Better health, easier.
Behind the scenes of real, life-changing healthcare
“Better health, easier” follows the stories of local Geisinger patients — and each one has an amazing experience to share.
From a 19-hour surgery to remove a tumor to lifesaving COVID-19 care, watch how Geisinger care teams, technology and human bonds helped each person get better
Read their stories below:
Neil Caiazzo
Neil Caiazzo’s Geisinger Gold Medicare Advantage plan made him eligible for Geisinger 65 Forward. Learn how he found better health and friends that feel like family.
Zoë Myers
Zoë Myers had a broken wrist when she was 9. Four years later, she finally had it repaired properly.
Christina Myers
Thanks to her overactive bladder, Christina Myers was always in search of a bathroom. Sacral nerve stimulation brought relief.
Kathy Lahr
After a routine mammogram found a lump in her breast, Kathy Lahr of Milton, Pa., was planning to undergo a lumpectomy and radiation.
Richard Bressler
Richard Bressler of Lock Haven was a healthy 47-year-old when he contracted COVID-19 in March of 2021. He credits Geisinger for his survival.
Joan Marie Roth
Through comprehensive daily living and health services, the LIFE Geisinger program helps Joan Marie Roth live her best life.
Ryan Brouse
Ryan Brouse was severely injured in a car crash. But today, she’s helped her school softball team make it to their first-ever Class AAA state final.
Grace Visneski
Last year, Grace Visneski, from Olyphant, Pa., began having trouble breathing when she ran. It turned out the 15-year-old had exercise-induced asthma.
Kaci Kranson
When 18-year-old Kaci Kranson of Scranton injured herself playing sports, she loved having a doctor who understood her competitive spirit.
Marianne Godwin
Marianne Godwin of Lake Ariel considers herself pretty lucky. After several surgeries for severe arthritis, she feels like herself again.
Ellen Fogleman
Testing showed Ellen Fogleman’s vision problems were caused by a brain aneurysm. Same-day surgery solved the problem for this Mountain Top resident.
Max Murray
Ever since he was 9, Mifflinburg High School junior Max Murray had nightmares and sleep paralysis. At 17, he got a narcolepsy diagnosis and life-changing treatment.
Lois Bennick
Pain from an inflamed gallbladder had 70-year-old Lois Bennick at her wits’ end. Until a skilled gastroenterologist stepped in and performed an endoscopy that saved her life.
Naomi Johnson
Naomi Johnson had radiating nerve pain caused by a degenerated disc. And Geisinger’s Medication Therapy Disease Management program helped her get relief.
Mason Sharkazy
Three-year-old Mason Sharkazy has both cystic fibrosis and Down syndrome. When a double ear infection turned into pneumonia, Geisinger helped her recover.
Brenda Tibbens
After two surgeries to repair a lumbar disc injury, Geisinger neurosurgeon Dr. Konakondla helped Brenda Tibbens of Salladasburg get back on her feet.
James Schintz
James Schintz had a history of heart disease, but when the 64-year-old was told it would take two separate procedures to remove three aneurysms, he opted for a second opinion. Geisinger vascular surgeon Dr. Evan Ryer removed them all at the same time.
Amelia Benjamin
While ice skating, Amelia Benjamin fell and fractured the bones in her left leg. An active weightlifter, dancer and tennis player, she recovered from surgery in no time.
Frank DiTaranto
Frank DiTaranto went to the ER for neck pain, numbness and balance problems, unaware that he had a tumor in his neck. The 66-year-old considers it an act of God that Dr. Sanjay Konakondla was on call that day to perform the 19-hour surgery that saved his life.
Harry Gaughan
Scans showed a tangle of abnormal blood vessels in Harry Gaughan’s skull. But minimally invasive surgery fixed it — and he went home that same day.
Amilcar Arroyo
Amilcar Arroyo, 72, is always on the go, working 12-hour days as a magazine publisher and community leader. Here’s how Geisinger 65 Forward helps keep him going.
Beverly Seybert
Beverly Seybert noticed she’d needed to take more breaks during her daily walks, so her doctor ordered some ultrasounds. The tests showed blockages in the iliac arteries of her legs. A minimally invasive surgery had the 69-year-old home and back to walking in no time.