A rendering of the planned hospital to be built at the LVHN campus in Lower Nazareth Township. (courtesy image)

The Lehigh Valley Health Network (LVHN) has announced it will build the first phase of a new health campus in Lower Nazareth Township, located just off Route 33 along Hecktown Road.

Plans for the new campus include a 156,000-square-foot hospital and medical office building designed for patient convenience. It will serve people of all ages by providing easy access to advanced surgical, emergency, and orthopedic care, advanced imaging, diagnostic testing and more.

“The people of Northampton County asked for convenient access to LVHN services, and we listened,” said LVHN President and Chief Executive Officer Brian Nester. “By providing the advanced services and technology for which LVHN is known, close to where families live, work and play, we can help more people live their healthiest life.”

A groundbreaking is expected in the spring of 2019, during which time the formal name of the campus will be announced. A grand opening is planned for the fall of 2020.

This project is one of several recently announced expansions in the Lehigh Valley’s health care sector. The St. Luke’s University Health Network recently tripled its inpatient beds at Sacred Heart in Allentown, hired 200 employees for its Geisinger hospital, and opened its 17th walk-in center in Forks Township.

A rendering of the planned medical building to be built at the LVHN campus in Lower Nazareth Township. (courtesy image)

The new LVHN campus is the latest addition to a group of health care resources the network established in Northampton County. Over the last 20 years, LVHN has opened health centers in Bangor, Bath, Bethlehem Township, and most recently in Easton and Palmer Township.

Over that time, LVHN has also established six ExpressCARE locations, including the region’s first Children’s ExpressCARE at the Health Center at Palmer Township; and opened numerous practices providing primary, specialty and rehabilitation services for the whole family, including a facility in Madison Farms that provides specialty services for women and children.

LVHN includes eight hospital campuses: three in Allentown, one in Bethlehem, one in East Stroudsburg, one in Hazleton and two in Pottsville, Pa. Nearly one-third of residents in Northampton County already receive health care services from an LVHN provider.

Over the last seven years, the number of visits from Northampton County residents to Lehigh Valley Physician Group providers increased 91 percent, according to LVHN. In fiscal year 2018, LVPG had more than 430,000 visits from Northampton County residents.

The campus’ one-story hospital will be smaller and easier to navigate than a typical high-rise institution, and will feature a healing garden. The goal is to create a calming, comforting environment that will help people feel at ease and heal better, officials said.

“We have been at the forefront of LVHN’s expansion in Northampton County and eagerly anticipate the new hospital in proximity to our practice,” said Harvey Hakim, practice lead of LVPG Internal Medicine–Nazareth Road. “The new health campus will benefit our patients who are accustomed to the personalized, accessible and high-quality care we provide.”

The campus will contain leading-edge equipment for today’s treatments and telemedicine technology to make care more convenient, according to the network.

The hospital will include an emergency room for adults and children, private patient rooms with views of the healing garden, state-of-the-art operating suites, Lehigh Valley Special Surgery Institute and Lehigh Valley Heart Institute services, a Musculoskeletal Center, and more.

“We’re acting now to ensure the health care services families need most are in place today and in the future,” Nester said.

The medical office building will provide access to outpatient primary and specialty care, including breast health services, leading-edge diagnostic testing and comprehensive rehabilitation services, according to the network. The design of the campus also includes ample space for future growth.