Jefferson announces plans to modernize two Level 1 trauma centers in Philadelphia

Jefferson Health is expanding and modernizing services at its two Level 1 trauma centers in Philadelphia, among the busiest emergency departments in the area, with a combined 149,000 visits annually.

The multimillion-dollar investment will include an expanded emergency room and new 30-bed medical-surgical unit at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital. Jefferson Einstein Philadelphia is getting more trauma bays and recently opened a 20-bed observation unit within its emergency department.

The improvements are part of Jefferson’s effort to streamline services across the largest hospital system in the region, with 18 Philadelphia-area hospitals, plus the recently acquired Lehigh Valley Health Network.

The goal is to be the most accessible health system, by concentrating services at hospitals where they are most needed, said Baligh Yehia, president of Jefferson Health.

“We don’t need to do everything everywhere,” he said.

Instead, Yehia said, Jefferson is focusing on better understanding the needs of the community each of its hospitals serves, and building up appropriate services. For instance, Einstein Philadelphia, a major birthing center that serves a low-income community, has been focused on addressing maternal mortality. Highly specialized services, including neuroscience, are concentrated at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital.

The Level 1 trauma centers at Jefferson’s flagship Center City hospital and Einstein Philadelphia are anchors in the region and a critical component of both hospitals’ identities, Yehia said.

Penn Presbyterian Medical Center and Temple University Hospital also operate Level 1 adult trauma centers in Philadelphia. Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children have Level 1 pediatric trauma centers.

Thomas Jefferson University Hospital sees about 72,000 emergency department visits annually; Einstein Philadelphia has about 77,000 emergency department visits a year, Yehia said.

More than half of patients at both hospitals are covered by Medicare or Medicaid, government-funded health insurance for people who are seniors, disabled, or low-income.

Jefferson is increasingly recognizing that the emergency department is their primary — or at least initial — interaction with the health system.

“In many ways, they’re the front door for the hospital,” Yehia said of the hospitals’ emergency departments.

“We’re starting to think differently,” he said, by adding more primary-care services, social workers, cancer screening, and other community health resources to the emergency department.

At Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, the emergency department expansion will include redesigned treatment bays, a renovated waiting room, and a bigger entrance area. Construction is expected to begin this summer.

Einstein Philadelphia is also getting expanded trauma bays and a new waiting area. The hospital’s electronic medical record system will also be updated to match the rest of the Jefferson system by September 2026.