Geisinger serves meals at drive-through Veterans Appreciation dinners

DANVILLE, Pa. – To thank local veterans for their service to our country, Geisinger served about 1,500 meals during drive-through Veterans Appreciation dinners at eight locations across its service area on Thursday, Nov. 12. The dinners for U.S. military veterans and guests were provided by Geisinger staff at no cost to participants.

Geisinger expanded this annual event from three locations last year to eight locations in 2020. Meals were provided in Scranton, Wilkes-Barre, Danville, Bloomsburg, Shamokin, Jersey Shore and Lewistown. While the event is typically a traditional, sit-down meal, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic it was changed to a drive-through event for the safety of staff and the community.

“It is important to honor and recognize our military veterans and we were happy to do so this year in a way that kept everyone safe,” said U.S. Army veteran Chris Grill, program manager of Military and Veterans Affairs at Geisinger. “This event gave us an opportunity to thank them for all they have done to protect the freedoms we enjoy as a country.”

Geisinger was recently named a Best for Vets: Employers 2020 by the Military Times for the health system’s commitment to hiring and retaining military personnel and reservists within the organization. 

In 2019, Geisinger implemented a two-week paid leave benefit for employees serving in the Reserves or the National Guard. Under the leave policy, service members are paid for time at annual trainings, encampments and drills. The health system also created an employee resource group, VetNet, to give a forum to veteran employees for discussing issues important to them.

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 nonprofit system generates $10 billion in annual revenues across 126 care sites — including 10 hospital campuses — and Geisinger Health Plan, with more than half a million members in commercial and government plans. 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 1,700 employed physicians, Geisinger is among Pennsylvania’s largest employers with an estimated economic impact of $15 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 follow on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and X.