Two Geisinger Hospitals Ranked Among Newsweek’s World’s Best Smart Hospitals Geisinger Medical Center and Geisinger Wyoming Valley Medical Center made Newsweek’s 2021 list of World’s Best Smart Hospitals for their commitment to innovation and advancement in health care. Only 250 hospitals worldwide were recognized, and Geisinger Wyoming Valley and Geisinger Medical Center ranked 119th and 149th, respectively. They are among only seven hospitals recognized in Pennsylvania and just 89 hospitals selected in the United States. Both medical centers are the only hospitals in their service areas to make the list, and they’re the only two Pennsylvania hospitals recognized outside of Philadelphia or Pittsburgh. Ranked hospitals were evaluated on five criteria: digital surgery, digital imaging, artificial intelligence (AI), telehealth and electronic medical records. More than 13,000 votes from hospital managers and health care professionals with backgrounds in health care technology were considered, and every nominated hospital was thoroughly researched and validated by a team of analysts at Newsweek. Geisinger has long embraced utilization of technology to improve quality of care, catalyze research, and make communication with providers and use of services easier for the patients and members it serves. Robotic-assisted surgeries allow a higher degree of precision, smaller incisions, less scarring, less pain and discomfort, and the ability to treat areas difficult to reach with the human hand. At Geisinger, the da Vinci Surgical System® is used for less-invasive general surgery, colorectal surgery, thoracic surgery, surgical oncology procedures, OBGYN procedures and urology surgery. Mako® robotic arm-assisted surgery is used to perform partial and total knee replacements and total hip replacements, and Geisinger is the sole provider of Mako joint replacement surgery in the region it serves. “We value the use of digital systems in our surgical procedures because we know more precise, less invasive surgery leads to better outcomes and shorter recovery times for our patients,” said Ron Beer, chief administrative officer for Geisinger’s northeast region. “We’re honored to be among Newsweek’s World’s Best Smart Hospitals, because it’s a reflection of our continued effort to provide the best possible care, closer to home, for our patients and members.” Advanced imaging is used in a variety of diagnostic and surgical procedures at Geisinger. These include the cardiac catheterization labs where severe heart attacks and other cardiovascular issues are identified and treated swiftly, and the Comprehensive Stroke Centers — namely Geisinger Medical Center and Geisinger Wyoming Valley — that care for patients with complex strokes and neurovascular conditions. A robust electronic medical record and advancements in AI and machine learning are at the heart of research initiatives to detect risk of conditions like atrial fibrillation (A-fib) and even death. An innovative ECG Analysis Platform to detect A-fib risk, developed by Tempus in collaboration with Geisinger, was granted Breakthrough Device Designation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration earlier this year. Geisinger is also using AI to improve imaging accuracy, diagnosis and follow-up care. A collaboration between Geisinger and Medial EarlySign to predict hospital admissions and complications was recently named runner-up out of more than 300 entries in the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services AI Health Outcomes Challenge. Telemedicine has been a critical tool in some areas of care delivery for years at Geisinger, but the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic accelerated use of the technology across the system. Since March 2020, Geisinger has enhanced its capability to conduct telemedicine visits and now offers telehealth consultation in 72 specialties. “When the pandemic began, we expanded our telemedicine capacity to keep our patients safe by making sure they were able to keep their primary care and regular specialty appointments without exposure to COVID-19 infection,” said Megan Brosious, chief administrative officer in Geisinger’s central region. “We already knew telemedicine works, but we’ve learned it has more applications than we thought, has vast potential to reveal new and innovative ways of caring for our patients and members, and aligns with our vision of making better health easier for the communities we serve.”
Geisinger Names Dr. Christa Lese Martin Chief Scientific Officer Geisinger has named Christa Lese Martin, Ph.D., its chief scientific officer. Dr. Martin, the founding director of Geisinger’s Autism & Developmental Medicine Institute (ADMI), will lead Geisinger’s systemwide clinical research initiatives, including more than 500 research faculty and staff members specializing in precision health, genomics, data science, population health, implementation science, health services, bioethics, and clinical trials. “Our vision at Geisinger is to learn from every patient to maximize better health for all,” Dr. Martin said. “Geisinger has a long history—more than 100 years—of excellence in research, and I look forward to leading us into the next phase as we integrate our research discoveries into routine clinical care.” Dr. Martin brings extensive experience in clinical and research genetics to the role. Before joining Geisinger in 2013, she was an associate professor in the Department of Human Genetics at Emory University and operations director of Emory Genetics Clinical Laboratory. Throughout her career, her research has taken a “genetics-first” approach to neurodevelopmental and neuropsychiatric disorders, including autism, intellectual disability, and schizophrenia, with a goal of developing precision health-driven treatments. Under her leadership, Geisinger’s Autism & Developmental Medicine Institute has grown to serve more than 9,000 patients and their families, leveraging leading-edge clinical research to improve outcomes for patients with developmental conditions. She is also part of the leadership team for the MyCode Community Health Initiative, Geisinger’s groundbreaking precision health program. In 2018, she was named associate chief scientific officer (CSO) at Geisinger and has served as interim CSO since December. Dr. Martin has played a leading role in developing Geisinger as a learning health system, bridging research discoveries and clinical medicine and bringing precision health into everyday care. Today, Geisinger is home to more than 1,000 ongoing research studies, including clinical trials, and Geisinger faculty and staff published more than 750 papers and articles in 2020. The Research Institute receives more than $41 million in external funding annually. Dr. Martin received her Bachelor of Science degree from Penn State University and completed her Ph.D. in Human Genetics at the University of Pittsburgh. She completed postdoctoral training at the University of Chicago’s Department of Human Genetics, where she remained on faculty as an assistant professor and director of the Clinical Cytogenetics Laboratory before joining Emory University in 2004. Dr. Martin is a principal investigator of several National Institutes of Health-funded awards, including the Clinical Genome Resource (ClinGen) and Genes to Mental Health (G2MH) consortia. She serves on multiple national committees, including the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ACMG) Secondary Findings Working Group, which she co-chairs. She is board certified by the American Board of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ABMGG) as a clinical genetics laboratory director. In 2019, she was invited to join the prestigious Carol Emmott Fellowship program for women leaders in healthcare.
Geisinger’s Karen Murphy Among ‘50 Most Influential Clinical Executives’ Karen Murphy, Ph.D., R.N., executive vice president, chief innovation officer and founding director of the Steele Institute for Health Innovation at Geisinger, has been selected as one of Modern Healthcare’s 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives for 2021, and has been named a 2021 Changemaker in Health by the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS). Modern Healthcare’s annual list of the 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives recognizes leaders who are paving the way to better health through innovation, community service and achievements inside and outside of their respective organizations. Murphy was recognized for the Steele Institute’s leading role in Geisinger’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, including early contact tracing efforts, automation and vaccine distribution. Murphy and her team also used the pandemic as an opportunity to reimagine how care could and should be delivered in the future. This year’s class includes Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The inaugural HIMSS Changemaker in Health awards recognize 11 inspiring healthcare executives who challenge the status quo in their journeys to build a brighter health future. The awards celebrate innovative individuals as they lead change in their pursuit to improve care by harnessing the power of information and technology. Awardees were chosen by public online voting. “I am honored and humbled to be selected for these awards among my colleagues,” Dr. Murphy said. “Every day I’m fortunate to work with an incredible team of transformational and innovative people in an organization that inspires us to build a better future for our patients and communities.” Under Dr. Murphy’s direction, Geisinger’s Steele Institute is making health easier by developing leading-edge solutions that slow rising costs, improve quality and increase access to healthcare. Working with teams in digital transformation, robotic process automation, machine learning, behavioral economics and data enterprise, the Steele Institute builds solutions to improve overall health, patient experience, care delivery and affordability. Most recently, the Steele Institute launched ConnectedCare365, an innovative care delivery model for patients with chronic diseases like diabetes, heart failure and hypertension. Currently a pilot program, this first-of-its-kind virtual care delivery platform uses remote patient monitoring, artificial intelligence and powerful data analysis tools to improve patient outcomes. Throughout her career, Dr. Murphy has worked to improve and transform healthcare delivery in the public and private sectors. Before joining Geisinger, she served as Pennsylvania’s secretary of health, addressing the most significant health issues facing the state, including developing an innovative payment and delivery model for rural hospitals. Prior to her role as secretary, Dr. Murphy served as director of the State Innovation Models Initiative at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, and as president and chief executive officer of Moses Taylor Health Care System. For more information about Geisinger’s Steele Institute for Health Innovation, visit geisinger.org/innovation-steele-institute.
Geisinger ConvenientCare Offering COVID-19 Tests for Travelers Planning to travel and need to have a COVID-19 test before you go? Geisinger is offering COVID-19 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests for those aged 12 months and older at 18 ConvenientCare walk-in clinics throughout central and northeast Pennsylvania. Travel tests are offered for a self-pay fee of $140. To get a test, you must have legal identification, such as a driver’s license, and anyone between age 12 months and 17 years old must have a parent or legal guardian with them. If your child is younger than 12 months, contact your pediatrician for advice on testing. Results will be available within 24 hours through myGeisinger. You don’t need an appointment for a travel test at ConvenientCare, but you can save your spot in line to be seen at a clinic by visiting geisinger.org/urgent. As travel requirements vary from destination to destination, make sure you’re tested at the right time before departing. Find more information about COVID-19 travel tests here.
Geisinger Wyoming Valley Medical Center Celebrates 40th Anniversary In 1981, three local hospitals merged to create one hospital that would modernize the delivery of health care in northeastern Pennsylvania. In 2021, that hospital, Geisinger Wyoming Valley Medical Center, is celebrating four decades of dedicated service to the community. Originally NPW Medical Center, a consolidation of Nanticoke, Pittston and Wyoming Valley hospitals, the health care facility was renamed Geisinger Wyoming Valley Medical Center shortly after opening, as Geisinger joined the collaboration after Nanticoke’s withdrawal. What began as a standalone community hospital on East Mountain is now a regional medical center and destination for care with a mission to make better health easier for patients and members in Luzerne County and beyond. Recently, Geisinger Wyoming Valley received 5-Star status from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS), the highest quality and patient safety score bestowed by the organization, putting the medical center among the top 14 percent of hospitals in the country. “As the only CMS 5-Star hospital in northeastern Pennsylvania, we are proud to provide care of unsurpassed quality to residents of the region,” said Karlyn Paglia, M.D., chief medical officer at Geisinger Wyoming Valley. “With a full spectrum of services available to our patients and members, we look forward to caring for our community for many more years to come.” Complemented by a network of primary care and outpatient specialty clinics that provide world-class care close to home for residents of the region, Geisinger Wyoming Valley is as community-focused as ever, continually building upon and improving programs and services for northeastern Pennsylvanians. In 1992, the hospital added the Frank M. and Dorothea Henry Cancer Center, which is now home to a comprehensive team of fellowship-trained cancer specialists and advanced treatment options like CyberKnife targeted radiation therapy, which was only previously available in major metropolitan areas like Philadelphia and New York. An $80 million renovation of Geisinger Wyoming Valley and the Henry Cancer Center began in spring 2020, which will double the center’s capacity for infusion services, create an 18-bed inpatient unit for treatment of complex blood cancers, and make more appointments available to patients. In 2001, Geisinger Wyoming Valley established the Richard and Marion Pearsall Heart Hospital, which is recognized by the American Heart Association for its ability to treat the most severe heart attacks and offers advanced treatment in cardiology, electrophysiology and cardiac surgery. In 2008, the then-new Critical Care Building became home to the Emergency Department and Level II Trauma Center. And in 2011, the Tambur Family Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) opened. Still the only NICU in Luzerne County, the Level III unit cares for infants as young as 28 weeks gestation. Throughout the decades, program expansions and advancements in care have been designed to offer everything a patient might need in northeastern Pennsylvania. Those strides have continued in recent years. Since April 2019, Geisinger Wyoming Valley has received Magnet® Recognition, the highest national honor for nursing excellence, and become a Comprehensive Stroke Center, a hospital capable of treating the most complex types of stokes and neurovascular complications. The stroke program is the most advanced in the region, even treating patients who are flown in from New York. The medical center’s CMS 5-Star ranking is the latest in these quality-of-care achievements and is a testament to the hard work providers put in daily to care for their friends and neighbors. Noreen Diaco took her first full-time job at NPW in July 1981, and 40 years later, she’s celebrating her work anniversary along with Geisinger Wyoming Valley. Now an executive assistant to Dr. Paglia and other leaders, she remembers her experience as one of strong community. “I grew up with Geisinger Wyoming Valley,” Diaco said. “The people I’ve met and worked with have become family to me. Through the 40 years, I have watched NPW change names and develop from a small-town hospital to a well-known institution. Through all the changes, the small-town, personalized service can still be felt.”
Geisinger Welcomes New Chair of Cardiology Specialty-trained cardiologist accepts role as vice chair of Heart Institute George Ruiz, M.D., a seasoned clinical cardiologist and proven leader, has joined Geisinger as chair of Cardiology and vice chair of the Geisinger Heart Institute. As counterpart to John Conte, M.D., chair of Cardiothoracic Surgery and vice chair of the Heart Institute, Dr. Ruiz rounds out institute leadership under Alfred Casale, M.D., chief medical officer of surgical services and chair of the Heart Institute at Geisinger. With more than 20 years of clinical experience, Dr. Ruiz cares for adult cardiology and adult congenital heart disease patients in central and northeastern Pennsylvania in addition to serving in his leadership roles. A bilingual physician, Dr. Ruiz has treated and organized outreach to the Spanish-speaking community for more than two decades. Dr. Ruiz specializes in clinical cardiology with a subspecialty in adult congenital heart disease and pulmonary hypertension, and he has extensive experience in mechanical circulatory support and adult heart failure. As a leader, he focuses on improving quality of care within complex, progressive service programs. Dr. Ruiz earned his medical degree from Albert Einstein College of Medicine at Yeshiva University in the Bronx, New York. He completed his residency in internal medicine and fellowships in cardiovascular medicine and adult congenital heart disease at Harvard Medical School’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. Before coming to Geisinger, Dr. Ruiz held academic and clinical leadership roles, including instructor of Medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, director of Advanced Cardiac Support, Pulmonary Hypertension and Advanced Heart Failure at MedStar Washington Hospital Center in Washington, D.C., and chief of Cardiology at MedStar Union Memorial Hospital, Good Samaritan Hospital and Harbor Hospital in Baltimore. He also served as a White House Fellow and special assistant to United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs James Nicholson from 2005 to 2006 and consultant to Deputy Secretary of Veterans Affairs Gordon Mansfield from 2007 to 2008. Dr. Ruiz is board certified in cardiology, advanced heart failure, and adult congenital heart disease, and he is fluent in English and Spanish.
Geisinger Continuing Walk-In COVID-19 Vaccines this Week Geisinger continues to offer walk-in COVID-19 vaccine events this week at its four vaccine centers. Walk-in COVID-19 vaccinations will be available: Thursday, June 10, at the Geisinger Jersey Shore Hospital Vaccine Center, 116 Kerr Ave., Jersey Shore, from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.Friday, June 11, at the Geisinger CenterPoint Vaccine Center, 300 Keystone Ave., Pittston, from 9 to 11:30 a.m.Friday, June 11, at the Geisinger Hughes Center Vaccine Center, 9 Stearns Lane, Danville, from 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.Saturday, June 12, at the Geisinger Lewistown Hospital Vaccine Center, 400 Highland Ave. Ext., Lewistown, from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Geisinger is offering the Pfizer BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine at all locations, which is a two-dose vaccine administered 21 days apart. Walk-in vaccines are available to anyone age 12 and over, but those under 18 years old must have a parent or legal guardian with them to receive their vaccine doses. The vaccine centers are staffed with pediatric teams, including pediatricians, to answer any questions and assist with the vaccinations. Geisinger continues to offer COVID-19 vaccines by appointment at its four vaccine centers, and those can be made through myGeisinger or by calling 570-284-3657. To check on additional walk-in vaccine days and times, and for more information about the COVID-19 vaccine, visit geisinger.org/COVIDVax.
Geisinger Runner-Up in National AI Health Outcomes Challenge Geisinger has been named runner-up out of more than 300 entries in the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Artificial Intelligence Health Outcomes Challenge. Geisinger partnered with Medial EarlySign, a leader in machine learning-based solutions to aid in early detection and prevention of high-burden diseases, to use artificial intelligence (AI) to predict unplanned hospital admissions, readmissions occurring soon after hospital discharge, healthcare-associated complications, and mortality. The two entities collaborated to develop models that predict the risk of these outcomes using Medicare administrative claims data and created novel visualizations to explain the results in a clinician-friendly manner, a key component of AI implementation. “We are honored to be recognized as a national leader in using artificial intelligence to improve health outcomes,” said David Vawdrey, Geisinger’s chief data informatics officer. “The opportunity to participate in the CMS competition has significantly broadened our capabilities to design and implement predictive models, which will ultimately help prevent unnecessary hospitalizations and complications and reduce healthcare costs.” Geisinger and EarlySign’s shared vision of innovation and their collective focus on patient-centered care garnered recognition by CMS for “consistent strong performance across all competition elements while generating the best prediction accuracy results.” Their ability to successfully communicate predictions to clinicians, known as AI explainability, was a key factor in their selection as runner-up. “This achievement demonstrates the synergistic relationship Geisinger and EarlySign have in the journey to provide better care for patients,” said Ori Geva, co-founder and chief executive officer of Medial EarlySign. “This recognition is another validation that successful clinical AI solutions require deep understanding of clinical workflow, and expertise in clinical machine learning and clinical data.” The CMS AI Health Outcomes Challenge launched in 2019 with more than 300 entities proposing AI solutions for predicting patient health outcomes. Submissions aimed to forecast a variety of outcomes, including unplanned admissions related to heart failure, pneumonia, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and various other high-risk conditions; and adverse events such as hospital-acquired infections, sepsis, and respiratory failure. Geisinger was chosen as one of seven finalists in November 2020. To select the winner and runner-up, CMS conducted a rigorous evaluation process, supported by a team of AI scientists. Clinicians from the American Academy of Family Physicians, a CMS partner in the AI Challenge, reviewed and scored the models’ explainability. Submissions were reviewed and winners selected by a panel of CMS senior leadership. For more information on Geisinger’s work with artificial intelligence and machine learning, visit geisinger.org/innovation-steele-institute/innovative-partners/ai-and-deep-learning-lab.
Geisinger Surgeon Completes 200th Robotic Assisted Pediatric Spine Surgery As of May 2021, Geisinger’s Dr. Meagan Fernandez has performed more than 200 robotic-assisted pediatric spine surgeries at the Pennsylvania-based Geisinger Musculoskeletal Institute. Geisinger’s Musculoskeletal Institute is the only pediatric hospital in Pennsylvania using robotic assisted technology for pediatric spine surgery. Robotic-assisted spine surgery has already been used in adults. But those surgeries are largely focused in the lumbar spine, where the robot guides the surgeon in placing a small number of screws. In pediatric surgeries, the surgeon covers a much larger area with significantly more screws. Dr. Fernandez specializes in treating pediatric sports injuries, ACL reconstruction and meniscus injuries, fractures and traumatic injuries, and scoliosis. For her pediatric spine surgeries, she uses the Medtronic Renaissance™ system, the first robotic spine assist technology used in Pennsylvania to treat pediatric patients with scoliosis that requires surgery. Renaissance™ is designed to improve the safety and accuracy of implant placement in spine surgery. A certified child life specialist accompanies Dr. Fernandez during clinic to help young patients cope using play therapy and activities. The child life team also helps children understand why they are getting certain tests and can answer questions about the equipment. Dr. Fernandez joined Geisinger in 2011 and is a 2005 graduate of the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine. She completed an orthopedic surgery residency in 2010 at UPMC Pinnacle in Harrisburg and a pediatric orthopedic surgery fellowship in 2011 at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta – Scottish Rite Hospital in Atlanta. Dr. Fernandez is a member of professional organizations including the Scoliosis Research Society, Pediatric Orthopaedic Society of North American, American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons and Pennsylvania Osteopathic Medical Association.
Geisinger Continuing Walk-In COVID-19 Vaccines this Week Geisinger continues to make it easier to get a COVID-19 vaccine by offering walk-in vaccine events this week at its four vaccine centers. Walk-in COVID-19 vaccinations will be available: Thursday, June 3, at the Geisinger Jersey Shore Hospital Vaccine Center, 116 Kerr Ave., Jersey Shore, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.Friday, June 4, at the Geisinger CenterPoint Vaccine Center, 300 Keystone Ave., Pittston, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.Saturday, June 5, at the Geisinger Hughes Center Vaccine Center, 9 Stearns Lane, Danville, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.Saturday, June 5, at the Geisinger Lewistown Hospital Vaccine Center, 400 Highland Ave. Ext., Lewistown, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Geisinger is offering the Pfizer BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine at all locations, which is a two-dose vaccine administered 21 days apart. Walk-in vaccines are available to anyone age 12 and over, but those under 18 years old must have a parent or legal guardian with them to receive their vaccine doses. The vaccine centers are staffed with pediatric teams, including pediatricians, to answer any questions and assist with the vaccinations. Geisinger continues to offer COVID-19 vaccines by appointment at its four vaccine centers, and those can be made through myGeisinger or by calling 570-284-3657. To check on additional walk-in vaccine days and times, and for more information about the COVID-19 vaccine, visit geisinger.org/COVIDVax.
