Expanded St. Luke's Miners Emergency Department

Coaldale, PA _ More patients will be able to receive high quality care more quickly and with more privacy now that the second phase of the expansion of St. Luke’s Miners Campus Emergency Department has been completed. The second phase, which included the addition of 11 new patient beds, was completed at the end of January and the new spaces opened February 1.

What: News media invited to St. Luke’s Miners Emergency Department

Where: St. Luke’s Miners Campus, Coaldale, Pa.

When: 10 a.m. Monday, February 4

News media please RSVP to Sam Kennedy, Corporate Communications Director, 484-526-4134, samuel.kennedy@sluhn.org.

The updated emergency department now has 25 beds, almost double what it had been (14). The department also received a second computed tomography (CT) scanner for its exclusive use, and an additional designated room to accommodate trauma and bariatric patients. The expansion included a redesign to improve workflow so that patients can be seen more quickly and in the most appropriate areas.

St. Luke’s Miners Campus has been awarded a five-star rating (the highest) from Medicare for its top scores on quality, efficiency and patient satisfaction. Its accredited Level IV Trauma Center has been seeing growth for some time and completed the expansion to accommodate its increasing use.

The Emergency Department, which is accessible 24 hours a day, seven days a week, now sees about 20,000 patients a year. From 2017 to 2018, it saw a 16.5 percent growth in trauma cases reported to the Pennsylvania Trauma Systems Foundation (PTSF), which accredits it. The Trauma Center is designed to treat the most seriously injured patients.   St. Luke’s Miners Emergency Department is also an accredited stroke and chest pain center.    

The first phase of the expansion started in early 2017 and took about a year to complete. It included the addition of three patient rooms, another treatment room, and the construction of a Secured Behavioral Health area for patients who are in mental distress that is away from the main part of the unit. The two rooms in this area include a safe bathroom and shower and allow for patients to be continuously monitored.

The waiting area was also upgraded.

Marshall Bowen, Emergency Department Manager, said the expansion was undertaken to make St. Luke’s Miners Campus Emergency Department more patient friendly and to make it easier for staff to provide the highest quality care in a timely manner. “This is all part of our goal to provide the best service and experience possible for the people of Carbon, Schuylkill and surrounding areas.”

About St. Luke’s

Founded in 1872, St. Luke’s University Health Network (SLUHN) is a fully integrated, regional, non-profit network of more than 15,000 employees providing services at 10 hospitals and more than 300 outpatient sites.  With annual net revenue greater than $2 billion, the Network’s service area includes 10 counties: Lehigh, Northampton, Berks, Bucks, Carbon, Montgomery, Monroe and Schuylkill counties in Pennsylvania and Warren and Hunterdon counties in New Jersey.  Dedicated to advancing medical education, St. Luke’s is the preeminent teaching hospital in central-eastern Pennsylvania.  In partnership with Temple University, St. Luke’s created the region’s first and only regional medical school campus.  It also operates the nation’s longest continuously operating School of Nursing, established in 1884, and 28 fully accredited graduate medical educational programs with 226 residents and fellows.  St. Luke’s is the only health care system in central-eastern Pennsylvania to earn Medicare’s five-star rating (the highest) for quality, efficiency and patient satisfaction.  In 2018, St. Luke’s was named a Top Hospital in the Teaching Hospital category by the Leapfrog Group.  It has repeatedly earned the 100 Top Major Teaching Hospital designation from IBM Watson Health (formerly Truven Health Analytics) – six times total and four years in a row including 2018.  It has also been cited by IBM Watson Health as a 50 Top Cardiovascular Program.  Utilizing the EPIC electronic medical record (EMR) system for both inpatient and outpatient services, the Network is a multi-year recipient of the Most Wired award recognizing the breadth of the SLUHN’s information technology applications such as telehealth, online scheduling and online pricing information.  St. Luke’s is also recognized as one of the state’s lowest cost providers.