St. Luke’s Carbon Campus hospital welcomed its first patients last weekend. The new hospital–the first constructed in the county in 65 years–is three stories tall and houses rooms for 80 patients. Its opening was celebrated with a ribbon-cutting event Oct. 30.
The new St. Luke’s Carbon Campus hospital officially opened at 7 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 20.
St. Luke’s University Health Network’s Lehighton Campus Emergency Room closed simultaneously; however, other Lehighton Campus services such as The Summit Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, the Acute Rehab Center and Behavioral Health services remained open and are maintaining normal operations.
The new three-story hospital houses 80 patient rooms and is the first new hospital built in the county in 65 years. The 160,000 square-foot facility is the centerpiece of the network’s new 108-acre technologically-advanced, multipurpose, rural medical and wellness complex in Lehighton, which St. Luke’s officials say will redefine healthcare access, convenience and quality for the local population and residents of surrounding areas.
“This complex underscores St. Luke’s commitment to the health and well-being 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 locally that keep people physically, emotionally and spiritually healthy and help take care of them close to home when they are ill or injured, to ultimately enhance the health status of our neighbors.”
Attendees at an Oct. 30 ribbon-cutting for the new St. Luke’s Carbon Campus toured the technologically-advanced hospital.
All patient rooms are private, and each is 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.
Real-time computer system-linked digital whiteboards in patient rooms display the names of each patient’s caregivers, the day of the week, scheduled activities and other useful safety information.
A first-of-its-kind Life-Aire air purification systems installed in the air ducts throughout the hospital’s treatment areas is designed to kill all air pathogens, including COVID-19 and anthrax, making it one of the few hospitals in the nation to be equipped with such technology.
A tech-savvy attendant in the St. Luke’s-created TechConnect help center in the lobby is there to provide free assistance to patients, visitors and community members struggling to learn or use personal digital or medical symptom-monitoring devices or apps.
Next up, ground will be broken in the spring for a three-story, 50,000-square-foot medical office building connected to the hospital. Cancer, cardiac, orthopedics care, pain management and physical therapy services and physicians’ offices will occupy the facility, along with a full fitness center. The new building will open in early 2023, officials said.
Wellness resources on the new campus offer safe, serene and convenient opportunities for improving one’s health through fitness, health education and nutrition. A fitness-walking trail that encircles the complex offers 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.
St. Luke’s formally dedicated its Carbon Campus hospital on Oct. 30 with a ribbon-cutting event that took place outside the building’s main entrance.
Note: This local health news is brought to you in partnership with St. Luke’s University Health Network.
St. Luke’s University Health Network officials prepare to cut the ribbon on the new Carbon Campus hospital on Oct. 30.
Attendees at an Oct. 30 ribbon-cutting for the new St. Luke’s Carbon Campus toured the technologically-advanced hospital.
St. Luke’s University Health Network President & CEO Richard A. Anderson speaks at the Oct. 30 ribbon-cutting event.
Ribbon-cutting attendees tour the lobby of the new St. Luke’s Carbon Campus hospital naer Lehighton. The 160,000 square-foot facility houses 80 patient rooms and is part of a technologically-advanced health and wellness complex covering 108 acres.
