Geisinger Wyoming Valley Medical Center breaks ground on $900M expansion project

PLAINS TWP. — Geisinger Wyoming Valley Medical Center officials gathered with local leaders and partners for a groundbreaking ceremony on Thursday to kick off a campus $900 million expansion project that will nearly double the size of the hospital and transform care delivery in northeastern Pennsylvania.

The expansion and renovation will build a new 11-story patient tower and increase the medical center’s capacity for emergency medicine, critical care, trauma care, surgical services and advanced cardiovascular programs.

Encompassing about 600,000 square feet, the project will put Geisinger Wyoming Valley’s capabilities on par with large academic medical centers in Philadelphia, New York and other major metropolitan areas.

Terry Gilliland, M.D., Geisinger’s president and CEO, on Thursday said growing to meet the needs of Northeast Pennsylvanians is driven by Geisinger’s focus to make better health easier for the communities it serves.

“No one should have to leave this area for the care they need, and we can ensure that by investing in advanced facilities, programs and technology right here in Luzerne County,” Gilliland said.

The expansion project comes at a time when, between 2023 and 2028, the region’s 65-and-older population, which generally needs more health care services and resources, is expected to grow by 11%.

The Geisinger Wyoming Valley upgrades will include:

• Transitioning the medical center to 100% private rooms.

• 58 new medical/surgical inpatient beds.

• 22 new emergency treatment rooms.

• Creating dedicated emergency room (ER) space for behavioral health patients.

• Expanding trauma capabilities.

• 24 new intensive care unit (ICU) beds.

• 6 new operating rooms.

• Replacing cardiac catheterization labs for heart attack care and other procedures.

• 2 new structural heart rooms for valve procedures.

• Expanding clinic space and cardiac imagery.

Geisinger officials said the expansion project gets underway at a critical juncture for health care in northeastern Pennsylvania as the industry landscape presents challenges to patients and providers. With fewer emergency medicine services in the region, their growth at Geisinger Wyoming Valley will benefit members of our community in times of need.

“We’re taking care of more people than ever before, and those we treat in the emergency room are sicker than they’ve ever been,” said Ron Strony, M.D., chair of Geisinger’s Department of Emergency Medicine. “Expanding to meet this growing need could not come at a more crucial time. And increasing our capacity to treat patients in other areas of the hospital, like the ICU and medical/surgical units, will help us get patients to the appropriate level of care more quickly, treat them and discharge them with good outcomes.”

The project is also expected to be a boon to the local economy, creating hundreds of jobs for nurses, physicians, advanced practice professionals and staff in diagnostic and support services.

Furthering Geisinger’s commitment to academic medicine, the expansion will improve accommodations for residents, fellows and medical students — including those from Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine — in operating rooms, procedure rooms and inpatient units.

“An enhanced patient experience is at the core of the Geisinger Wyoming Valley expansion project, as we grow with the goal of fostering an even more welcoming and healing environment,” said Ron Beer, Geisinger’s interim chief operating officer and Northeast Region chief administrative officer. “Private rooms will offer our patients space and tranquility to receive treatment, rest and recover while better accommodating families and care teams. Coupled with the growth of our acute-care programs, this expansion will provide us the space to evolve into an elite destination for advanced surgical intervention, comprehensive cardiac care and treatment of an array of complex medical conditions.”

The first phase of the project, encompassing the bed tower and adjacent base that expands and renovates the ER, is expected to be completed in 2028.

Renovations to other areas of the medical center will continue through 2030.