St. Luke’s Monroe Campus Celebrates Six Months of Superior Patient Care

Bethlehem, PA (April 3, 2017)—On April 3, the St. Luke’s Monroe Campus will celebrate the six-month anniversary of its opening. During its time in operation, the facility has exceeded its goals and expectations for providing leading-edge patient care, while giving its community an economic boost.

“Our outstanding team of health care professionals is here for one reason: our strong commitment to the patients of Monroe County,” said Don Seiple, president of St. Luke’s Monroe Campus.

The demand for services at Monroe County’s first new hospital in 100 years has been robust. More than 1,000 patients have been admitted to receive care as inpatients, higher than the inpatient admission projections for the six-month mark.

Likewise, the clinical staff has cared for more than 10,000 patients in the Emergency Department, a number twice our initial projections.

“Though the numbers are a strong indicator of our early success, the fabric of St. Luke’s is our people,” Seiple said. “Our culture and our employees are the most valuable asset of our network.

In addition to the patient numbers, a recent economic analysis performed by the Hospital Association of Pennsylvania reported that St. Luke’s Monroe Campus will continue to positively impact the region by:
• Generating nearly $73 million in annual economic activity;
• Creating 350 direct jobs and supporting 290 indirect jobs;
• Supporting more than $36 million in new salaries; and
• Creating a one-time economic impact of $228 million related to construction of the hospital.

Future plans for the St. Luke’s Monroe Campus include completion of the 37,500-square-foot Medical Office Building, which is currently under construction. Plans are to open the three-story structure in the fall.

“If there is one thing we’ve learned over these six months, it’s that the Monroe County community was hungry for additional access to healthcare services. As we look ahead, we will continue to explore expanding access to additional specialty services based on the needs of the community. Our goals for the future are to provide easy access to outstanding physicians and advanced practitioners, nationally recognized health care and superb customer service,” Seiple said.

About St. Luke’s
Founded in 1872, St. Luke’s University Health Network (SLUHN) is a non-profit, regional, fully integrated and nationally recognized network providing services at seven hospitals and more than 270 outpatient sites. The network’s service area includes Lehigh, Northampton, Carbon, Schuylkill, Bucks, Montgomery, Berks and Monroe counties in Pennsylvania and Warren County in New Jersey. Dedicated to advancing health education, St. Luke’s operates the nation’s oldest School of Nursing and 22 graduate medical educational programs and is considered a major teaching hospital, the only one in the region. In partnership with Temple University, St. Luke’s created the region’s first Medical School. Repeatedly, including 2017, St. Luke’s has earned Truven’s 100 Top Major Teaching Hospital designation as well as 50 Top Cardiovascular program in addition to other honors for clinical excellence. St. Luke’s is a multi-year recipient of the Most Wired award recognizing the breadth of St. Luke’s information technology applications such as electronic medical records, telehealth, online scheduling and pricing information. St. Luke’s is also recognized as one of the state’s lowest cost providers in comparison to major teaching hospitals and other health systems.