St. Luke’s to bring new medical services to downtown Easton

St. Luke’s plans to open new medical offices later this month on the upper floors of the Lafayette Ambassador Bank Building at 352 Northampton St in downtown Easton.St. Luke’s Family Medicine will provide primary care for patients of all ages, including obstetrics and gynecology services and “lifestyle medicine,” including exercise, stress and nutrition education and group medical visits, said St. Luke’s Corporate Communications Director Sam Kennedy.St. Luke’s also recently opened an office providing internal medicine for adult patients at 400 S. Greenwood Ave.The newest downtown Easton location is set to open on June 26The offices will move into the second floor at the rear of the Lafayette Ambassador Bank building with administrative offices to open on the third floor.Lafayette Bank will continue to operate on the first floor of their Northampton Street office, next door to the Sigal Museum.The newest Easton location provides services for patients regardless of their ability to pay. They accept commercial insurances, Medicare, Medical Assistance and will assist patients with no insurance, hospital officials said.The office is in a “sweet spot” for St. Luke’s because of its location in downtown Easton, the availability of public transportation and proximity to the health network’s expanding Anderson hospital campus, said physician Andrew Goodbred.It was determined to be a prime location through St. Luke’s 2016 “Community Health Needs Assessment,” which found a need for expanded access to primary care in the city of Easton, hospital officials said.Goodbred will be medical director of the Northampton Street office, and one of three attending physicians there. In addition to the attending physicians, the office will also be staffed by four St. Luke’s medical residents.St. Luke’s continues to expand its number of primary care providers and will be starting internal medicine and family medicine residency training programs at its Andersen Campus in Bethlehem Township, Kennedy said.Goodbred will also serve as the associate program director of the family medicine residency program at the Anderson campus.“One of the philosophies of the new residency program is the concept of lifestyle medicine, which looks at the fact that we know 80-85 percent of chronic disease in the United States is affected by lifestyle decisions we make on an everyday basis,” Goodbred said.St. Luke’s doctors hope to form a relationship with patients and manage their care before disease develops “and we have to reach for things like medication,” Goodbred said.Lifestyle-based medicine, which will also be available at the Northampton Street office, can utilize nutrition, exercise, stress reduction and improving sleep to create better health outcomes, he said.It’s still too early to say what the hours of the new office will be, but Goodbred expects to be open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. The hours will depend on clinical needs and staff availability.Mayor Sal Panto Jr. said he’s pleased to see another business opening in the downtown and hopes it will boost the city’s daytime economy.The office space at the rear of the building had been rented to a subscription company, but they moved out a year ago, Panto said.“The one industry in the Lehigh Valley that definitely continues to grow is the healthcare industry and St. Luke’s is a welcome addition to our downtown,” Panto said.As for Lafayette Ambassador Bank, they recently consolidated into Fulton Bank, a move that will eventually mean a name change.The merger has not affected jobs in Lafayette Ambassador’s territory.Fulton Financial spokeswoman Laura Wakeley said Lafayette Ambassador Bank will remain on Northampton Street in Easton and keep the same number of staff despite St. Luke’s move into the building.Christina Tatu can be reached at ctatu@mcall.com or 610-820-6583
Source: Morningcall