LVHN to stop providing chiropractic services; staff to be ‘redeployed’ to other positions

Lehigh Valley Health Network will no longer offer chiropractic services starting in mid-April as part of what health system leaders said was a “restructuring.”

All chiropractic services will be phased out effective April 12, though patients still will be able to access services until then, according to a statement from LVHN spokesperson Brian Downs.

The 10 network chiropractors and 10 chiropractic practices in Lehigh, Northampton, Monroe and Luzerne counties are affected.

“About a dozen other staff are part of the service and all of them will likely be redeployed to open positions in the health network,” Downs said.

LVHN recently announced its intent to merge with the larger Philadelphia-based Jefferson Health Network; when asked, Downs did not say whether the discontinuation of the services was a result of the pending combination, saying only that each network is operating independently and “continuing business as usual.”

The two systems signed a non-binding letter of intent, and the merger is subject to regulatory approval as well as other factors.

Jefferson does not offer chiropractic services.

The cutting of the department is the second restructuring to occur at LVHN in recent months; in October, it eliminated 240 positions across the network. LVHN did not say which positions were cut, only that they were not bedside clinical positions and that it would continue to hire physicians, advanced practice clinicians, nurses and other health care personnel.

“In any large organization, there will be occasional restructuring for various reasons. This is one of those situations and as I noted from time to time there will be others based on community need and demand as well as other factors,” Downs said.

LVHN has about 20,000 employees across 13 hospitals plus numerous health centers, physician practices, rehabilitation locations, and other outpatient care locations in 10 eastern Pennsylvania counties.

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