St. Luke's Hospital staff, Sen. David G. Argall (R-29) and Rep. Doyle Heffley (R-122) recently announced a $750,000 matching grant award through the Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program (RACP) for the creation of a state-of-the-art surgical suite at St. Luke's Hospital - Miners Campus. Argall and Heffley pointed out that the grant will provide new jobs and increasing quality healthcare for local patients.

"These funds, matched by local fundraising efforts, double the impact for our hospital," said Argall. "This competitive grant will ensure our local hospital has the capabilities of the hospitals located in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. This also increases high quality health care for rural Pennsylvanians."Representative Heffley noted the competitive process to obtain this state grant."This grant is a commitment from the state for one of our region's largest professional employers," said Heffley."This is an exciting project for the hospital and will provide patients a more comfortable and 'closer to home' place to recover after surgery," said Traci Graver, operating room manager for the St. Luke's Miner Hospital - Miners Campus.Bill Moyer, campus president, spoke of the necessity for strong health care services in our rural areas."St. Luke's plays a vital role in people's lives throughout Schuylkill and Carbon County," said Moyer. "This grant, coupled with our fundraising efforts here, will enable us to build a new surgical suite that is second-to-none, providing quality, sustainable jobs and better healthcare for patients."He also expressed his appreciation to the support given by staff, state officials and the borough of Coaldale.The hospital is currently working with architects to draft a design for the new surgical suite and expects to begin construction by the end of the year.RACP is administered by the Office of the Budget for the acquisition and construction of regional, economic, cultural, civic and historical improvement projects.