When emergency rooms are equipped to care for children, outcomes are significantly better for young patients — which is why Geisinger is preparing every ER in the system to specifically treat children.

The effort is led by Sarah Alander, MD, Geisinger director of pediatric emergency medicine, who has made readying Geisinger ERs for the 45,000 kids seen each year, systemwide, a priority.

“A 2019 landmark study found that if an emergency room is trained and equipped to care for children, they are four times less likely to have a child die in their care,” Dr. Alander said. “It is important to provide the training to our emergency room staffs so they’re equipped to treat children safely and effectively and not treat them as small adults.”

A nationwide program called the National Pediatric Readiness Project offers a voluntary survey to assess a trauma center’s level of preparedness for children’s care. Beginning in June 2025, the Pennsylvania Trauma Systems Foundation — the trauma center accreditation body for state hospitals — will require hospitals to conduct pediatric readiness assessments and have plans to address gaps.

Geisinger has already voluntarily participated in the survey and created a council to help improve gaps at its hospitals. Geisinger’s Emergency Medical Services for Children Council, led by Dr. Alander, focuses on six areas improve pediatric readiness:

• Identifying personnel as “pediatric champions” at each emergency department
• Educating nurses and providing a pediatric critical care course and simulation training for physicians 
• Joining national quality improvement programs on pediatric sepsis and airway management
• Attending regular safety meetings and reviewing safety events
• Compiling a collection of policies and procedures for children  
• Working to standardize specialized equipment for the emergency care of children

The council’s work on these priorities has yielded remarkable results.

“In 2019, our system participated in the national pediatric readiness survey for the first time and had scores ranging from 40% to 68%,” said Megan Zelonis, RN, pediatric emergency care coordinator. “In the repeat 2021 assessment, our scores significantly improved to a range of 83% to 94%.”

Don Stanziano, chief marketing and communications officer (CMCO) for Geisinger, has been named one of Becker’s Healthcare’s 60 hospital and health system chief marketing officers (CMO) to know for 2023. The list includes bold strategic leaders who drive the planning and execution of marketing and communications initiatives for their organizations.

“It is an honor to be recognized by Becker’s,” said Stanziano. “As a non-profit health system CMO, I recognize that the system’s growth and success is a critical element in achieving our mission to make better health easier for the people of Pennsylvania.”

Mr. Stanziano leads all strategic marketing, communications, and consumer digital engagement across the 10-hospital health system, 650,000-member health plan and college of health sciences. Since 2018, he has led a brand modernization initiative that unified all Geisinger hospitals, clinics, health plan and academic programs under one brand platform, as well as launched a content marketing program and award-winning creative campaign. The result to date is a 10% improvement in brand awareness and 11-point lead in brand preference above other competitors.

To drive growth marketing, he implemented an enterprise customer relationship management solution, created a marketing analytics team, and is leading the build of a customer data platform and website redesign to expand the marketing technology stack. Also, under his leadership, the entire employee communications program was redesigned, resulting in 85% of staff and 96% of leaders rating their communications as effective.

Mr. Stanziano joined Geisinger in 2018 after leading marketing and communications at Scripps Health in San Diego where he spent 16 years in a variety of marketing and communications roles.

Geisinger has been recognized as a top employer for its continued support of military veterans and active service members with two recent designations. The Pennsylvania-based health system earned the 2024 Military Friendly^® Employer with Gold distinction designation by VIQTORY and was also recognized by Military Times on its 2023 Best for Vets: Employers list.

This is the fifth consecutive year Geisinger has been recognized with a Military Friendly Employer designation and the second year in a row the system has achieved the gold ranking. It’s also the fourth consecutive year Geisinger has been recognized by Military Times. 

Both honors demonstrate Geisinger’s ongoing commitment and efforts to building programs and opportunities for military veterans. 

The Military Friendly Employer with Gold distinction signifies that an employer is setting the example for veteran and service member inclusivity with their programs and initiatives.

Companies earning the Military Friendly Employer designation were evaluated using public data sources and responses from a proprietary survey. More than 1,200 organizations participated in the 2024 Military Friendly survey.

Final ratings were determined by combining an organization’s survey score with an assessment of the organization’s ability to meet thresholds for applicants, new hire retention, employee turnover and promotion and advancement of veterans and military employees.

Geisinger will be showcased as a 2024 Military Friendly Employer in the winter issue of G.I. Jobs^® magazine and on militaryfriendly.com.

For the Best for Vets recognition, Military Times evaluates the areas of greatest importance to transitioning service members, veterans and their families when looking for an employer. Recruitment and employment practices, along with retention and support programs were given the most weight in scoring and final rankings.

Geisinger employs more than 800 veterans and active-duty service members throughout the system. As part of its commitment to the military and its veterans, Geisinger offers a paid military leave benefit, which allows service members employed by Geisinger to be paid for time at annual trainings, encampments and drills. It also is part of a military fellowship program that eases the transition of active-duty service members looking to move into a civilian career.

To learn more about Geisinger’s veteran programs and career opportunities, visit jobs.geisinger.org/veterans.

Geisinger has begun using a new patient management system to expand its ability to identify and manage patients with incidentally identified lung abnormalities, as well as manage those eligible for lung cancer screening.

Nationally, incidental abnormalities are found about 40% of the time during imaging tests that are unrelated to the reason the test was ordered. In 2020, Geisinger implemented the STAIR™ Program (which stands for System to Track Abnormalities of Importance Reliably) to help manage these patients. If an incidental lung abnormality is found, the provider refers the patient to the STAIR team, which evaluates the patient and establishes a care plan.

“The mission of the STAIR program is to ensure that all patients with important radiology findings get the care they need at the time they need it — the first time, every time,” said Yatin Mehta, M.D., Geisinger pulmonologist and STAIR Program director.

The program has made sure patients have follow-up care, but referring, tracking and managing patients was time-consuming. The new patient management technology, in partnership with Denver-based health company Eon, automatically enrolls patients with an incidental finding in the STAIR program. The Eon system’s AI-driven workflow tracks the patient’s journey and flags the care team when necessary for timely follow-up care.

“Tracking patients behind the scenes, automating workflows and removing busywork not only enables the care team to manage and bring back significantly more patients, but also frees them up to spend more time on direct patient care,” said Nathan Boehlke, Eon director of implementation. 

“The STAIR program and lung cancer screening program are two important ways that we can catch cancer earlier when the patient has a chance to be cured,” Dr. Mehta said. “We’re excited to work with Eon on innovation that’s making a difference by allowing our staff to manage more patients more efficiently — and ultimately saving lives with earlier intervention.”

Geisinger has once again been recognized for its information technology as one of the top “Most Wired” health systems in the country by the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME).

Geisinger was one of only 16 health systems or hospitals in the country to achieve level 10 certification, the highest recognition, in both the ambulatory and acute care surveys. CHIME’s annual Digital Health Most Wired survey certifies hospitals from levels 1 through 10. This is the fourth consecutive year Geisinger has achieved a level 10 certification. To have achieved this level, CHIME says it “reflects an entire organization’s commitment to improve health care through the advancement of digital health strategies.”

“One of the most exciting elements of this survey is that it shows how well we have used technology to enable clinical and operational best practices across our organization — in a way that also stands up nationally,” said Joseph Fisne, associate chief information officer at Geisinger. “Our integrations have made patient care safer and more efficient, a testament to Geisinger’s vision to make better health easier.”

Each organization is also scored on eight individual segments: Infrastructure; security; administrative/supply chain; analytics/data management; interoperability/population health; patient engagement; innovation; and clinical quality/safety. This year, Geisinger received the highest score in the clinical quality/safety section.

This recognition serves to highlight the many ways Geisinger has used technology over the years to transform care delivery, including through the virtual patient monitoring app ConnectedCare365, digital experiences that cater communications to patients’ needs and data policies that uphold the safety and privacy of patient information. The award also recognizes the implementation and use of technology across Geisinger — from the information technology teams that develop and deploy the technology to the frontline service providers who use the capabilities.

CHIME reports that more than 55,000 facilities around the world serving patients across the continuum of care were represented in the 2023 Digital Health Most Wired program. The survey assessed the adoption, integration and impact of technologies in health care organizations at all stages of development, from early development to industry leading.