Ninth Annual Tucker’s Toy Run Benefits St. Luke’s Pediatric Patients

On Saturday, November 2, hundreds of Lehigh Valley motorcyclists will pay tribute to a beloved friend in an amazing way: by riding through the valley to donate toys to the pediatric patients of St. Luke’s University Hospital in Bethlehem.

More than 600 riders are expected to participate in the 9^th annual Tucker’s Toy Run. They will leave the parking lot of the Tri-Boro Sportsmen Club in Northampton at noon with a police escort. The group will arrive in the St. Luke’s University Hospital’s “B” entrance parking lot at approximately 12:30 p.m.

“It’s an amazing sight and so emotional to see the hundreds of motorcycles roaring down the street and into the hospital lot,” says Patricia Gubich, RN, CPN, SLUHN’s Patient Care Manager Pediatrics. 

“There’s overwhelming joy and excitement. Pediatric patients and their families are waiting at the windows as riders fill cribs and bins with toys for these patients in our Pediatric Unit, Emergency Department and throughout the St. Luke’s University Health Network. Patients and families are so thankful when they receive a gift. It helps ease the anxiety and stress of being in the hospital. This is always an awesome event.”

Each year, friends and riding companions of the late Tucker Stuart celebrate his life and honor his memory by organizing and participating in Tucker’s Toy Run. A riding enthusiast, Stuart died in a motorcycle accident in 2011. The event is organized by Rick Nauman.

“Their goal is to honor the memory of Tucker Stuart by touching as many lives as possible and giving back to their community,” Gubich says. “We are so blessed to have this wonderful group of men, women, and children give so much to our pediatric population. Whenever there’s a need, they are there.”

The rain date for the event is Sunday, November 3. For more information, contact Nauman at 610-762-5010.

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 300 outpatient sites.  With annual net revenue greater than $2 billion, the Network’s service area includes 11 counties: Lehigh, Northampton, Berks, Bucks, Carbon, Montgomery, Monroe, Schuylkill and Luzerne 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 Lehigh Valley’s first and only regional medical school campus.  It also operates the nation’s longest continuously operating School of Nursing, established in 1884, and 34 fully accredited graduate medical educational programs with 263 residents and fellows.  St. Luke’s is the only Lehigh Valley-based health care system with Medicare’s five- and four-star ratings (the highest) for quality, efficiency and patient satisfaction.  St. Luke’s is both a Leapfrog Group and Healthgrades Top Hospital and a Newsweek World’s Best Hospital.  In 2019, three of IBM Watson Health’s 100 Top Hospitals were St. Luke’s hospitals.  St. Luke’s University Hospital has earned the 100 Top Major Teaching Hospital designation from IBM Watson Health seven times total and five years in a row. St. Luke’s 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.