Geisinger encourages community to download COVID Alert PA app

DANVILLE, Pa. – Geisinger is encouraging Pennsylvania residents to download and use the COVID Alert PA smartphone app launched last month by the Pennsylvania Department of Health.

The app, which is free to download and available for Apple and Android devices, alerts users if they have been exposed to someone who has tested positive for COVID-19. Users who receive an exposure alert can choose whether they want to receive a call from a contact tracer, and can track their symptoms through the app.

The app’s alert system uses anonymous Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) technology and an exposure notification system designed by Apple and Google. No personal or location information is collected through the app.

Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, Geisinger established a contact tracing program to help identify those who may have been exposed to the virus and encourage self-quarantine to prevent further spread. The DOH is now overseeing contact tracing efforts in Pennsylvania. Contact tracers call those who have tested positive for the virus to determine whom they have been in close contact with, and then reaches out to those contacts to advise them of potential exposure. The app is designed to complement this process.

“Contact tracing is one of the most effective ways to slow the spread of COVID-19,” said Karen Murphy, PhD, Geisinger’s chief innovation officer. “The COVID Alert PA app quickly notifies users who may have been exposed to COVID-19, preventing outbreaks and keeping our communities safe.”

For more information about the COVID Alert PA app, visit www.pa.gov/covid/covid-alert-pa.

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.