Lehigh Valley Hospital Network Cooperates With Local Community To Bring Improved Healthcare to Residents

by Lesley Misko

“It will shore up and expand medical care in this community. It will be terrific,” predicts Dr. Keith Harrison, long time family medical practitioner with Boyertown Medical Associates and previously, Bally Medical, commenting on the new Lehigh Valley Health Network (LVHN) medical facility currently under construction in Gilbertsville, PA. 

Tuesday morning, Aug. 1, a group of invited local stakeholders gathered to watch the final steel beam placed on top of the new medical office building that will partner with a new hospital in helping to meet the growing need for local emergency and inpatient care. The new medical facilities are under construction at Grosser Road and Route 100, near the Wawa, and both are expected to open in autumn 2024. This project marks LVHN’s second and third expansion into Montgomery County, following The Health Center at Pennsburg that opened in March 2022.

According to a press release issued by LVHN, “The new hospital is a type of facility known in the health care industry as a neighborhood hospital, with a full-service ER and a limited number of inpatient beds. The footprint, at about 22,000 square feet, is smaller than other LVHN hospitals in the region such as LVH–Cedar Crest near Allentown or LVH–Muhlenberg in Bethlehem.

"However, this will be a fully licensed hospital offering accredited acute care – 24 hours a day, seven days a week – in a state-of-the-art facility. Patients requiring surgery or higher levels of care will be stabilized and transferred to other, higher-equipped LVHN hospitals as needed.

"The new hospital will have extensive lab, imaging, and pharmacy services. All the lab and imaging services, including X-ray, ultrasound, CT scan and MRI, will also be available for any patient requiring these services as an outpatient.

"The Health Center at Gilbertsville, at about 57,000 square feet, will house a variety of medical services, including Lehigh Valley Physician Group (LVPG) primary care and pediatrics, obstetrics and gynecology, orthopedics, rheumatology, physiatry, cardiology, cardiac and nuclear testing, breast health services, adult and pediatric rehabilitation and cardiac rehabilitation. HNL Lab Medicine also will be on-site.”

LVHN Director of Media Relations Brian Downs initiates the process of signing the last steel beam needed to complete the structural framework of the new facility. Photo by Jane Stahl.

David Burmeister, DO, Chair, Department of Emergency and Hospital Medicine, LVHN, said the neighborhood hospital model will deliver short ER wait times and favorable door-to-discharge times. “Patients will receive the same high-quality, compassionate care and exceptional patient experience that have made LVHN the gold standard in the region,” he said.

Brian Nester, president and CEO of LVHN said the new Gilbertsville health facility “will give residents more convenient access to emergency and hospital-level care, along with robust ambulatory services located closer to where they live, work and play. Easy access can improve patient engagement and help individuals live their healthiest life.”

Eileen Dautrich, president TriCounty Area Chamber of Commerce, is pleased to sign the final steel beam. Photo by Jane Stahl.

“LVH- Gilbertsville provides an exciting health care option not currently available in this region. This facility offers more capability than an ExpressCARE, with experience and expertise to treat the same cases that would traditionally be treated and released at a larger hospital. LVH–Gilbertsville will offer a convenient alternative to residents of this region,” adds John Pierro, Executive Vice President and CEO, LVHN.

Boyertown Medical’s Dr. Harrison agrees, sharing that recently, he and several of his associates had a four- hour tour of LVHN’s Cedar Crest facility. “Even though I have worked cooperatively with that hospital for decades and thought I knew everything they offer, I learned that they do so much more,” he says.

Harrison has high praise for the inclusive way in which LVHN has handled the project from its conception and explains, “To succeed in their goal of building a ‘neighborhood facility,’ they involved and consulted with local medical providers who have the best grasp of what the community needs and wants. Going back to February 2022, their administrative staff met with us monthly. We developed a close working relationship. They are willing and eager to support local health care providers.”

“People in the community will have access to a quaternary care center,” meaning a hospital that provides a higher than usual level of specialized care, Harrison says. “The need to travel to Philly will be greatly reduced,” he concludes with enthusiasm for the anticipated benefits to the community.   

[ Unless otherwise indicated, photos courtesy of Mr. Bill Cherkasky, telecommunications teacher, Boyertown Area Senior High.]

If you missed yesterday's video and article about the raising of the final steel beam to the top of Lehigh Valley Hospital-- Gilbertsville, you can access it here.

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