Pediatric Urgent Care Coming to West End Medical Center

St. Luke's West End Medical Center is putting the finishing touches on the region's first pediatric urgent care facility.

Healthcare workers from St. Christopher's Hospital for Children in Philadelphia will join the new center and treat patients up to age 21.

The pediatric urgent care center would treat patients for less acute cases than a 24-hour emergency room, according to Frank Ford, president of St. Luke's Allentown Campus.

"It's like an extension of a doctor's office during off-hours," Ford said.

The Pediatric Urgent Care Center will be open from 7:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m.

St. Luke's University Health Network is consolidating 35 properties in Allentown and western Lehigh County at

"This is our future," Ford said. "Healthcare is moving toward outpatient care."

The medical center is housed in the 108,000-square-foot former Pennsylvania Convention and Expo Center, which St. Luke's bought for $6.3 million in 2011. The health network has spent more than $8 million so far in the construction of the first phase of a multi-year renovation project.

Ford said the medical center is ideally located near Routes 22 and 309 and Interstate 78 and provides easy access for patients.

St. Luke's will open a Sports & Human Performance Center in September.