Groundbreaking held for critical care building at Geisinger Wyoming Valley

Oct. 10, WILKES-BARRE — Officials of Geisinger Health System and the local community officially broke ground on Thursday, Oct. 5, for a new $60 million Critical Care Building on the Geisinger Wyoming Valley Medical Center campus in Plains Township near Wilkes-Barre. The largest expansion in the medical center’s 25-year history, the Critical Care Building will enable Geisinger to continue with the development of tertiary and quaternary level medical services at Geisinger Wyoming Valley for the people of Northeastern Pennsylvania.

The four-story building, with more than 100,000 square feet of patient care space, is scheduled to open in October 2008. It will house an expanded emergency services department and added surgical suites equipped with sophisticated robotic and interventional medical equipment. An additional 36,000 square feet of space is included to accommodate future inpatient and critical care bed needs.

“Over its 25-year history, Geisinger Wyoming Valley has grown from a community hospital into a tertiary care center providing high-end medical services here in Northeastern Pennsylvania,” said Geisinger President and Chief Executive Officer Glenn Steele, Jr., MD. “The new Critical Care Building will provide the necessary surgical, emergency and critical care facilities to accommodate what is planned to be Luzerne County’s first designated trauma center.”

“The Critical Care Building at Geisinger Wyoming Valley, along with the continuation of an aggressive facility renewal program at Geisinger South Wilkes-Barre hospital and the anticipated opening of a new Geisinger physician office building in Tunkhannock later this fall is evidence of Geisinger’s commitment to advancing quality healthcare throughout Northeastern Pennsylvania,” added Geisinger Board Chairman Frank M. Henry.

The health system is also active with building projects in central Pennsylvania. Earlier this month, Geisinger officials announced Board approval for a $100 million Patient Pavilion to be built on the Geisinger Medical Center campus in Danville.  In addition, an $18.5 million, 65,000 square foot research center is currently being built in Danville, and construction is scheduled to begin next year on a multi-specialty medical arts building near State College.

“The population in Central and Northeastern Pennsylvania is an aging one,” noted Dr. Steele. “The demand for complex medical care will continue to increase dramatically. Our various facility projects are concrete examples of Geisinger’s commitment to providing the residents of this region with access to quality care, today and well into the future, and will play an important role in our health system continuing its mission of patient care, research and community service.”

Geisinger Health System is the foremost rural healthcare provider in the United States.  Founded in 1915, it has evolved into one of the nation's leading fully integrated healthcare providers. Serving more than two million residents throughout central and northeastern Pennsylvania, the physician-led organization is at the forefront of the country's rapidly emerging electronic health records movement. With three major regional medical centers and a 650-member group practice, the pioneering system is home to the industry's pre-eminent not-for-profit rural HMO and the renowned Geisinger Center for Health Research—dedicated to creating innovative new models for patient care, satisfaction and clinical outcomes.  For more information, visit
www.geisinger.org.

From left: Catherine Gow, Francis, Cauffman, Foley and Hoffman Architects, Ltd.; Bruce Becker, Butz Construction; Neil Hoffman, Francis, Cauffman, Foley and Hoffman Architects, Ltd.;  David Kistler, MD; Frank Henry; Glenn Steele Jr., MD; Lissa Bryan-Smith; Eric Bieber, MD and Joanne Wade.

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