St. Luke’s University Health Network previewed its new $252 million St. Luke’s Heart Hospital, which will open at the 500-acre St. Luke’s Anderson Campus in Easton, Pa., this October.
The five-story, 140-bed, approximately 355,000-square-foot facility is the largest construction project in St. Luke’s more-than-150-year history, both in terms of dollar figure and square footage. The health system states that “despite its size and complexity, the project was completed at a relatively low per-square-foot cost by industry standards, a testament to St. Luke’s extensive experience in hospital construction. In recent years, St. Luke’s has built five full-service acute care hospitals—more than any other health system in Pennsylvania.”
The new facility will provide patients with “convenient access to the full spectrum” of St. Luke’s cardiovascular services, including four dedicated heart operating rooms, one hybrid operating room, 10 advanced interventional suites for cardiac catheterization, electrophysiology and interventional radiology, and a specially designed cardiac intensive care unit.
St. Luke’s notes that the facility is “constructed entirely of American steel.” Central corridors on each of the upper floors stretch 330 feet, “roughly the length of a football field.” Numerous design innovations are intended to “improve efficiency and enhance patient experience. For example, internal service corridors provide staff access to supplies and other support areas, facilitating better workflow,” notes the health system.
The Heart Hospital will also feature expanded teaching space, a new cardiac fellowship program, a rooftop helipad and a large cafeteria.
