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LVHHN’s Regional Burn Center Receives Re-verification from the American Burn Association and the American College of Surgeons Lehigh Valley, Pa. (Oct. 1, 2008) – Lehigh Valley Hospital and Health Network’s (LVHHN) Regional Burn Center received re-verification from the American Burn Association and the American College of Surgeons for adults and children. This achievement recognizes the Burn Center’s dedication to providing superior care for its patients from the point of injury through the rehabilitation process. To receive re-verification, which lasts for three years, LVHHN’s Burn Center underwent an on-site review by a team of experienced surgeons. The team used the “burn care” chapter from an American College of Surgeons’ manual as a guideline in conducting the survey. For the second time, LVHHN’s Burn Center received no deficiencies, meaning all core criteria were met. “This is a true mark of distinction for our Burn Center,” says Daniel Lozano, M.D., Burn Center medical director. “We pride ourselves in providing our patients the highest level of burn care possible, whether the injury is minor or severe.” LVHHN’s Regional Burn Center is the largest and busiest of Pennsylvania’s six burn centers. Working with 100 referring hospitals, LVHHN cares for more than 600 burn patients every year. That’s three times the number of patients the average burn center sees. In January, a new 18-bed unit opened inside LVH-Cedar Crest’s Kasych Family Pavilion. It features private rooms equipped with a ceiling lift to safely move patients and suspend extremities during dressing changes. Rooms also have air filters, window blinds embedded between two panes of glass, and other features to prevent infection. The Center’s tele-burn service allows referring physicians to securely share photos of patients’ burn injuries with a member of the Center’s full-time medical staff. A Lehigh Valley Hospital burn specialist can review the photos while consulting with the referring doctor to ensure the best care and prepare for the patient’s arrival should they need to be transferred. LVHHN’s Burn Recovery Center cares for patients after hospitalization and for those whose injuries are less severe. Here, patients receive wound care, rehabilitation, scar management, pressure therapy, tattooing, instruction on makeup techniques and support services. To learn more about LVHHN’s Regional Burn Center, visit www.lvh.org/professionals/burn. A premier academic community hospital, Lehigh Valley Hospital and Health Network includes three hospital facilities - two in Allentown and one in Bethlehem, Pa. - and Lehigh Valley Health Services, providing home health, hospice, pharmaceutical and health management services. In 2008, U.S. News & World Report named Lehigh Valley Hospital one of America's Best Hospitals for the thirteenth straight year. LVHHN's advanced regional resources include a Level I Trauma Center with added pediatric qualifications; a regional referral Burn Center for critical care burn patients; national certification as a Primary Stroke Center; the largest cancer program in the region and fourth largest in Pennsylvania; the Regional Heart Center - the second largest heart program in Pennsylvania based on volume; and an Advanced ICU with tele-intensivists to provide an extra level of care for critical care patients.
Heart hospitals like Lehigh Valley Hospital are one in a million. Doctors, nurses and related staff treat patients, family members and friends like they are part of their family. The following is a list of our heart surgeons: With the available technology and research, this heart hospital is always one step ahead, offering care as good as what you'd find in Philadelphia but close to home. LVH has the awards and accreditations to prove its success in the heart field. Searching for heart specialty of PA ?...look no further. Visit lvh.org.
Choosing a hospital can be difficult. Making the right choice in a short amount of time is crucial in finding the BEST care. You can rest assured that LVHN is recognized with numerous awards that make us stand out among the top hospitals in Pennsylvania. The following is a list of our awards and accreditations:
More than 100 years ago, 13 auxiliary members combined their resources and began raising money for a hospital that could care for its community. Since those humble beginnings in 1899, from The Allentown Hospital to today's Lehigh Valley Hospital and Health Network, our high-quality care continues to evolve, and we are grateful for our community's support. The story behind our health network Visit lvh.org to see how you can make a difference and continue the tradition of this inspirational medical facility.
“A CONCERT TO BENEFIT BREAST CANCER RESEARCH” 12 BANDS ~ TWO STAGES ONE CAUSE Saturday September 20th
Cementon Park - Whitehall, PA
12:00 NOON Start time Breast Cancer: maybe you may have heard of a famous celebrity having to fight this disease. Or maybe you unfortunately have had a family member or loved one combat this tragic and common disease. Already, in 2008 alone there have been over 182,000 new cases of Breast Cancer in the United States alone, resulting in over 40,000 deaths! A somewhat surprising fact to some is that the disease is not biased to just affecting females alone. Almost 2000 new cases have been found in men as well in 2008 and have resulted in over 450 deaths in the United States! On Saturday September 20th, 2008, some of the Lehigh Valley's music scenes finest will coem together as one to Rock the continued fight against Breast Cancer! An all day concert featuring twelve of the Lehigh Valley's top bands will take place at Cementon Park in Whitehall, PA starting at 12:00 noon and is being put together by Matt Wolf, aka "Matt Metal", a longtime Valley music scene supporter and former WXLV disc jockey, and good friend Bruce Reiss. Up In Smoke BBQ will also be back on hand to provide food for the event for the second year in a row. Don't miss out on this full day of great music to help support a wonderful cause!! All proceeds go to Lehigh Valley Hospital's Breast Cancer Education and Early Detection Fund. Musicians to perform at We Rock '08 are as follows: | Dan Manning | In The Skys of Black | | No Heroes | 3rd Side | | Cherry Bombs | Nu World Disorder | | Full Metal Racket | Blockhead | | ASB | Scott Marshal & Marshall's Highway | | Endzone |
Children 3-11 yrs - $5.00 Chilldren 3 and under are FREE!
Lehigh Valley Health Network and Careworks Convenient Healthcare Increase Access with Retail Health Clinic Collaboration Allentown, Pennsylvania (Sept. 12, 2008) – Careworks Convenient Healthcare (Careworks), a Geisinger Health System Business operated through Geisinger Ventures, announces its collaboration with Lehigh Valley Health Network (LVHN) to operate two retail health clinics in Allentown and Schnecksville, Pennsylvania. Careworks is a retail health clinic located inside the Allentown King’s Market at 365 South Cedar Crest Boulevard and the Schecksville Weis Market at 5020 Route 873. Careworks provides quick, convenient and affordable treatment for many minor, common illnesses and routine tests. Board-certified physician assistants and nurse practitioners treat minor illnesses and injuries such as bronchitis, ear infections, minor sprains and strains, flu symptoms, and pinkeye; provide various health screenings such as cholesterol testing and camp and sports physicals; administer immunizations; and perform laboratory tests. The clinics are open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.. Careworks’ evening and weekend hours create a quality healthcare option when care is needed quickly, but a trip to the emergency department is unnecessary and an appointment with a primary care provider is unavailable. No appointment is necessary and there is little or no waiting time. A complete list of services and prices are posted on a menu board in the clinic. While patients can pay cash for services, Careworks also accepts many insurance plans including Valley Preferred and Capital Blue Cross. “Lehigh Valley Health Network is truly excited to join Geisinger Health System in this unique collaboration on these two Careworks Convenient Health Clinics in Lehigh County,” said Ron Swinfard, M.D., LVHN’s chief medical officer. “We believe that this collaboration, utilizing the respective strengths of each health system, has the potential to become a national example of efficient and effective use of regional healthcare resources.” LVHN’s close alignment with more than 400 area physicians enables Careworks to integrate retail health clinics into the local system of care. For patients with primary care providers affiliated with LVHN, this means enhanced continuity of care. Careworks utilizes an electronic medical record that allows all patient activity to be communicated back to the patient’s personal physician within 24 hours of the patient’s Careworks visit, enhancing the patient’s continuity of care. Additionally, Careworks will help interested patients find a primary care physician that is accepting new patients through LVHN’s physician referral line at 610-402-CARE. Careworks CEO Dean Q. Lin said that these clinics have been well received by consumers and that communications informing area physicians about the partnership and inviting them to work with Careworks has generated many positive responses. “As a physician-led health system our goal is to provide greater access to affordable, high quality health care for people on the go in places where they conveniently shop.” Both health systems also view the retail clinics as an opportunity to provide an option for patients who might otherwise see emergency rooms as their only treatment choice for non-emergency situations. A recently released report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention noted that there was a 32 percent increase in visits to the ER between 1996 and 2006, yet researchers found that there haven’t been any recent increases in the number of cases considered to be true emergencies. “The results of our recent customer satisfaction surveys indicate that Careworks is helping decrease unnecessary visits to the ER,” said Lin. “More than 16 percent of those surveyed said they would have gone to a hospital emergency room if Careworks had not been available to them.” Joseph A. Habig II, M.D., medical liaison for Careworks in Allentown and Schnecksville, will be coordinating the relationship between Careworks and primary care practices. “I look forward to working with my colleagues to identify ways that Careworks can assist their busy practices with daily overflow support and after-hours and weekend coverage for low-acuity patients that do not need emergency care.” Habig said. “I am also excited about the possibility of using these Careworks locations to link the significant portion of our community that does not have a primary care physician with those physicians that are accepting new patients.” Habig said close to 30 percent of patients that visit Careworks do not have primary care providers. “We hope to be able to compliment our already existing primary care network by connecting these patients with an appropriate medical home.” About Geisinger Health System Founded in 1915, Geisinger Health System (Danville, PA) is one of the nation’s largest integrated health services organizations. Serving more than two million residents throughout central and northeastern Pennsylvania, the physician-led organization is at the forefront of the country’s rapidly emerging electronic health records movement. Geisinger is comprised of three medical center campuses, a 700-member group practice, a not-for-profit health insurance company and the Center for Health Research—dedicated to creating innovative new models for patient care, satisfaction and clinical outcomes. For more information, visit www.geisinger.org About Lehigh Valley Health Network A premier academic community hospital with 988 beds at three sites, Lehigh Valley Health Network is based in Allentown and Bethlehem, Pa. Also included in the network is Lehigh Valley Health Services, providing home health, hospice, pharmaceutical and health management services. All three Lehigh Valley Health Network hospitals are designated national Magnet hospitals for excellence in nursing. Lehigh Valley Health Network is a U.S. News and World Report Best Hospital for 13 straight years. Additional information is available at www.lvh.org. About Weis Markets Weis Markets, which is based in Sunbury, PA, is a Mid-Atlantic supermarket company. It currently operates 158 stores in six states: Pennsylvania, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Virginia and West Virginia. The company also owns SuperPetz, a pet supply superstore chain with 31 units in 10 states.
No one expects to be diagnosed with cancer, and Ernestine Sherry, 75 of Hazelton, Pennsylvania, was no exception. She was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2006, even though she had no past history of smoking. 
At Lehigh Valley Hospital she was treated with chemotherapy, which stopped further growth of the tumor. Today she is back to her normal daily routine, spending time with her family. Lehigh Valley Hospital recognizes the difficulty in making medical decisions regarding cancer care, especially at an older age. "The patient's desires and how well he or she is functioning physically are far better predictors of how a patient will do with cancer treatment than age alone," says medical oncologist Gregory R. Harper, M.D., Ph.D., of Lehigh Valley Health Network. "Often, oder adults have heart disease, arthritis, high blood pressure and other conditions that can affect cancer treatment and recovery." Cancer screenings are important at any age. Talk with your doctor about screenings and when you should receive them. For further information call 610-402-CARE or visit lvh.org
When you are diagnosed with cancer, you have lots of questions. You'll find answers at Lehigh Valley Hospital, where doctors provide quality care and support.
Take a few minutes to watch the virtual tour of our Hall of Hope. Cancer survivors treated by Lehigh Valley's best doctors and staff share their stories to give you inspiration and hope.
"Along this hall are stories of patients, families and caregivers who have faced cancer," says medical oncologist Gregory R. Harper, M.D., Ph.D. "The hopes they express are as diverse as the lives of the people who have been affected. Some speak of hope for remission. Most tell of hope for well-being, vitality and peace of spirit. All illustrate courage in the face of difficulty. Hope is magnified by access to the care provided by a cancer services team dedicated to making a positve difference in every patient."
Lehigh Valley Hospital is committed to giving hope to every patient by providing high-quality diagnostic and treatment services, surgical expertise, state-of-the-art technology, expert use of the best treatments available, and most importantly, caring, supportive doctors, nurses and counselors.
The following is a list of the patients portrayed in the "Hall of Hope." For more about them, click on the diagnosis:
Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest Named Blue Distinction Center for Complex and Rare CancersSM ALLENTOWN, Pa. -Highmark Blue Shield (Highmark) has named Lehigh Valley Hospital -Cedar Crest as a Blue Distinction Center for Complex and Rare Cancers, focusing on complex inpatient and surgical care. Blue Distinction® is a designation awarded by Blue Cross and/or Blue Shield companies to medical facilities that have demonstrated expertise in delivering quality healthcare. Building on the successful results of earlier programs focused on cardiac care, bariatric surgery and transplants, the program was recently expanded to include the designation of 85 Blue Distinction Centers for Complex and Rare Cancers. “Our mission is to reduce the burden that cancer places on patients and their families,” says Keith Weinhold, vice president of cancer services for Lehigh Valley Hospital and Health Network. “This notable distinction exemplifies our dedication to that mission and to the pursuit of excellent cancer care.” With plans to expand Blue Distinction into more common forms of cancer in the future, this initial phase assesses facilities on evaluation, treatment planning, complex inpatient care and major surgical treatments; all delivered by teams with distinguished expertise and subspecialty training for complex and rare cancers. Lehigh Valley’s designation focuses on the following cancers: The evidence-based selection criteria used to evaluate facilities were developed in strategic collaboration with the National Comprehensive Cancer Network* (NCCN) and with input from a panel of expert clinicians. To be designated as a Blue Distinction Center for Complex and Rare Cancers, Lehigh Valley Hospital —Cedar Crest met the following selection criteria, among others posted at www.BCBS.com: exceeds volume threshold for annual surgical cases treated utilization of multidisciplanary team input for treatment planning, including sub-specialty trained teams participation in ongoing quality management and improvement programs for cancer care commitment to using clinical data registries and participating in relevant clinical research
“This program supports Highmark’s consumerism approach to give members a greater hand in their health by providing tools to help members make informed choices about their health care,” said Carey Vinson, M.D., vice president for quality and performance management at Highmark. “The Blue Distinction Centers designation offers members reliable quality-based information pertaining to Blue network-participating facilities when selecting a provider,” he said. “For Highmark members, this designation is significant because these are very rare cancers, and this expertise is not what is offered in any general cancer care facility,” said Vinson. “It is highly specialized.” Highmark recognizes that the majority of patients' multidisciplinary treatment may be best accomplished by integrating the expertise available in a Blue Distinction Center with locally available treatment resources, especially for outpatient chemotherapy and radiotherapy, based on individual circumstances and patient preference. Optimal support of a patient's comprehensive cancer care needs may be achieved by coordination of care between the patient and their family, local physicians, the Blue Distinction Center and Highmark. For more information about complex and rare cancer care at Lehigh Valley Hospital and Health Network, call 610-402-CARE or visit us at lvh.com. * This organization has provided information and input, but does not formally endorse the Blue Distinction Centers program. Note: Designation as Blue Distinction Centers means these facilities' overall experience and aggregate data met objective criteria established in collaboration with expert clinicians' and leading professional organizations' recommendations. Individual outcomes may vary. To find out which services are covered under your policy at any facilities, please call your local Blue Cross and/or Blue Shield Plan. About Lehigh Valley Hospital and Health Network A 988- bed premier academic community hospital, Lehigh Valley Hospital and Health Network comprises three hospital facilities – two in Allentown and one in Bethlehem, Pa. and Lehigh Valley Health Services, providing home health, hospice, pharmaceutical and health management services. All three Lehigh Valley Hospital and Health Network hospitals are designated national Magnet hospitals for excellence in nursing. Additional information is available at www.lvh.org. About Highmark Blue Shield As one of the state’s leading health insurers and with nearly 70 years of community involvement, Highmark Blue Shield helps members live longer, healthier lives by ensuring access to affordable, high quality health insurance and services. Highmark offers the widest range of products, access to all area hospitals and the most responsive customer service. Highmark exerts an enormous economic impact throughout Pennsylvania. A recent study states that Highmark’s positive impact exceeded $2.5 billion. Employing more than 5,000 people in central Pennsylvania and the Lehigh Valley, Highmark provides the resources to give its members a greater hand in their health. Highmark Blue Shield is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, an association of independent Blue Cross and Blue Shield Plans. For more information about Highmark Blue Shield, visit www.highmark.com.
Heart Disease - Your Greatest Health Risk! Every year approximately 500,000 American women die of cardiovascular disease making it the number one killer of women. Cardiologist Deborah Sundlof, D.O., of Lehigh Valley Hospital and Health Network says, "Heart disease can be more difficult to diagnose in women." Here's how you can prevent this serious disease: Know the risk factors Assess your lifestyle and change your bad habits Practice good nutrition and physical activity habits Take medication as prescribed
What are the risk factors for heart disease?
Lehigh Valley Hospital provides state-of-the-art heart care to diagnose various heart disorders. The tests used to determine your heart condition include: Cardiac Catheterization Cardiac Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) CT Scan Echocardiogram (Echo) Stress Echocardiogram (Echo) Transesophogeal Echocardiogram (TEE) Electrocardiogram (EKG or ECG) Excercise Stress Test Nuclear Exercise Stress Test Holter Monitor
A reliable heart hospital, such as Lehigh Valley Hospital, is recognized as a "Leapfrog Top Hospital." This means The Leapfrog Group collects information from hospitals all across the country and concludes which ones are taking "big leaps" in health care quality, safety and customer value. Leapfrog allows you to compare hospital qualities to help you find the one that best fits you. Here's where Lehigh Valley Hospital is located: Cedar Crest (Allentown) Muhlenberg (Bethlehem) 17th & Chew
In addition to hospital locations, there are Health Centers, consisting of doctors' offices, lab services and imaging services in convenient neighborhood locations. Health Center at Saucon Valley Health Center at Bath Health Center at Bethlehem Township Hamburg Community Health Center Health Center at Hellertown Health Center at Kutztown Health Center at Trexlertwon The Upper Bucks Health & Diagnostic Center
Learn more about the four critical areas of Lehigh Valley Hospital:
When 72-year-old Elizabeth Funk took a turn for the worse, Lehigh Valley Hospital was there. "I started sweating, couldn't breathe and became disoriented," Funk says. She survived breast cancer twice, but treatment for this health condition affected the muscles in her heart causing cardiomyopathy. Her cardiologist, Norman Marcus, M.D., discovered that she needed a pacemaker implanted to regulate her heartbeat. "I had confidence in Dr. Marcus because he consulted with other doctors in the hospital before recommending the surgery," Funk says. The excellent collaboration between doctors, nurses and support staff results in the best treatment for patients. Searching for a best heart hospital? Funk states, "There's nothing in this world I want more than to feel good. Now I do." For further information regarding this amazing heart care story, call 610-402-CARE (8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m., Monday-Friday) to talk to nurses and other experts who can help you find a caridologist and more.
The diagnosis and treatment for back pain is unique to the individual, so a team effort among doctors must be high. Lehigh Valley Hospital offers a back pain clinic designed to bring you relief. If the pain is severe and you need surgery, the following is a list of surgeries performed at Lehigh Valley's back pain hospital: - Micro-disectomy
- Spinal fusion
- Cervical spine surgery
- Disc replacement
- Scoliosis surgery
Sometimes surgery for back pain is necessary. If that's the case, the surgical team will explain every detail of the surgery, the recovery and answer all of your questions. 
For further information regarding Lehigh Valley Hospital's spine specialists and advanced care please call: 610-402-CARE.
What He Did on His Summer Vacation: Voorhees High School Teacher Has Heart Valve Surgery after Mysterious Symptoms Lehigh Valley, Pa. (Aug. 15, 2008) – Whitehouse Station resident Ken Thompson was awakened one day in April by a strange noise coming from somewhere in his upper chest. He wasn’t snoring, but he did need medical attention. “It was a gurgling sound coming out of my mouth,” he says. The computer science teacher at Voorhees High School was puzzled and alarmed: “I realized it only happened when I exhaled.” After several nights of waking to this rumbling, Thompson, 62, went to his family doctor, who sent him to cardiologist Dubravka Starcevic, M.D., of Hunterdon Cardiovascular Associates. A scan of his heart revealed the connective tissue of one of his heart valves was damaged, keeping the valve from closing properly, letting blood to back up into his lungs. Called mitral valve prolapse, this condition occurs in 2 percent of all adults, affecting men and women equally. In most cases, the condition doesn’t require treatment. But because Thompson’s condition made him fatigued and short of breath, Starcevic recommended surgery to treat him. “She said I was a mystery,” Thompson recalls, because he had no heart disease or other reasons to have this condition. Starcevic told Thompson his choices for his surgery: Morristown Memorial Hospital or Raymond Singer, M.D., at Lehigh Valley in Allentown, Pa. Thompson reviewed their Web sites, along with those of University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia and Cedars Sinai in New York City. A fellow educator whose parents both had heart surgery at LVH also recommended LVH and surgeon Raymond Singer, M.D. "I looked at his Web site and was impressed at his experience. I made an appointment with him," Thompson says. Singer explained Thompson's options were replacing the valve or repairing it, which his patient preferred. "He told me I had a 90 percent chance of having it repaired, so I wouldn't need a new valve." Singer explains, "We prefer to repair mitral valves rather than replace them with prosthetic (artificial) valves, because it preserves heart function and the patient doesn't require blood-thinning medicine." A member of Lehigh Valley Heart and Lung Surgeons at LVH, Singer learned advanced mitral valve repair techniques from Dr. Alain Carpentier, an international leader in valve surgery, in Paris, France. It took less than three-hours at LVH on June 30 for Singer to remove the damaged part of Thompson's valve and reconstruct it using fine sutures. He also sewed a plastic ring around the valve to improve its sealing ability, so there wouldn't be backflow of blood into Thompson's lungs. Thompson recovered in LVH for three days, then returned to his New Jersey home to recuperate. He's busy preparing to teach advanced placement computer JAVA programming in the fall to high-school seniors for the first time, following a summer vacation that was anything but routine A premier academic community hospital, Lehigh Valley Hospital and Health Network includes three hospital facilities -- two in Allentown and one in Bethlehem, Pa. -- Lehigh Valley Health Services, providing home health, hospice, pharmaceutical and health management services and the 400-member Lehigh Valley Physician Group of primary care and specialist physicians. In 2008, US News & World Report named Lehigh Valley Hospital one of America's Best Hospitals for the thirteenth straight year. LVHHN's advanced regional resources include a Level I Trauma Center with added pediatric qualifications, regional Burn Center as well as kidney and pancreas transplant, perinatal/neonatal, cardiac, cancer care, and neurology and complex neurosurgery capabilities. LVHHN hospitals are designated national Magnet hospitals for excelling in nursing. LVH is one of Pennsylvania's largest teaching hospitals and is a major teaching campus of Penn State's College of Medicine. Aditional information is available at www.lvh.org.
"A Magnet for nurses is a Magnet for you." Lehigh Valley Hospital "stands out among the best in the world." Their quality nursing care has been recognized by 'The American Nurses Credentialing Center.' A best heart hospital, such as Lehigh Valley is the only Magnet hospital in the area. "Magnet" means that the care provided to patients has earned the seal of approval for "quality care." What does it mean to be cared for by Magnet nurses? You are in experienced, knowledgeable hands Your nurses are recognized among the best in the state Patients like you rank our nursing care above the 90th percentile Your nurses use the latest technology Your nurses continue to grow professionally Your nurses are researchers Your nurses are recognized as experts Your nurses mentor the next generation of nurses Your nurses enjoy working here
When considering which hospital will provide you with genuine care, choose one of "America's Best Hospitals!"
LVHHN Nationally Recognized Among Most Integrated Health Networks for Seventh Straight Year, Receives Two Perfect Scores Lehigh Valley, Pa. (August 14, 2008) – Lehigh Valley Hospital and Health Network (LVHHN) ranks in the top twenty on the 2008 Verispan IHN 100, an annual assessment of the 100 most highly integrated healthcare networks (IHNs) in the U.S. This is the seventh straight year LVHHN is ranked on this national premier rating list compiled by Yardley, Pa.-based Verispan, a healthcare information company (www.verispan.com). LVHHN ranks 18th on the national list and is the number two IHN in the Northeast. Verispan evaluated 570 health networks on their ability to operate as a unified organization in each of eight categories: integration, integrated technology, contractual capabilities, outpatient utilization, financial stability, services and access, hospital utilization, and physicians. LVHHN received perfect scores for integrated technology and hospital utilization. “This assessment is based on performance and degree of integration, which for our patients means a high degree of consistency in quality, safety and effective communication among caregivers across all of our services and facilities,” said Elliot J. Sussman, M.D., LVHHN’s president and CEO. In addition to consistently being nationally ranked among the most highly integrated health networks by Verispan, LVHHN is named among the “100 Most Wired” and “25 Most Wireless” hospitals in the U.S. for 2008 by Hospitals and Health Networks (H&HN) magazine, a publication of the American Hospital Association (AHA). H&HN also recognized LVHHN with an Innovator Award, one of only three hospitals in the country so honored, for its innovative use of information technology to advance patient care through its Advanced Intensive Care Unit (AICU). “We are passionate about providing access to the highest quality care in the safest environment,” Dr. Sussman said. “On behalf of our community, we will continue to develop and implement new practices that safeguard our patients and ensure the highest quality of care.” Dr. Sussman said LVHHN has invested in technology and personnel to increase efficiency improve accuracy and reduce medical errors. They include: Computer-assisted physician order entry, or CAPOE, to eliminate handwriting errors when ordering prescriptions and diagnostic tests. Bar-coding which allows nurses to scan all medications at the patient’s bedside, then scan the patient’s wristband to ensure the right patient gets the right medication at the right time. Digital archiving on x-rays, MRI's and other images, making it easier for physicians to access and view them and to confer with other specialists who can view the same image(s) from another location at the same time. -
Tele-intensivists, specially educated intensive care physicians who use video, audio and other digital technology to monitor patients 24 hours a day, providing an extra pair of eyes to catch subtle changes earlier and save lives. Medication Safety Officer, whose sole job is to improve the safety and security of medications.
A premier academic community hospital, Lehigh Valley Hospital and Health Network includes three hospital facilities – two in Allentown and one in Bethlehem, Pa. – and Lehigh Valley Health Services, providing home health, hospice, pharmaceutical and health management services. In 2008, US News & World Report named Lehigh Valley Hospital one of America’s Best Hospitals for the thirteenth straight year. LVHHN’s advanced regional resources include a Level I Trauma Center with added pediatric qualifications, as well as burn, kidney and pancreas transplant, perinatal/neonatal, cardiac, cancer care, and neurology and complex neurosurgery. LVHHN hospitals are designated national Magnet hospitals for excellence in nursing. LVH is one of Pennsylvania’s largest teaching hospitals and is a major teaching campus of Penn State's College of Medicine. LVHHN is the region’s largest employer and ranks among FORTUNE magazine’s “100 Best Companies to Work For” for the second consecutive year. Additional information is available at www.lvh.org on the Internet.
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Lehigh Valley Hospital has campuses in Allentown and Bethlehem, Pa. and serves the Pennsylvania communities of Easton, Doylestown, Hazelton, Lehighton, Perkasie, Pottstown, Pottsville, Reading, Scranton, Wilkes Barre, Stroudsburg, and the Poconos and also Phillipsburg and Flemington, N.J., and western New Jersey.
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