World Health Congress brings home Geisinger commitment to quality
By Glenn Steele, Jr., MD, Geisinger Health System President and Chief Executive Officer

May 15, DANVILLE - Abigail Geisinger was a visionary when she talked about her hospital, stating, “Make my hospital right. Make it the best.” For more than 90 years, Geisinger caregivers have dedicated themselves to fulfilling Mrs. Geisinger’s dream by focusing on providing the highest quality care possible.

Today, there is a major national movement toward quality. Indeed, at a recent meeting of the World Health Congress in Washington, DC, politicians, hospital and health system leaders, major national and international corporation executives, and numerous others repeatedly hammered the quality theme home.

I walked away from this major event with a new appreciation of Geisinger’s commitment to quality. What we take for granted here in Central and Northeastern Pennsylvania is rare in the rest of the country.
Here are some examples:

• While others are talking about using technology to improve the quality of care, Geisinger is doing it. We are recognized as a national leader in Health Information Technology in large part because our electronic health record provides real-time information that helps us care for patients.
• We are working with community hospitals to establish a regional health information organization that will enhance the ability to care for patients regardless of where they seek medical attention.
• We are encouraging patients to take an active role in their own care through MyGeisinger, a web-based patient portal that grants patients secure access to a portion of their medical record and allows them to communicate with their doctors.
• We are focusing on patient safety by participating in such initiatives as the Institute for Healthcare Improvement’s 100,000 Lives Campaign—an endeavor to promote changes that will improve patient care and safety.

Geisinger is one of only ten organizations participating in a Center for Medicare and Medicaid demonstration project targeting enhanced care for specific chronic diseases including diabetes, congestive heart failure, hypertension and coronary artery disease.

These are only a handful of examples that demonstrate Geisinger’s commitment to quality.

It has been 90 years since Mrs. Geisinger’s original charge, but we have never lost focus of her vision. In fact, we are striving for perfection. We are striving to make Mrs. Geisinger’s health system “the best,” for all of the residents of this region.

(Geisinger Health System President & Chief Executive Officer Glenn Steele, Jr., MD, spoke on electronic health records and Wiring the Nation at the recent World Health Congress held in Washington, DC.)