Entries by Lehigh Valley Health Network

WASHINGTON (Aug.
19, 2010) - The American Hospital Association (AHA) awarded the
Carolyn Boone Lewis Living the Vision award to Lehigh Valley Health
Network (LVHN), in
Allentown, Pa. for their work to improve the community’s health
through actions that go beyond traditional hospital care. The award
was presented today to LVHN’s
president and CEO, Elliot J. Sussman, M.D., by
AHA’s president and CEO, Rich Umbdenstock.

LVHN is passionate
about growing healthy, strong and safe communities. Through
partnerships and sponsorships of organizations and schools in the
community, they are able to promote their mission and better the
community they serve. Their programs aim to be fun, innovative ideas
for educating community members of all ages about how to better care
for themselves and their loved ones. LVHN has also worked hard to
provide health education resources for the community that extend the
hospitals reach to promote healthy lifestyles and improve wellness.

LVHN’s efforts in the community have
been numerous and include:

• Miles of
  Smiles –a mobile dental van that helps bring the dentist’s
  office to the children of the community. Dental cavities are the
  most common chronic childhood disease, yet they often go untreated
  leading to major health consequences. With
  two exam rooms and an X-ray area services can include teeth
  cleaning, cavity treatments and education on proper brushing and
  flossing and healthy eating.

  
  

• Camp Red
  Jacket - a free day camp that helps children ages 6-12 with Type
  I diabetes find the answers to their questions about managing this
  serious disease through a fun, game-based environment. Activities
  can include: confidence-building games that teach coping skills; a
  professional staff of diabetes educators, nurses, dietitians; and
  junior teen counselors with Type 1 diabetes, who can relate to the
  children through personal experience.

  
  

• Communities
  in Schools –a program for adolescents at risk for dropping out
  of school. About 200 Allentown-area high school students
  participate. In addition to classroom instruction, they get
  mentoring, tutoring and training in job readiness and life skills
  that provide a great start for a healthy and successful future.
  

  
  

• Safety Town
  –a trauma prevention program for children. Using a portable,
  interactive town, it is designed to teach children (kindergarten
  through second grade) how to be safe in their everyday lives. The
  town depicts how a child travels through a normal day, including
  home, school, park and neighborhood, while discussing dangers they
  may encounter along the way. It can be used at school, community
  and church events.

  
  

“When you serve
your community, as Lehigh Valley Health Network does, everyone is
made better and gains strength from the connection,” said AHA
president and CEO, Rich Umbdenstock. “This award is given when a
hospital achieves a special level of success - Lehigh Valley Health
Network offers their community support, care and compassion for their
health and personal needs. I am pleased and honored to recognize
Lehigh Valley Health Network for their achievements and know their
community shares this excitement.”

Established in 1996
and first presented in 1998, The Living the Vision Award recognizes
institutions or individuals living the AHA’s vision of a society of
healthy communities where all individuals reach their highest
potential for health. In 2002, it was renamed the Carolyn Boone
Lewis Living the Vision Award, in memory of the first hospital
trustee to serve as AHA chair. An important element of the award is
that a hospital must be recognized as a leader and nominated by
others in the health care field. This is the first year the award
has been given since 2005.

Living the
Vision/Page 3

About the AHAThe
AHA is a not-for-profit association of health care provider
organizations and individuals that are committed to the improvement
of health in their communities.  The AHA is the national
advocate for its members, 4,800 hospitals, health systems and other
health care organizations, and 33,000 individuals.  Founded in
1898, the AHA provides education for health care leaders and is a
source of information on health care issues and trends.  For
more information visit the Web site at www.aha.org.

Lehigh
Valley Health Network

Lehigh Valley Health
Network includes three hospital facilities - two in Allentown and one
in Bethlehem, Pa.; eight health centers caring for communities in
four counties; numerous primary and specialty care physician
practices throughout the region; pharmacy, imaging,
home health services and lab services; and preferred provider
services through Valley Preferred. Specialty care includes: trauma
care at the region’s busiest, most-experienced trauma center
treating adults and children, burn care at the regional Burn Center,
kidney and pancreas transplants; perinatal/neonatal, cardiac, cancer
care, and neurology and complex neurosurgery capabilities including
national certification as a Primary Stroke Center. Lehigh Valley
Health Network has been
recognized by US News &
World Report for 15 consecutive years as one of America’s Best
Hospitals; is a national Magnet hospital for excellence in nursing;
and has been honored eight straight years among the top integrated
health networks in the U.S. Lehigh Valley Hospital has been selected
as a National Cancer Institute Community Cancer Centers Program.
Additional information is available at lvhn.org
and by following us on
facebook.com/LVHealthNetwork and twitter.com/LVHNnews.

LVNH has an outstanding resource on finding the most effective primary care doctor for your needs.  The LVHN website has all the proper contact information for making that critical call to locating the proper doctor for you and your family.

The knowledgeable support staff will comb though their extensive database to find out what doctor makes the most sense for your needs.  If it's a Family medicine doctor ,  Internal medicine doctor,  gynecologist or Geriatricians LVHN could help!

For the Little ones,  LVHN has an extensive database of Pediatricians,  which will make your life easier when connecting you with the proper doctor for your family deserves.

If you have any questions at all,  feel free to contact us though the link above.

New Lehigh Valley Health Network research published in the Archives of Internal Medicine demonstrates the lifesaving benefits of the combined use of telemedicine technology along with the care of specialist physicians known as intensivists. For more information including coverage details and a brief video explaining Advanced ICU/Telemedicine technology go to http://www.lvhn.org/media

Lehigh Valley Health Network offers a strong Neurosurgery department that has expertise in the following areas:

Advanced Neurovascular Treatment

Primary Stroke Center

Neuro-oncology Program

Spine Program

Neuroscience Intensive Care Unit

Neuropathology and Neuropsychiatry Expertise

If you live in Eastern PA, LVHN's services are a close-to-home option rather than traveling to a location outside of the local area. Our facilities are world-class. 

When it’s your brain or spine, you want compassionate, well-educated
physicians who expertly perform the most advanced procedures available
today—and that’s what you’ll find at Lehigh Valley Health Network.

You don't need to travel far for advanced brain surgery. You can find it at Lehigh Valley Hospital.

There are a lot of reasons why Lehigh Valley Health Network makes sense for brain surgery.  The facility is world-class, and you'll receive the most advanced treatment available. 

Another aspect that people sometimes overlook is the location. LVHN is centrally located in the Lehigh Valley, minutes from Allentown, Bethlehem and Easton, making it easier for loved ones to visit during recovery.

The results and the recovery period for brain surgery depend on the procedure, the general health of the patient and the surgical techniques. This recovery is helped significantly when your friends and family are at your side.

During this difficult time, LVHN can help you.

Lehigh Valley Health Network Research Demonstrates Lifesaving Benefits of Advanced ICU, Telemedicine Care for Patients

Results are published in the latest edition of the Archives of Internal Medicine

Lehigh Valley, Pa. (April 19, 2010) - The value of telemedicine, the use of satellite technology, video conferencing and remote monitoring, to connect doctors and patients has lifesaving benefits. As shown in a new research study conducted by a team at Lehigh Valley Health Network (LVHN), Allentown, Pa., telemedicine, combined with 24/7 direct intensivist physician supervision, significantly lowers death rates by nearly 30 percent and decreases ventilator use in critically ill patients.  This study involved critically ill patients who were cared for using Advanced Intensive Care Unit (AICU) technology along with remote monitoring by intensivists-certified critical care specialists.

Details of the study are published in the April 12, 2010 edition of the Archives of Internal Medicine. LVHN's research is important because it contrasts with previously published studies (published in JAMA) that concluded remote ICU telemonitoring made little or no difference in mortality and complication outcomes for patients.

The LVHN study, conducted at the 988-bed academic community hospital network (three hospitals and the remote monitoring unit) reports that the observed mortality rate for the group monitored by telemedicine and intensivists in the AICU was 29.5 percent lower than the control group, and ventilator use was decreased for the remotely monitored patients. The study looked at 954 patients (control group) who received care in the ICU for 16 months before implementation of AICU technology and remote intensivist coverage. The medical outcomes for those patients were then compared to the outcomes of 959 patients (intervention group) who received care for 10 months after the AICU and remote intensivist care began.  The mortality for the control groups and intervention groups were 21.4 percent and 14.7 percent respectively, meaning one in every 14 patients who would have died, survived in the intervention group using telemedicine. That means that more than 60 patients in the study group who would have died, survived as a result of the intervention.

Matthew McCambridge, M.D., chief, LVHN's division of critical care medicine, says the results of the study are significant because caring for critically ill patients is complex, and there is an overall shortage of intensivist physicians. The results are telling because they show that by implementing AICU technologies and intensivist care, we are saving lives. We believe this model represents a significant advancement in the quality of critical care medicine."

Dr. McCambridge says the technology used for LVHN's research consisted of an ICU electronic medical record with a notification system for problems, computer-assisted physician order entry for ordering medications electronically, an electronic medication administration record, bar-coding for medication distribution, a picture archiving and communication system for x-rays, and an audio/visual remote monitoring system. The remote telemedicine team, which includes an intensivist physician and a critical care nurse, worked in conjunction with the caregivers in the hospital ICU and interacted with patients with real-time access to all necessary data.

Dr. McCambridge says the earlier research allowed a patient's physician to choose the degree to which the remote specialist would be involved in delivering direct care, while the LVHN study had all patients under the direct care of the intensivist physician both day and night.

We hope that these results will serve as evidence to encourage health care providers and others to invest in Advanced ICU technology and training of intensivist physicians to make a difference in the quality of patient care and save lives, Dr. McCambridge says.

Lehigh Valley Health Network includes three hospital facilities - two in Allentown and one in Bethlehem, Pa.; eight health centers caring for communities in four counties; numerous primary and specialty care physician practices throughout the region; pharmacy, imaging, home health services and lab services; and preferred provider services through Valley Preferred. Specialty care includes: trauma care at the region's busiest, most-experienced trauma center treating adults and children, burn care at the regional Burn Center, kidney and pancreas transplants; perinatal/neonatal, cardiac, cancer care, and neurology and complex neurosurgery capabilities including national certification as a Primary Stroke Center.  Lehigh Valley Health Network is Network Cancer Program accredited, the highest available from the American College of Surgeons' Commission on Cancer; has been recognized by US News & World Report for 14 consecutive years as one of America's Best Hospitals; is a national Magnet hospital for excellence in nursing, and has been honored nine straight years among the top integrated health networks in the U.S.  Additional information is available at lvhn.org  and by following us on facebook.com/LVHealthNetwork and twitter.com/LVHNnews.

When someone in the Philadelphia region is exploring options for Brain Surgery, he or she typically seeks a hospital that is state-of-the-art, has clean, modern hospitals, can provide the necessary treatment and is located nearby.

Sometimes you may overlook what Lehigh Valley Health Network can do for you.  LVHN offers advanced, convenient care in a state-of-the-art facility.

Brain Surgery is not something to be taken lightly.  You need a state-of-the-art facility that allows you the best possible chance at a full recovery.   Lehigh Valley Hospital is one of the strongest in the field.

We have a robust program and have helped thousands of individuals succeed after having brain surgery.

Consider LVHN for brain surgery. If you have any questions at all please contact us.  

Lehigh Valley Health Network to Establish First Pediatric Emergency Department in the Region

Lehigh Valley, Pa. (Feb. 22, 2010) - Lehigh Valley Health Network (LVHN) is announcing plans to establish the first pediatric emergency department (ED) in the Lehigh Valley and surrounding area. The facility will be constructed in existing space adjacent to the current emergency department at Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest in Salisbury Township. The project is tentatively scheduled for completion in the spring of 2011.

Richard MacKenzie, M.D., LVHN's chair of emergency medicine says the existing emergency department at LVH-Cedar Crest cares for 13,000 children a year. He stresses that the creation of an emergency department just for children is important to the community because pediatricians and parents alike desire highly specialized care in a dedicated pediatric emergency department.

The planned pediatric ED would include 11 beds covered by specially trained staff to care for children, including dedicated pediatric emergency medicine physicians, pediatric emergency nurses and a child life specialist to assist children and their families with the psychological and social issues of an emergency room visit.

Dr. MacKenzie says there also will be a separate waiting area for children and their families. "A child-friendly atmosphere is critical," he says. "It is often very difficult for children, particularly young children, to be in an environment where adults are suffering from illness or injury."

Dr. MacKenzie says a child-friendly atmosphere can help make the pediatric emergency department as painless as possible.  According to Dr. MacKenzie, research shows severe pain and worry can stick with children for a long time and even permanently.  He says the goal will be to manage a child's pain through staff education, consistent assessment criteria, implementation of protocols and technological advances.

Dr. MacKenzie says the creation of a pediatric emergency department at other hospitals around the country also has shown that a separate pediatric emergency department can further reduce wait times for both child and adult emergencies. The space we free-up in the existing emergency department by creating a dedicated pediatric emergency department will allow us to care for more adult patients.

John Van Brakle, M.D., LVHN's chair of pediatrics says an emergency department dedicated to serving the needs of children is the next logical step for the community. We currently offer our young patients and their families access to a wide range of specialty care services, including a specialty care center, pediatric intensive care unit-the only one in the region, neonatal intensive care unit and the most experienced trauma center in the region treating adults and children. A pediatric emergency department would take the care of children, especially those with special health care needs, to the next level.

LVHN is an associate member of the National Association of Children's Hospitals and Related Institutions (NACHRI), the only health network in the Lehigh Valley region to attain that designation. "Providing the highest quality emergency care services for children requires an infrastructure designed to coordinate, support and constantly improve care for pediatric patients, said Sue Dull, director, child health and financing at NACHRI.  The specialized knowledge and experience of staff, family-centered approach, unique medical equipment, and comforting and reassuring environments found in pediatric emergency departments are indispensable to all children needing emergency care."

LVHN is staffed by more than 60 local pediatric specialists in 26 care areas including pediatric oncology, pediatric hematology, pediatric surgery, pediatric anesthesiology and pediatric radiology. A pediatric intensivist/hospitalist is in-house 24/7 to cover the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU), inpatient pediatrics and consults throughout the hospital.  In addition, a neonatologist and neonatal nurse practitioner are in-house 24/7 to cover the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).

In addition to a pediatric specialty center, outpatient/ambulatory services consist of a ten-bed pediatric ambulatory surgery unit (PASU), outpatient pediatrics (hospital-based primary care pediatric clinic), and a network of community pediatricians and family practice physicians. Inpatient pediatric specialists include pediatric respiratory therapists, pediatric focused pharmacists, pediatric occupational, physical and speech therapists, and pediatric nutritionists.

Lehigh Valley Health Network offers advanced care for brain tumors.  LVHN uses the team approach for diagnosing and treating patients.  All physicians and staff collaborate to determine the best treatment plan.

There are several types of brain tumors, including acoustic neuromas, astrocytomas, chordomas, glioblastoma multiforme and metastatic brain tumors.  Brain tumors can be benign or malignant.

Brain Tumor Treatment

Brain tumors require immediate attention, and the LVHN neurosurgery team will provide the best treatment plan for the best chances for a full recovery.

For additional information regarding the quality brain care Lehigh Valley Health Network has to offer, visit lvhn.org/neurologicalcare and/or call 610-402-CARE

Your primary care doctor should provide quality care and meet your needs. It is important to research your primary care doctor and openly discuss your goals and the care you expect to receive.  Does the doctor explain terminology clearly and to your understanding? Is she recommended by other patients? Does he treat you with respect?

For the easiest and most reliable way to choose the right primary care doctor at Lehigh Valley Health Network, call 610-402-CARE.

It is important to see your primary care doctor regularly.  If you do not have a primary physician or if you are considering switching doctors, Lehigh Valley Health Network has hundreds of doctors for you to choose from.  There are six kinds of primary care doctors:

• Family medicine doctors
• Internal medicine doctors
• Adolescent medicine physicians
• Gynecologists
• Geriatricians
• Pediatricians

For the easiest and most reliable way to find the right primary care doctor, call 610-402-CARE.

Lehigh Valley, Pa. (Dec. 22, 2009) –  Eight heart specialists who treat patients at Lehigh Valley Health Network (LVHN) are included on the Best Doctors in America list for 2009-2010. They are James A. Burke, M.D., William G. Combs, M.D., David A. Cox, M.D., Ronald S. Freudenberger, M.D., J. Patrick Kleaveland, M.D., Normal Marcus, M.D., Joseph Neri, D.O., and Raymond L. Singer, M.D., and are among the 66 LVHN physicians in 30 specialties that appear on the list.

The Best Doctors in America list, created by Best Doctors, Inc., results from a confidential polling of  physicians in the United States who are on the previous Best Doctors in America list. They are asked, “If you or a loved one needed a doctor in your specialty, to whom would you refer?”

Doctors in over 400 subspecialties of medicine appear on this year’s list, representing 50,000 doctors in the country. They are included on a database of experts made available to individuals through employee benefits plans and insurance programs.

Burke is associate chief of cardiology at LVHN and a member of Lehigh Valley Heart Specialists (LVHS); Combs is an interventional cardiologist at LVHN and member of The Heart Care Group (HCG); Cox is a member of LVHS, an interventional cardiologist and associate medical director of the cardiac catheterization laboratory at LVHN; Freudenberger, is acting chair of cardiology at LVHN, medical director of LVHN’s Center for Advanced Heart Failure, and a member of LVHS; Kleaveland is medical director of the cardiac catheterization lab at LVH-Cedar Crest and an LVHS member; Marcus is an electrophysiologist and a member of HCG; Neri is a medical cardiologist and member of HCG; and Singer is a cardio-thoracic surgeon and member of Lehigh Valley Heart and Lung Surgeons.

Doctors cannot pay to be included on the Best Doctors list, nor are they paid to provide their input. The list results from validated peer review, in which doctors who excel in their specialties are chosen.

According to Best Doctors, Inc., the experts who are part of the Best Doctors database provide the most advanced medical knowledge to patients with serious conditions. In addition to cardiology and cardio-thoracic surgery, experts from LVHN named on the Best Doctors in America list practice in the following subspecialties: allergy and immunology, anesthesia, colon-rectal surgery, dermatology, endocrinology, family medicine, gastroenterology, hand surgery, hematology-oncology, infectious diseases, internal medicine, nephrology, neurology, neurosurgery, nuclear medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, ophthalmology, orthopedic surgery, physical medicine and rehab, plastic surgery, pediatrics, radiation oncology, radiology, rheumatology, surgical oncology, urology and vascular surgery.

Lehigh Valley Health Network includes three hospital facilities - two in Allentown and one in Bethlehem, Pa.; eight health centers caring for communities in four counties; numerous primary and specialty care physician practices throughout the region; pharmacy, imaging and lab services; and preferred provider services through Valley Preferred.   Specialty care includes trauma care at the region’s busiest, most-experienced trauma center treating adults and children, burn care at the regional Burn Center, kidney and pancreas transplants; perinatal/neonatal, cardiac, cancer, and neurology and complex neurosurgery capabilities including national certification as a Primary Stroke Center.  Lehigh Valley Health Network has been recognized by US News & World Report for 14 consecutive years as one of America’s Best Hospitals and is a national Magnet hospital for excellence in nursing. Additional information is available at lvhn.org and by following us on facebook.com/LVHealthNetwork and twitter.com/LVHNnews.

Award Recognizes Environmental Leadership and Commitment to Pollution Reduction

PHILADELPHIA (December 17, 2009) -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recognized Lehigh Valley Health Network with the Trailblazer Award for its environmental leadership in a ceremony today at Lehigh Valley Hospital.

EPA’s Trailblazer Award recognizes hospitals in Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Delaware that have served as models for other hospitals and shown leadership in moving their facilities toward sustainable practices. These hospitals are helping pave the for all area hospitals.

“The Lehigh Valley Health Network deserves credit for taking positive steps to reduce waste, improve purchasing practices, and invest in reusable rather than disposable products,” said EPA Regional Administrator Shawn M. Garvin.. “Hospital management is successfully demonstrating leadership and innovation in reducing their environmental footprint.”

The Lehigh Valley Health Network is receiving the Trailblazer Award for establishing programs that are resulting in reductions in the health network’s carbon footprint, including an extensive recycling program; green cleaning programs; drought-resistant gardens; environmentally-preferable purchasing practices; sustainable food practices and wellness programs; LEED-certified buildings; rooftop solar panels; and computer power management and conservation programs.

Medical care in the U.S. is about one-sixth of the nation’s economy. Since 1998 EPA has been working with the healthcare sector to reduce its environmental impact and to help find solutions for reducing pollution, which can make an enormous difference in environmental health and the financial bottom line.

 For more information, go to: www.epa.gov/Region3/green/healthcare2009_07_02.html

Lehigh Valley, Pa. (Dec. 3, 2009) – Lehigh Valley Hospital (LVH) is being nationally recognized by two ratings organizations for quality, innovation and efficiency.

LVH is cited as one of the 10 Best Hospitals in America for 2009 by Becker’s Hospital Review, a leading business and legal health care publication, hospitalreviewmagazine.com; and The Leapfrog Group, leapfroggroup.org, lists LVH among the 2009 Leapfrog Top Hospitals. LVH is listed for the third straight year and is the only Pennsylvania hospital included among 37 general hospitals recognized by Leapfrog, a group of employers who purchase health care benefits for their employees.

LVH is joined on the Becker’s Best Hospitals list by other notable health care providers including Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore; Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston; and Mayo Clinic, which also joins LVH on the Leapfrog list along with others including Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston; Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Chicago; and Vanderbilt University Hospital in Tennessee.

“This year’s class of Top Hospitals not only hits the mark in areas such as medication error prevention and preventing ICU deaths, but they also use their resources wisely, providing excellent and efficient outcomes for patients,” said Leah Binder, CEO, The Leapfrog Group. “Regardless of what happens to health care reform, these hospitals are the future.”

Among the criteria for consideration by Leapfrog are:

• Fully meet Leapfrog standards for implementing computer physician order entry (CPOE) systems (that have been shown to reduce medication errors by up to 85 percent), and for passing Leapfrog’s test of their system;

• Fully meet stringent performance standards for complex, high-risk procedures (such as heart bypass surgery) done in that particular hospital;

• Fully meet standards for staffing the ICU, shown to reduce mortality by 40 percent or more;

• Score in the top decile in the country for efficiency – scored by the Leapfrog Hospital Recognition Program incorporating quality outcomes, length of stay, readmission rates, and incidence of hospital-acquired conditions and infections. The efficiency standard applies to heart bypass surgery, heart angioplasty, heart attack and pneumonia patients.

Becker’s calls LVH a “beacon for every hospital” as we face the current recession citing how it has “thrived at a high-quality level” despite the difficult economic times. LVH is noted in Becker’s review of the top 10 hospitals for being recognized by other top hospital ratings services and publications including US News & World Report’s “America’s Best Hospitals” for 14 consecutive years.

Lehigh Valley Health Network includes three hospital facilities - two in Allentown and one in Bethlehem, Pa.; eight health centers caring for communities in four counties; numerous primary and specialty care physician practices throughout the region; pharmacy, imaging and lab services; and preferred provider services through Valley Preferred.   Specialty care includes trauma care at the region’s busiest, most-experienced trauma center treating adults and children, burn care at the regional Burn Center, kidney and pancreas transplants; perinatal/neonatal, cardiac, cancer, and neurology and complex neurosurgery capabilities including national certification as a Primary Stroke Center.  Lehigh Valley Health Network has been recognized by US News & World Report for 14 consecutive years as one of America’s Best Hospitals and is a national Magnet hospital for excellence in nursing. Additional information is available at lvhn.org and by following us on facebook.com/LVHealthNetwork and twitter.com/LVHNnews.

Thanks to advancements in today's medical technology, Lehigh Valley Health Network is home to leading-edge equipment that offers treatment for high-risk patients.  

Lehigh Valley Health Network is recognized nationwide as a leader in teamwork and quality, and continues to strive for excellence.  The LVHN logo represents the three things that drive its work: patient care, education and clinical research, all of which creates high-quality health care in Pennsylvania.

For additional information about this PA Hospital, please visit lvhn.org or call 610-402-CARE.