9-25-2024 4:08am

Residents Evaluate New LVHN Gilbertsville Facility

Lesley Misko Editor

Photo from Facebook.

by Lesley Misko

As the months passed, press releases kept local residents updated on the progress of the much-anticipated Lehigh Valley Health Network—Gilbertsville (LVHN—G) medical facility.

Then, in seemingly record time, a June 7 gala ribbon-cutting and open house tour for community members, announced the opening of the Emergency Medicine and short-term overnight stay facilities.

More recently, the Medical Office building has followed with a kind of “soft opening.” Various doctors and their medical specialties have been trickling in for a month or so.

Mostly, things have progressed smoothly, and patrons have expressed satisfaction. However, one area of confusion has been the availability (or lack of it) of diagnostic testing services such as MRI, CAT scan, Mammogram, and Ultrasound.

Patrons who have attempted to schedule these tests were told that there was a delay because insurance protocols had not been fully worked out. It was frustrating for those who were excited to get their medical needs met locally. We sought clarification of the problem and some insight as to when it might be resolved and in mid-July we received the following statement from an LVHN spokesperson:

“Gilbertsville’s Joint Commission inspection was completed last week. That is required and final approval must be granted to provide imaging services to outpatients covered by Medicare/Medicaid and private insurers. This is a standard practice when opening a new location. We have been providing imaging services to inpatients and emergency patients since opening at Gilbertsville.”

Now, two months later, calls to schedule these services in Gilbertsville reveal that the problems still are not resolved. It seems that some tests are available, but others are not. If the test you need falls into the latter group, you will be invited to schedule at another LVHN location.

In contrast, local residents who had the misfortune to experience a medical problem that required immediate care, were thrilled with the excellent care they received so close to home.

Boyertown Area Senior High alum Kim McElwee Batchelder shares her experience:

“One afternoon after swimming, I discovered I had two little bubble-like bumps on my thumb. I tried to get to an Urgent Care, but that didn’t work out, so I ended up at LVHN- Cedar Crest where they gave me oral antibiotics. But the next morning, the bumps were bigger, and my fingers began to turn blue. We considered returning to Allentown, but then I remembered the new Gilbertsville facility. I live in Oley now, but LVHN-G is right near where my parents live. I grew up there. They gave me IV antibiotics. It was kind of scary, but after some time, it became evident that the infection was receding.”

Kim was impressed by the prompt and quality care she received. “They were able to do blood work and get the results quickly. It was definitely a higher level of care than I could have gotten at an Urgent Care facility,” she concludes, adding, "I was grateful they got a handle on it."

Another local resident, retired librarian Marta J. Weller shares her story below.

The week before the 4th of July, I stepped out of my house and my legs collapsed underneath me. Unfortunately, I was definitely injured and was given an ambulance ride to the brand-new ER that had fortunately just opened only two weeks previously!

My ambulance gurney rolled into a bright, well-air conditioned, and cheerfully staffed facility. The AC was a tremendous relief because at 8:30 AM it was already almost 80 degrees outside!

There was no wait for an examination room. There was no wait for a reception person to come and collect my basic details. There was no wait for a nurse to come and assess my problem. And I wasn’t the only patient there.

It DID take a while to go through each step of my care, but that showed me they strove to make sure my injuries were properly treated. I was worried when they at first only concentrated on the foot that the X-Rays and C-T scan showed had a central bone broken in it. I actually had to ask an Aide to have a Nurse clean and tend to the Road Rash on my other foot. Of course, I did understand Road Rash is far less important than a broken bone, but I was worried about the dirt that might be in it.

Throughout my stay in the really spacious examination room, there were still workmen drilling and screwing with power tools in rooms across from mine as well as along the corridor. It was obvious the new ER was still a work in progress, but my examination room was complete and had a glass sliding door besides the usual curtain which helped shut out some of those loud noises.

The entire staff, from reception and aides to the nurses and the doctor, were all very friendly and obviously concerned that I got the best help. As soon as I asked for someone to look at my Road Rash, a nurse came and did so. As soon as he saw the X-Rays and C-T scan, Dr. Saud contacted an off-site Orthopedic Specialist to determine a course of action. As soon as Dr. Saud explained everything to my husband and me, he prescribed pain medication, an Aircast Boot, and a walker. Shortly after that an Aircast Boot was brought in and I was shown how to use it properly. And even though Dr. Saud didn’t think they had one, a walker was brought in and adjusted to my height.

As I was slowly making my way past reception with my husband, Dennis, by me on one side and an aide on the other side, I needed to stop and rest. One of the people on the reception desk asked if she could help make the follow-up appointment for me with the orthopedist. What a relief! We said, Yes! She took Dennis’ cell number and said she would call him with the date and time. Then another staff person offered a wheelchair to get me to the car. I really wanted to work on learning how to use the walker, but the wheelchair was a better solution to exiting the ER. This was because the hallway to the exit passed several spaces that were still under construction with uneven footing nearby.

We finally got back home, and I made it safely onto the bed with my foot elevated. But that wasn’t the end of the continued care from the new Lehigh Valley Network ER just across the highway from my home.

It turned out the painkiller medication originally prescribed was out of stock at all the local pharmacies. So Nurse Maggie got a different prescription from Dr. Saud and called that one in. Then Dr. Saud called Dennis on his cell to make sure he was able to get the new drug. Then Dale, the woman at reception who was making my orthopedic appointment was unable to get it set up with the specialist Dr. Saud had consulted, so after much research and discussion calls with Dennis, she was able to get me an appointment at another local orthopedic office. Someone at Reception also contacted my Primary Care Physician about the day’s events for us.

In my opinion ALL these people who helped me that day went above and beyond the normal expectations one has for Emergency Room care.

My deepest gratitude goes to ALL the staff at the beautiful new ER facility.

* Marta J. Weller, retired librarian, was originally from Minnesota where she met husband Dennis--from Boyertown--at Dana College in Blair, NE, and where they learned that living on the edge of Tornado Alley was just a little too much excitement. Boyertown welcomed them and Marta made a career from her love of books working in the retail book business, as librarian at Boyertown Community Library and then at Exeter Community Library. Since her retirement, she plays flute with the Boyertown Alumni Marching Unit and the flute ensemble Finely Fluted and the Exeter Community Band, arranges music for the flute ensemble, takes photographs, reads, writes poetry and prose, watches birds, loves her pets, and takes road trips. Recently she has self-published a small collection of her poetry, prose, and photography entitled "Word Art: Abbreviated”.