St. Luke’s University Health Network says it is seeing a record number of births, even as other health care systems in the country see declines or flattening of birth rates.
For the first time in the network’s history, more than 6,000 babies were born at St. Luke’s three birthing hospitals during a fiscal year, which ends June 30, according to a news release from St. Luke’s.
The health network said the figure surpasses fiscal year 2024’s total of 5,000 births, which at that time was a new record.
“This major milestone reflects our patients’ trust in, and desire for, the special care and expertise they experience in our labor and delivery suites at St. Luke’s Allentown, Anderson and Upper Bucks campuses,” said Elizabeth Dierking, MD, chair of the Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology.
Number 6,000 was tiny baby Levi, arriving at 2:09 a.m. on Wednesday, June 10, at St. Luke’s Allentown Campus, the network says. The 5-pound, 15-ounce and 20 ½-inch-long infant is the son Kevin Kelenski and Eliza Oliveri of Orefield.
“I’ve met a lot of great employees over multiple shifts, due to the length of my time in labor,” said Oliveri, a patient of St. Luke’s Complete Women’s Care in Fogelsville.
This past fall, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services ranked St. Luke’s #1 – ahead of Houston Methodist and Mayo Clinic – as the nation’s top health system for quality, safety, and patient experience, the network said in its news release.
St. Luke’s says its labor and delivery units feature 24/7/365 neonatology services.
The network says its Obstetrics & Gynecology Department includes a Maternal Fetal Medicine program with physicians providing care for all obstetrics patients including outpatient care, hospital consults, preconception counseling, genetics counseling and diabetes management.
Its Baby & Me comprehensive program offers lactation support, behavioral health care, pre- and post-natal classes, support groups, and other educational resources to help parents through every stage of pregnancy, St. Luke’s said.
The Labor and Delivery Unit and Obstetric Anesthesia Service at St. Luke’s Anderson Campus has been designated as Pennsylvania’s third Center of Excellence (COE) by the Society of Obstetric Anesthesia and Perinatology, according to the network’s news release.