Expanded ER at Upper Bucks Campus

To continue providing residents in Bucks and Montgomery counties with access to high-quality emergency medical services, St. Luke’s has doubled the size of its emergency department at its Upper Bucks Campus hospital. The ribbon cutting was held Oct. 1.

St. Luke’s Upper Bucks Campus has experienced significant growth since its opening in 2019. Ground was broken in late 2024 to expand the emergency department to meet the community’s needs. The expanded ER, which formally opens on Oct. 2, will allow providers to treat up to 40,000 patients a year.

The new $8 million, 11,000 square-foot expansion adds 12 new patient treatment bays, bringing the total to 28 individual emergency rooms.

The new ER was built with $2.5 million in Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program (RACP) funds secured through financial assistance provided by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Honorable Josh Shapiro, Governor.

This hospital enlargement comes just five years after the facility opened with 40 beds and an ER capacity of 22,000 patients per year. In 2023, St. Luke’s added a three-story, 118,000 square-foot tower on the west side of the original hospital, bringing cancer services, expanding obstetrics, birthing and neonatal intensive care units while increasing the number of inpatient beds on the campus to a total of 93.

“We are growing our ER capacity in response to our patients, who tell us they are pleased with the quality of care they receive here,” said Dennis Pfleiger, President of St. Luke’s Upper Bucks Campus.

After the hospital opened six years ago, the facility experienced steadily rising patient volumes, occasionally resulting in over-capacity issues in the original 11,000 square-foot ER. Pfleiger said this demand is expected to continue rising as the region grows, with the biggest population increase comprising Baby Boomers, persons aged 65 years of age and older.

Since opening its doors, St. Luke’s Upper Bucks campus has invested an additional $250-plus million in technology, staffing, services and facilities, affirming the organization’s commitment to improving the health of this community. St. Luke’s also opened outpatient pediatrics, OBGYN and gastrointestinal practices in Harleysville and owns 100 acres of open land on its Upper Bucks hospital campus for program and facility development.

August 2025 marked 30 years since St. Luke’s acquired the former Quakertown Hospital, which now serves the community as an expanded 32-bed inpatient mental health, outpatient services and professional office space.