PCC Executive Member Spotlight: Geisinger

Geisinger has been a PCC Executive Member since June 2019. It was founded more than 100 years ago by Abigail Geisinger, widow of iron magnate George Geisinger, to provide care for her central Pennsylvania community. Since then, it has expanded and evolved to central, south-central and northeastern Pennsylvania and southern New Jersey and is now an integrated delivery system with an insurance company, a large network of physicians and other clinicians, 13 hospitals, a medical school and two research centers.
 
Geisinger has developed many innovative national programs, including those targeting primary care: 

• In November 2019, Geisinger announced that its Commonwealth School of Medicine would award 40 students with a full-tuition scholarship and a $2,000 monthly stipend in order to fix the primary care shortage facing the organization. Students can pursue their residency anywhere but are required to stay at Geisinger afterward for four years to work in primary care roles. 
• For seniors and their primary care needs, Geisinger takes a team-based approach that includes access to specialists, nurses, care coordinators/coaches, social workers, nutritionists, wellness coordinators, and healthcare advocates. 
• During the pandemic, Geisinger announced in early April that it would waive all out-of-pocket costs for members receiving in-network, inpatient testing and treatment for COVID-19.

“At Geisinger, we’ve been able to prove that by focusing on primary care we can improve outcomes, lower costs and improve satisfaction among patients and providers,” said Dr. Jaewon Ryu, Geisinger’s president and CEO, in a Nov. 6, 2019, news release. "We’ve built some innovative programs that expand upon the notion of what is primary care and where it is delivered.”

Republished from the July 2020 Executive Member Update (monthly e-newsletter)