Lehigh Valley Health Network Trustees, Community Members Introduced to Longtime Beneficiaries of the Organization's

Former specialty care patients offer living proof of the benefits of re-investment in staff, technologies, programs and facilities

Lehigh Valley, Pa. (Dec. 5, 2007) – Douglas Murray, Darryl Schaffer and Manuel Velazquez had no intention of being pioneers when each was treated at Lehigh Valley Hospital (LVH) many years ago. Yet all three were recognized as groundbreakers by Lehigh Valley Health Network (LVHN) during the organization's 2007 community meeting today at Agricultural Hall in Allentown.

Douglas Murray's older sister, Kimberly, had to struggle for life as a premature newborn. Their mother, Susan has systemic lupus, which complicated both of her pregnancies. When Kimberly was born, she had to be transferred to the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia for care. When Douglas, now 23, of Allentown, arrived in 1984, he spent his first three months closer to home in the LVH neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), which opened in 1980. Today Douglas and Kimberly are healthy and successful and both have visited the NICU to offer encouragement to other families.

Darryl Schaffer of Kempton was the second patient in 1991 to receive a donor kidney as part of LVH's new transplant program. After an international career in military intelligence, Schaffer discovered he has Alport syndrome, a rare, inherited disorder that can lead to kidney failure. Following his transplant, Schaffer returned to college and earned a degree in anthropology. Today he is a happily married father of two and serves on the Northwestern Lehigh school board. LVH's transplant program, the only one in the region, performed its 500th transplant this year.

Manuel Velazquez, 78, of Allentown made LVH history in 1996 by becoming the first to receive a minimally invasive heart bypass at what is now known as the Regional Heart Center. When the retired Air Force medic and state public welfare office employee learned he would need a bypass, he asked Raymond Singer, M.D., cardio-thoracic surgeon, about the new "keyhole" surgery he had read about. The smaller incision and faster recovery time had Velazquez back on the golf course in three weeks.

Murray, Schaffer and Velazquez were among 14 LVH patients, physicians, nurses and volunteers recognized by Elliot J. Sussman, M.D., LVHN's president and CEO, as personal "returns on investment" that demonstrate the organization's ability to carry out its mission to heal, comfort and care for the community according to the vision of founder Leonard Parker Pool 40 years ago.

Technology, Quality Care and Safety

Dr. Sussman told Trustees and community members that technology is a great investment because it is helping to build better bridges between patients and caregivers. He noted how technology is allowing LVHN to provide "tomorrow's care today," including physicians entering patient orders by computer to avoid handwriting errors. He spoke of pharmacists using bar-coding to match patients with proper medications and tests, the use of robots to select the correct patient medication and dosage, and automated dispensing cabinets to ensure medication safety.

"New technologies and discoveries constantly challenge us to rethink how we can best care for you," Dr. Sussman said. "We expect the unexpected by keeping abreast of the latest findings and welcoming new opportunities."

One of those new opportunities he spoke of is the expansion of LVHN's MI Alert for Heart Attack program. The goal of a specialized cardiac team is to open a blocked vessel within 90 minutes of a heart attack patient's arrival in the emergency department. The expanded program trains paramedics in the field to diagnose a heart attack and alert the cardiac team to help further reduce the time it takes to open the blockage. This earlier diagnosis recently saved the life of a heart attack patient by opening the blockage in just 24 minutes, about one hour sooner than the "gold standard."

Other innovations available at LVHN were featured at a health discovery expo following the meeting. A trauma and burn display featured the Lehigh Valley Hospital MedEvac helicopter and a "Road to Recovery" mock demonstration of caring for a burn patient. Videos and demonstrations highlighted the latest cancer treatments and technologies in radiation therapy, breast health services, same-day surgery without an incision, advanced melanoma treatment, and cryoblation, or freezing tumors.

Dr. Sussman said investing in our children is a major focus of LVHN. He cited the assembly of a team of 55 general pediatricians and 57 sub-specialists in pediatric cardiology, neurology, adolescent medicine, orthopedic surgery and rheumatology in addition to the region's only pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) and trauma center with pediatric qualifications. Dr. Sussman also recognized Bill and Phyllis Grube for their investment in children's health by endowing a chair in the pediatric subspecialties in 2007.

"At Lehigh Valley Hospital, we set ambitious goals for patient care outcomes, operational efficiency, and patient and staff satisfaction," Dr. Sussman said. "Underlying it all, we set goals to help resolve problems and encourage healthier lifestyles."

Strength to Grow to Meet Community Need

Dr. Sussman said an organization must be financially strong to make the investments that lead to quality care and patient safety. He said LVHN's patient services net margin in fiscal year 2007 was $65.5 million, or six percent of total revenues. Health care experts estimate that hospitals need a margin of at least five percent for general maintenance. Dr. Sussman said the entire margin is re-invested in the community.

Dr. Sussman said LVHN's margin fluctuates from year to year, but the organization's benefit to the community continues to rise. In fiscal year 2007, that community service investment increased to a record $127.1 million, compared to $101.6 million the previous year.

Trustees Re-elected

The LVHN Board of Trustees re-elected the following members to three-year terms effective Jan. 1, 2008: Robert J. Dillman, Ph.D., president, East Stroudsburg University; William F. Hecht, chairman and CEO (retired), PPL Corporation; Arnold H. Kaplan, chief financial officer (retired), United Health Group; James H. Miller, chairman, president and CEO, PPL Corporation; J.B. Reilly, board vice chair and managing director, Traditions Capital; and Martin K. Till, CEO, president and publisher, The Express-Times and executive vice president, Penn-Jersey Advance.

A premier academic community hospital, Lehigh Valley 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 2007, US News & World Report named Lehigh Valley Hospital one of America's Best Hospitals for the twelfth straight year. LVHN'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 the Pennsylvania based on volume; and an Advanced ICU with tele-intensivists to provide an extra level of care for critical care patients.

One of Pennsylvania's largest teaching hospitals and a major teaching campus of Penn State's College of Medicine, LVHN is also a regional resource for kidney and pancreas transplants, perinatal/neonatal care and neurology and complex neurosurgery. All three LVHN hospitals were re-designated in 2006 as national Magnet hospitals for excellence in nursing.

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