Road trip: Geisinger health bus addressing care gaps
The mobile health services bus will be traveling across Geisinger’s Pennsylvania service area in July and August and stopping at Geisinger facilities. The locations were selected by leveraging Geisinger’s population health tool, powered by Cerner. The tool helps to identify patients in a certain location who need preventive care screenings, or who have a gap in their preventive health care.
“As Geisinger safely returns our services and programs, we are truly focusing on prevention and early detection during these visits,” said Juli Molecavage, Geisinger associate vice president of primary care services. “We know some patients may have missed a checkup over the past few months due to the pandemic, and by bringing these health resources closer to home, we can help keep them on top of their health.”
A number of the services available on the bus include care for patients with diabetes. Annually, Geisinger cares for more than 45,000 patients with diabetes and sees an average of 500 new diabetes diagnosis a month. Diabetic A1C monitoring, diabetic nephropathy screenings and diabetic retinopathy screenings will be available. Preventive screenings can also be booked during the bus visits, including mammograms and colonoscopies. Patients will also have their blood pressure, height, weight and body mass index checked.
“We want to help our patients and members better manage their chronic conditions and make sure they’re getting their appropriate screenings,” Molecavage said. “We are bringing patients in, addressing the gaps in their care, and referring them back to their primary care physician for follow up care.”
The bus will be staffed by nurses, wellness associates and a phlebotomist. Based on the screenings, the wellness team members can help patients identify resources to help them with any health challenges they’re facing or offer enrollment in programs like Geisinger at Home, Geisinger Gold (Medicare Advantage) and Geisinger 65 Forward.
In accordance with COVID-19 precautions, patients are being contacted and scheduled for appointments on the bus. Before boarding the bus, patients will be screened by having their temperature taken and will be required to wear a mask. Appointments are being separated to allow for appropriate physical (social) distancing and additional cleaning between visits.
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.
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