From Space to Surgical Suites

The da Vinci high-definition surgical system takes innovations developed by NASA and applies them to the operating room. Guided by computerized images, surgeons, such as gynecologic oncologist Martin Martino, M.D., left, use a console to control robotic arms that mimic the exact movement of a surgeon's hand. Martino enjoyed showing patient Cynthia Williams of Honesdale, Pa., how the system works during the recent Community Annual Meeting. She had da Vinci surgery for uterine cancer just weeks ago. The health network uses the surgical system for prostate, cervical and uterine cancers.

Saving Lives After a Stroke

Lehigh Valley Health Network recently added the newly approved Penumbra clot retrieval device to its arsenal of tools used on stroke patients. "We are the first hospital in the greater Lehigh Valley region to use this system," says Darryn Shaff, M.D., the health network's chief of neurointerventional radiology making a presentation at the recent Community Annual Meeting. The network's stroke team is on the forefront of leading-edge neurointerventional procedures for stroke—and that's one of the reasons it has two certified .

Symbolic Welcome

Visitors to Lehigh Valley Physicians' Practice on the Lehigh Valley Hospital-17th Streetcampus are greeted by a vibrant mural that depicts cultural diversity. Local volunteer artists, including Rachel Winchester, left, designed and painted the mural. Patients of all cultural backgrounds can look at the mural and feel a connection with our community, and ultimately with Lehigh Valley Health Network. Here, Rachel and her mom, Selina, check out the mural which was temporarily moved to Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest for the Community Annual Meeting.

A Healthy and Colorful Club

Every day, members of the Lehigh Valley Heart Specialists walking club practice what they preach. During their lunch break, (l-r) Nisaura Mendrell, Ginger O’Sullivan, C.R.N.P., Darlene Reynolds, Desiree Whitehead, R.N., Tina Kies, Pam Smith, and Anne Marie Crown, take a brisk 15-minute, half-mile walk from one side of the Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest campus to the other (inside or outside depending on weather). They also wear red to remind people to care for their heart.

Community Finds Treasures at Network's Abundance Day

You've heard the phrase: one man’s trash is another man's treasure. That's just what community members recently discovered at Lehigh Valley Health Network's Abundance Day. Community members dropped off items they no longer needed, while others searched for items they do need, such as clothing, toys and housewares. The event is hosted each year by the network's Community Exchange program, in which community members exchange their talents (like gardening and driving) for others (guitar lessons and painting).

Green Cafeterias

The 200 pounds of food scraps Luis Villegas and his food services colleagues collect daily at Lehigh Valley Hospital-Muhlenberg doesn’t get tossed in the trash. Instead, it’s sent to the Rodale Institute Farm in Kutztown for composting. By doing so, 36 tons of annual food waste is taken from a landfill and used to create fertilizer for farmers. To be environmentally friendly, Lehigh Valley Hospital and Health Network cafeterias also use napkins made from recycled materials, offer many organic foods and purchase produce from local suppliers to reduce transportation pollutants.

Sign (Language) of the Times

When John and Becky Fedio of Bath attended a deaf senior citizens meeting recently, they were excited to learn about a new technology available at Lehigh Valley Health Network. At the meeting they learned about a new tele-interpreting service—part of our health network's comprehensive telehealth program—that uses audio and video to bring a sign-language interpreter to a patient's bedside in seconds. Just hours after learning about the device, John, who suffers from an irregular heartbeat, fainted several times and was taken to Lehigh Valley Hospital-Muhlenberg. Thanks to the new tele-interpreting service, communication was flawless and he got the care he needed.

Meeting Cultural Needs

Eagle and Messina Victoria, a Native American couple from Whitehall, learned that Lehigh Valley Health Network caregivers do everything possible to make patients and family members comfortable during a recent hospital stay. In their culture, smoke from burning sage, cedar and sweetgrass cleanses the body. Caregivers made arrangements for them to perform the prayer ritual, called smudging, in their room if it was done at a safe distance from a smoke detector. “We felt comfortable knowing they were open to our culture,” Eagle says.

A "Key" to the Future

Lehigh Valley Health Network President and Chief Executive Officer Elliot J. Sussman, M.D. (right), received a ceremonial key to our new hydrogen-powered shuttle bus (background) from U.S. Rep. Charlie Dent during a recent commissioning ceremony at Allentown's Da Vinci Science Center. During only its second week shuttling employees, patients and visitors to and from the parking lots at Lehigh Valley Hospital—Cedar Crest, the bus was number-one in usage of the 26 hydrogen-powered shuttles in operation in North America. This research and education project is federally funded through Da Vinci Science Center, with the goal to educate people about hydrogen's safe, clean, and effective use as a transportation fuel.

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