Beginning Jan. 2, patients at St. Luke’s Miners Campus in Coaldale will have consistent bus service from Pottsville to Tamaqua, McAdoo and the Schuylkill Valley.

Schuylkill Transportation System has announced a dedicated bus route from Pottsville to St. Luke’s Miners Campus that will service the local communities.

“It’s really exciting and we’re so thankful to STS for dedicating this fixed bus route,” said Micah Gursky, St. Luke’s Rural Health Clinic administrator who worked with STS on making the long sought-after route a reality.

“Our patients never had a fixed bus route with regular scheduled stops come to St. Luke’s Miners Campus before.”

The new route means that people throughout the Schuylkill Valley can take the bus to see their doctor or their loved ones who are being treated at the hospital. In addition, people who are transported to the hospital by ambulance or other emergency means now have a way back home once they are treated and released.

In the past, patients would need to call to make arrangements for transportation.

Gursky said that St. Luke’s has been working with STS for several years in hopes of getting a route. The option became available with the closing of the Schuylkill Mall, leaving STS with available buses and drivers to create the new route.

The new route incorporates changes to the Middleport- Tamaqua-McAdoo route. It runs from Pottsville’s Union Station three times a day, departing at 8 a.m., 11:15 a.m. and 2:10 p.m. The loop route stops at St. Luke’s Miners at 9:25 a.m., 10:25 a.m., 11:57 a.m., 12:57 a.m., 2:56 p.m., and the final time at 4:05 p.m., before returning to Union Station at 5:10 p.m.

Patients from Pottsville, Mechanicsville, Port Carbon, Cumbola, New Philadelphia, Middleport, Tuscarora, Tamaqua, Coaldale, Hometown and McAdoo can work with St. Luke’s scheduling team so that appointments and testing will correspond with these stops.

STS Executive Director David Bekisz is pleased to turn a negative of the closing of the Schuylkill Mall into a positive to better serve the eastern part of Schuylkill County.

“This is exciting for us,” Gursky said. “People now have the opportunity to ride the bus to see their doctors and visit the hospital. I’ve lived here my whole life and there’s never been a consistent fixed bus route service to St Luke’s Miners Campus before for these communities. We are grateful to STS for making this happen for the people of Schuylkill County.”