LVHN plans to sell, lease back Humboldt facility to raise money for more hospitals in the Lehigh Valley
KAYLEE LINDENMUTH / SHENANDOAH SENTINEL - The Lehigh Valley Health Network - Station Circle facility in Humboldt, seen on June 13, 2024.
HUMBOLDT – The Lehigh Valley Health Network is planning to sell and lease back several of its facilities, including one in our area, to raise money for new facilities outside our area.
The Lehigh Valley Health Network-Station Circle facility in Humboldt is one of eight they plan to sell to the non-profit Centurion Foundation.
John Brodsky, senior vice president and treasurer of the health network, asked Northampton County for approval earlier this month, WFMZ-TV first reported.
Up to $160 Million in tax-exempt bonds will be issued, which required county approval, though the county will not be the county’s obligation.
“We have every intention of continuing to use them, we’re fully responsible for maintaining them,” Brodsky told the board. “These are important facilities for us.” He said they will engage in a 15-year lease for each facility.
The Station Circle facility near Hazleton was built by Coordinated Health and later acquired by Lehigh Valley Health Network. Orthopedics, podiatry, and more are offered there.
Three other former Coordinated Health facilities in the Lehigh Valley, as well as some former Pocono Medical Center facilities will also be sold.
Brodsky said the proceeds will be used to build two new hospitals. One of those hospitals will be a “community hospital” in Hellertown, which is in close proximity to multiple hospitals in the Lehigh Valley area.
The other will be a behavioral hospital, which Brodsky did not share the location of. He said it would be “proximal to” Northampton County.
“They will certainly be available to county residents to make use of them,” Brodsky said, adding that bond financing has raised money for five hospitals.
The health network has not built any new facilities in our area, and does not have a facility of any kind in Shenandoah. This, despite Shenandoah and Mahanoy City having a healthcare need akin to Scranton and Wilkes-Barre, according to a community needs assessment by Geisinger Health Systems.
They announced in December plans to merge with Philadelphia-based Jefferson, and they operate hospitals in Pottsville and Hazleton.
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