St. Luke’s Command Center Manages Network’s Emergency Response to COVID-19

St. Luke’s University Health Network’s Incident Command Center.

St. Luke’s University Health Network is managing the Networks’ preparations and response to COVID-19 through its Incident Command Center in Bethlehem, Pa.

The Incident Command Center has been organized according to the structure and principals established by U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency. The Incident Command Center is running 24/7, staffed by team of experts including those who have undergone special emergency preparedness training at FEMA’s Center for Domestic Preparedness in Alabama. Such training is part of St. Luke’s regular, continuous emergency preparation, which also includes extensive planning and regular drilling.

Each of St. Luke’s hospital campuses has its own Incident Command Center that, when appropriate, seeks guidance and support from the Network’s Incident Command Center.

Additionally, the Network’s Incident Command Center is working in coordination with local, state and federal government agencies as called for under FEMA’s Incident Command System.

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Media Contact

Sam Kennedy, Corporate Communications Director, 484-526-4134, samuel.kennedy@sluhn.org

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 11 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.