When Jennifer Janco, MD, became Chair of Pediatrics of St. Luke’s University Health Network, she had a vision that all children in St. Luke’s service area would have access to primary care close to home, and specialty and comprehensive inpatient care a short drive away.

“Like a puzzle, the pieces started to come together to complete the vision. Now, a decade later, we can stand back and say, ‘wow, we built that!’ We’re changing the landscape of care in this community and as a result children will get better care. They will move into adulthood healthier because of the work we’ve done.”

The entire St. Luke’s pediatric and senior management teams shared this vision and worked together to make it a reality.

Their work culminated in St. Luke’s acceptance into the Children’s Hospital Association, a national network, in April.

Dr. Janco says quality care for children begins with St. Luke’s Network of primary care pediatric practices. Board-certified pediatricians and advanced practitioners provide well-baby and child/adolescent visits, immunizations and care for ill or injured children. Because pediatrician practices are limited to newborns, children and adolescents, they understand that children are not small adults, and their developing body may require special medications and treatments.

Pediatricians treat young patients in a manner that is comfortable for the child and comforting for parents.

St. Luke’s local pediatric providers include Melanie Koehler, MD, of St Luke’s Tamaqua Primary Care and Mira Slizovsky, MD, of St. Luke’s Palmerton Pediatrics. Like all St. Luke’s primary care pediatric providers, they know when a child would benefit from seeing a pediatric subspecialist or need hospital admission.

Fortunately, when a specialist is needed, patients can receive care at the St. Luke’s Pediatric Specialty Center, just off Route 309 and near Route 78, in Center Valley. The kid-friendly, 37,500-square-foot center opened on May 9.

The only free-standing facility dedicated entirely to kids, it houses multiple pediatric specialties, including:

• Behavioral health

• Speech therapy

• Nephrology

• Gastroenterology

• Cardiology

• Pulmonology

• Developmental Pediatrics

• Neurology

• Endocrinology

• Physical therapy

• Occupational therapy

• Pediatric nutrition

“The building is a proper home for our specialty services,” Janco said. “It’s reflective of the quality expert care that children receive there.”

Another important component of St. Luke’s pediatric services is inpatient care at St. Luke’s University Hospital – Bethlehem. In 2020, the campus enhanced inpatient care by opening an eight-bed Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) for critically ill children. Staffed with pediatric critical care physicians 24/7, the PICU team cares for children suffering from serious illnesses, such as severe respiratory distress, infections, traumatic injury and heart disease or after major surgery. The unit is furnished with the latest technology and has nurses specially trained to care for critically ill children.

“We don’t believe that parents should have to travel far from their homes to receive the care their child needs,” she said. “And that’s never truer than when they are not feeling well.”

Dr. Janco’s entire life has led to this point. Her kindergarten teacher remembers 5-year-old Jennifer saying she wanted to be a pediatrician. That same teacher wrote a letter of recommendation for Dr. Janco’s application to Hahnemann University School of Medicine. Before joining St. Luke’s, she completed a pediatrics residency at St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children in Philadelphia.

“I feel privileged every day to do what I love and that is taking care of each child before me in the clinical setting,” Dr. Janco said. “Being in a leadership role, I get to advance care for patients I’ll never meet. By bringing more services, more talent and more expertise to the area, I can improve the health care of an entire generation of children. That’s a legacy I’m proud of.”

St. Luke’s Baby & Me Support Center Coming Soon to Palmerton

The St. Luke’s Baby & Me Support Center will provide mothers, fathers, support persons and family members with a variety of services commonly needed before, during and after pregnancy in one convenient location.

St. Luke’s Baby & Me Support Center delivers personalized and compassionate care that includes:

• Prenatal and postnatal classes.

• Support groups.

• Lactation support services.

• Postpartum emotional wellness services provided by St. Luke’s behavioral health therapists to help mothers experiencing postpartum depression.