Coordinated Health, a regional health care network with 16 facilities throughout eastern Pennsylvania and New Jersey, has acquired the 1621 N. Cedar Crest building for development of its skilled nursing services.

The 35,000-square-foot facility will complement the 20-bed hospital and medical practice located at 1503 N. Cedar Crest Blvd. since 2009, in the Cedar Pointe complex across from Crest Plaza, South Whitehall.

Coordinated Health plans to gut the interior of the 1621 building and re-do the exterior to blend with the existing campus.

After obtaining ap-provals from the township and the Department of Health, construction is expected to take four to six months.

Designed to provide skilled nursing services for patients needing extended care and rehabilitation, the facility will include 30 private rooms on one floor in a residential-type atmosphere.

The Coordinated Health hospital nearby would be available for patients requiring medical services.

On the site, 24-hour nursing care will be supplied by a mix of employed and contracted providers, along with a team of clinical and administrative staff.

Coordinated Health anticipates clients who are on Medicare, have insurance plans, or private pay. Medicaid patients will not be accepted.

The skilled nursing facility is designed for Coordinated Health patients who need a longer and more focused approach to remain functional and independent.

To accommodate the Coordinated Health proposal, South Whitehall commissioners amended the zoning ordinance relating to short-stay medical centers at their Oct. 3 meeting.

The existing ordinance limited the average length of stay to 72 hours. The new provision for skilled nursing patients allows an average stay up to 21 days.

Skilled nursing, as described in the ordinance, is care requiring professional personnel such as nurses, physical therapists, occupational therapists, speech pathologists or audiologists.

Those inpatient services will need to be ordered by a physician.