Twelve Things You Might Not Know About Us

You know we exist for our community. But did you know all the ways we're reaching out to our community?

Take a look at the back of your identification badge, and you’ll see the word community. It is etched in our mission: “to heal, comfort and care for the people of our community.”

When most of us think about community care, we think about what we do every day. We care for patients who are very sick. Sometimes they’re dealing with a complicated, long-term illness. Other times, they’re recovering from a traumatic injury. In all cases, we use our skill, knowledge and PRIDE behaviors to provide the most appropriate and highest quality care to all who request our services.

There’s another aspect of community care you might not think about, but it’s just as important. It’s the way we reach out to people in our community, those who might lack the finances, the transportation or the ability to access our services. They don’t have to find us. Instead, we bring the hospital and our quality care to them.

We don’t brag much about the services we provide outside the hospital. Most of us do our work with such a deep sense of humanity, humility and purpose that we quite naturally focus only on the help and guidance we’re providing. But your efforts deserve credit, because thanks to your spirit and dedication, the people of our community are leading healthier, better lives today.

This type of community benefit takes many forms. Some of us volunteer with local charitable organizations, helping in area homeless shelters or soup kitchens. Others serve as mentors to young children who need guidance. Others join together to raise money for worthwhile causes. You can read inside this CheckUp about nurses who raised an astounding $18,000 for cancer research.

For the next 12 months, each issue of CheckUp will spotlight the way our colleagues work to the benefit of our community. We’re calling it the Twelve Things You Might Not Know about LVHHN. This month, you can read about our Community Exchange program, an innovative exchange of services. In exchange for volunteering at our Family Health Program at The Caring Place, community members can be educated by our medical interpreters to become interpreters themselves. They can use their newfound skills at The Caring Place, where our physicians provide free care to more than 400 at-risk children, their families and center-city Allentown residents.

In future issues, you’ll learn how our colleagues provide care and assistance to people with HIV/AIDS, Latino children and families who have diabetes, and children who have been physically or mentally abused. You’ll see the charitable work of our senior leaders, more than 140 of whom volunteer their time and expertise to boards of community organizations such as Turning Point of the Lehigh Valley and the American Red Cross. You’ll learn about our commitment to providing thousands of free flu shots, our outreach to local mothers-to-be and more.

We have every reason to be proud of the work we do to benefit the people in our community. We work here because we embrace a unique and cherished opportunity—the ability to have a positive impact on people’s lives. Our story is one that deserves to be told. I thank you for all you do for our community, and for sharing the story of our community benefit with people you meet every day.

Lou Liebhaber, Chief Operating Officer
CheckUP September 2006

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