Heart HealthAwareness
Know Your Heart Know Your Heart
Recognizing signs of heart attack is crucial, and if you or someone you know experiences symptoms that can indicate heart attack it is essential to seek medical attention immediately. Another important thing to note is that men and women can present with very different symptoms of heart attack.
Understanding these differences can help in recognizing the seriousness of symptoms and prompt timely medical care.
Symptoms
Chest pain that feels like pressure or squeezing, or fullness
Unusual weakness of fatigue
Nausea or vomiting
Shortness of breath (with or without chest pain)
Pain or pressure in the back, jaw, neck or shoulders
Pressure in the upper back, lower chest or upper abdomen
Heartburn or indigestion like sensations or upset stomach
Cold sweats
Lightneadedness
Chest pain that feels like pressure or squeezing or fullness
Pain radiating to the jaw, neck or back
Nausea or vomiting
Shortness of breath (with or without chest pain)
Pain or pressure in shoulders or arms (one or both)
Cold sweats
Lightneadedness
What to Know What to Know
Recognizing signs of heart attack is crucial, and if you or someone you know experiences symptoms that can indicate heart attack it is essential to seek medical attention immediately. Another important thing to note is that men and women can present with very different symptoms of heart attack. Understanding these differences can help in recognizing the seriousness of symptoms and prompt timely medical care.
Why is it Important Why is it Important
The difference in symptoms can lead to delays in seeking treatment, particularly for women who often dismiss their symptoms and attribute them to stress. Heart disease is the leading cause of death for women in the US so it is critical for women to understand the atypical symptoms of heart attack and seek immediate medical treatment.
St. Luke’s Identified as an Exemplar in Safety St. Luke’s Identified as an
by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
St. Luke’s is running with the big dogs. And when it comes to patient safety and health care excellence, St. Luke’s University Health Network isn’t just keeping up—it’s leading the pack.
The federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality has recognized St. Luke’s alongside national heavyweights Houston Methodist and the Mayo Clinic as the nation’s three high performing health systems for safety and quality—further affirmation of St. Luke’s status as a top leader among the largest and best-known health care providers in the country.
St. Luke’s selection—like that of Houston Methodist and the Mayo Clinic—was based on publicly available Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) safety outcome measures and Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and System survey data. The three high performing health systems were identified from a review of 4,791 U.S. hospitals and 135 healthcare systems containing at least six hospitals.
St. Luke’s was found to be one of three health care systems in the country with more than one hospital demonstrating safety and patient experience performance better than 75 percent above the national average.
“Here’s the simple take-away: If you want to receive the safest care when you go to the hospital, come to St. Luke’s,” St. Luke’s Chief Quality Officer Donna Sabol said.
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) was created when Congress passed, and President Clinton signed, the Healthcare Research and Quality Act of 1999. To better understand what differentiates St. Luke’s, the Mayo Clinic and Houston Methodist from other health systems, AHRQ and its contractors (Ripple Effect and the American Institutes for Research) conducted onsite best practices review visits to two hospitals in each system, observing a clinically complex patient mix from urban, suburban, and rural areas.
The insights gleaned from these visits formed the foundation for The Best Practices to Strengthen Safety Culture, Leadership, and Governance report, whose findings were shared publicly for the first time on Monday, Sept. 22, during a webinar. The goal is to shape a national “change package” of best practices in safety culture, leadership and governance that other health systems can follow.
St. Luke’s Bethlehem Campus and St. Luke’s Miners Campus received onsite visits. In the debriefing session that followed, the reviewers noted St. Luke’s unwavering commitment to patient-centered care—from department chairs to maintenance staff. The “speak up” culture and “we fix things” mindset, empowering employees at every level to voice concerns and drive improvements, were cited as major strengths.
Evaluators also praised St. Luke’s purpose-driven leadership pipeline, noting how the organization is cultivating the next generation of leaders to build on today’s success. Hiring for soft skills—like empathy, communication and bedside manner—was highlighted as a key ingredient in St. Luke’s recipe for excellence.
AHRQ’s selection of St. Luke’s as one of its three exemplary high performing systems nationwide builds upon the Network’s record as one of the safest health systems in the country. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) awarded 10 St. Luke’s hospitals five stars, the highest possible rating. All 11 eligible hospitals also earned A grades from the Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade, the only rating focused solely on preventing errors, injuries, and infections.
“St. Luke’s achieves superior quality and safety results because of the commitment to excellence of our outstanding medical staff and employees,” Sabol said. “Straight A’s and five stars—St. Luke’s is one of the few large health systems in the nation ever to receive across-the-board high marks from both CMS and Leapfrog.”
Additionally, this year St. Luke’s was again named to Premier’s 2025 PINC AI 100 Top Hospitals list published by Fortune magazine. It was the 11th time in a row and the 13th time overall that St. Luke’s hospitals have been recognized among the 100 Top Hospitals in the United States. St. Luke’s is the only health network in the greater Lehigh Valley region to ever earn this distinction.
“These objective measurements reflect the fact that safety is baked into St. Luke’s culture," Sabol said.
Lehigh Valley Hospital Pocono Creek Now Open
New neighborhood hospital, with full-service ER, is in Bartonsville
Lehigh Valley Health Network (LVHN)’s first neighborhood hospital in the Poconos – Lehigh Valley Hospital (LVH)–Pocono Creek –is now open
Located at 1328 Golden Slipper Road in Bartonsville, it is the third neighborhood hospital for LVHN, part of Jefferson Health, joining LVH–Macungie and LVH–Gilbertsville A fourth neighborhood hospital, in Hellertown, Northampton County, is projected to open by early 2027
“Establishing neighborhood hospitals is part of our mission to give our communities more health care options than ever before and to make those options easier to use and reach,” said Baligh Yehia, MD, President of Jefferson Health “Our goal is to make it as convenient as possible for people to get the compassionate, expert care they need, when they need it This is especially important for the Pocono region, which has seen tremendous growth in recent decades ” LVH–Pocono Creek is a licensed and accredited acute care hospital open 24 hours a day, seven days a week At about 22,000square-feet, it is a streamlined hospital featuring a full-service ER designed to support rapid patient assessment It’s also anticipated to contribute to shorter ER wait times and more efficient admissions. A comprehensive radiology suite and lab is located on site for convenient, fast diagnostic assessments
We bring our absolute best every day because that’s who we are and it’s what you can always expect It’s neighbors helping neighbors with compassion, skill and world-class medicine.” - Joe Pinto, Regional Chief Operating Officer for LVH–Pocono, LVH–Dickson City and LVH–Hecktown Oaks
“Medical emergencies come without warning. For those living and working in communities and neighborhoods in central Monroe County, LVH–Pocono Creek and Health Center at Pocono Creek will be invaluable,” said Holly Badali, President, Neighborhood Hospitals, LVHN, part of Jefferson Health Health Center at Pocono Creek, located on the same campus, features HNL Lab Medicine, Lehigh Valley Physician Group (LVPG) cardiology and LVPG family medicine, cardiac and vascular testing and adult physical therapy LVH–Pocono Creek also offers outpatient imaging services.
“Whether we’re administrators, clinicians, caregivers or serve in some other role in health care, the focus is always on one thing: the people we serve,” said Joe Pinto, Regional Chief Operating Officer for LVH–Pocono, LVH–Dickson City and LVH–Hecktown Oaks “We bring our absolute best every day because that’s who we are and it’s what you can always expect It’s neighbors helping neighbors with compassion, skill and world-class medicine ”
