Six St. Luke’s University Health Network hospitals — the most of any health network in the state — were honored by the Hospital and Healthcare Association of Pennsylvania for exemplary results in delivering safe patient care.

Now in its seventh year, HAP’s Excellence in Patient Safety Recognition program honored 22 of the commonwealth’s top-performing hospitals that have demonstrated low rates of health care-associated infections.

The six St. Luke’s hospitals recognized for exemplary safe patient care are:

• St. Luke’s Allentown Campus.

• St. Luke’s Anderson Campus.

• St. Luke’s University Hospital - Bethlehem Campus.

• St. Luke’s Carbon Campus.

• St. Luke’s Hospital - Monroe Campus .

• St. Luke’s Upper Bucks Campus.

This is the fifth consecutive year that St. Luke’s Anderson Campus has been honored through the Excellence in Patient Safety Recognition program. The hospital’s team received special recognition for demonstrating consistent, outstanding patient safety outcomes annually from 2021-25.

St. Luke’s University Hospital’s Bethlehem Campus has been honored all seven years. The Bethlehem Campus is the only hospital in the state to earn this important designation every year that HAP has awarded it. “There can be only one #1, and by these objective measures, it is St. Luke’s,” said Donna Sabol, St. Luke’s senior vice president and chief quality officer. “This state recognition comes on the heels of being recognized by the federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality as one of the nation’s top three high performing health systems for safety and quality.”

The 2025 honorees were selected based on their performance during 2024.

“Hospitals’ top priority is ensuring high-quality, safe care for their communities,” HAP President and CEO Nicole Stallings said. “HAP proudly recognizes the Pennsylvania hospital teams that went above and beyond to demonstrate their commitment to continuous quality and safety improvement and achieved exceptional results.”

HAP announced the 2025 Excellence in Patient Safety Recognition recipients Oct. 8 during its Patient Safety, Quality and Equity Symposium in Harrisburg.

HAP identifies top-performing hospitals using data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Healthcare Safety Network. To be recognized, hospitals must perform better than the mean standardized infection ratio in three key measures: central line-associated bloodstream infections; catheter-associated urinary tract infections; and occurrences of Clostridioides difficile.

Representatives from the six St. Luke’s campuses accepted the safety awards.

Founded in 1872, St. Luke’s University Health Network is a fully integrated, regional nonprofit network with annual net revenue of more than $4 billion. With 23,000-plus employees at 16 hospital campuses and 350-plus outpatient sites, it is the Lehigh Valley’s biggest employer.

The network’s service area includes 11 counties in two states: Lehigh, Northampton, Berks, Bucks, Carbon, Montgomery, Monroe, Schuylkill and Luzerne counties in Pennsylvania; and Warren and Hunterdon counties in New Jersey.

St. Luke’s hospitals operate the largest network of trauma centers in Pennsylvania, with the Bethlehem Campus being home to St. Luke’s Children’s Hospital.