The hospital will continue in that same direction now that it has integrated with Geisinger, he said.

Shannon called the step “another step forward in our wonderful history.”

A joining ceremony was held at the facility Monday afternoon, celebrating what had become official on July 1.

The new name, Geisinger Jersey Shore Hospital, is on display outside the facility and was unveiled at the ceremony.

BOB ROLLEY/THE EXPRESS Above, speakers at the joining ceremony for Jersey Shore Hospital and Geisinger are, from left, Thomas Sokola, Geisinger central region chief administrative officer; Sean M. Simcox, the hospital board chair; David A. Shannon, hospital president and CEO; and Geisinger Health System president and CEO David Feinberg, M.D., MBA.

The local hospital was founded in 1911 and is a 25-bed Critical Access hospital. It has worked with Geisinger for many years, and both organizations are dedicated to “putting patients first,” Shannon said.

The joining process was first approached in February 2016, he said. Over the ensuing months, the medical staff and hospital employees have trusted the board of directors, stayed on, and participated in the planning, he said.

The board had vision and the community supported it, Shannon said.

Integrating with Geisinger will bring new programs, new equipment, and more services for the hospital’s users, beginning with more access to obstetrics/gynecology services.

Throughout the process, Board Chair Sean M. Simcox said, “We’ve always kept sight of why we need health care in the first place.”

The integration is also part of Geisinger’s strategic growth plan.

“At Danville, we are busting at the seams,” said Geisinger Health System president and CEO David Feinberg, M.D., MBA.

Jersey Shore Hospital clearly offers successful ideas that Geisinger can learn and use, while it brings new programs to Jersey Shore, he said.

Both the hospital and Geisinger are nonprofit.

Staff and leaders from both organizations came together Monday in the local hospital’s main lobby to hear welcoming words. A luncheon followed the ceremony.

Thomas Sokola, Geisinger central region chief administrative officer, welcomed the hospital into what he called a bigger family. He remarked that while visiting the facility, “the culture of caring” stood out.

“That’s a sweet spot for us. It’s everywhere in our culture,” he said of Geisinger.

Shannon agreed. “We had to do something, and Geisinger seems to fit, they fit right in,” he said.

This particular region is important to Geisinger, Sokola said, which has operated physician offices in Clinton County since 1986 and Lycoming County since 1994.

“We think we have a significant investment in the community,” he said. “We look forward to the work we can do together.”

He mentioned a five-year plan that he likened to the slow, sure turning of a dimmer, rather than quickly flipping a switch.

Geisinger doctors already practicing in the area will want to work at the Jersey Shore facility, he said. In addition, specialists will come from Danville to practice here.

Assessments have started about what new equipment and what new programs Geisinger Jersey Shore can use most, he said, including in the area of general surgery. Dr. Duane Tull, a general surgeon, is already practicing at the Jersey Shore facility.

Obstetrics/gynecology is being expanded quickly right now.

Dr. James Young, an Ob/Gyn who had been at Jersey Shore Hospital from 1995 to 2015, is affiliated with Geisinger. He attended the joining ceremony and said he is looking forward to practicing at the local facility again, as well as at Danville and Gray’s Woods in State College.

Dr. Robert Donato will join him at Jersey Shore, and a third Ob/Gyn doctor, Dr. Akeem Adigun, is on track to come on board in September.

The need for training and education are also being examined, Shannon said.

“We want to do it right and do it efficiently, keeping the cost down for the community while still offering a high quality service,” he said.

“We are all trying to do the best, to stay in business, and do the right thing by our Geisinger family, our Jersey Shore family. The goal is to offer quality care and keep the costs low,” Sokola said. “This will make us all be better.”

Geisinger has asked all the Jersey Shore Hospital Board of Directors members to stay on, and they have, Sokola said. They will act as an advisory board.

“We want them to tell us what we still need here,” he said.

Geisinger is one of the nation’s largest health service organizations, serving 3 million residents throughout 45 counties in central, southcentral and northeast Pennsylvania, and in southern New Jersey. The physician-lead system has about 30,000 employees, including nearly 1,600 employed physicians. Geisinger has repeatedly received national accolades for integration, quality and service.

In May, Geisinger announced the signing of a letter of intent with health insurer Highmark Inc. for a clinical joint venture in north-central Pennsylvania that Geisinger says will include greater patient choice.

The local hospital is designated as a Critical Access hospital by the state and the Medicare program. Earlier this year, it was recognized by the Pennsylvania Office of Rural Health for excellence in patient satisfaction and outcomes, and was voted the Best Hospital by readers of The Express in both 2016 and 2017.

The hospital is proud that its Urgent Care Center at McElhattan has seen “tremendous increases in patient volume.”

It provides acute care, critical care, surgical services/same-day surgery, emergency services, cardiopulmonary, cardiac rehab, rehab services, radiology, diagnostic laboratory and occupational health. With $70 million in revenues, it has 279 employees and a a service area of 45,000 in Clinton and Lycoming counties.

The hospital has been affiliated with Jersey Shore Medical Associates, a multi-specialty physician practice group, for more than 20 years, with locations in Lock Haven, Avis and Jersey Shore.

It also has a foundation, which was included in the integration with Geisinger.

——

Online:

www.jsh.org

www.geisinger.org