St. Luke’s and the Lehigh Valley – a Great Combination
St. Luke’s Hospital is located in southeastern Pennsylvania’s scenic Lehigh Valley, a tri-city area that more than 1,500,000 residents call home. The Lehigh Valley boasts 14,000 leading-edge companies and 11 colleges and universities.
What is life like in the Lehigh Valley?
Steeped in natural beauty, the Lehigh Valley is a diverse region in Eastern Pennsylvania that affords residents a comfortable lifestyle and many opportunities. The region is home to some 600,000 residents and is Pennsylvania 's third largest metropolitan area. It has three major cities that are rich in history and culture - Allentown, Bethlehem and Easton. Residents benefit from wonderful neighborhoods, good schools, prestigious universities, numerous parks, restaurants, recreational and cultural offerings and a broad range of employment opportunities. In fact, the Lehigh Valley is home to hundreds of employers, many of them nationally known for excellence.
Major roadways allow for easy commutes, as compared to major metropolitan areas. Residents and business travelers also take advantage of the centrally located Lehigh Valley International Airport, which serves more than one million travelers each year.
The Lehigh Valley is close to many major cities including:
- Philadelphia (1 hour)
- New York City (1.5 hours)
- Baltimore (3 hours)
- Boston (5.5 hours)
- Washington, D.C. (3.5 hours)
The area is less than an hour away from the Pocono Mountains (and its skiing and whitewater rafting) and is only a short drive to the nearest shore.
The Lehigh Valley also affords residents a lower cost of living than other surrounding major metropolitan areas. To learn more about local housing costs and current offerings, visit any number of local realtors that can be accessed via a web search.
What is life like in Bethlehem and Allentown ?
St. Luke's Hospital & Health Network has campuses in these two major metropolitan areas that make up the Lehigh Valley. Both communities have a rich and diverse history dating back to the 1700s.
Founded in 1741 as a Moravian settlement, Bethlehem is rich in colonial and industrial history. Through the years of growth and progress, Bethlehem has carefully preserved its past. Bethlehem is affectionately known as the “Christmas City.” Main Street in historic downtown Bethlehem offers quaint shops and restaurants and many historic attractions. Gardens and parks add to Bethlehem 's beauty and make it a wonderful place to visit or call home. The city also offers many wonderful festivals annually, including Musikfest and Celtic Fest.
Allentown, named after its founder William Allen (a former mayor of Philadelphia ), started as a rural village in 1762. It has continued to grow and thrive and is home to many residences, business both large and small, and recreational attractions.
The park system in Allentown is expansive, largely due to the efforts of the late philanthropist and industrialist General Harry C. Trexler. The park system thrives today thanks to the Trexler Trust which continues to provide the needed funding to preserve and maintain the parks for residents and visitors.
Those wishing to stay within the city's limits can enjoy everything from great nightlife and fine dining to festivals and cultural offerings such as the Allentown Art Museum and Symphony Hall, home of the Allentown Symphony Orchestra. A key tourist attraction for families is Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom, a major amusement park on the East Coast.
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St. Luke's has been named one of the best 25 teaching hospitals in the U.S. by Solucient 100 Top Hospitals (1997, 2001). St. Luke's offers 10 fully accredited residencies in dental, general surgery, internal medicine (allopathic and osteopathic), family practice (allopathic and osteopathic), obstetrics/gynecology, emergency medicine (allopathic and osteopathic) and podiatry; plus a transitional year and osteopathic internship. Each year, more than 140 residents train at St. Luke's. The hospital is one of only 400 members of the prestigious Council of Teaching Hospitals.