By Reading Hospital, Tower Health
Transformational gift launches next chapter of Emergency Department expansion as part of hospital’s first comprehensive campaign in more than 100 years
WEST READING, Pa. — Reading Hospital celebrated a major milestone in the future of emergency care on Wednesday, Oct. 14, with a groundbreaking ceremony for the new John and MaryAnne Post Center for Emergency Care.
Members of the Post family joined Reading Hospital and Reading Hospital Foundation leadership for the event. The family’s transformational gift marks the beginning of a new chapter for emergency care at Reading Hospital, and it represents a significant investment in expanding and enhancing services for patients and families throughout the region.
The expansion is part of Honoring Our Past, Building Our Future, a $70 million comprehensive campaign announced at the hospital’s second annual Champions of Care Dinner in September. The campaign marks the hospital’s first comprehensive fundraising campaign in more than 100 years and will support priorities across the organization, including emergency care, intensive care, the McGlinn Cancer Institute, neonatal intensive care, education and innovation, and community outreach.
The Emergency Department expansion represents a significant investment in the hospital’s capacity to meet the region’s evolving healthcare needs. The project, expected to be completed in 2028, will add 20,000 square feet of space. Planned improvements include a rapid treatment area with eight dedicated quick-care beds, a new pharmacy and a new phlebotomy lab inside of the emergency department, and an expanded reception and waiting room area for patients and their families.
As home to the region’s only Level I Trauma Center, Reading Hospital provides critical emergency and trauma services to patients across the region. Emergency Department teams care for hundreds of people each day, often during some of the most critical and uncertain moments of their lives. The expansion is designed to position the hospital to meet those needs for years to come.
“Every day, we see the profound difference emergency care makes,” said Charles F. Barbera, MD, president and CEO of Reading Hospital and an emergency care physician. “This investment is about preparing for the future while honoring the legacy of care that has defined Reading Hospital for generations. The John and MaryAnne Post Center for Emergency Care will help us continue to advance the care we provide and support our teams as they respond to the needs of our growing community.”
The Post family’s generous gift is helping make the project possible and demonstrates the important role philanthropy plays in advancing health care. The gift also underscores the broader ambitions of Honoring Our Past, Building Our Future: bringing the community together to support investments that strengthen patient care, clinical services, and innovation.
“The Posts’ extraordinary generosity is helping move our vision for providing leading-edge care in our community forward,” said Katherine Thornton, president of Reading Hospital Foundation. “Their gift sets an important example of what is possible when philanthropy and community commitment come together. Through this campaign, we are building on Reading Hospital’s remarkable legacy and investing in the care our community will depend on for generations.”
With a history spanning 159 years and a century at its current West Reading campus, Reading Hospital continues to invest in the facilities, people and services needed to serve the region. The groundbreaking marks an important first step in that work and a milestone in the hospital’s long-term commitment to advancing emergency care.
