FOUNTAIN HILL, Pa. – St. Luke’s University Health Network is establishing a children’s hospital at its main campus.
Hospital officials say it’s the result of “a coordinated effort to reorganize pediatric care under the concept of a children’s hospital.”
- St. Luke's says the children's hospital will be within the Fountain Hill campus
- A pediatric inpatient unit and pediatric intensive care unit already are part of St. Luke's at Fountain Hill
- St. Luke's became a member of the Children’s Hospital Association in 2022
“St. Luke’s is the first established hospital in the Lehigh Valley and has been caring for children for the 150 years since its founding in 1872,” St. Luke’s President & CEO Richard A. Anderson said.
“This new children’s hospital designation recognizes the incredible depth of pediatric expertise developed across our network over its long and storied history, including an array of specialty services added in recent years.”St. Luke’s President & CEO Richard A. Anderson
“This new children’s hospital designation recognizes the incredible depth of pediatric expertise developed across our network over its long and storied history, including an array of specialty services added in recent years.”
St. Luke’s made the announcement Tuesday afternoon. The designation was made by the Children's Hospital Association, which has more than 220 members.
"It's the culmination of 10 years worth of work of putting a variety of pediatric services together all right here at St. Luke's," said Dr. Jennifer Janco, the network's chair of pediatrics and St. Luke's Children's Hospital.
Janco said she is excited to have this concept of a children's hospital throughout the network, saying, "it's not lost on me what it means to trust somebody to take care of your child and we are fully prepared to deliver on that."
Janco said the network's array of pediatric care is extensive and the designation as a children's hospital validates that.
"If you need a pediatric lab, we have six of those throughout the community," she said. "If you need a pediatrician, we've got that; you need a specialist, we've got that too — a surgeon, an orthopedic, and the list goes on and on and on. So, that means it's all comprehensive in one place and it's all close to home."
Dr. Christopher Plymire is the medical director of pediatric critical care at St. Luke's. He pointed to the growth in the health system's pediatric care over the past few decades.
"We've had new NICUs that were built both at the Allentown, Anderson and Upper Bucks campuses. Those are where children go when they're first born. We've announced our new pediatric intensive care unit in 2020 where critically ill children can go, up to the age of 21, and our new pediatric floor that opened just in the past year," he said.
"All these allow us, in combination with our specialists, to provide care for kids throughout the spectrum of their life, whether it ranges from problems with their lungs, problems with their diabetes, or orthopedic problems — we have the specialists to take care of them right here in Bethlehem," Plymire said.
St. Luke’s has launched several pediatric services in recent years.
In May 2022, it opened the St. Luke’s Pediatric Specialty Center in Upper Saucon Township, a free-standing facility for children requiring specialty health care.
Also last year, St. Luke’s 17-bed pediatric inpatient unit was renovated and relocated within the Fountain Hill campus, next to the pediatric intensive care unit.
The $5 million, eight-bed PICU was added in 2020.
“The establishment of St. Luke’s Children’s Hospital represents a decade of intensive planning and investment in pediatrics,” said Jessika Haynos, service line administrator for St. Luke’s Pediatrics.
The network became a member of the Children’s Hospital Association in 2022.
The Lehigh Valley’s first children’s hospital, Lehigh Valley Health Network’s Reilly Children’s Hospital, opened in Salisbury Township in 2012.
