Health Care Is Expanding In The Pocono Mountains
Pocono Mountain's diverse health care and speciality providers have offered top-notch care for more than a century. To build on that quality and to accommodate a growing business and tourist climate, Pocono Mountain's health care centers have expanded to launch new facilities, new departments, and new services.
For more than a century, Pocono Mountains health-care providers have offered residents quality care from nationally and internationally recognized medical professionals. To improve that quality and accommodate a growing business and visitor climate, medical centers in the region have launched new facilities, new departments and new services.
Pocono Health System’s flagship hospital, Pocono Medical Center, celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2015. The hospital was recognized by U.S. News & World Report as among the top 10 percent best Pennsylvania hospitals for 2015-2016. Its clinical capability and patient care ranked 16th in the state.
In late 2015, Pocono Health System announced an agreement to merge with Lehigh Valley Health Network, which will bring continued growth and expansion to the region.
“We are jointly committed to add more community health-care centers,” says Pocono Health System president and CEO Jeffrey Snyder, noting the addition of centers in Bartonsville and Brodheadsville in Monroe County. “These centers are highly accessible, comprehensive and anchored with urgent and primary care.”
Pocono Health System and Lehigh Valley Health Network also plan to build Pocono Medical Center West, a new hospital in Pocono Township. The facility will give residents top-notch care and clinical capabilities close to home.
Other recent developments include an emergency room expansion, which coincides with the medical center’s continued designation as a Level III Trauma Center. “We have one of the busiest ERs in state,” Snyder says. “We need to have the additional infrastructure to support that volume along with our high-performing medical staff.”
Independent and Growing
Wayne Memorial Hospital, a nonprofit, community-based hospital based in Honesdale, provides inpatient and outpatient care for more than 30 specialties, from cardiac and cancer care to emergency services and intensive care. Already a certified Primary Stroke Center, Wayne Memorial Hospital plans to become a Level IV Trauma Center. To achieve this goal, the hospital plans to build a helipad. The hospital anticipates the new helicopter-landing pad to take flight in mid-2016.
“The new heliport would be less than a mile away from our hospital,” Wayne Memorial Hospital CEO David Hoff says of the proposed addition. “We anticipate transporting patients suffering life-threatening illnesses within minutes.”
Around the same time, Wayne Memorial Hospital will also launch a mobile mammography service to cater to rural patients, as well as a new cardiac catheterization laboratory. “We often have to transport people with more advanced cardiac problems to Scranton,” Hoff says. “We hope to reduce the need for people with heart problems to leave the area.”
Anticipating continued growth, Wayne Memorial Hospital plans to expand its facility to include more than 100 beds in private instead of semi-private rooms. “We’re adding 54 new rooms, which will address privacy issues, as well as improve patient satisfaction,” says Hoff.
Specialized Services
Health care expansions continue throughout the Pocono Mountains region. St. Luke’s University Health Network, which comprises six hospitals and more than 200 primary care, outpatient and other sites, recently broke ground on a new campus in Stroud Township. St. Luke’s University Health Network officials estimate a fall 2016 completion.
The proposed 193,000 square-foot, 108-bed facility will include four operating rooms, two procedure rooms, and a cardiac catheterization laboratory. An on-site helipad will support the emergency room.
Residents also have easy access to Palmerton Hospital and Gnaden Huetten Memorial Hospital in Lehighton. Both community hospitals fall under Blue Mountain Health System.
The physician-led Geisinger Medical Group includes 12 hospital campuses, including one in Mount Pocono. It offers family medicine and many other specialties with evening and weekend hours.
The Pocono Mountains region also includes specialty treatment facilities, such as the Upper Delaware Valley Cancer Center in Milford, which uses the latest technology to treat patients. Rehabilitation centers, home care, assisted living facilities and other services ensure comprehensive care.
Whether residents experience a life-threatening illness or a bad case of the flu, the Pocono region’s diverse health care facilities ensure they receive appropriate care. Hoff, in particular, recognizes the positive growth.
“Pennsylvania hospitals do a good job of providing comprehensive care,” he says. “At Wayne Memorial, we look forward to a bright future.”