Our History
A Legacy of Community Care Since 1872
St. Luke's was founded from a vision shared in 1871 by Reverend Cortlandt Whitehead, a rector of South Bethlehem's Episcopal Church of the Nativity, and local community leaders to create a hospital that would care for injured industrial workers in the Lehigh Valley.
Officially chartered on March 29, 1872, St. Luke's became a community-based, non-profit hospital dedicated to providing care regardless of creed, race, nationality, or ability to pay. That commitment to accessible health care remains a cornerstone of the organization today.
Funded through community donations such as Grace Episcopal Church of Allentown providing the first donation of $20 and volunteer labor, St. Luke's opened its first hospital on Carpenter Street (now Broadway) in Bethlehem on October 17, 1873. The first year of operation saw 47 patients who were treated in a facility supported by local businesses, churches, and residents.
While medicine advanced, St. Luke's helped lead the way, embracing innovations such as antiseptic practices, X-ray technology, open-heart surgery, and eventually becoming a Level I Trauma Center. Continuous investment in modern facilities and technologies has enabled the organization to meet the evolving needs of the communities it serves.
As the area's first community hospital, St. Luke’s has provided cost-effective and high-quality care to patients, regardless of their ability to pay, for over 150 years. Today, St. Luke's University Health Network includes 16 campuses, 2,800 physicians and providers, the regions first and only medical school campus, the nation's oldest nursing school, a college of health sciences, Pennsylvania's largest trauma network, and more than 2,500 volunteers. While growing into a regional health care leader, St. Luke's remains committed to delivering high-quality, local care close to home.
