Lehigh Valley Health Network officially cut the ribbon at Lehigh Valley Hospital–Gilbertsville last Friday and started seeing patients this week.

“This neighborhood hospital is an example of our continued efforts to find more effective ways to meet our communities’ health care needs,” Michael Rossi, MD, executive vice president and chief clinical officer for LVHN, told ribbon-cutting ceremony attendees.

This is LVHN’s first neighborhood hospital in the Tri-County region. LVH–Gilbertsville will provide more accessible health care in the region, complete with a round-the-clock emergency room.

The opening completes the first part of the new Gilbertsville medical campus. The Health Center at Gilbertsville will open later this summer. Health center services will include adult and pediatric rehabilitation, breast health services, cardiac rehabilitation, cardiac and nuclear testing, cardiology, HNL Lab Medicine, orthopedics, pediatrics, physiatry, primary care, pulmonology and rheumatology. Obstetrics and gynecology service are expected to be available early next year.

The new hospital and health center fill a need by creating a medical campus and health care services not currently available in the region.

LVHN is celebrating its 125th anniversary this year, marking a historic milestone and looking to the future. “Health care doesn’t stand still and neither do we,” Dr. Rossi said.

Holly Badali, president of Neighborhood Hospitals for LVHN, said the health network’s standard of compassionate, leading-edge health care is unmatched in this region. “You’ll see it in everyone who helps and treats you at LVH–Gilbertsville,” she said.

Lehigh Valley Hospital–Gilbertsville is a stand-alone, licensed, acute care hospital, and in addition to the full-service ER with 11 beds, it features a 10-bed inpatient medical unit and ambulatory diagnostic services. The inpatient beds are for those requiring overnight hospital stays, or for additional care, observation and testing.

Someone arriving at LVH–Gilbertsville with more acute medical problems, or requiring surgery, would be stabilized and transported to a larger hospital in the region with increased care capability. Pediatric patients requiring inpatient care will routinely be transferred to Lehigh Valley Reilly Children’s Hospital.

Other in-house hospital services include lab and imaging. Imaging services, including X-ray, ultrasound, CT scan and MRI, also are offered on an outpatient basis.

“LVH–Gilbertsville is part of our continuing effort to bring world-class health care to you, making it more convenient than ever to get the expert help you need, when you and your families need it,” Dr. Rossi said. “Overall, LVHN is growing to meet community needs for care and convenience across the areas we serve.”

David Burmeister, DO, chief medical executive for Acute Care at LVHN, said LVH–Gilbertsville was a “labor of love” for him and so many others connected to the project. Burmeister said neighborhood hospitals are just one way for LVHN to establish a closer connection to the communities it serves.

“This hospital is a testament to the LVHN core values of compassion for our community, integrity in the way we conduct ourselves, collaboration among teams and excellence in the care we will provide at this facility,” Dr. Burmeister said. “We are sure it will be a well-used resource in the community.”