EMPower Hospital Spotlight: St. Luke’s University Health Network
EMPower Hospital Spotlight: St.Luke’s University Hospital Network
St. Luke’s home is the beautiful Lehigh Valley, which edges both the Appalachian Mountains and historic Pennsylvania Dutch Country, making it one of the beautiful, scenic, and prosperous areas of the country. The Lehigh Valley boasts the third largest population center in Pennsylvania after Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, and is the fastest growing region in the state, with a population totaling more than 650,000. The Valley is comprised of three main cities: Allentown, Bethlehem and Easton, forming the Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton Metropolitan area, the 64th most populated metropolitan area in the United States. In 2014, the
Leigh Valley was recognized as being the second best performing region of its size for economic development. Additionally the Valley is a center of post-secondary education and is home to Cedar Crest College, DeSales University, Lafayette College, Lehigh University, Moravian College, Muhlenberg College, and Penn State Lehigh Valley.
St. Luke’s University Health Network is a non-profit, regional, fully integrated, nationally recognized network providing services at seven hospitals in Lehigh, Northampton, Carbon, Schuylkill, Bucks, Montgomery, Berks, and Monroe counties in Pennsylvania and in Warren County, New Jersey. Under the leadership of Richard A. Anderson, President and CEO, the network has grown to include a system of more than 1,000 beds and more than 200 outpatient care locations. With more than 10,000 employees, St. Luke’s is the Lehigh Valley’s second largest employer. St. Luke’s was recently awarded the prestigious 2016 100 Top Hospital award from Truven Health Analytics, making it the only regional recipient chosen from more than 5,000 hospitals nationwide. Furthermore, its Allentown and Bethlehem campuses were among only 15 hospitals in the country that were recognized in the Major Teaching Hospital category.
St. Luke’s Allentown, PA Campus
St. Luke’s Bethlehem, PA Campus
St. Luke’s delivers more than 3,600 babies annually at their New Beginning Family Birth Centers, located on the Allentown and Bethlehem campuses. The New Beginnings Family Birth Centers offer parents the comforts of a safe, family-centered atmosphere to welcome their new babies into the world. Additionally, the Centers offer a variety of educational services for new parents, including breastfeeding classes and a breastfeeding answer line that provides information for women who want to breastfeed.
St. Luke’s commitment to providing evidence-based care and improving maternity care practices continues to flourish, as shown by their active participation in the EMPower Breastfeeding initiative. Since joining the EMPower initiative, St. Luke’s has seen increased collaboration between departments providing maternal and infant care. Additionally, they have gained tools to sustain quality improvement and improve maternity care practices. St. Luke’s has implemented a safe Skin-to-Skin program utilizing the RAPP assessment tool and has begun using professionals outside of their network to provide feedback on their progress towards becoming Baby Friendly designated hospitals. The St. Luke’s team hopes that through joining the EMPower Breastfeeding initiative, they will not only see a sustained increase in their own exclusive breastfeeding rates, but an increase in their region’s exclusive breastfeeding rates at 3 and 6 months.
Bentonville’s culture consists of the charming characteristics of a Southern city and small town, combined with influences from the Northwest Arkansas metropolitan area and a status as a global business hub. Bentonville is located in one of the fastest growing regions in the country, and in the past 20 years, it has transformed from a small town to a bustling center of commerce and entrepreneurialism. According to a recent US Census survey, Bentonville and surrounding communities in Benton County are second in growth for Arkansas and among the 100 fastest-growing counties in the United States. While the Northwest Arkansas economy was historically based upon agriculture and poultry, in recent decades, there has been rapid growth and diversification of its economy and culture due to the three Fortune 500 companies based in the area: Walmart, Tyson Foods, and J.B. Hunt. Both economic growth and wide cultural diversity can be attributed to over 1,250 Walmart suppliers that have established sales offices in the region. These satellite offices for companies of almost every industry mean that a large number of transplants from around the United States and the world can be found in Bentonville.
Within this evolving environment, Northwest Medical Center-Bentonville remains committed to providing exceptional care to the community. To achieve their goals to improve maternal-neonatal health and wellness, this comprehensive care facility applied and was accepted into the EMPower Breastfeeding initiative while in the D1 Discovery Phase of Baby-Friendly USA’s 4-D Pathway. The hospital has gained support in adopting the Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding as they have progressed along the journey to Baby-Friendly designation. Since joining the EMPower initiative, Northwest Medical Center-Bentonville has benefitted from the individualized coaching and technical assistance offered, in areas such as adherence to the Ten Steps. One of their most noteworthy accomplishments involves Step 4, helping mothers initiate breastfeeding within one hour of birth. By honoring the golden hour in implementation of skin-to-skin, the number of infants that were once “slow to transition” and required “extended monitoring” and “oxygen support” has significantly decreased to the point that it is rare to see an infant fit into those categories! The facility’s EMPower Breastfeeding Coach, Julia Bourg, remarked, “This team worked hard to ensure that foundational steps were in place as they worked towards implementation of other practice changes.”
This facility is close to Baby-Friendly USA designation! They recently had their site visit assessment from the Baby-Friendly representatives and are awaiting the results. Allison Godwin, the facility’s Quality Improvement Coach, noted, “What we appreciated most about this team is their attention to creating sustainable change. They really wanted to make sure that their staff and their organizational culture supported these efforts.” We applaud your wonderful work, Bentonville!
