While many health systems across Pennsylvania have been experiencing a decrease in newborn deliveries in recent years, St. Luke\u2019s University Health Network is trending in the opposite direction as more mothers choose St. Luke\u2019s for their prenatal care and deliveries than ever before.<\/p>\n
For the first time in the Network\u2019s history, a total of more than 6,000 babies were born at St. Luke\u2019s three birthing hospitals during a fiscal year, which ends June 30. The figure surpasses Fiscal Year 2024\u2019s total of 5,000 births, which at that time was a new record.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis major milestone reflects our patients\u2019 trust in, and desire for, the special care and expertise they experience in our labor and delivery suites at St. Luke\u2019s Allentown, Anderson and Upper Bucks campuses,\u201d said Dr. Elizabeth Dierking, MD, chair of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology.<\/p>\n
Number 6,000 was tiny baby Levi, arriving at 2:09 a.m. on June 10, at St. Luke\u2019s Allentown Campus. The 5-pound, 15-ounce and 20 \u00bd-inch-long infant is the son of Kevin Kelenski and Eliza Oliveri of Orefield.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve met a lot of great employees over multiple shifts, due to the length of my time in labor,\u201d said Oliveri, a patient of St. Luke\u2019s Complete Women\u2019s Care in Fogelsville.<\/p>\n
Most hospitals in Northeast Pennsylvania are seeing a decline or flattening of their birth rates, consistent with the rest of Pennsylvania and the nation (https:\/\/www.health.pa.gov\/topics\/HealthStatistics\/VitalStatistics\/BirthStatistics\/Pages\/birth-statistics.aspx).<\/p>\n
U.S. birth rates are predicted to decline throughout the remainder of the 21st century, from 10.8 births per 1,000 people in 2023 to 8.5 per 1,000 in 2100, according to usafacts.org.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis trend is happening throughout Pennsylvania and in most of the country \u2014 but not at St. Luke\u2019s,\u201d noted Dierking.<\/p>\n
Why?<\/p>\n
This past fall, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services ranked St. Luke\u2019s #1 \u2014 ahead of Houston Methodist and Mayo Clinic, two of the nation\u2019s most prestigious institutions \u2014 as the nation\u2019s top health system for quality, safety, and patient experience. This objective recognition, based on public data reported to the government, reaffirmed St. Luke\u2019s preeminent position among the leading health systems in the country.<\/p>\n
Expectant mothers and couples know they can count on St. Luke\u2019s superior prenatal and postnatal care, as well as the delivery of their babies by the small and intimate practices and care teams that provide patients personalized care.<\/p>\n
All St. Luke\u2019s labor and delivery units feature 24\/7\/365 neonatology services ensuring the highest level of advanced care available for complex pregnancies and births and critically ill babies.<\/p>\n
The Obstetrics and Gynecology Department also includes a Maternal Fetal Medicine program with doctors providing care for all obstetrics patients including outpatient care, hospital consults, preconception counseling, genetics counseling and diabetes management.<\/p>\n
The Network\u2019s Baby & Me comprehensive program offers lactation support, behavioral health care, pre- and postnatal classes, support groups and other educational resources to help parents through every stage of pregnancy.<\/p>\n
The Labor and Delivery Unit and Obstetric Anesthesia Service at St. Luke\u2019s Anderson Campus has been designated as Pennsylvania\u2019s third (and the Valley\u2019s first) Center of Excellence by the Society of Obstetric Anesthesia and Perinatology, putting the service in elite company with national organizations that provide the highest level of safe and effective anesthesia care for women and their babies.<\/p>\n
In response to popular demand, the Network in 2024 opened a new and expanded Labor and Delivery unit in its Women & Babies Pavilion at its St. Luke\u2019s Allentown Campus, doubling the size of its original unit. St. Luke\u2019s Upper Bucks Campus began delivering babies in 2021, following the St. Luke\u2019s Anderson Campus, which launched its birthing program during the COVID pandemic in 2020.<\/p>\n
Number 6,000 was tiny baby Levi, arriving at 2:09 a.m. on June 10, at St. Luke\u2019s Allentown Campus. The 5-pound, 15-ounce and 20 \u00bd-inch-long infant is the son of Kevin Kelenski and Eliza Oliveri of Orefield. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"While many health systems across Pennsylvania have been experiencing a decrease in newborn deliveries in recent years, St.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":223356,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[153,155,154],"class_list":["post-223355","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-bethlehem","tag-bethlehem","tag-bethlehem-headlines","tag-bethlehem-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/223355","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=223355"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/223355\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/223356"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=223355"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=223355"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=223355"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}