Mission: They heal, comfort and care for the people of our community by providing advanced and compassionate health care of superior quality and value supported by education and clinical research.

 

At Lehigh Valley Health Network, they continually go the extra mile to fulfill their mission to heal, comfort and care for the people of their community. Each one of their 13,000 colleagues contributes to this mission and helps make the Lehigh Valley a healthier – and better – place in which to live.

 

Their tagline – A Passion for Better Medicine – reflects a legacy of patient-centered care that began with 13 compassionate, civic-minded women more than a century ago. Caring deeply about the health and well-being of their community, they raised $5,300 for a plot of land at 17th and Chew streets in Allentown, Pa., and in 1899, opened The Allentown Hospital. Their generous example was the first step in our health network’s journey.

 

In the late 1950s, with the area’s population booming, a group of Lutheran clergy purchased a 102-acre alfalfa field in Bethlehem and set out to build another hospital for the community. Muhlenberg Hospital Center opened its doors in 1961 as a 192-bed facility for the chronically ill.

 

The inspiration for their modern-day health network came from Leonard Parker Pool, the founder of Air Products. In addition to having a brilliant mind for business, Pool also had a passion for health care and serving his fellow man.

 

Leonard Pool realized many in his community did not have the means to travel outside the region for such care. He had a vision to create a “superior, regional hospital” so people could receive the best possible care without leaving the Lehigh Valley. He donated $5 million to help bring that vision to life, which led in 1974 to the construction of what is now Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest in Salisbury Township, Pa.

 

Guided by Pool’s vision, they have since transformed into one of the nation's most respected health networks, offering comprehensive care in 95 clinical specialties. This care is complemented by clinical research and education, including a medical school partnership with the University of South Florida Morsani College of Medicine that’s preparing the doctors of tomorrow.

 

In January 2014, they merged with the Greater Hazleton Health Alliance to give residents of Northeast Pennsylvania enhanced access to special care. Its hospital, Hazleton General Hospital, was established in 1891 to provide medical care to coal miners of the region.

 

They continue to add new facilities, services and programs to a regional campus that now includes:

 

• Three full-service hospitals: Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest in Salisbury Township, which includes an additional clinical campus, Lehigh Valley Hospital-17th Street in Allentown; Lehigh Valley Hospital-Muhlenberg in Bethlehem; and Lehigh Valley Hospital-Hazleton in Luzerne County
• Children’s Hospital at Lehigh Valley Hospital, the only Children’s Hospital in the Lehigh Valley, including inpatient and ambulatory care, a Children’s ER, more than 25 pediatric specialists and numerous child-specific services such as rehab and burn care
• Community health centers offering doctors' offices and lab and imaging services at convenient locations in Bangor, Bath, Bethlehem Township, Emmaus, Hamburg, Hazleton, Kutztown, Macungie, Moselem Springs, Trexlertown and Upper Bucks (in partnership with Grand View Hospital)
• More than 1,340 primary care and specialty physicians – including more than 630 employed by the health network
• Pharmacy services at three of our hospital campuses
• Imaging services to obtain accurate diagnoses with the latest high-tech diagnostic equipment
• Home health and hospice services
• CareWorks retail health clinics in Allentown and Schnecksville
• Community clinics, including 40 primary and specialty clinics to care for people who are uninsured or underinsured
• Health Network Laboratories, providing laboratory tests from the most critical medical applications to simple pre-employment drug screenings
• Valley Preferred, linking employers and individuals with quality health coverage