Two health care facilities continued to make their presence felt in a big way in Carbon County in 2022.

Lehigh Valley Hospital - Carbon opened its doors in Mahoning Township, while the recently-opened St. Luke’s Hospital - Carbon campus in Franklin Township announced plans to expand.

LVH - Carbon opens

Lehigh Valley Health Network cut the ribbon to welcome Lehigh Valley Hospital - Carbon in Mahoning Township, which opened in June.

The $78 million, 100,578-square-foot campus on Route 443 is home to a full-service community hospital.

The campus has 17 different specialty offices with a variety of services, including cardiology, oncology and ear nose and throat among them.

The hospital will have 20 inpatient and 16 emergency room beds.

It has two operating rooms, and will eventually have four. There are also two procedure rooms.

Other services include complete telemedicine services; heart institute; cancer institute; institute for surgical excellence and imaging services.

Attached to the hospital is a medical office building where patients can visit their practitioner or access other LVHN services.

The health center will feature outpatient rehab; cardiac rehab; pharmacy; infusion center; and LVPG/Coordinated Health.

There are LVPG providers, with orthopedic surgeons; OB/GYN; general surgeon; colorectal surgeon; cardiology; ENT (Ear, nose, throat); physiatry; rheumatology; and pain management.

The hospital will be fully staffed, and they will supplement staff with members who are employees from Cedar Crest.

Lehigh Valley Health Network includes 13 hospital campuses, 28 health centers; numerous primary and specialty care physician practices and 20 ExpressCARE locations.

Specialty care includes: trauma care for adults and children, burn care at the Regional Burn Center; kidney and pancreas transplants; perinatal/neonatal, cardiac, cancer, orthopedics, neurology, complex neurosurgery capabilities including national certification as a Comprehensive Stroke Center, and robotic surgery in 10 specialties.

St. Luke’s expansion

Franklin Township supervisors last month approved a letter of credit for a new medical office building proposed by St. Luke’s in Franklin Township.

On a unanimous measure, supervisors ratified the irrevocable standby letter of credit for $2,197,361 for the medical office.

In October, supervisors gave final approval to the St. Luke’s Medical Office Building land development plan.

Plans call for a three-story, 60,000-square-foot medical office building to be built on 30.5 acres between the St. Luke’s Carbon Campus and Reber Street.

The medical office building will be connected to the hospital by a walkway. The facility is expected to open in early 2023.

It will include cancer, cardiac, orthopedics care, pain management and physical therapy services and physicians’ offices, along with a fitness center.

Also in October, the board approved the St. Luke’s Medical Office Building’s developer’s agreement.

In May, supervisors established the number of Equivalent Dwelling Units St. Luke’s may have at its planned medical office building. St. Luke’s is to have 8.4 EDUs based upon 84 employees at the building to be attached to the hospital on Harrity Road.

Supervisors signed a letter regarding the statement of compliance with Pa. Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program, the township, St. Luke’s Hospital Site & Development & Pad Readiness RACP Grants, stating the township abides by program requirements. The letter is required for St. Luke’s to receive the RACP Grant.

In April, supervisors granted St. Luke’s conditional final approval to move forward with a medical office building attached to its main hospital in the township.

St. Luke’s University Health Network opened the doors to its $80 million Carbon campus on Nov. 20, 2021.

The St. Luke’s Monroe campus is also in the middle of construction for a four-story, 165,000-square-foot patient care building.

St. Luke’s University Health Network has more than 18,000 employees providing services at 14 campuses and 300-plus outpatient sites.