for the second of two medical buildings. 

Slated for autumn 2024 completion, the new medical facility is anticipated to dramatically enhance medical care in Boyertown and the surrounding communities. Brian Nester, president and CEO of LVHN, explained “This new facility should be able to handle 80% of community health needs. We are promising quality and compassionate care.”

An array of people associated with LVHN, with the construction team, and with the local community, attended the event, and all expressed enthusiasm about the positive impact of bringing more high-quality medical care into the area. 

Nester admits that he was not always a Boyertown fan. During remarks marking the construction milestone, he explained that as a student at Muhlenberg High School, he was not happy about repeatedly losing to Boyertown in baseball. 

Mr. Nester then turned to the more serious topic of the day-- the construction of a new LVHN Hospital and doctors' office building that is likely to revolutionize local access to medical care. He acknowledged the contributions of all who were involved: designers, construction team, state representatives, local officials, fire, police, and ambulance crews, local doctors. He described everyone as engaged, enthusiastic, and cooperative and noted that this willingness to work together has enabled the project to move along at a brisk pace.

[Video courtesy of Mr. Bill Cherkasky, Boyertown Area Senior High telecommunications teacher. *Note: to rewatch the video, you may have to reload the page in your web browser.]

Other speakers at the event echoed the concept that “it takes a village” to conceive a project of this magnitude and steer it to completion. Joshua Stouch, chairman of the Douglass Township Board of Supervisors, pointed out his crutches and shared that he had sustained a serious knee injury during the summer. He finds it gratifying to realize that if the hospital were completed now, he could have sought care so close to home. 

Mr. Stouch also shared that it was unusual that he was asked to provide input from the very beginning of the project. He is appreciative and impressed that LVHN “values his involvement as a township official.” Nester verified that the involvement of community leaders and members was intentional. “This is a neighborhood healthcare project,” he explained. “We involved the neighborhood, and it went well.”

Douglass Township Police Department Chief Barry Templin welcomed the arrival of the new hospital, noting that a facility such as this “has been needed for a long time.” Gilbertsville Area Community Ambulance Service Chief John Doucette agreed. He explained that once the facility is complete, the ambulance will have a “quicker turn- around time,” thereby enabling it to service more people. 

Those in attendance were invited to sign the steel beam and then watch it being lifted and steered into position under the capable direction of Boyle Construction team members Michael Smith and Joe Wildman who were on the ground providing guidance. It was a dramatic event as onlookers contemplated the positive outcomes symbolized by the raising of this final piece of steel on the doctors’ office building. 

LVHN CEO Nester summed up the hopes for the project, emphasizing, “We will be there for you. You should expect nothing less.”  

Boyertown Ambulance Service Chief Boyer and community member Jamie Cascino were among the dozens of people at the event. Photo by Bill Cherkasky.

See more photos and read more about this new medical facility in tomorrow's Expression.

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