Walk-in Clinic Will Open Near Route 100

Lehigh Valley Health Network is starting a physical therapy center on Village Lane in this month and a walk-in primary care clinic in October.

Jennifer Chambers, director of Health Center Planning and Operations for LVHN, said the health network is leasing 6,500 square feet of a building at the intersection of Village and Willow lanes near Route 100 for the two operations. The remainder of the 10,680-square-foot building still is vacant.

Village Lane Primary Care, a walk-in service for minor illnesses, will open on Oct. 15, Chambers said. The walk-in clinic will be staffed by physicians, nurse practitioners and physicians’ assistants.

The clinic will be open:

• 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday
• 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on weekends and holidays

Chambers said 15 to 20 percent of the population in the area does not have a primary care physician. Patients who use Village Lane Primary Care may opt to make a connection with a primary care physician at this new practice.

“It helps build an early medical practice very quickly and serves a community need,” Chambers said.

The physical therapy center -- called The Health Center at Macungie -- will provide physical therapy for both men and women but also will have a special focus on women’s health and rehabilitation, Chambers said. LVHN was expected to open The Health Center on Aug. 1.

Julie Spencer, who will be on staff at the The Health Center, said The Health Center will take referrals from the physicians in the new practice in the building and from other physicians as well.

There will be the usual physical therapy treatments for people with a range of problems, including shoulder and back pain plus joint replacements, said Spencer, who has a doctorate in physical therapy.

However, she said, she is particularly excited about offering services that will address women’s health issues, including pelvic pain, incontinence and pelvic floor disorders.

Also, Spencer said, she anticipates that women will be patients during their pregnancies and the postpartum period, to address back and shoulder pain that is a result of holding their new babies.

The Health Center will be open:

• Mondays and Wednesdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
• Fridays from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Meanwhile, Kelly Berfield, a partner of the Dietrick Group, LLC, is seeking another tenant for the vacant portion of the building. The building is owned by J & M Equities of Bethlehem.