Lehigh Valley Health Network (LVHN) has announced that the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at Lehigh Valley Reilly Children’s Hospital and the intensive care unit at Lehigh Valley Hospital (LVH) - Muhlenberg will receive $4.5 million in state Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program (RACP) grants for support and expansion of capacity.

The grants were secured by Commonwealth Senators Pat Browne (R-16th) and Lisa Boscola (D-18th) and Representatives Ryan Mackenzie (R-134th District) and Jeanne McNeill (D-133rd).

“Convenient access to specialized care is something the people of our communities need, expect and deserve,” said Brian A. Nester, DO, MBA, President and Chief Executive Officer of LVHN. “This funding will bring life-saving care to more people, and we thank our elected officials for their partnership and support of world-class health care at LVHN.”

Lehigh Valley Reilly Children’s Hospital will receive $3.5 million to expand its 32-bed NICU at LVH - Cedar Crest. When the project is complete, the facility will have 46-50 Level IV NICU beds; negative pressure rooms, which help prevent the transmission of airborne diseases, and special procedure rooms. Neonatologists and nurses in the NICU provide care for the most vulnerable babies and ensure that each family and baby receives the highest level of care and support.

LVH - Muhlenberg will receive $1 million to add eight ICU beds adjacent to its ICU, bringing the total to 28 beds. In September, LVH - Muhlenberg began operating as a Level II trauma center. Additional ICU beds will help get patients from the emergency department to a critical-care bed faster.

“As the Lehigh Valley continues to grow, additional demand has been placed on the region’s health care infrastructure, making the need for capacity expansion necessary,” said Browne. “Lehigh Valley Health Network plays a critical role in our communities health and well-being, providing outstanding care and services to our residents. Along with my colleagues in the General Assembly, I am proud to help support their mission.”

“The Lehigh Valley is blessed with a tremendous network of health care systems that have been called upon in ways never imagined just 20 months ago, and they have responded,” Boscola said. “This critical state investment will aid Lehigh Valley Health Network with their intensive care units that have been called upon to serve the public health in an extraordinary fashion and whose continued improvements will improve the lives of our residents.”

“I am proud to have had the opportunity to support Lehigh Valley Health Network’s expansion of the neonatal intensive care unit at Lehigh Valley Reilly Children’s Hospital,” said Mackenzie. “This expansion will provide critical health care access for compromised newborns in our region.”

“Once this project is complete, eight new critical care beds will be added at LVH - Muhlenberg, bringing critical care capacity to 28,” McNeill said. “The intensive care unit cares for all types of critically ill patients, and the added capacity will provide benefit to the entire Lehigh Valley.”

The RACP is a Commonwealth grant program administered by the Office of the Budget for the acquisition and construction of regional economic, cultural, civic, recreational and historical improvement projects. RACP projects are authorized in the Redevelopment Assistance section of a Capital Budget Itemization Act, have a regional or multi-jurisdictional impact, and generate substantial increases or maintain current levels of employment, tax revenues, or other measures of economic activity.