Geisinger announces plans for major expansion of Geisinger Medical Center
DANVILLE – Geisinger officials today announced major plans to make better health easier for the central Susquehanna Valley and beyond with a proposed $880 million expansion of Geisinger Medical Center.
The proposed project will feature a new 11-story tower that will be constructed at the front of the hospital, near an expanded main entrance area. This expansion will dramatically alter and improve the Geisinger Medical Center campus through modern spaces and tools to meet the region’s current and future healthcare needs, focusing particularly on patient experience and high-level care.
The new tower will feature a larger emergency room to serve more patients and provide a more efficient flow of care. The new ER will double the square footage of the current space and increase it from 45 beds to 60 beds. Updated and expanded intensive care units and operating suites will surround the ER to allow collaboration between teams as they care for the sickest and most severely injured patients.
The hospital will transition to a 100% private-room facility for a more comforting and modern healing environment, so each patient will have their own room to recover and be with their loved ones. It also allows more space for teams to work collaboratively on a patient’s care plan.
“Our community has depended on Geisinger for world-class health care for more than a century,” said Terry Gilliland, M.D., president and CEO of Geisinger. “We’re continuing that legacy today as we announce the largest expansion project in the nearly 110-year history of Geisinger Medical Center. This project will truly transform care. It’s proof of our commitment to making better health easier for our communities today and into the future.”
Beyond the clinical expansion, the project improves campus convenience with a proposed multi level parking garage near the front of the hospital. The garage will connect to the hospital with an enclosed sky bridge, offering patients and visitors an easy way to reach the facility and its emergency services. The parking garage also will better connect the hospital with the Pine Barn Inn, which will continue operations adjacent to the hospital.
“This project will completely reimagine the Geisinger Medical Center campus to strengthen collaboration among our staff and units for better patient care,” said Megan Brosious, chief administrative officer for Geisinger’s central region. “Our patients will have a modern care environment where they can continue receiving expert care right here in Danville, as they’ve
come to expect from us over the past century. And our teams will have the space they need to provide that care.”
The investment comes at a time when the need for expanded health care access is growing in Pennsylvania and across the country. In central Pennsylvania, the 65 and older population, which typically requires more health resources and specialized care, is expected to grow over the next decade.
This expansion marks the latest investment in the region’s health needs. The system recently started construction on Geisinger Behavioral Health Center Danville, a 96-bed inpatient facility in Mahoning Township that’s expected to open in 2025.
Geisinger Medical Center provides specialized treatment options and services not widely available in the region, including Level I trauma care, transplant surgery, advanced cancer care and Geisinger Janet Weis Children’s Hospital. It is also a Magnet hospital and a Comprehensive Stroke Center, and it was the first hospital in the country to receive a Comprehensive Heart Attack Center designation in 2022.
Danville’s project is happening in parallel with a similar expansion at Geisinger Wyoming Valley Medical Center near Wilkes-Barre. These investments underscore Geisinger’s commitment to creating a better patient experience for northeastern and central Pennsylvanians.
Geisinger Medical Center campus development work is already underway, with a roadway project in front of the hospital that will improve traffic flow. The Danville expansion project is expected to begin in 2025, starting with the planned demolition of Dickey Clinic to make room for the tower. Tower construction will occur in phases with the new tower slated to open in 2028. The last expansion on the campus occurred in 2010 with the opening of the Hospital for Advanced Medicine tower.
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.
