St. Luke’s University Health Network

School of Nursing state ranks 5th in state

St. Luke’s School of Nursing ranks fifth out of 76 programs in Pennsylvania and first of all the nursing programs in the Lehigh Valley, according to www.RegisteredNursing.com.

The rankings are based on results from the National Council Licensure Examination-Registered Nurse board exam.

Established in 1884, St. Luke’s School of Nursing was the fourth nursing school in the United States. It remains the oldest, continuously operating school of nursing in the country.

Supplemental donor breast milk program offered

St. Luke’s University Health Network has partnered with Three Rivers Mothers’ Milk Bank, Pittsburgh, to provide donor breast milk to late pre-term and term babies who need supplemental feeding after birth.

The bridge program will be used in both Allentown and Bethlehem nurseries for babies who need extra help with feeding in the first few hours and days after birth until the mothers are able to sufficiently breast feed.

Three Rivers Mothers’ Milk Bank uses screened donors and pasturized milk for purchase and shipping to health care facilities across the country.

Senior Emergency program launched

St. Luke’s University Hospital, Bethlehem, now has a senior emergency room program to meet the special needs of emergency department patients who are 75 years of age and older.

Treatment is provided by doctors, nurses and other experts trained in geriatrics and similar specialities such as case management.

The emergency department area has been designed and outfitted to meet the needs of older adults. Special features include environmentally friendly, subdued lighting; walls and anti-slip flooring with colors and patterns to enhance depth perception; handrails to assist with balance and lower beds; and carts stocked with comfort items for seniors.

“For Your SweetHeart” partnership announced

St. Luke’s University Health Network has partnered with Boehringer Ingelheim and Eli Lilly and Company to deliver resources from For Your SweetHeart: Where diabetes and heart disease meet, to raise awareness of the critical connection between type 2 diabetes and heart disease.

A survey found that 52 percent of adults with type 2 diabetes do not understand they are at an increased risk for heart disease and related life-threatening events, like heart attack, stroke or even death, due to the complications associated with diabetes.

Ten leading patient and professional advocacy organizations and a steering committee of eight leading medical experts (cardiologists, endocrinologists and primary care physicians) have also joined the For Your SweetHeart movement.

Lehigh Valley Health Network