AAMC to honor Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine for community engagement

The meeting brings together top leadership in medical education, research and patient care and is the premier AAMC event. At the meeting, Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine (GCSOM) will be honored as runner-up for the association’s prestigious Spencer Foreman Award for Outstanding Community Service.

In the first phase of the competition, our community programs, particularly in regard to pipeline and behavioral and mental health, were enough to surpass all other competitors from our nation’s 155 medical schools, except for Rush University Medical College. To choose between the two finalists, AAMC virtual site visitors conducted an exhaustive review this summer.

Although GCSOM was not chosen for the award this year, the judges took the opportunity to reveal particular areas in which they believed the School of Medicine demonstrates uncommon strength:

• Community service is foundational to GCSOM, as seen in our founding and the breadth of our community engagement
• GCSOM focuses on less visible community members – or invisible populations
• GCSOM community engagement is rooted in a detailed, well supported strategic plan
• GCSOM plans are data driven and measured by metrics. In this regard, they were particularly impressed by the program and outcomes of REACH-HEI (Regional Education Academy for Careers in Health – Higher Education Initiative)
• The commitment of executive educational and clinical leadership is clear and significant
• The “marriage” with Geisinger has brought great strength to the school and our community engagement
• GCSOM learners are immersed in community engagement

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.