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Press Releases

Penn Foundation to Join St. Luke’s University Health Network

Penn Foundation and St. Luke’s University Health Network are pleased to announce that Penn Foundation will join St. Luke’s University Health Network.

Headquartered in Sellersville, Bucks County, Penn Foundation is a nonprofit, community-based behavioral health provider with 25 behavioral health and substance use treatment programs that serve more than 17,000 individuals annually. It operates one of Pennsylvania’s first Opioid Use Disorder Centers of Excellence and is an Aetna Institute of Quality and an Independence Blue Cross Center of Distinction.

St. Luke’s is a regional health network with 12 hospital campuses and more than 300 outpatient sites serving 11 counties in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. St. Luke’s hospitals have earned numerous national awards including the 100 Top Major Teaching Hospital designation from IBM Watson Health six years in a row and eight times total.

“Penn Foundation has a long and proud history of providing compassionate care based on the most recent science and research. All of us at St. Luke’s are honored and pleased Penn Foundation has decided to join our Network,” said Rick Anderson, President & CEO of St. Luke’s.

Wayne A. Mugrauer, President & CEO of Penn Foundation, said: “Penn Foundation is fortunate to be well positioned to make this strategic decision for the future health of our community. Joining St. Luke’s University Health Network assures continued regional access to high-quality behavioral healthcare that is fully integrated with general medicine.”

The St. Luke’s / Penn Foundation partnership, approved by the Board of Directors of Penn Foundation and the Board of Trustees of St. Luke’s, is subject to certain conditions, including review and approval by various regulatory agencies. When the agreement is approved by the regulatory agencies, which is expected to be in the first quarter of 2021, Penn Foundation and St. Luke’s will operate the largest nonprofit network of inpatient and outpatient behavioral health services in eastern Pennsylvania. Additionally, their combined services will establish a complete continuum of care to treat patients with behavioral health and substance use disorders.

“After years of exploring strategic partnerships to ensure the sustainability of our mission and to position Penn Foundation to respond to extraordinary demand for services, increasing competition, and, unfortunately, diminishing funding, we are thrilled to have found an extraordinary partner in St. Luke’s University Health Network,” said Dorothy K. Weik-Hange, Esq., Penn Foundation Board Chair. “St. Luke’s shares our community-based mission; values our history, expertise, and contributions to the fields of behavioral health and addiction treatment; and is committed to ensuring these vital services remain accessible within an integrated system of wellness.”

Penn Foundation’s decision to join St. Luke’s comes at a time when the demand for behavioral health services is rapidly rising. The alarming rates of depression, anxiety, and suicide are expected to increase as a result of the immediate and long-term effects of the global pandemic. Additionally, as a result of increased alcohol consumption and the ongoing challenges connected to the opioid crisis, substance use disorder treatment is also expected to spike.

St. Luke’s has made behavioral health a top priority. In 2018, St. Luke’s tripled its number of behavioral health inpatient beds to 168, making it the largest provider of services of this type in the Lehigh Valley. Last month, St. Luke’s Sacred Heart in Allentown announced it will open the region’s first Level IV medical detoxification unit early next year, providing 24-hour medical supervision to people withdrawing from alcohol or other drugs.

“St. Luke’s recognizes the significant role that behavioral health services play in the overall health and wellbeing of our community,” Anderson said. “The synergies created by this agreement will benefit patients throughout areas our organizations serve for generations to come.”

Media Contacts:
Sam Kennedy, Corporate Communications Director, St. Luke’s, 484-526-4134, samuel.kennedy@sluhn.org
Kim Detwiler, Vice President of Advancement & Communications, Penn Foundation, 215-453-5190, kdetwiler@pennfoundation.org

About Penn Foundation
Founded in 1955, Penn Foundation is a non-profit organization providing innovative services to address the behavioral health and substance abuse treatment needs of individuals in its community. With headquarters in Sellersville, Bucks County, and satellite offices in Colmar, Souderton, Pottstown, and Exton, Penn Foundation employs 450 compassionate professionals that serve more than 20,000 children, adolescents, and adults each year with integrated, holistic care designed to meet the unique needs of each person. In 2016, Penn Foundation was named one of Pennsylvania’s first 20 Opioid Treatment Centers of Excellence. Penn Foundation believes strongly in the resiliency of the human spirit and is committed to instilling hope, inspiring change, and building community. For more information, visit www.PennFoundation.org.

About St. Luke’s
Founded in 1872, St. Luke’s University Health Network (SLUHN) is a fully integrated, regional, non-profit network of more than 16,000 employees providing services at 12 hospitals sites and 300+ outpatient sites.  With annual net revenue in excess of $2.5 billion, the Network’s service area includes 11 counties: Lehigh, Northampton, Berks, Bucks, Carbon, Montgomery, Monroe, Schuylkill and Luzerne counties in Pennsylvania and Warren and Hunterdon counties in New Jersey.  Dedicated to advancing medical education, St. Luke’s is the preeminent teaching hospital in central-eastern Pennsylvania.  In partnership with Temple University, St. Luke’s established the Lehigh Valley’s first and only regional medical school campus.  It also operates the nation’s longest continuously operating School of Nursing, established in 1884, and 38 fully accredited graduate medical educational programs with 347 residents and fellows.  St. Luke’s is the only Lehigh Valley-based health care system to earn Medicare’s five- and four-star ratings (the highest) for quality, efficiency and patient satisfaction.  St. Luke’s is both a Leapfrog Group and Healthgrades Top Hospital and a Newsweek World’s Best Hospital.  U.S. News & World Report ranked St. Luke’s #1 in the Lehigh Valley and #6 in the state.  Three of IBM Watson Health’s 100 Top Hospitals are St. Luke’s hospitals.  St. Luke’s University Hospital has earned the 100 Top Major Teaching Hospital designation from IBM Watson Health eight times total and six years in a row. St. Luke’s has also been cited by IBM Watson Health as a 50 Top Cardiovascular Program.  Utilizing the Epic electronic medical record (EMR) system for both inpatient and outpatient services, the Network is a multi-year recipient of the Most Wired award recognizing the breadth of the SLUHN’s information technology applications such as telehealth, online scheduling and online pricing information.  St. Luke’s is also recognized as one of the state’s lowest cost providers.