When the new St. Luke’s Carbon Campus hospital opens in late fall, it will be the centerpiece of the health system’s technologically-advanced, multipurpose, rural medical and wellness complex in Lehighton, where it will redefine healthcare access, convenience and quality for the local population and surrounding areas. This innovative model, though serving a smaller rural area, will have some of the latest technology not even found in major metropolitan hospitals, making it a rural model of healthcare excellence.

The 108-acre hospital complex will give the community easy access to Level IV trauma emergency care, as well as acute, critical and chronic medical care provided by medical experts who are dedicated to serving the people in Carbon County, many of whom have had to travel far outside the area for advanced treatment in the past. The wellness resources on the new campus will offer safe, tranquil and convenient opportunities for improving one’s health through fitness, health education and nutrition.

The three-story, 80-room, 160,000 square-foot hospital will be the largest of its kind in the history of Carbon County and the first new hospital built in the county in 65 years. With an emphasis on innovation, safety, comfort and convenience, the facility’s environment and its providers’ expertise will improve the lives of patients and visitors.

All patient rooms will be private and each will be outfitted with a wall-mounted, 55-inch smart TV to facilitate two-way audio/visual communication between patients and their providers anywhere, as well as patients and their family members worldwide. The installation–one of the first in the nation by AmHealth—will expand telemedicine capabilities and virtual visitation convenience.

Another high-tech partnership with the company, MediSigns, will replace the typical write-and-wipe white boards in patient rooms with real-time computer system-linked digital whiteboards that will display that names of caregivers, day of the week, scheduled activities and other useful safety information.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, St. Luke’s forged a pivotal partnership with the locally-owned Life-Aire company, which produces air purification systems.

Lifeaire’s first-of-its-kind technology kills all air pathogens in a clinical environment, including COVID-19 and anthrax. Six LifeAire air purifiers will be installed in the air ducts throughout the new Carbon County hospital, making it one of the few hospitals in the nation to be outfitted with the technology.

A home-grown concept for St. Luke’s, the TechConnect help center in the lobby will be staffed by a tech savvy attendant who will give free assistance to patients, visitors and community members struggling to learn or use personal digital or medical symptom-monitoring devices or apps.

Within a year of opening the main campus, a three-story, 50,000-square-foot medical office building will also be built, which will be connected to the hospital. Cancer, cardiac, orthopedic care, pain management and physical therapy services and physicians’ offices will occupy the facility, along with a full-size fitness center and more.

A fitness-walking trail encircling the complex will offer staff, patients and visitors the opportunity to exercise in a bucolic setting bordered by picturesque mountains and an organic farm, or to seek solace in a lavender and sunflower meditation and healing garden.

“This complex underscores St. Luke’s commitment to the health and wellbeing of this community,” said John Nespoli, president of St. Luke’s Lehighton and Carbon campuses. “At St. Luke’s, we believe in providing quality services that keep people physically, emotionally and spiritually healthy, and help take care of them when they are ill or injured, to ultimately enhance the health status of our neighbors.”

Note: This local health news is brought to you in partnership with St. Luke’s University Health Network.