BETHLEHEM TOWNSHIP, Pa. — At 355,000 square feet, it is St. Luke’s University Health Network’s largest project ever.
“I think it’s going to advance heart care for generations to come,” said Dr. Raymond Durkin, chairman of cardiovascular medicine at St. Luke’s University Health Network.
A brand-new heart hospital is being added on to its Anderson campus in Bethlehem Township. It will add 140 beds. The state-of-the-art $252 million facility comes with rooms for heart operations and treatment of all kinds.
“Aging population needs a lot of cardiac care, so you know we’ve estimated over the years that we need at least 300 more beds at St. Luke’s and it could be even more than that just because of the demand,” said Ed Nawrocki, east region president at St. Luke’s.
Dr. Durkin said St. Luke’s does close to 1,000 heart surgeries a year. He said heart disease is the number one reason people die in the U.S. The health network said the five-story facility will add 250 new jobs.
“This will give us an opportunity to bring the best and the brightest together under one building to coordinate care, streamline care and do the best for people,” said Dr. Durkin.
The heart hospital is set to open in October.