Crime News

Patient Assaulted Nurse with Blood, Police Say

Hepatitis C positive patient at St. Luke's Anderson emergency room threw her intravenous lines at a nurse, who was hit in the face with blood and other fluids, police say.

  A woman infected with hepatitis C has been charged with aggravated assault for allegedly ripping two intravenous lines out of her arm and throwing them at an emergency room nurse at St. Luke’s Hospital, Anderson Campus. Judy Esther Shadder, 59, of 940 Berger Road in Williams Township, was arrested Tuesday by Bethlehem Township police for the alleged Feb. 14 attack. The nurse, Wendy Nixon, told police that she was struck in the face with a mixture of blood and other fluids from the intravenous lines and an attached needle, according to the arrest affidavit. The affidavit also says: Hepatitis C is a virus that generally attacks the liver and is spread primarily through blood-to-blood contact. Hepatitis C can sometimes lead to cirrhosis and…

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Bodies Will Be on Display at Da Vinci Science Center

The "Bodies Revealed" exhibit will bring carefully preserved whole-body specimens to the Da Vinci Science Center in October

The Da Vinci Science Center and St. Luke’s University Health Network are joining to present a Year of the Human Body project, featuring the world-renowned Bodies Revealed exhibition in the Lehigh Valley. Opening next month at the Da Vinci Center, Bodies Revealed uses real anatomical specimens to take visitors on a three-dimensional tour of the human body: Bodies Revealed will appear at the Da Vinci Science Center from Saturday, October 6 to Sunday, February 10: The Year of the Human Body also will include an appearance of the blockbuster Grossology exhibition at the Da Vinci Science Center from May-Sept. 2013, featured visitor activities at the Center’s Inquiry Island, programs by partner organizations in eastern Pennsylvania, and a public…

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St. Luke's Changes Name to Reflect Educational Mission

More than 1,000 students get advanced medical education at St. Luke's University Hospital.

  St. Luke’s Hospital in Fountain Hill is now St. Luke’s University Hospital and the St. Luke’s Hospital & Health Network is now the St. Luke’s University Health Network, as the health organization on Wednesday announced a name change that reflects its emphasis on educating new health professionals. “Our new name reflects our reputation and the vital role St. Luke’s plays in preparing future generations of physicians, nurses and other health care providers,” Richard A. Anderson, president and chief executive officer of St. Luke’s University Health Network, said in a news release. “It validates our commitment to stay at the forefront of the continual innovations in health care on behalf of our patients and our community.” The name change is…

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Nursing Errors Led St. Luke's Patients to Overdose on Pain Meds

One hospital patient died after receiving five times the amount of morphine he was prescribed.

Freemansburg Man Charged with Theft from Hospital Construction Site

Nicholas Young, 22, was part of a crew of thieves who stole copper wire and metal, police say.

  A 22-year-old Freemansburg man allegedly stole as much as a ton of copper wire from the new Anderson campus of St. Luke’s Hospital while it was still under construction in June of 2010, according to court records. Nicholas Young of 227 Clearfield St. was arraigned on multiple charges Wednesday night and committed to Northampton County Prison in lieu of $30,000 bail following his arraignment before District Judge Nancy Matos Gonzalez. Young had been wanted by Bethlehem Township police since May for that theft, which netted he and his partners 47,000 feet of copper wire worth more than $8,350. The wire stolen on June 5 was on 22 rolls and would have weighed between 1,600 and 2,000 pounds, the court records say. According to the affidavit, …

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St. Luke's and Temple Hope to Bring 150 Doctors to Lehigh Valley

New medical school has 31 students and hopes for dozens more

Jury Orders St. Luke's to pay $23 Million to Former Patient

A Lehighton woman who being cared for by a St. Luke's Hospital & Health Network nurse when she lost her legs to infection was awarded more than $23 million by a Lehigh County jury Friday.

5 Local Students In LVH's First Med School Class

New partnership between Lehigh Valley Health and University of South Florida gets under way.

Five Lehigh Valley students are among the first class of medical students at the new partnership between the University of South Florida College of Medicine and the Lehigh Valley Health Network, officials at both institutions announced Friday. The students will spend the first two years of the four-year program studying at the medical school in Tampa, which began in July, followed by two years of clinical work at Lehigh Valley Health Network hospitals. The goal of the program, called SELECT, which stands for Scholarly Excellence, Leadership Experiences, Collaborative Training, is to prepare doctors for leadership roles in medicine affected by the changing world of health care reform, school officials said. The first SELECT students will …

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Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest Ranked Among Nation's Top Hospitals

Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest ranked among top 140 nationwide and first in region, followed by Lehigh Valley Hospital-Muhlenberg and St. Luke’s, according to U.S. News & World Report

For the 16th year in a row, Lehigh Valley Hospital—Cedar Crest has made it to U.S. News & World Report’s 2011-2012 Best Hospitals list.  The hospital was ranked among the top 140 hospitals in three categories:  > Diabetes and endocrinology (No. 40). The hospital has a specific center for diabetes treatment, the Helwig Health & Diabetes Center, which emphasizes patient education and self-management, said Ronald W. Swinfard, M.D., Lehigh Valley Health Network president and CEO. > Gastroenterology (No. 48). “We have several groups that practice gastroenterology within our network, and they do an excellent job in patient care,” said Swinfard. Specialized techniques include endoscopic ultrasound to define irregularities. > Geriatrics (No. 47). …

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St. Luke's Weathers Temporary Power Outage

Transformer near hospital failed, but emergency generators kept critical systems working.

St. Luke’s Hospital in Fountain Hill had to go on emergency power for about seven hours late Friday night and early this morning after a PPL transformer that feeds electricity to the hospital failed, The Morning Call reports. None of the hospital’s critical systems failed, though the air conditioning was out until full power was restored at about 4:30 a.m., the story said. No patients had to be evacuated.

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