Lehigh Valley Health Network (LVHN) and Westfield Hospital today announced they have signed an agreement that will allow LVHN to acquire the assets of Westfield. LVHN plans to transform Westfield into the Center for Orthopedic Medicine. LVHN will operate and staff the new orthopedic center located at Westfield’s current site, 4815-4825 W. Tilghman St., South Whitehall Township.
Ronald Swinfard, MD, LVHN’s president and CEO, said the care at the center will run the gamut of orthopedic care with the focus on total joint replacement and spine surgery. “The availability of Westfield Hospital provides LVHN with a unique opportunity to expand and enhance our already strong orthopedics program for the thousands of people who need those services,” Swinfard said. “This location offers convenience for our patients because of its accessibility and operational efficiencies for both inpatient and outpatient care.”
Swinfard said LVHN will continue operation of existing orthopedic services within the health network as part of the Center for Orthopedic Medicine. These services are currently located at Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest, Lehigh Valley Hospital-Muhlenberg, Lehigh Valley Hospital-17th Street and Fairgrounds Surgical Center.
LVHN cares for more orthopedics patients in the hospital than any other provider in the Lehigh Valley – more than 38 percent of all inpatients, according to 2012 data from the Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council (PHC4). Lehigh Valley Hospital has been listed among U.S. News & World Report’s Best Hospitals for orthopedics five times, including the most recent report released in July. It is the only hospital in the Lehigh Valley ever to be recognized by U.S. News for orthopedics.
Want to publish your own articles on DistilINFO Publications?
Send us an email, we will get in touch with you.
Westfield Hospital currently employs about 100 people. The staff has been notified of the transformation and will be given an opportunity to seek employment at the new Center for Orthopedic Medicine or at other LVHN campuses. The new facility is expected to employ about 100 people.
“I want to thank the dedicated and professional physicians, nurses and staff who have provided excellent patient care to our community since 2007,” said Yasin Khan, MD, CEO of Westfield Hospital. “Westfield Hospital and Westfield Surgery Center will continue caring for their patients, fully, until the December 2013 transaction date. We look forward to the Westfield team working with LVHN, the region’s leading health network.”
Swinfard and Khan said LVHN would take ownership of the services in December. Tentative plans are to open the Center for Orthopedic Medicine in early 2014.
Westfield Hospital operates 25 licensed beds, three operating rooms and an emergency department in the main hospital. Westfield Surgery Center for ambulatory surgery also is located on the campus and includes three operating rooms and two procedure rooms. The surgery center operation also would be run by LVHN as part of the transaction. Preliminary plans are to convert the emergency department into an urgent care facility.
A medical office building also is located on site. Yasin Khan and Elizabeth Khan, MD, will continue their private, independent practices at Comprehensive Pain Centers and Tilghman Medical Center, respectively.
All three facilities include 65,000 square feet of space, with the hospital accounting for about 45,000 square feet of that area.
Date: October 3, 2013