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In early November, nearly 300 community leaders and friends of St. Luke’s Allentown Campus gathered at the newly refurbished Americus Hotel in downtown Allentown to celebrate the 21^st Annual Dinner by Starlight event. It was a record year, with more than $193,000 raised to support the construction of a new Mother & Baby Tower at the Allentown campus.

This beloved fundraising event provides a special opportunity to recognize members of the Allentown community who make a difference through their gifts of time, talent, and treasure. Ashley Russo, President of ASR Media, generated excitement as the evening’s emcee and introduced Honorary Stars Dr. Kathryn C. Worrilow and her LifeAire Systems team.

In her acceptance speech, Dr. Worrilow shared that “St. Luke’s Allentown Campus and LifeAire Systems share a strong passion for, and vision of, excellence in patient care.” LifeAire completed a clinical study at St. Luke’s Allentown Campus that demonstrated the transformational impact of comprehensive remediation or destruction of all infectious airborne pathogens in a hospital setting.

“By taking action to eliminate airborne pathogens, we can decrease length of stay for patients and improve clinical and economic metrics. This represents a paradigm shift in how we view the significance and the role of the clinical environment in patient care,” said Dr. Worrilow.

The event also celebrated Shining Stars in our community. Jennifer Garcia, Security Coordinator at St. Luke’s Allentown Campus stands out as a stellar employee. She is known for taking on any challenge with a positive attitude and concern for patient satisfaction and customer service. She puts others first and is always there for her team members as a mentor, leader, and friend. 

Ed and Shahnaz Hanna, owners of Allentown restaurant Union and Finch, were also recognized as Shining Stars. Ed and Shahnaz constantly strive to give back to the community they love so much. They partner with the Allentown School District and other non-profit organizations like Camelot for Children to provide resources for our local homeless and underserved youth. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Union and Finch adapted their operation to remain open and keep their staff employed while helping their Allentown neighbors with food donations.

The St. Luke’s team is honored to shine a brighter light on the talent and dedication of all the “stars” recognized, while also advancing the care we can provide to families in our community. The new Mother & Baby Tower will enable up to 3,000 deliveries per year and will include a level III neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). The NICU will help keep babies born prematurely or with critical needs close to their families in Allentown.

Additional services will include prenatal education, lactation support, and behavioral health resources on-site through our renowned St. Luke’s Baby and Me program. This significant investment in the Allentown community will ensure that all moms and babies in need can access the highest quality services from a world-class leader in health care–now in a brand-new, state-of-the-art facility.

Also premiered at the event was the first in what will be a series of “All in for Allentown” videos, produced by Countess Communications. The video was introduced by St. Luke’s Ambassador and NFL Hall of Famer, Andre Reed.

Thank you to the following Dinner by Starlight sponsors, who recognize the value of investing in the health of our Allentown community:

• BSI Corporate Benefits (Premier Sponsor): “BSI was honored to support and attend Dinner by Starlight. It was wonderful to be together and celebrate right in the heart of downtown Allentown. We are grateful to St. Luke's for the opportunity to applaud this year’s Honorary Star, Dr. Kathryn Worrilow, for her team’s contributions to patient care. We are extremely proud of our partnership with St. Luke’s and remain "All in for Allentown" to help ensure our community members always have access to world-class healthcare from one of the nation's top hospital systems.” - Tony DaRe, Chief Executive Officer, BSI Corporate Benefits
• GOLD Credit Union (Cosmic Sponsor): “GOLD’s partnership with St. Luke’s is extremely important to us and we were proud to sponsor Dinner by Starlight for the fourth year consecutively. The Allentown Campus team’s efforts in providing safety and wellness are unmatched, and GOLD will continue to support them in their commitment to building a stronger, healthier community. Congratulations to all those recognized this year for their incredible contributions and thank you to all St. Luke’s staff for their continuing dedication to the people of the Lehigh Valley.” - Jenn Gora, Chief Communications Officer, GOLD Credit Union
• Lexus of Lehigh Valley (Presenting Sponsor): “Dinner by Starlight provides a wonderful opportunity to help ensure our family, friends, and neighbors receive the highest level of care. Lexus is a brand synonymous with excellence and we are proud to lend our support to St. Luke’s Allentown Campus, a hospital committed to excellence in health care.” - Peter and Karen Cooper, Lexus of Lehigh Valley
• Axia Women’s Health/ Seasons of Life OB/GYN (Presenting Sponsor): "From our start in clinical training as OB/GYN residents through all our years here in private practice in Allentown, St. Luke's has encouraged our professional growth while providing excellent care to the community we serve. We are so thrilled to offer support to St. Luke's Allentown as they expand into a beautiful new Mother & Baby Tower to welcome our patients and their families." - Mary Greiss-Coult, DO, Seasons of Life & St. Luke’s Allentown Campus Board Member 

In addition to our event sponsors, Corporate Environments generously donated furniture for the new Mother & Baby Tower. “Corporate Environments tremendously values its partnership with St. Luke’s because of the leadership role St. Luke’s demonstrates in our community. It is important to continue to support our healthcare systems as there are so many people in need of their services. The maternity wing project in Allentown hits home for me personally, as my wife and I had our first child this year. We understand how critical the people and facilities are to the success in welcoming newborn children to this world,” said Adam McMahon, Market President of Corporate Environments.  

Donations to support the Mother & Baby Tower will be accepted through December 31, 2022, at www.sluhn.org/dinnerbystarlight.  Please contact Lori Coursen at Lori.Coursen@sluhn.org with any questions.