Photo: The centerpiece of the Geisinger Danville expansion is an 11-story tower that will house an expanded emergency room, doubling the square footage of the current space. | Photo Credit: Geisinger Medical Center Danville
By Lindsey Coulter
DANVILLE, Pa. — Geisinger Medical Center hosted a groundbreaking ceremony earlier this month to launch a significant expansion and modernization of the organization’s Danville healthcare campus. The estimated $880 million project aims to improve the patient experience by improving accessibility to services, reducing wait times and modernizing facilities. Site work is now underway on the active hospital campus, and foundation work is expected to begin this summer.
“The community deserves and expects to have timely access to specialty care; this project allows us to build on our commitment of doing just that—now and into the future,” said Terry Gilliland, M.D., president and CEO of Geisinger, in a statement.
The centerpiece of the expansion, designed by Philadelphia-based EwingCole, is an 11-story tower that will house an expanded emergency room double the square footage of the current space, allowing the hospital to increase the number of patient beds from 45 to 60. Additionally, the project will transition the hospital to 100% private rooms for adult medical-surgical units. Updated operating suites and intensive care units will also be included in the tower, which is expected to open to patients by 2029. The project team also includes Whiting-Turner, and PURE Project Management.
“Geisinger is a special place in this region because we don’t just care for patients—we also care for generations of families,” said Michael Fitzpatrick, M.D., chief medical officer of Geisinger’s central region, in a statement. “This project will improve the hospital experience for our patients and staff, and make sure we can care for our community’s needs, for today and future generations.”
In addition to the project’s clinical improvements, the construction of a new, multi-level parking garage adjacent to the new tower will provide more convenient access for visitors.
“We’re excited for the start of this important project, which gives our dedicated staff a modern hospital to continue caring for our neighbors,” said Megan Brosious, executive vice president and chief operating officer of Geisinger, in a statement. “At a time when many rural communities are losing access to health care services, we’re committed to investing in the health of our community. Our neighbors have the benefit of receiving a level of care close to home in the kind of facility they would otherwise have to travel to cities like Philadelphia or New York to find.”
The tower project is one of several construction initiatives underway at the Danville campus and across the network. Geisinger Healthplex State College is also expanding to enhance healthcare services in Centre County, Pa. The expansion includes a two-floor addition that will house family practice, imaging services, orthopedics and pediatrics. Geisinger, already one of the most energy-efficient hospital systems in Pennsylvania, also received funding from the West Penn Energy Fund to help fund a solar energy project at the site.
Additionally, Geisinger’s Lewisburg-area campus will receive a new, $32 million state-of-the-art cancer center near Bucknell University. The facility will expand services, bring new providers and offer greater access to care for the region. When the cancer center opens in 2026, it will feature 12 exam rooms, 15 infusion stations, external beam radiation and treatment planning. An outpatient clinic will include medical oncology, hematology, radiation oncology and Geisinger’s first palliative care clinic in Union County.
