LUZERNE COUNTY, Pa. — As shovels broke ground, excavators were hard at work at Geisinger Wyoming Valley Medical Center near Wilkes-Barre. The work is part of a massive expansion that will nearly double its footprint.
"Those of you who are looking over the wall know we've been working for a little while, but we get to ceremonially break ground and share with you the single largest investment in Geisinger's 109-year history," said Ron Beer, chief administrative officer of Geisinger's northeast region.
Geisinger is currently operating at more than 100 percent capacity, meaning long emergency room wait times, a backup of ambulances, and nowhere to put patients.
"We'll see patients in hallways, we'll see patients in chairs, we'll see them in offices, and in many cases, we'll see them directly in the waiting room and discharge them from the waiting rooms if their care is complete," said Dr Ronald Strony, chair of emergency medicine.
Geisinger says it's an issue that started after the shuttering of several nearby hospitals and services.
"It's certainly affected our communities here. So this is Geisinger's way of giving back to the community so all of us have the care that we really need and deserve."
An 11-floor tower will bring dozens of additional emergency and intensive care unit beds, making all patient rooms private.
It will also bring major changes to the heart hospital and surgery procedures.
All of these changes come from input from those who work with patients daily.
"Front-line staff are the most important people that we work with on a daily basis, and they do the work, so they know where the problems are, so it's important they have a say in how this is built," said Renee Blakiewicz, chief nursing officer.
While the groundbreaking is a big step forward, it will be years before the project is up and running. The tower with patient rooms will be completed in four years, and the full project is expected to be completed by 2030.