The Geisinger Health System (GHS) is a physician-led health care system of northeastern and central Pennsylvania with headquarters located in Danville, Pennsylvania.
History of Geisinger
Danville resident Abigail Geisinger, widow of iron magnate George Geisinger, used her fortune to build a hospital intended to be a regional medical center modeled on the Mayo Clinic.
Its primary care facility is the Geisinger Medical Center (GMC) located in Danville, with three other hospitals; Geisinger Wyoming Valley (GWV) and Geisinger South Wilkes-Barre - both located in Wilkes-Barre, and Geisinger-Community Medical Center (GCMC) located in Scranton. There are numerous Geisinger clinics throughout northeastern and western Pennsylvania, located in Wilkes-Barre, Pittston, Mountaintop, Nanticoke, Wyoming, Scranton, Dallas, Plains, Kingston, and other surrounding cities and towns.
Geisinger Health Plan, a subsidiary HMO, was started in 1985.
Merger with Penn State
A milestone in the history of Geisinger Health System includes a failed merger with Penn State/Hershey Medical Center from July 1997 to November 1999. The merger of the two large health care organizations and subsequent failure has provided a valuable reference for other systems with similar plans. The ultimate collapse of the merger has been attributed to the leadership's failure to recognize challenges of cultural differences between the institutions and community acceptance. E.g., academic physicians at the Hershey Medical Center were resistant to the delegation of practice management to which the Geisinger physicians had become accustomed.
ProvenCare
In February 2006, Geisinger launched a new program with the intent of changing how healthcare is provided and paid for in the United States. Called ProvenCare by Geisinger, the program features three key elements: a strict reliance on evidence-based standards in medicine, a fixed-price financial mechanism to pay for certain procedures (such as open heart surgery), and patient engagement/activation. Geisinger says the program is an attempt to give patients the most consistent, comprehensive and effective care possible. ProvenCare has been written about in such publications as New England Journal of Medicine, New York Times, and Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Research focus
Geisinger opened its $21 million Geisinger Center for Health Research on its Danville campus in the spring of 2007. The three-floor, 63,000-square-foot (5,900 m2) facility has achieved a LEED Certification for its environmentally friendly design. Researchers conduct health services, epidemiologic and population genetics research to address problems such as obesity, autism, stroke, diabetes, and hypertension. These projects complement the basic science research at the Sigfried and Janet Weis Center for Research, and the Center for Clinical Studies also on Geisinger’s Danville campus. The current director of Geisinger's Center for Clinical Studies is Peter B. Berger.
List of Geisinger facilities
Location of Hospitals
- Geisinger Medical Center (GMC) in Danville
- Geisinger Wyoming Valley Medical Center (GWV) in Plains Township (Wilkes-Barre area)
- Geisinger: South Wilkes-Barre Hospital (GSWB) in downtown Wilkes-Barre
- Geisinger - Shamokin Area Community Hospital (G-SACH) in Shamokin, Pennsylvania
- Geisinger - Community Medical Center (GCMC) in Scranton, Pennsylvania
- Geisinger - Bloomsburg Hospital (GBH) in Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania
- Geisinger - Lewistown Hospital (G-LH) in Lewistown, Pennsylvania
- Geisinger Holy Spirit in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania
- Geisinger - Atlanticare in Atlantic City, New Jersey
On December 4, 2012 it was announced that Geisinger Health System and Lewistown Hospital had signed a non-binding letter of intent for a merger. About the letter, Geisinger's Frank Trembulak said the non-binding refers to the specifics of how the merger will work and that there is a binding agreement to merge. The merger of Geisinger and Lewistown has not been without conflict. Many in Lewistown Hospital's coverage area, especially independent physicians, have strongly opposed a merger with Geisinger. The most prevalent argument is that with the presence of a Geisinger clinic in Lewistown and with Geisinger offering health insurance a monopoly will result from the merger ultimately hurting instead of helping local healthcare. The full merger and integration of Geisinger-Lewistown Hospital into Geisinger Health System received final approval from the Pennsylvania Attorney General and the Pennsylvania Department of Health and the new Geisinger-Lewistown Hospital became effective on November 1, 2013.
Location of clinics in Pennsylvania: Altoona, Sayre, Bellefonte, State College, DuBois, Lock Haven, McElhattan, Berwick, Bloomsburg, Catawissa, Millville, Mifflin, Moosic, Dunmore, Dallas, Hazleton, Kingston, Mountaintop, Pittston, Wyoming, Wilkes-Barre, Scranton, Plains, Montoursville, Lewistown, Mountainhome, Mount Pocono, East Stroudsburg, Danville, Kulpmont, Milton, Sunbury, Coal Township, Frackville, Mahanoy City, Orwigsburg, Pottsville, Valley View, Selinsgrove, Lewisburg, Meshoppen, Nicholson, Tunkhannock.
Financials
In 2008, Geisinger's total operating revenue for its inpatient hospitals was $943 million, and its total operating expenses were $910 million. The average total margin for the Wilkes-Barre campus from 2005-2008 was -21.88%. In July, 2009, the Wilkes-Barre campus was changed to an urgent care and ambulatory surgery center.
Medicare contributed to approximately 32.7% of the hospital net patient revenue, while Medical Assistance contributed to approximately 6.6% of the hospital net patient revenue. Approximately 1.5% of inpatient care was uncompensated care.
In 2010, Geisinger ended the fiscal year with an operating income of $127.4 million (after interest expense). Revenue grew 10.7% from the prior year and Geisinger provided $274.5 million of community benefits including care provided under government programs at less than cost and other uncompensated care.
Notes
External links
- Official website
- Geisinger Careworks Health Clinics
