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BETHLEHEM, PA, April 12, 2022: Today, ɫ��ɫ University and  announced a new addition to their longtime partnership, the establishment of an outpatient psychiatric office on the Main Street campus of ɫ��ɫ University in Bethlehem.

The addition of the outpatient psychiatric associate’s office on the ɫ��ɫ University campus represents the sixth such location for St. Luke’s, joining others in Bethlehem, Allentown, Carbon County, Bucks County – all in Pennsylvania – and in Phillipsburg, New Jersey.  It will be the first to be located on a university or college campus, and the first where St. Luke’s will be collaborating with an educational institution in a Master of Arts Clinical Counseling degree program. 

The St. Luke’s Psychiatric Associates office at ɫ��ɫ will be staffed with two full-time psychotherapists, who will provide services to children and adults in the general community and work closely with the students. First-year students in the ɫ��ɫ graduate program will be allowed to shadow the counselors in their day-to-day therapy work, while second-year students will participate in a more formalized internship program, according to Jessica Marino, who will serve as the practice manager for the ɫ��ɫ-based office.

“St. Luke’s University Health Network has been an excellent partner for ɫ��ɫ for many years, and this facility further demonstrates their commitment to the community,” said Bryon Grigsby, president of ɫ��ɫ University. “The opportunities this will present for our graduate-level students to see this practice operating right here on campus, serving the community at large, is invaluable.”

The opening of the ɫ��ɫ campus location aligns with an increasing community demand, says Amie Allanson-Dundon, a psychotherapist and network director of Clinical Therapy Services for St. Luke’s University Health Network.

“At St. Luke’s, we have seen a huge increase in the number of people seeking psychotherapy, and we know that part of that is due to the (Covid 19) pandemic,” she said. “When you think of the socio-economic stressors and personal hardship many people are experiencing, after two-plus years of dealing with this pandemic…it is definitely increasing a need for more services. And that piggybacks on the normal depression and anxiety people experienced before Covid. Right now, the demand is greater than anyone in the Valley is able to keep up with.”

It is, Allanson-Dundon notes, a good problem to have in that the stigma of seeking psychological help appears to be  eroding.

 “People aren’t as hesitant to get therapy anymore,” she said. “And in the medical field, you’re seeing more specialists and family doctors using mental health services to treat the whole person. As more people understand the benefits of psychotherapy, they are more willing to do it.”

 An unexpected benefit of the pandemic is that virtual care is allowing professional therapists to reach more patients since the obstacle of physical access has been removed. These virtual sessions can also offer students in ɫ��ɫ’s Master of Arts Clinical Counseling degree program even greater insight into the counseling process, Marino said.

Ultimately, this partnership and teaching experience will produce more trained counselors who would conceivably stay in the region to help meet a growing need for psychological services, administrators say. 

 “The goal of this sort of hands-on experience is to get the students really excited about this work, and about hopefully staying in the Lehigh Valley,” Allanson-Dundon said.

Media contact(s):

St. Luke’s University Health Network
Sam Kennedy
Corporate Communications Director
samuel.kennedy@sluhn.org
484.526.4134

ɫ��ɫ University
Michael Corr
Assistant Vice President of Marketing and Communications
corrm@moravian.edu
610.861.1365

ɫ��ɫ St. Luke’s University Health Network
Founded in 1872, (SLUHN) is a fully integrated, regional, non-profit network of more than 17,000 employees providing services at 14 campuses and 300+ outpatient sites.  With annual net revenue of $2.7 billion, the Network’s service area includes 11 counties: Lehigh, Northampton, Berks, Bucks, Carbon, Montgomery, Monroe, Schuylkill and Luzerne counties in Pennsylvania and Warren and Hunterdon counties in New Jersey.  Dedicated to advancing medical education, St. Luke’s is the preeminent teaching hospital in central-eastern Pennsylvania.  In partnership with Temple University, St. Luke’s established the Lehigh Valley’s first and only regional medical school campus.  It also operates the nation’s longest continuously operating School of Nursing, established in 1884, and 38 fully accredited graduate medical educational programs with 347 residents and fellows.  St. Luke’s is the only Lehigh Valley-based health care system to earn Medicare’s five-star ratings (the highest) for quality, efficiency and patient satisfaction.  St. Luke’s is both a Leapfrog Group and Healthgrades Top Hospital and a Newsweek World’s Best Hospital.  U.S. News & World Report ranked St. Luke’s #1 in the Lehigh Valley and #6 in the state.  Three of IBM Watson Health’s 100 Top Hospitals are St. Luke’s hospitals.  St. Luke’s flagship University Hospital has earned the 100 Top Major Teaching Hospital designation from IBM Watson Health nine times total and seven years in a row, including in 2021 when it was identified as THE #1 TEACHING HOSPITAL IN THE COUNTRY.  In 2021, IBM Watson Health also named St. Luke’s among the 15 Top Health Systems nationally.  Utilizing the Epic electronic medical record (EMR) system for both inpatient and outpatient services, the Network is a multi-year recipient of the Most Wired award recognizing the breadth of the SLUHN’s information technology applications such as telehealth, online scheduling and online pricing information.  St. Luke’s is also recognized as one of the state’s lowest cost providers.

ɫ��ɫ ɫ��ɫ University
ɫ��ɫ University is the nation's sixth-oldest university, located in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and offers undergraduate and graduate degrees that blend liberal arts with professional programs. For more than 275 years, the ɫ��ɫ University degree has been preparing students for reflective lives, fulfilling careers, and transformative leadership in a world of change. ɫ��ɫ University is a member of The New American Colleges and Universities (NAC&U), a national consortium of selective, small to mid-size independent colleges and universities dedicated to the purposeful integration of liberal education, professional studies, and civic engagement. Visit moravian.edu to learn more about how the ɫ��ɫ University focus on education for all prepares its students for life-long success.

 

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