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The Summit Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Lehighton has been recognized as a "High Performance Skilled Nursing Facility Provider" by Highmark. The Summit, part of St. Luke’s University Health Network, has continually demonstrated a record of high performance and commitment to high quality, patient-centric, value-based care, which is why Highmark has counted it among its outstanding partners.
Highmark has created this High Performance Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) Network to recognize high-rated, skilled nursing facilities who exhibit an outstanding commitment to work with healthcare providers in an effort to ensure convenient, affordable, high-quality health care. To create this group, Highmark used metrics like high-quality medical care, value per health care dollar, readmission rates, emergency department utilization and average cost per episode.
As of January 1, only the SNFs who performed at the highest levels will be included in the new network and only 50 percent of the SNFs in Pennsylvania made the list. For patients, choosing a provider in this High Performance Network will ensure the highest level of benefits and lowest cost to them.
“It is an honor to be named a Highmark High Performance Skilled Nursing Facility, the only skilled nursing facility in Carbon County to receive this distinction,” says Alicia Shutack-Silliman, Nursing Home Administrator, The Summit, St. Luke's Gnaden Huetten Campus. “As today's patients transition to various levels of care, they are seeking high-quality medical care at the lowest cost possible. The Summit has had and will continue to have a long tradition of providing quality, cost effective health care.”
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About St. Luke’s
Founded in 1872, St. Luke’s University Health Network (SLUHN) is a fully integrated, regional, non-profit network of more than 15,000 employees providing services at 10 hospitals and over 320 outpatient sites. With annual net revenue greater than $2 billion, the Network’s service area includes 10 counties: Lehigh, Northampton, Berks, Bucks, Carbon, Montgomery, Monroe and Schuylkill 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 created 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 28 fully accredited graduate medical educational programs with 226 residents and fellows. St. Luke’s is the only Lehigh Valley-based health care system with Medicare’s five- and four-star ratings (the highest) for quality, efficiency and patient satisfaction. St. Luke’s is both a Leapfrog Group and Healthgrades Top Hospital. In 2019, three of IBM Watson Health’s 100 Top Hospitals were St. Luke’s hospitals. St. Luke’s University Hospital has earned the 100 Top Major Teaching Hospital designation from IBM Watson Health seven times total and five years in a row. St. Luke’s has also been cited by IBM Watson Health as a 50 Top Cardiovascular Program. 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.
