Jefferson Health officials Tuesday said the barren construction site thousands of motorists see today will soon become a modern healthcare hub for southeastern Lehigh County.

If you’ve been wondering what is going to be built at the intersection of W. Passer Road and Rt. 309 in Upper Saucon Township, just north of Coopersburg, the answer is now official. Jefferson Health officials broke ground on the site of a new neighborhood hospital there on Tuesday.

Lehigh Valley Hospital (LVH)-Coopersburg will be an accredited, licensed acute-care facility featuring a 24/7, full-service emergency room with 11 bays and 10 inpatient beds for individuals who need additional testing or monitoring. A separate facility–Health Center at Coopersburg–will also be built on the site, which officials said will ultimately become a healthcare campus located in the township and Coopersburg borough. The health center will house the offices of various specialty practices, including adult rehabilitation, primary care and rheumatology.

Health Center at Coopersburg will also be built at the site of the new neighborhood hospital, which Jefferson Health officials said will become a “needed healthcare hub in southeastern Lehigh County.”

The Coopersburg neighborhood hospital will be the health network’s fifth in the area when it is completed, which is expected to be in late 2027. LVH-Macungie, LVH-Gilbertsville and LVH-Pocono Creek are already open, and a fourth facility at the north end of Hellertown near I-78 is expected to open in early 2027, Jefferson Health officials said at Tuesday’s groundbreaking ceremony for the Coopersburg microhospital.

“Breaking ground on our fifth neighborhood hospital is an exciting milestone for Jefferson and the communities we serve. This investment will bring leading-edge care closer to home and create new opportunities for individuals and families across Lehigh County and the surrounding region to access exceptional healthcare in a convenient, community-based setting,” said Jefferson Health President Baligh Yehia, MD, in a statement. “LVH-Coopersburg represents our ongoing effort to anticipate and respond to the evolving healthcare needs of our communities.”

Jefferson Health Coopersburg — Jefferson Health President Dr. Baligh Yehia said the new neighborhood hospital will expand the availability of health care in a convenient, community-based setting in southern Lehigh County.

Speaking at the ceremony, Jefferson Executive Vice President & COO Dr. Brian Nester said the health system’s decision to expand its neighborhood hospital network is a facet of understanding that people are more likely to seek treatment if a health care facility is close to home.

Jefferson Health’s Chief Operating Officer for Neighborhood Hospitals Holly Badali said the facilities have already played an important role in identifying potentially life-threatening illnesses, such as an abdominal aortic aneurysm in a 50-year-old patient who was later transferred and successfully treated at Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest. He was able to go home just three days after surgery, she added.

“People love these hospitals in their neighborhoods,” said Jefferson Health’s System Director of Neighborhood Hospitals Dr. Eric Bean.

He added that his firsthand experience is that patients are often surprised by how quickly they are seen, and noted that for many people–including children and senior citizens–going to a smaller facility is less “overwhelming.”