Lehigh Valley Hospital-Hazleton

Hospice servicesin partnership with lehigh valley hospice, inpatient and home care hospice services are provided to our local community. This is the only inpatient hospice program serving the greater hazleton area. The program model is designed to deliver patient-centered care rather than disease-centered care and to provide comfort and care to terminally ill patients and their families. In fy24, hospice services were provided to 50 lvh-h patients for a total of 235 days of care which was an increase from prior year.telehealth servicesas technology has advanced, the ways health care can be provided have changed and advanced too. At lvh-h, patients are benefiting from secure telehealth technology that allows them to access and receive quality, specialized care conveniently. In fy2024, lvh-h added inpatient telehealth virtual surgery and telehealth physiatry to its growing list of telehealth services that include heme/oncology, infectious disease, neurology, advanced intensive care unit (aicu), burn, neurosurgery, toxicology, psychiatric evaluations, maternal fetal medicine, and palliative care.orthopedic and occupational health (melissa)in fy24, lvh-h and lvpg-h continued the plan for operational and clinical musculoskeletal and occupational medicine integration to provide better, quicker access to our patients and to meet the growing needs of our patients. It is ideal for patients to have elective surgeries like total joint replacements close to home with coordinated continuum of care for optimal outcomes and cost containment. Fy24 showed an 12% increase in total orthopedic surgical volume including total joint replacements. Elective total joint replacement volume increased 68.7% in fy24 vs. Fy23, and los decreased from an average of 1.93 days in fy23 to 1.63 days in fy24.with the growing manufacturing and e-commerce/distribution footprint in the area, positioning these comprehensive services within one of the largest industrial parks led to greater relationships with businesses and an increase in occupational medicine services to meet the demand.athletic training and school-based behavioral health programan athletic training (at) contract between lvh-h and the hazleton area school district (hasd) continues for the next 8 years. This partnership has continued to evolve with support for student athletics through staffing, specialized training, and investment into preventative and rehabilitative equipment and programs. The contract also includes a non-athletic component whereby lvhn brought physical and mental health education to the classrooms in both virtual and in-person methods. In the second half of fy24, lvhn was successful in recruiting a school-based behavioral health therapist for hasd for live in-person counseling sessions which was complemented by tele-therapy. Thirty-five students were referred and over 200 therapy sessions were completed. The program is achieving its goals of improving students' mental health and resiliency through evidence-based individual therapy and case management services for students along with mental health education for faculty to help students address their trauma. It has also shown improvement in school performance and strength in their overall well-being.retail pharmacyplans to build a retail pharmacy on the campus of lvh-h were initiated in fy24 to improve access to over the counter and prescription medication for both colleagues and patients. The goal is to allow patients to obtain their medications upon discharge from the hospital with greater ease to ensure compliance with their discharge plan of care. Provider and staff recruitmentsignificant investment into recruitment of primary and specialty physicians and advanced practice clinicians to meet the growing needs of our community continued for lvh-h and lvpg-h in fy 2024. Despite the historical challenges to attract providers to our small community, lvpg-h was again successful in recruiting the following number of clinicians: occupational medicine (1), podiatry (1), internal medicine (1), family medicine (1), neurology (1), and pediatrics (2). The lvpg-h staffing compliment has significantly improved and a comprehensive strategic plan continues to identify and validate the number of new providers needed to sufficiently care for our community and the best locations to place these providers.clinical staffing was and continues to be a high priority for the health network, particularly for nurses. Nursing shortages persisted, requiring a costly labor force to provide care to the community. Lvh-h focused on reduction of temporary labor and recruitment of permanent staff. Initiatives and offerings that were undertaken to recruit nurses and other health care professionals include:- nursing recruitment events regionally and expanded to puerto rico and international locations- visiting area colleges with medical programs- offering sign-on bonuses- colleague referral bonuses- crisis pay- competitive wages/market review and compensation adjustments- building relationships with area colleges and universities with nursing and other clinical programstechnology/equipment/facilitiesongoing facility renovations to the hospital, which began in fy22, continued into fy24 including repaving of parking lots for staff and visitor safety, continued building exterior improvements, and hvac improvements. Lvh-h invested in improved clinical equipment to support orthopedic growth and infection prevention including an upgraded equipment sterilizer. New equipment was purchased to optimally care for pregnant mothers and newborn babies as well as meet the language barriers occurring in the community.investments were made in increased education, equipment, and utilization of language technology to ensure adequate delivery of healthcare and patients' understanding and partnership in their decision-making.community health needs assessmentthe community health needs assessment (chna) was conducted in mid-2022 and based on the results of the assessment, priority areas were identified for the three-year period 2023-2025. Specific initiatives were implemented and continued in fy24 around the following priorities through partnerships with community organizations:- school-based behavioral health and preventative health services for youth: - provide mental health services and preventive health services to children in hazleton, including dental services and immunizations. - as stated earlier, a school-based behavioral health therapist was hired for the hazleton area school district - tele-therapy is also offered to meet the needs of virtual learners or alternative school placement, or for holidays / sick absences. - a school-based lvpg physician assistant provides onsite services for required school physicals and vaccinations for children (vfc)- address language barriers in health care to improve health outcomes for vulnerable populations.- diversify staff at lvh-hazleton to be more reflective of the community being served, including through human resource recruitment and workforce development efforts.- to complement the use of interpreter ipads, a live interpreter was hired for the emergency department where timely translation and understanding of medical concerns is necessary.- continue to recruit bilingual clinical and non-clinical staff.- hired bilingual guest services staff to welcome and direct patients and visitors.- lvh-h leadership members participated in a presentation entitled, "hidden cultural & linguistic barriers to healthcare within the hispanic community" to better understand cultural variations in accessing healthcare.- videos were placed in high visible areas in both english and spanish about available transportation resources and emergency department care.

Community engagement - lvh-h held its annual free community drive-thru flu shot clinic in fy 2024. The clinic provided more than 300 free vaccines and was well received by the community. Vaccines were again provided to adults and children 6 months to 12 years of age. - lvh-h continued to support community non-profit organizations through monetary sponsorships. - lvh-h continued its outreach to individuals 60 years of age and older in our community through the vitalchoice program. The program, which has close to 400 members, is designed to help members in their personal health and wellness journey by providing them with more choices, services, convenience, and wellness programs. In addition, the program features an lvhn fitness center discount, enrollment in silver sneakers (if insurance applies), free annual wellness assessment, and complimentary, personalized training session. Vitalchoice also keeps members engaged and active through social and enrichment programs including "lunch and learns" on health care topics and services available through lvhn and other organizations such as the pennsylvania state police, free picnics, and other social activities.- lvh-h participated in 120 community events in fy24, which provided health related education and health screenings. We partnered with various organizations in the community to assure we reached as many people in our diverse community as possible. - lvh-h has a membership of almost 70 stakeholders in our community, board of associates, who attend a bi-monthly luncheon meeting to keep up to date on the services, providers, and accomplishments at lvh-h and the entire network. These members then share the information with family, friends, and co-workers.- lvh-h leaders are actively involved with area organizations such as the united way and their agencies, area chamber of commerce, rotary and kiwanis clubs, and hazleton integration project, to name a few, by sitting on boards and volunteering their time to support their mission in our community.- lvh-hazleton was the proud winner of 11 2024 standard speaker reader's choice awards in the following health categories: - best hospital-lvh-hazleton- best patient care-lvh-hazleton- best place to work medical- best medical practice- best orthopedic services- best pediatrician- best obstetrician/gynecologist- best podiatrist- best physical therapy- best rehabilitation center- best surgeon