Jefferson, Lehigh Valley Health Network Sign a Definitive Agreement to Combine

[Editor's Note-- If you are a local resident, you have seen the "opening soon" announcements on Facebook and received the postcards in your mailbox. Lehigh Valley Health Network- Gilbertsville is on our doorstep, about to open a state-of-the-art emergency hospital and a physician's office building. People who require treatment beyond what can be provided here, will be transferred to a larger LVHN facility. With all of this in mind, we are sharing the following press releases from LVHN.]

Part 1 

This agreement is a significant milestone in the organizations coming together asa top-tier, nationally leading integrated health care system, research university and expanded not-for-profit health plan.

PHILADELPHIA and LEHIGH VALLEY, Pa. (May 15, 2024)—Wednesday, Jefferson and Lehigh Valley Health Network (LVHN) have signed a definitive agreement to combine, creating a leading integrated care delivery system, including a national research university and an expanded not-for-profit health plan. The unified system, which would be in the top 15 nonprofit health systems in the U.S., will increase access to high-quality and affordable care, clinical research and health plan offerings and address health inequities for urban and rural communities in Eastern Pennsylvania and Southern New Jersey. The deal is expected to be completed later this summer, pending final reviews and execution of closing conditions.Jefferson and LVHN announced in December that they had signed a letter of intent to combine.

Under the terms of the agreement, the systems will integrate clinical care, operations and identity to create a regional system that delivers the highest quality care to those it serves.

“We are delighted to take this next step toward combining with Lehigh Valley Health Network – it is the future, not only for our organizations but also for care in our region,” said Joseph G. Cacchione, MD, Chief Executive Officer, Jefferson. “Through our integrated operating model, the combined organization will provide the communities we serve access to the highest quality care, the benefits of continuous research and innovation, a network of specialists, clinical trials and so much more, while also building an organization that prioritizes health through value-based care. This combination represents access, choice, innovation, opportunity, increased equity and stability – for patients, physicians, faculty, staff, students and health plan members and our communities at large.”

“We could not be more excited about what lies ahead for communities across Eastern Pennsylvania and Southern New Jersey,” said Brian A. Nester, DO, MBA, President and Chief Executive Officer, Lehigh Valley Health Network. “As our collective teams worked these past months, we confirmed what we had believed to be true when we signed our initial letter of intent – Jefferson is the ideal partner for Lehigh Valley Health Network, our teams and our patients. We look forward to continuing the important work of improving the health and well-being of our communities together.”

Jefferson and LVHN have long shared a commitment to community and improving lives. Both organizations have embraced models of care that prioritize the health and well-being of patients, investing in the growing field of population health management and quality-focused care services, which when combined will only accelerate. Upon closing, the integrated system will operate 30 hospitals and more than 700 sites of care, supported by more than 65,000 employed faculty, clinicians and staff. The combined organization will offer new educational opportunities for current clinicians and enable exceptional recruiting opportunities. It will expand health plan access that will help vulnerable, at-risk populations receive care to live well and stay out of the hospital. Lastly, the combination will strengthen financial stability, allowing for investments in innovative technologies and better patient outcomes.

Upon the closing of the transaction, Jefferson’s Cacchione will continue to serve as Chief Executive Officer of the Jefferson enterprise. LVHN’s Nester will serve as Executive Vice President/Chief Operating Officer of the Jefferson enterprise and President of the legacy Lehigh Valley Health Network, reporting directly to Dr. Cacchione. Dr. Baligh R. Yehia will serve as Executive Vice President/Chief Transformation Officer of the Jefferson enterprise and President of the legacy Jefferson Health, while continuing to report directly to Dr. Cacchione. The newly integrated Board of Trustees and leadership team will be comprised of members from both systems.

Both Jefferson and LVHN will continue to operate as independent entities until the combination closes. The parties are committed to ensuring the patients and communities they serve continue to have access to exceptional care from their clinicians during completion of this process.

About Jefferson
Nationally ranked, Jefferson, which is principally located in the greater Philadelphia region and southern New Jersey, is reimagining health care and higher education to create unparalleled value. Jefferson is more than 42,000 people strong, dedicated to providing the highest-quality, compassionate clinical care for patients; making our communities healthier and stronger; preparing tomorrow's professional leaders for 21st-century careers; and creating new knowledge through basic/programmatic, clinical and applied research. Thomas Jefferson University, home of Sidney Kimmel Medical College, Jefferson College of Nursing, and the Kanbar College of Design, Engineering and Commerce, dates back to 1824 and today comprises 10 colleges and three schools offering 200+ undergraduate and graduate programs to more than 8,300 students. Jefferson Health, nationally ranked as one of the top healthcare systems in the country and the largest provider in the Philadelphia area, serves patients through millions of encounters each year at 17 hospitals and more than 160 outpatient and urgent care locations throughout the region. Jefferson Health Plans is a not-for-profit managed health care organization providing a broad range of health coverage options in Pennsylvania and New Jersey for more than 35 years.

About Lehigh Valley Health Network

Lehigh Valley Health Network (LVHN) is a nationally ranked premier health system with 23,000 colleagues and a rich legacy of providing patient-focused high-quality care. Based in Allentown, LVHN is a five-time Magnet designated hospital system, serving a dynamic and growing region with the third largest population in the state of Pennsylvania. The health network includes 14 hospital campuses (four in Allentown, two in Bethlehem, one in Easton, one in East Stroudsburg, one in Hazleton, two in Pottsville, one in Dickson City, one in Lehighton, one in Macungie) and is home to Lehigh Valley Reilly Children’s Hospital. LVHN cares for more than a million community members through its robust network of 29 health centers; more than 300 primary and specialty care physician practices; 21 ExpressCARE locations, including two Children's ExpressCAREs which are the only in the area; pharmacy, imaging, home health, rehabilitation and lab services; and preferred provider services through Valley Preferred. The LVHN Health Institutes deliver cutting-edge specialty care including trauma and burn care for adults and children; kidney and pancreas transplants; perinatal/neonatal, cardiac, cancer, orthopedics, neurology, complex neurosurgery capabilities including national certification as a Comprehensive Stroke Center; and one of the nation’s leading providers of advanced robotic surgery. LVHN’s academic programs include a regional medical school campus, nursing school, and extensive graduate medical education offerings in more than 35 specialties. 

Part 2: 

Lehigh Valley Health Network and Universal Health Services
Host Ceremonial Groundbreaking Event for Hanover Hill Behavioral Health

New facility to be located in Hanover Township, Pa., and will address growing demand for services

Lehigh Valley and King of Prussia, Pa. – May 15, 2024 – Lehigh Valley Health Network (LVHN) and Universal Health Services (NYSE: UHS) held a ceremonial groundbreaking to commemorate the beginning of construction of the new three-story, 144-bed behavioral health hospital. The new joint-venture facility will be located on Macada Road in Hanover Township, Pa., across from the Lehigh Valley Hospital (LVH)–Muhlenberg campus.

At the groundbreaking event, the name of the new hospital was officially revealed:

The new Hanover Hill Behavioral Health is expected to open in fall 2025.

“Providing convenient access to high-quality, compassionate, behavioral health care has never been more paramount in our community,” said Brian A. Nester, DO, MBA, President and Chief Executive Officer, LVHN. “Hanover Hill Behavioral Health will centralize behavioral health resources in the community and triple LVHN’s current behavioral health bed capacity in the Lehigh Valley. By combining our decades-long commitment to addressing behavioral health and our local expertise with UHS’s vast experience, we’ll be able to harmonize diverse programming and offerings for our patients. Through this expansion, we will reach more people suffering with mental and behavioral health issues and provide comfort and relief to their family, friends, and loved ones who are also impacted. This is an exciting milestone for our organizations and the community that trusts us day in and day out.”

"We are excited to partner with LVHN on the construction of Hanover Hill Behavioral Health that will incorporate the latest innovative evidence-based care elements for maximum patient safety and clinical outcomes," said Matt Peterson, President, Behavioral Health Division, UHS. "LVHN is an outstanding provider of critically needed services in the Lehigh Valley and surrounding region. Our missions are aligned, and we share a commitment to expand access to compassionate care and treatment for all populations in the region."

“Those of us in behavioral health have long known that quality behavioral health care is crucial to a person’s overall well-being. We’ve also long realized that getting such care has been a challenge as the nation navigates a shortage of mental health resources,” said Edward Norris, MD, MBA, Chair, Department of Psychiatry, LVHN. “That became more apparent to the outside community especially during and after the pandemic, and we anticipate the needs will only continue to grow. That is why LVHN is investing in infrastructure and comprehensive behavioral health care for our community."

Nester said LVHN provides inpatient and outpatient behavioral health services, including extensive tele-psychiatry programs. Demand for services has increased rapidly in recent years, and the pandemic has exacerbated the need for inpatient psychiatric capacity for all populations in the region.

“We know that with LVHN, we have a partner equally committed to our mission of behavioral health wellness. Together, we will enable more care for more patients, a core goal we continue to deliver upon with growth nationally as well as right here in Pennsylvania,” said Shelah Adams, Associate Vice President, Corporate Development, UHS.

“In developing the partnership, UHS and LVHN went through an extensive market needs evaluation to determine how to best integrate existing LVHN resources and overall community capabilities with the expertise of UHS, to provide an integrated behavioral health solution that meets LVHN’s regional health care delivery needs,” said Vic Radina, Senior Vice President, Corporate Development, UHS.

UHS is one of the nation's largest and most respected providers of health care in the nation with more than 400 facilities globally. UHS behavioral health facilities located in Pennsylvania (Brooke Glen Behavioral Hospital, Clarion Psychiatric Center, Fairmount Behavioral Health System, Foundations Behavioral Health, Friends Hospital, Horsham Clinic, KeyStone Center, Roxbury Treatment Center, The Meadows Psychiatric Center, and Lancaster Behavioral Health Hospital, a joint venture with Penn Medicine) provide compassionate mental health care services delivered by staff dedicated to helping patients transform their lives for the better.

LVHN selected UHS as its partner because of its long-standing commitment to patient- and family-centered care, strong clinical outcomes and proven track record of partnering with community-based entities. 

The new Hanover Hill Behavioral Health will be operated by the joint venture and will create more than 300 full-time jobs including nurses, clinicians, therapists, technicians and administrative staff.   

About Universal Health Services
One of the nation’s largest and most respected providers of hospital and healthcare services, Universal Health Services, Inc. has built an impressive record of achievement and performance. Growing steadily since our inception into an esteemed Fortune 500 corporation, our annual revenues during 2023 were approximately $14.3 billion. In 2024, UHS was again recognized as one of the World’s Most Admired Companies by Fortune; in 2023, ranked #311 on the Fortune 500; and ranked #434 among U.S. companies on Forbes Global 2000 World’s Largest Public Companies.

Our operating philosophy is as effective today as it was upon the Company’s founding in 1979, enabling us to provide compassionate care to our patients and their loved ones. Our strategy includes building or acquiring high quality hospitals in rapidly growing markets, investing in the people and equipment needed to allow each facility to thrive, and becoming the leading healthcare provider in each community we serve. 

About Lehigh Valley Health Network

Lehigh Valley Health Network (LVHN) is a nationally ranked premier health system with 23,000 colleagues and a rich legacy of providing patient-focused high-quality care. Based in Allentown, LVHN is a five-time Magnet designated hospital system, serving a dynamic and growing region with the third largest population in the state of Pennsylvania. The health network includes 14 hospital campuses (four in Allentown, two in Bethlehem, one in Easton, one in East Stroudsburg, one in Hazleton, two in Pottsville, one in Dickson City, one in Lehighton, one in Macungie) and is home to Lehigh Valley Reilly Children’s Hospital. LVHN cares for more than a million community members through its robust network of 29 health centers; more than 300 primary and specialty care physician practices; 21 ExpressCARE locations, including two Children's ExpressCAREs which are the only in the area; pharmacy, imaging, home health, rehabilitation and lab services; and preferred provider services through Valley Preferred. The LVHN Health Institutes deliver cutting-edge specialty care including trauma and burn care for adults and children; kidney and pancreas transplants; perinatal/neonatal, cardiac, cancer, orthopedics, neurology, complex neurosurgery capabilities including national certification as a Comprehensive Stroke Center; and one of the nation’s leading providers of advanced robotic surgery. LVHN’s academic programs include a regional medical school campus, nursing school, and extensive graduate medical education offerings in more than 35 specialties.

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