Born at St. Luke’s,
Janel Gilbert Makes it Her Life’s Work

Born at Coaldale State Hospital, now St. Luke’s Miners Campus, Janel Gilbert graduated from St. Luke’s School of Nursing in 1989 and has been with St. Luke’s ever since! Following her graduation, Janel worked on the North 7 floor, which was a med/surg unit in what was then the only building on St. Luke’s Bethlehem Campus.

Janel quickly became a charge nurse and loved it. “The more clinical experience I could get, the better,” says Janel of the time. When Priscilla Payne Heard Pavilion (PPHP) was built, Janel, a young nurse with lots of energy, was excited to transition to the new facility. With the new facility came new opportunities. “St. Luke’s likes to grow their own, and I was lucky to be one of them,” explains Janel.

Married with two sons and growing weary of her commute, Janel was enticed by the idea of surgery when Coaldale State Hospital joined St. Luke’s in 2000. She received on the job training and became an OR nurse in 2001. Janel blossomed as a surgical nurse and appreciated the challenge. “I always say, as difficult and challenging as some days are, it is ALWAYS about the patient. I really try to live by those words and encourage my staff to do the same.”

Janel became a clinical coordinator in 2016 and now as Director of Surgical Services, she oversees the coordinators at St. Luke’s Miners and Carbon campuses. Proud of the culture St. Luke’s has built, Janel appreciates the incredible relationship St. Luke’s Miners Campus has with her small community and local school district. “I love that I can be close to home and yet experience this incredible 30-year career… right down the street.”