Medical Oncology at St. Luke's
St. Luke’s Infusion Centers
St. Luke’s Infusion Centers at St. Luke’s Cancer Centers in Allentown and Bethlehem offer patients convenient hours and weekend access to their physicians. Medical oncology and infusion services are also available at:
- St. Luke’s Cancer Center - Allentown Campus
- St. Luke’s Miners Memorial Hospital
- St. Luke’s Quakertown Hospital
See Quick Tips for Infusion Patients below.
St. Luke’s Biological Therapy Program
St. Luke’s Biological Therapy Program offers advanced cancer-fighting treatments that use:
- Antibodies made by the body’s immune system.
- Cytokines made by the body’s immune system.
- Growth factors made by the body’s immune system.
The Cancer Center staff is specially trained in biological therapies.
Inpatient Oncology Unit
The Inpatient Oncology Unit at St. Luke’s Hospital – Bethlehem Campus has 34 single-bed rooms for patient care. Specially trained oncology nurses oversee care and treatments.
Quick Tips for Infusion patients
Parking at St. Luke’s Cancer Center in Bethlehem – Parking is available in front of the Cancer Center entrance. Permit spaces are limited and are available on a first come basis. Parking permits can be obtained from the unit clerk and can be used as long as you are a patient here. St. Luke’s shuttle service and valet parking is available at no cost to you if you are unable to find a close parking space
Parking at the Cancer Center, Cetronia Rd., Allentown – Free valet service is provided. Simply pull your car to the front of the building and your car will be parked for you. You may also self park in one of the lots surrounding the facility.
Star Transport – A complimentary van transport service, is available to and from your appointment should you require transportation.
Call ahead to decrease your wait time – Medications are mixed in the pharmacy once you arrive and then sent to the Infusion Center. However, if you call the Infusion Center approximately 30 minutes prior to your expected arrival time, the pharmacy will be notified earlier and your wait time decreased.
Chemotherapy patients – For patients receiving chemotherapy, blood work may need to be done before treatment can be given. The wait time may be up to one hour for these results to come back before treatment can be administered.
Transfusion patients (PRBC’s, blood and /or platelets) – A type and cross match may need to be performed prior to transfusion. If this needs to be done, it could take one to one and a half hours before the blood product is ready.
Infusion Center staff – Registered nurses (RNs) and patient care assistants (PCAs) staff the Infusion Center. PCAs also work as unit clerks and help with scheduling.
Putting safety first – Patients are frequently asked to provide us with name and date of birth. Ensuring proper identification enables us to provide safe care at all times.
Name tags – As a safety measure, patients are asked to wear name tags. Tags are re-used at every visit; we ask that they be returned at the end of each visit
Meals – Patients receiving infusion services during mealtime at the Infusion Center in Bethlehem are provided with a menu and served a lunch. Some 20% discount meal tickets are available from the unit clerk for both patients and their visitors and can be used in the hospital cafeteria.
Coffee and snacks – Light refreshments are readily available to patients and visitors. Assistance will be provided upon request.
TV with headphone – Some seats in the Infusion Center are equipped with a television and head phones are available to all patients. Patient headphones can be kept at the Infusion Center so they are available for future visits.
Insurance – Insurance cards should be presented to the unit clerk at the first visit and copies will be made and kept on file. If at any time insurance coverage changes during treatment, the new insurance information should be shared with the unit clerk as well.
Medications – We will need a copy of your current medications at your first visit. If your home medications are changed during the course of your treatment, please let us know so we can make the changes to your chart. Medication information sheets are available upon request for the medications we are giving you here.
Appointments – Appointments are scheduled according to the treatments given each day. Please arrive at your scheduled time. Some chairs are for patients and some for visitors. However, on a busy day your visitor may be asked to wait in the waiting room to free up another chair for a patient.
Cancellations – If for any reason you need to cancel your appointment with us you can call at the Infusion Center any time. Please leave a message on the answering machine after hours. We will check our messages on the next business day. Infusion Center phone numbers for Allentown and Bethlehem are listed above.
Sick calls – If you do not feel well in the evening or the day after treatment, it is important that you call your doctor. We are not able to prescribe medicine or give advice over the phone.
Strive for 5 – Your satisfaction is important to us and our goal is to make your experience as comfortable and stress-free as possible. If you are mailed a Press-Ganey patient satisfaction survey, please rate your experience with us. We strive for five—a score of five tells us we have not only met your expectations, but exceeded them. If you see areas that require improvement, please let us know as well.