Lehigh Valley Physician Group

Programs: History and backgroundthe lehigh valley physician group (lvpg) was established in 1993 as an affiliate of the lehigh valley health network (lvhn). As a non-profit corporation which supports both lvhn and the lehigh valley hospital (lvh), lvpg has developed physician practices in the clinical departments of family medicine, medicine, obstetrics/gynecology, pediatrics, psychiatry, surgery, and emergency medicine. With a current size of 950 physicians and 450 advanced practice clinicians, lvpg operates as a single entity with services provided at over 200 locations. During the year ended june 30, 2017, lvpg practices had 2,243,379 patient visits, up 2. 9% from the year ended june 30, 2016 visits of 2,179,730. The following summarizes the medical specialties offered within lvpg: adolescent medicine, advanced spine, concussion, head trauma, bariatric medicine, bariatric surgery, behavioral health, cardiology, cardio thoracic surgery, chiropractic medicine, emergency medicine, endocrinology/metabolism/diabetes, express care/walk in, family medicine, general and minimally invasive surgery, general internal medicine (ambulatory & hospitalists), geriatrics, gynecology, gynecologic oncology, health and wellness, hematology/oncology, infectious disease, maternal fetal medicine, neonatology, nephrology, neurology, neurosurgery, obstetrics, occupational medicine, oncologic surgery, ophthalmology, optometry, orthopedic surgery, pain management, palliative medicine, pediatrics - general, pediatric endocrinology, pediatric gastroenterology, pediatric hematology/oncology, pediatric hospitalists, pediatric intensivists, pediatric neurology, pediatric pulmonology, pediatric surgery, pediatric urology, plastic surgery, physiatry, psychiatry - child & adolescent, psychiatry - general, pulmonology, rheumatology, sleep medicine, sports medicine, toxicology, trauma surgery, transplant surgery, urogynecology, urology, vascular surgery. Patient care programslvpg offers a continuum of health care promotion, prevention, diagnosis, and treatment to the community. Extensive outpatient services are provided at locations throughout the region and are a part of a healthcare network established by lvpg to meet the medical and surgical needs of the residents of the lehigh valley and beyond. Lvpg serves as a multispecialty physician group, accepting referrals from an area populated by approximately two million residents of surrounding counties in eastern pennsylvania, with a special focus in the following key areas:cancer serviceslvpg physicians provide medical leadership in the john and dorothy morgan cancer center, a center which offers a range of cancer services in one convenient, patient-focused location. Cancer care programs include prevention, detection, diagnosis, therapy, clinical trials, rehabilitation and the evaluation of cancer-related care. Cardiac serviceslvpg physicians provide the medical leadership of the cardiovascular disease divisions at lvhn including general and invasive cardiology, heart station, electrophysiology, cardio thoracic surgery and the cardiovascular research institute. In addition, our cardiologists serve as program director and core faculty for the cardiology fellowship program. Palliative medicine and hospicelvpg physicians and providers provide services across the care continuum to improve patient, family and provider satisfaction, decreased hospital readmissions and emergency room visits for patients with advanced illnesses. We also care for patients at the end of life in coordination with hospice home services. Internal medicine and family medicine primary carelvpg physicians and providers provide high quality, comprehensive, coordinated care to adults and children in the setting of patient-centered medical homes. We strive to provide access to care at the time of need, focus on prevention and chronic illness management and provide coordination between specialist and service. Neurosciences serviceslvpg physicians provide treatment for stroke, brain tumors, aneurysms, spine disorders and other neurological disorders in the following areas: neurosurgery, pain management, neurology, neuropsychology, neuro-imaging, neuro-oncology. Behavioral health serviceslvpg physicians provide medical leadership for the lvh acute care inpatient mental health program for adolescents and adults in lehigh, northampton, carbon, monroe, schuylkill, and berks counties based upon the number of admissions and provides inpatient psychiatric, psychological, substance abuse and social services in all clinical areas. Lvpg physicians also provide ambulatory care in these settings: partial hospitalization program oversight for adolescents and adults; outpatient mental health clinic for the chronically and severely ill; short-term, outpatient treatment services for children, adolescents, adults and families; residential rehabilitation program teaching independent living skills to the chronically mentally ill; emergency services; and mental health and home care services. Surgery serviceslvpg physicians, advanced practice clinicians and allied health providers perform comprehensive, coordinated surgical care and provide services in specialties such as: bariatric surgery, burn surgery, cardiac and thoracic surgery, general surgery, neurosurgery, ophthalmology, orthopedic surgery, otolaryngology, pediatric otolaryngology, pediatric surgery, pediatric urology, plastic and reconstructive surgery, surgical oncology, transplant surgery, trauma surgery, urology and vascular surgery. In addition, our surgeons serve as the program director and core faculty for the general surgery residency program. Trauma serviceslvpg physicians and other practitioners provide comprehensive trauma care and services as a major regional resource covering a ten county area and a two million patient base. Lvpg physicians are part of the accredited program for pediatric trauma. Lvpg physicians are an integral component of the lehigh valley hospital trauma program, which provides a continuum of care for the trauma patient with at least one of eight trauma surgeons providing 24/7/365 in house coverage. A trauma rehabilitation team completes the continuum of trauma care. Lvpg physicians also provide care in the burn center operating 18 beds serving northeastern pennsylvania and western new jersey. Women's services lvpg offers programs and services designed to provide care for women in the lehigh valley. Lvpg physicians delivered 4,396 babies during the fiscal year ending june 30, 2017. Lvpg maintains a special focus on prenatal care as a component of its comprehensive obstetric and gynecology services, including general obstetric / gynecologic care, maternal-fetal (high-risk) medicine, gynecological oncology and pelvic reconstructive surgery. Infants/children/young adultslvpg offers comprehensive inpatient and outpatient pediatric medical care by combining a philosophy of patient/family-centered care with diagnostic, medical and surgical techniques. Services are provided through the collaborative efforts of community and hospital based physicians and subspecialists. Pediatric specialty services include adolescent medicine, child abuse, developmental pediatrics, gastroenterology, hematology, hospital based care, intensivists, neonatology, neurology, oncology, plastic and reconstructive surgery, psychiatry, pulmonology, rheumatology, general surgery, and trauma & burn care. Lvpg physicians provide care to patients at the lehigh valley hospital 40 bed level iii neonatal intensive care unit, 8 bed pediatric intensive care unit, 32 bed pediatric inpatient unit, 13 bed adolescent psychiatry unit and a recently opened 12 bed pediatric emergency department. Ambulatory services provided by lvpg include a general pediatric outpatient clinic, a pediatric subspecialty center, and a pediatric ambulatory surgery unit. Educational programs and affiliationslvpg physicians serve as faculty for the lvh residency and fellowship programs, which currently offers fully accredited graduate medical education training programs in the specialties of internal medicine, general surgery, obstetrics and gynecology, plastic surgery, family medicine, transitional year, emergency medicine, dermatology, colon rectal surgery, cardiovascular disease, hospital palliative care, breast surgery and surgical critical care. Additionally, a non-accredited minimally invasive surgery fellowship was added in august of 2005 and programs have been approved in general pediatrics and nephrology. Lvpg provides continuing medical education (cme) to its physicians and allied health personnel as well as to physicians in the community through various educational programs offered during the year. Lvpg also conducts extensive clinical in-service and continuing education for nursing personnel.

patient and community education programscommunity health and wellness - lvpg physicians and providers are dedicated to health and wellness through patient educational programs, community engagement, nutritional counseling, and chronic illness management. We focus on diabetes, obesity, asthma, hypertension, and cancer screening. Geriatric program - lvpg physicians provide guidance to the lvh geriatric program, located at the center for healthy aging at lvh. The educational offerings provide valuable information on wellness, healthy aging, and preventative care for mature populations, care giving information, holistic care of the older adult, disease control and management. These programs are delivered throughout the community and the lvh system including community organizations and agencies, the center for healthy aging, inpatient hospital rounds, help (hospital elder life program) rounds, and resident teaching rounds. The education programs are developed by physicians, nurse practitioners, nurses, and social workers. The formats include lectures, classes, screenings, and counseling sessions. The helwig health and diabetes center - the diabetes center is a recognized american diabetes association approved provider of diabetes self-management training. Services of the center include provision of outpatient pre-diabetes, diabetes and general nutrition education to patients and families, community members and health professionals in the mid-eastern pennsylvania region. Based on referral, nurse educators, supervised by lvpg physicians, assist in co-management of diabetes care. Free support groups and community education programs are provided on a regular basis. Nurse educators also provide inpatient diabetes education for hospitalized patients, their families, and all levels of health care providers involved in the hospital care of patients with diabetes. Inpatient standards of care for patients hospitalized with hyperglycemia and diabetes are developed and/or monitored by the inpatient specialists in order to improve patient outcomes. Pediatrics program - in collaboration with lvh, lvpg physicians and other practitioners participate in community programs to promote the health and safety of the children in our area. These include programs related to poison, fire and violence prevention, safety and immunizations to the community. Lvpg physicians work with lvh to provide the medical evaluations for the child advocacy center of lehigh county which is a multidisciplinary response to allegations of potential child abuse.