Geisinger South Wilkes-Barre Emergency Department opens

WILKES-BARRE, Pa. –  Geisinger is proud to announce the rebirth of the Emergency Department (ED) at its Geisinger South Wilkes-Barre campus. The newly equipped and renovated Emergency Department opened to the community and begin seeing patients on Sunday, July 1.

“For the first time since 2009, the South Wilkes-Barre and surrounding communities will have access to 24/7 emergency care in a friendly, familiar environment,” said Anthony Aquilina, D.O., Regional President, Geisinger Northeast. “Last September, we made a commitment to the community to bring the Emergency Department back to life. This restoration is part of our larger promise to provide quality, specialty care close to home.”

GSWB’s new ED is equipped with board-certified emergency medicine physicians providing emergency, comprehensive care to patients around-the-clock. The GSWB ED medical staff will work closely with local EMS providers, the Level II trauma centers at Geisinger Wyoming Valley Medical Center in Wilkes-Barre and Geisinger Community Medical Center in Scranton, as well as Geisinger Medical Center’s Level I trauma center in Danville in caring for the most critically ill or injured patients.

“As we were recruiting doctors, nurses, physician assistants and other medical personnel to care for our patients, something special happened,” said Angelo Venditti, Chief Nursing Officer, Geisinger Northeast. “Providers who worked here in the emergency room before 2009 have returned. They’ll welcome our first patients soon. For them, this Emergency Department re-opening means coming home.”

Among those returning staff members is Todd Holmes, M.D., Director, GSWB Emergency Medicine, who will lead the hospital’s new ED.

In 2009, GSWB’s Emergency Department became an Adult Urgent Care Center, with emergency care centralized at GWV. In the years since, Geisinger officials watched an increase in the number of patients from the South Wilkes-Barre area seeking treatment at GWV’s ED. Today, more than 25 percent of GWV’s ED patients come from South Wilkes-Barre and other nearby communities, including Hanover Township, Nanticoke, Plymouth and Edwardsville, among others.

“With this realization, we made the decision to again provide high-quality emergency care for patients in this neighborhood,” said Gerald Maloney, D.O., Chief Medical Officer, Geisinger System Hospitals. “GSWB has been an integral part of the South Wilkes-Barre community for more than 100 years, and we’re proud to offer the community outstanding care when they need it most.” 

Complementing GSWB’s Emergency Department project is a significant expansion of inpatient services and other facility enhancements at the hospital, including a newly revamped inpatient unit with 14 private rooms. The new space will house patients who come through the ED or who undergo surgical procedures that require inpatient stays. Upgrades also include the expansion of laboratory services and full-service radiology. 

“The upgrades to GSWB are the latest in a long line of investments in GSWB, with more to come,” said Daniel Landesberg, Administrative Director, GWV and GSWB. “Since 2015, we’ve invested a total of $22 million in this campus and community.” 

Other investments captured in that figure include the opening of a short-stay unit for patients requiring brief hospitalization, new radiology equipment, expanded and renovated operating rooms, CareSite Specialty pharmacy, new loading dock, medication-assisted therapy program to treat opioid addiction and LIFE Geisinger program. 

“We thank the patients who trust us with their care every day and who value the level of expertise that our doctors and staff bring to this community,” said Ron Beer, Chief Administrative Officer, Geisinger Northeast. “The re-opening of this emergency department and inpatient unit signals a very bright future for GSWB.”

About Geisinger
Geisinger is among the nation’s leading providers of value-based care, serving 1.2 million people in urban and rural communities across Pennsylvania. Founded in 1915 by philanthropist Abigail Geisinger, the non-profit system generates $10 billion in annual revenues across 134 care sites - including 10 hospital campuses, and Geisinger Health Plan, with 600,000 members in commercial and government plans. The Geisinger College of Health Sciences educates more than 5,000 medical professionals annually and conducts more than 1,400 clinical research studies. With 26,000 employees, including 1,600 employed physicians, Geisinger is among Pennsylvania’s largest employers with an estimated economic impact of $14 billion to the state’s economy. On March 31, 2024, Geisinger became the first member of Risant Health, a new nonprofit charitable organization created to expand and accelerate value-based care across the country.  Learn more at geisinger.org or connect with us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and X.