The Public Finance Authority (“PFA”) announced financing has recently closed for neighborhood hospitals within the Lehigh Valley Health Network (LVHN). These neighborhood-hospitals will help meet increasing demand for accessible and convenient emergency and inpatient care.
“As the region’s leading health care partner, we’re committed to making exceptional health care, including emergency care, more convenient and accessible across-the-board,” Brian A. Nester, DO, MBA, President and Chief Executive Officer, LVHN, recently noted. “These hospitals will provide closer access to emergency and inpatient care for residents where they live and work, when and where they need it.”
The neighborhood hospital model is designed to enhance patient access to care and to generate high levels of patient satisfaction through a convenient care setting, shorter emergency department wait times, and faster inpatient admissions. A recent press release from LVHN notes that the network currently includes “13 hospital campuses…28 health centers; numerous primary and specialty care physician practices; 20 ExpressCARE locations including the area’s only Children’s ExpressCARE; pharmacy, imaging, home health, rehabilitation and lab services; and preferred provider services through Valley Preferred.”
“We are thrilled for the Public Finance Authority to be a part of financing a project that is going to bring neighborhood hospitals to Pennsylvania communities,” said Mark O’Connell, president and CEO of Wisconsin Counties Association, a founding sponsor organization of PFA. “LVHN’s effort to provide more accessible and world-class care to Pennsylvania communities is one example of the public benefit projects PFA successfully supports.”
PFA partners with local governments to assist in the financing of public benefit projects that create temporary and permanent jobs, affordable housing, community infrastructure, and improve the overall quality of life in local communities without any risk to taxpayers. In 2021, the Public Finance Authority celebrated more than 10 years of assisting in financing public benefit projects that provide local economic development, create jobs, produce state and local tax bases, and meet needs of eligible borrower’s state or local issuing authorities may not be able to serve.
###
PFA was established by local governments, for local governments, in order to provide local governments and eligible private entities nationwide with access to low-cost, tax-exempt and other financing for projects that are important to the community and contain no risk to the taxpayer. PFA is jointly sponsored by the National Association of Counties, National League of Cities, Wisconsin Counties Association and League of Wisconsin Municipalities.