Our History

As one of the largest teaching facilities in Pennsylvania, Lehigh Valley Hospital and Health Network (LVHHN) offers practicing professionals a vast array of services and expertise to meet the health care needs of their patients.

As one of the largest teaching facilities in Pennsylvania, Lehigh Valley Hospital and Health Network (LVHHN) offers practicing professionals a vast array of services and expertise to meet the health care needs of their patients. LVHHN is represented by three clinical campuses -- two in Allentown and one in Bethlehem. Our Bethlehem site, Muhlenberg Hospital Center, joined LVHHN in August of 1997 when the two organizations merged. The network's professional staff of more than 1,100 physicians embraces innovation and understands the impact broad thinking can have on medical care. Working in over 50 specialties, LVHHN physicians, along with hundreds of skilled nurses and other professionals, help take research, diagnostics and patient-centered care in exciting new directions. The hospital is recognized as a leading regional source in its key clinical areas: cancer treatment, cardiovascular medicine, mental health, neurosciences, pediatrics, surgery services, trauma, women's health, perinatal care, kidney transplantation and burn treatment.

LVHHN is a major clinical campus for Penn State University's College of Medicine at the Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, with numerous staff members holding faculty positions at Penn State. By offering extensive professional education programs, the hospital maintains a vibrant atmosphere of constant learning and discovery. By virtue of its involvement in national and international research projects the hospital has also played a key role in pioneering new techniques and technologies.

While LVHHN is proud of its tradition as a progressive teaching institution, it is equally proud of its reputation as a community-based health care resource. The network has served the Lehigh Valley for 100 years, and it currently provides services to meet a full continuum of health care needs — from outpatient surgeries to specialized aftercare programs.

The hospital has built on its tradition and strength as a tertiary care facility to expand its capabilities through a network of integrated health services. Through LVHHN, the network brings health care services directly into communities throughout eastern Pennsylvania and parts of New Jersey. In doing so and by working in partnership with physicians throughout the area, LVHHN is uniquely positioned to meet the evolving needs of its region.

• Located in Allentown and Bethlehem, PA.
• LVHHN started as Allentown Hospital in 1899. It is one of the largest and oldest licensed teaching hospitals in Pennsylvania. It is one of only 400 members of the prestigious Council of Teaching Hospitals and is a chief clinical campus of the Penn State University College of Medicine, Hershey.
• Advanced acute care hospital with more than 800 patient beds in operation on three sites.
• LVH was Pennsylvania’s first Level I Trauma Center and remains the only Level I trauma center in the Lehigh Valley region with additional qualifications in pediatric trauma. LVH’s trauma staff serves the residents of an eight-county area as part of Pennsylvania’s trauma system composed of 27 accredited trauma centers.
• This past year, staff at LVHHN cared for more than 43,000 patients admitted to the hospital, treated tens of thousands of outpatients, attended to over 100,000 emergency department cases, delivered more than 3,400 babies, and reached thousands more in the community through health screenings and education and prevention programs.
• LVHHN contributed nearly $70 million in fiscal year 2004 to the community in the form of free or discounted direct patient care; community-based prevention and education programs; professional and patient education; and partnerships with local government, school districts and others.
• Measurable Enhancement of the Status of Health (MESH) is a collaborative initiative of LVHHN funded by the Dorothy Rider Pool Health Care Trust to facilitate community engagement, capacity building and social action. MESH has partnered with more than 70 community agencies and organizations resulting in numerous successes including fluoridation of Allentown's water supply, improved physical fitness, reducing isolation, advising patients to quit tobacco use, reducing family violence, and improving child and family health.
• The network includes home health, hospice, pharmacy, and laboratory services.
• LVHHN operates the third largest heart surgery program in Pennsylvania with more than 1,200 open-heart procedures performed each year. In 2004, LVHHN ranked as one of the nation's top hospitals for cardiology care and cardiac surgery in the 2004 U.S. News & World Report guide to "America's Best Hospitals."
• LVHHN has the fourth largest Cancer Center in Pennsylvania and takes care of more than 2,400 new patients each year in Allentown and Bethlehem. Our board-certified physicians are renowned pioneers in cancer research, treatment and prevention. The Cancer Center is in the top one percent for patient satisfaction nationwide and is a founding member of the Penn State Cancer Institute.
• LVHHN has been ranked nine straight years by U.S. News & World Report as one of the top providers in the nation. The 2004 list recognizes LVH among the nation's leading hospitals for heart care and heart surgery; hormonal disorders including diabetes; digestive disorders; orthopedics; urology and ear, nose and throat care.

ARTICLE TOOLS: