$17.8M in expenses

Lehigh valley physician group - schuylkill (LVPG-s) was established in 1998 as an affiliate of the lehigh valley hospital - schuylkill. As a non-profit corporation which supports both the lehigh valley hospital - schuylkill (LVH-s) and lehigh valley health network, LVPG-s has developed physician practices in family and internal medicine, hematology, and oncology, general surgery, orthopedics, behavioral health, pain management, pulmonology, cardiology & vascular, critical care, physiatry and podiatry.LVPG-s is dedicated to serving our patients through the delivery of high quality and exceptional service. With a current size of approximately 30 physicians and 25 advanced practice clinicians, LVPG-s operates as a single entity with services provided at numerous sites within the schuylkill county region. Continued recruitment and growth are a focus, with the purpose of delivering the best resources and services to the community. LVPG-s practices performed over 128,271 patient visits in FY 2025.patient care programs:LVPG-s offers a continuum of health care promotion, prevention, diagnosis, and treatment to the community. Outpatient services are provided at locations throughout the region and are a part of a healthcare network established by LVPG-s and LVH-s to meet the medical and surgical needs of the residents of schuylkill and surrounding counties. We also offer community health worker (CHW) home visits that would include an initial symptom screening (using an evidence-based symptom assessment tool), a social determinant of health (sdoh) screen, and a home assessment. The home assessment will screen for the presence of physical & environmental factors that influence health and well-being. If a patient's home environment does present a potential risk, the patient is referred to schuylkill community action via the findhelp referral platform to further assess program eligibility.infants/children/young adults:through our patient-centric philosophy including state-of-the-art diagnostic and medical techniques, LVPG-s provides superior inpatient pediatric medical care, as well as outpatient primary care provided by family medicine. A team of pediatric and family medicine physicians, subspecialists, and apcs both from the community and from the hospital provides an integrated approach to services. This includes an expresscare site in pottsville to provide expanded primary care access for children as well as adults.primary care:primary care physicians and apcs provide high-quality, comprehensive, coordinated care to adults and children. We focus on a high-value, patient-centered approach based on longitudinal relationships. Our care model includes same-day illness and injury care, complex disease management, chronic care management, and preventive care. We accept medical assistance patients, offer VFC at all our locations that serve the pediatric population, and promote an equitable, safe, and friendly care environment for patients of all demographics. Our patients now have access to care through telehealth both to their established primary care clinician as well as to our primary care -based virtual expresscare. This technology creates a paradigm of enhanced access in a convenient manner. We actively leverage telemedicine to provide high quality care to patients with transportation insecurity and those who live in remote regions. In addition, we collaborate with health network laboratory mobile services to facilitate timely completion of lab work in patients with transportation insecurity. We also have several programs which enhance the well-being of the community. This extends to provision and partnership for student health care services to penn state- schuylkill. We offer a physician-led literacy program called "reach out and read," through which children visiting a participating practice receive an age-appropriate book during their annual well-child visit. In collaboration with the lehigh valley topper cancer institute, we have increased rates of lung cancer screening including efforts to reduce disparities in screening rates. Our linkage to addiction treatment & opioid stewardship program has continued to support our practices in providing medications for opioid use disorders (moud) across seven counties. Many of these patients face intense barriers to care such as chronic homelessness, past incarceration, and undertreated mental health conditions. We have a program which facilitates weaning patients off opiates by providing them with alternative treatment options. Our practices are highly engaged in educational efforts, contributing to the skill development of primary care nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and physicians. In schuylkill, family medicine has a fully accredited rural residency training program established in 2022. Our educational investment includes partnerships with many local colleges and universities, as well as thomas jefferson's sidney kimmell medical school, the philadelphia college of osteopathic medicine, and the university of south florida morsani college of medicine. Our practices also support local nursing homes, school sports, and community events.expresscare:the expresscare location provides immediate care from 8 a.m. To 8 p.m., 7 days a week. The scope of care includes management of common illnesses and minor injuries such as sprains, cuts, rashes, seasonal allergies, flu symptoms, bronchitis, ear infections, sore throats, fevers, and more. Furthermore, we offer coverage for routine school physicals and influenza vaccinations. This clinical care model is a lower-cost, easy-access alternative for lower acuity patients compared to the emergency room. The schuylkill location is known for its close-knit community feel, providing personalized care in a single, convenient location.medical specialties:LVPG-s provides a broad array of medical specialty care across the schuylkill region. Care coordination with access to specialty areas and collaboration with primary care colleagues is essential to provide optimal patient outcomes for our community. Physicians and apcs from endocrinology, bariatric medicine, rheumatology regularly provide outpatient services to the hazleton community.econsult program:as part of the econsult program, LVPG-s clinicians can pose non-urgent questions regarding their patients to their specialist colleagues across multiple disciplines. Requests and recommendations are formally incorporated into the EMR and are included in the patient's medical record. The availability of specialists across the ambulatory landscape has improved access and enhanced continuity of care. Adult econsult services include addiction medicine, anticoagulation management, cardiology, disability support, endocrinology, ent, geriatrics, gynecology, hematology, HIV/pre-exposure prophylaxis, infectious diseases, long covid, medical oncology (diagnostic advice), neurology, orthopedics, pain management, pulmonology, psychiatry, rheumatology, toxicology and urology. Our pediatric econsult program also includes endocrinology, infectious disease, gastroenterology and hematology. Inpatient medicine also lives with econsults.pulmonary services:pulmonary helps provide inpatient pulmonary consultative services through the use of tele-medicine 2 weeks a month. Occupational medicine:LVHN offers occupational medicine specialty services in the northern tier at four dedicated offices including pittston and pottsville.

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Neurosciences:neurology services are available at LVPG-schuylkill both in the outpatient setting and acute and inpatient neurology through our internal teleneurology and telestroke services. Updates from the past year include:-based on quality and regulation standards by the american heart association, schuylkill received the american heart association (aha)/get with the guidelines (GWTG) stroke gold plus award for performance as well as made the stroke elite honor roll. Additionally, they achieved LVHN's first rural stroke award, receiving a bronze designation.-we began anti-amyloid infusion therapy for biomarker-positive mci and early-onset alzheimer's disease. 36 patients from the fleming memory center are currently receiving this treatment. This treatment is available to any patient meeting inclusion criteria throughout the network.-viz.AI, an artificial intelligence platform used to improve patient outcomes in acute stroke cases, is now live across all locations.-our team conducted the 21st annual stroke symposium through both in-person and delayed virtual viewing platforms. The event was a huge success, boasting our highest post-pandemic in-person numbers with over 100 participants in attendance.- a new neurology practice was added in pottsville through acquisition of the DR. John chawluk practice. This practice includes two advanced practice clinicians (apcs).heart & vascular services:LVPG-s physicians and apcs provide general and invasive cardiology assessments & care plans, provide inpatient and office based clinical services, and hospital based and in office cardiac diagnostic testing, such as stress tests. Additionally, there are vascular surgery outpatient services available at LVPG laurel BLVD.women's health services:LVPG-s maintains comprehensive obstetrics and gynecology services, including general obstetric / gynecologic care and maternal fetal medicine. These comprehensive programs are delivered by teams of healthcare providers including physicians, midwives, and advanced practice clinicians along with their related clinical staff.to meet the needs of the larger schuylkill community, we offer sites of service in orwigsburg and hometown. Additionally, unique programs are offered for obstetrical patients including a virtual prenatal care program and connections, which provides care to pregnant and postpartum patients with substance use disorders.the obstetrics and gynecology physicians also support the training and experience of the family medicine rural residency training program. Part of this collaboration includes working with two family medicine physicians who provide obstetrical outpatient and inpatient care and offer a family-centered approach.cancer services:the cancer program at LVPG-s has expanded with continued growth. We have continued to expand access to our patients to innovative cancer care closer to their homes including medical oncology and other support services. We provide several services dedicated to treatment, diagnosis, prevention, infusion therapy, rehabilitation, and full longitudinal cancer care. We have added additional physicians to expand expertise and treatment options to our patients in the LVPG-s region.surgical services:LVPG-s offers a full range of quality inpatient and outpatient/short procedure surgical services, including general surgery, gynecologic surgery, and da vinci robotic-assisted surgery with highly qualified robotic surgery certified surgeons. Urology and otolaryngology (ent) head and neck services have been added via the telehealth hub and concussion services have also been added within the region. Additionally, general surgery supports expansive programs in reflux treatment and wound care and hyperbaric therapy. LVH-s is also designated as a level IV trauma center, providing essential trauma care services to the community.behavioral health services:LVPG physicians and advanced practice clinicians provide medical leadership for the LVH acute care inpatient mental health program for adults in primarily carbon, monroe, and pike counties and provide inpatient psychiatric, psychological, substance abuse and social services in all clinical areas. Among the areas of focus were the continued expansion of the zero suicide initiative, including internal suicidal prevention pathways, mitigation of ligature risk, and suicide prevention training in the emergency departments and medical-surgical units. Partnering with carbon/monroe/pike counties, the "warm handoff" program continues. This program follows individuals who have had suicidal thoughts and behaviors as they are discharged from LVHN inpatient and emergency departments into the community to confirm a solid connection to appropriate care. There is a continuing focus at the pocono inpatient psychiatric unit on quality measures. These include patient safety, fall reduction, and improved compliance with treatment plan reviews, as well as ensuring continuity of care between the patient and their primary care provider. The psychiatric evaluation services in the ed and medical/surgical services have been aligned with the practices in the lehigh region.anesthesiology services:a dedicated group of 4 physicians and 3 nurse anesthetists in LVPG-anesthesiology focus their clinical practice at LVH-schuylkill providing perioperative care to patients undergoing surgery in addition to prioritized availability to the obstetrical service on this campus at all times.virtual care and telemedicine:LVHN has remained a leader in the development and implementation of innovative virtual care programs that have expanded our capacity to provide high-quality healthcare services throughout our growing network and beyond. Another example of this is the start of a first-ever fully virtual primary care practice, launched in 2023. Virtual care programs allow our team to offer specialty care to sites and patients that would otherwise not have access to these services. In addition, virtual care hubs have been created in the area to support specialty access to the region. Patients can come to a LVHN, part of jefferson health, location, where a computer and screen are set up to virtually connect with specialists consulting on key conditions.schuylkill virtual hub program:recognizing the challenges patients and families face with connecting to our health care team via video visits from home, and a clear preference to not have to travel outside schuylkill county, LVPG, part of jefferson health, launched a virtual hub/video cart in march 2023 at the multi-specialty site in pottsville. Patients come to our virtual hub location and receive care like a regular office visit, complete with registration, medication reconciliation, vital signs, and visual interaction with clinicians. Patient feedback is consistently positive about their hub experience. Our team connects patients via a high-definition camera to a physician located in another location. Patients from outside the lehigh valley benefit from quicker access to specialists, enhanced virtual care with on-site clinical staff to check vitals and administer tests or vaccines, superior video with high-definition camera, and convenient care located close to home, eliminating the need for traveling long distances. The schuylkill hub offers clinical services in infectious disease, endocrinology, urology, and neurology. Cardiology is scheduled to start in mid-october 2025. Among the hub differentiators: in july 2024, fleming neuroscience institute hired a full-time virtual neurologist who sees patients entirely through the virtual hubs in hazleton and schuylkill.educational programs and affiliations:the graduate medical education mission continues to grow at LVH-s in the past 3 years with the initiation of our rural family medicine residency program at the site now at full complement with 12 trainees. Several recent graduates from the program joined the local medical staff. This program leverages the hospital's unique learning environment with a focus on rural, multidisciplinary care model committed to scholarly activity and research.there is an elective rural family medicine rotation at LVH-s for students from undergraduate medical education programs.community health needs assessment (chna):a chna report examines the factors impacting people's health and wellness in a particular geographical area. The chna report provides an overview of the current state of health in the region and identifies potential areas of concern that can inform the design of clinical programs.these reports are generated annually and are reviewed by LVHN executive leadership at each campus. Population health needs are prioritized based on the community's input and LVHN's ability to make a difference on those initiatives. Next steps include developing strategies to address prioritized health needs which will be presented in LVHN's chna plan.

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Effective at the close of business on 12/31/2024, schuylkill health system medical group, INC., a pennsylvania nonprofit corporation ("shsmg" aka "LVPG-s"), family care centers, INC., a pennsylvania nonprofit corporation ("FCC" aka "LVPG-p"), and hazleton professional services, a pennsylvania nonprofit corporation ("HPS" aka "LVPG-h") merged with and into lehigh valley physician group. The separate existence of shsmg, FCC, and HPS ceased, and LVPG is the surviving entity of the merger. LVPG became the owner of all assets and property of shsmg, FCC, and HPS, and all obligations belonging to or due to each of shsmg, FCC, and HPS.