Program areas at Geisinger Lewistown Hospital
I. General information Geisinger-Lewistown Hospital (glh), a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit corporation and member of geisinger, owns and operates a 133-bed acute care Hospital in lewistown, pa. glh is conveniently located only a few miles from several central Pennsylvania major highways. The facility opened in 1905 in response to a pressing need for health and wellness care in the community. General medical care is provided by in-house hospitalists and supported by consultative services in the areas of cardiology, infectious disease, neurology, pulmonology, orthopedics, hematology/oncology, otolaryngology, and gastroenterology. A fully-staffed surgical services suite offering six operating rooms equipped for various types of inpatient and outpatient general and specialty surgical procedures, including robotic assisted cases. An endoscopy ambulatory surgical center, operating as Hospital outpatient site, is also available for outpatient endoscopic procedures. A multi- specialty adult and pediatric ambulatory surgical center operating as a Hospital outpatient site at the state college healthplex was added in july 2022. This site includes four operating rooms, four endoscopy suites, and two interventional pain rooms. The emergency department (ed) is committed to providing high quality, prompt emergency services. Glh's ed is staffed 24/7 with full-time physicians and nurses who are trained in all specialties from pediatrics to critical care. Immediate access is available to laboratory services; imaging services such as ct scans, ultrasound and mri; and surgical services. In the fall of 2021, the emergency department received a level iv trauma center designation. Ob/gyn focuses on all aspects of women's health and education, providing obstetrical and gynecological care for women of all ages. Services include but are not limited to routine visits and treatments, preventative healthcare, birth control education, family planning, obstetrics, surgery & surgery consultations, menopause counseling, and midwifery. Mental health & psychiatric services provides adult inpatient services designed to help individuals live as independently as possible. Patients can access quick, efficient admission 24/7 and receive treatment through a psychiatrist available on a daily basis. Admissions are confidential and may be made by professionals as well by individuals concerned about themselves or others. During hospitalization, patient care is provided through multiple professionals who comprise the treatment team. Other services include: cardiac services other surgery specialties clinical nutrition otolaryngology gastroenterology pain management general surgery pathology gynecology pediatrics iccu physical therapy laboratory services podiatry nephrology pulmonary/vascular neurosurgery radiology newborn nursery respiratory services oncology/community cancer treatment sleep center ophthalmology urology orthopedic wound management interventional radiology geisinger lewistown Hospital also operates a diploma nursing program as a department within its organization. Opened in 2005 and accredited by the national league of nursing in 2009, the program is a 2-year, six semester program that also offers an lpn advanced placement option. The geisinger lewistown Hospital school of nursing (glhson) exists to provide quality nursing education and seeks to engage a diverse group of students in a manner that enables its graduates to become leaders in providing competent and safe bedside nursing care across the continuum and throughout the surrounding community. The glhson has a 94% pass rate over the last three years for the nclex/rn exam, which is a competency and licensure exam used by all state nursing boards in the us. This high exam pass rate along with the program's high admission standards are two reasons that the program has been named one of the top ranked rn programs in pa by registered nursing.org, a national ranking organization, for several of the last few years. In fy18, glh completed preparations for a family practice residency program, which included contracting with a consulting firm, hiring appropriate staff and completing a site survey. The unreimbursed cost of health professions education was 2,204,016 during the year ended december 31, 2022. In the fall of 2018, glh entered into a lease agreement for space for a laboratory draw station in a nearby, newly constructed medical office building owned by a primary health network, a federally qualified health center. In addition to leasing lab space in this building, glh collaborates with the life geisinger program and the fresh food pharmacy program which are also co-located in that building. In fy19, glh became eligible under the 340(b) drug purchasing program. This allows the Hospital to purchase outpatient drugs at significantly reduced prices reaching more eligible patients and providing more comprehensive services to those patients. In late fy20, glh established a pharmacy residency program for two residents on a 2-year rotation. The purpose of pharmacy residency program at geisinger lewistown Hospital is to expand upon didactic training and professional experiences to foster clinical pharmacists with the skills necessary to provide medication-related care across a vast range of conditions. In response to the public health emergency, declared in march 2020 as a result of covid-19 infections in the us and worldwide, glh has been providing sars-cov-2 testing to staff and community through december 31, 2022. Testing is critical in preventing transmission, and geisinger was one of the first health systems in the u.s. to validate and perform in- house testing for both groups. Glh, having already received acute stroke ready certification in 2019, received primary stroke center designation by the joint commission and the american heart association in 2021. This designation shows commitment to ensuring stroke patients receive immediate diagnostics and the most advanced treatments options. Glh started a western campus for third and fourth year medical students from our geisinger commonwealth school of medicine. Glh had 11 full-time student who started in 2022. Also in 2022, glh was rated a 4-star Hospital in patient safety and quality by cms. The Hospital star rating system, also a measure of patient experience, allows consumers of health care to easily assess the patient experience of care information provided on the Hospital compare website. Ii. Uncompensated care glh recognizes that its mission is to serve all the members of the community with respect to the provision of healthcare services and healthcare education. Glh provides quality medical healthcare regardless of race, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity creed, sex, national origin, handicap, age or ability to pay. In this regard, glh provides free care or subsidized care, to persons covered by governmental programs at or below cost and provides various health activities and programs in support of the communities where glh practices. A.charity care the primary concern of glh is the delivery of health care to all citizens of central Pennsylvania regardless of their ability to pay. The unreimbursed cost of charity care represents the cost glh incurs by providing free or discounted services to those who cannot afford to pay. The total cost of the charity care was 2,122,204 during the year ended december 31, 2022. B. medicare/medicaid in recognizing its mission to the community, glh provides services to the elderly (medicare) and the indigent (medicaid). Glh provides care, below cost, to persons covered by these governmental programs to the extent the government reimbursement is below the cost of providing health care. The unreimbursed value of medicare and/or medicaid is equal to the cost of providing services less the amount received as reimbursement under the program. The cost of providing healthcare services to medicare, medicaid and other governmental patients exceeded reimbursement by approximately 23,812,907 during the year ended december 31, 2022. C. other uncompensated patient services in addition, glh provides services for which full payment is not received. The uncompensated cost of providing such patient services during the year ended december 31, 2022 was 1,082,949. Iii. Research support geisinger lewistown Hospital contributed 868,385 to geisinger clinic to support its charitable mission through medical research activities at two facilities on the campus of geisinger medical center: the siegfried and janet weis center for research (weis center) and the henry hood center for health research. The weis center provides a focus for laboratory research and research training and supports the clinical staff in its research programs. The primary mission of the weis center is to conduct original and innovative research that contributes new knowledge to biomedical science. The center's scientists apply modern molecular and cellular appr