Geisinger College 2024
of Health Sciences
Drive to THRIVE
better health easier
In this edition, come along with Geisinger College of Health Sciences as we take you on a tour of our five-year strategic plan, Drive to THRIVE (Transform Health through Research, Tompkins Inspiration, Value and Education). Schuyler Each section of the magazine Steuben bears a “mile marker, ” anTioga excerpt Chemung from the plan placed alongside a story about how we’re putting our vision into Sayre Bradford Tioga action. Our journey is mapped out andSusquehanna the Wayne wheels are in motion. Hop aboard and see Lackawanna Wyoming where our College is going! Scranton Sullivan
Lycoming Clinton Columbia Montour
Union
Wilkes-Barre Luzerne
Danville
Carbon
Contents
Northumberland
Mifflin
Lewistown Juniata
Snyder Geisinger College Schuylkill of Health Sciences
2023 Year in Review
Perry
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New strategic priorities
Transformation in the west
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Message from Julie Byerley, MD, MPH
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Research
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Cover story: Drive to THRIVE
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Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
York 10 School of Medicine
22 Graduate Medical Education 25 School of Nursing 27 School of Graduate Education
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28 Faculty
Townsend retires
29 Philanthropy
Monroe
Research
Geisinger College Magazine
A message from Julie Byerley, MD, MPH Drive to THRIVE, the strategic plan laid out in these pages, is the work of everyone at Geisinger College of Health Sciences. It was created through one-on-one interviews, focus groups, surveys and plenty of feedback. The plan was born of one simple question: How do we, as an academic institution, help Geisinger, our patients, our communities and our people to thrive? We needed to develop a map that defines what drives us and how to reach our goals. We seek, learn, discover and teach because we believe in a better future. Contributing to the store of human knowledge and then sharing it with the next generation is, at its heart, a future-facing endeavor, a thing done — not for us — but for others. That’s what drives everyone drawn to academia. But at Geisinger, it’s even more. Here, we take that drive and put a uniquely Geisinger spin on it. What is uniquely Geisinger? You’ll find out in these pages as we explore some exciting initiatives that embody Drive to THRIVE. Whether it’s creating a model for excellence in rural healthcare or empowering medical students to advocate for patients in their own languages, it is uniquely Geisinger to make better health easier. Uniquely Geisinger education and research means a singular focus on quality. Our learners must never stop questioning how we can do things better, how processes and systems can be improved and how engaging with community often gives us the answers. This is how we deliver care that meets the real and present needs of a diverse population. Our drive is to come together as Geisinger College of Health Sciences and demonstrate to our neighbors — and the nation — how the power of academia can be harnessed for the benefit of its communities. That’s our drive to THRIVE. These pages will illustrate our plan to rev up and get going.
A publication by the Department of Marketing and Communications Elizabeth Zygmunt Marketing and Communications Strategist and Geisinger College Magazine Editor Heather M. Davis, MFA Director of Marketing and Communications for Education and Research Ashley Andyshak Hayes Marketing and Communications Strategist Erich Lenz Marketing and Communications Strategist Board of Directors Virginia McGregor, Chair John C. Bravman, PhD Benjamin K. Chu, MD, MPH Pedro J. Greer Jr., MD V. Chris Holcombe, PE David B. Nash, MD, MBA Jaewon Ryu, MD, JD, Geisinger President and CEO (Ex-Officio) Julie Byerley, MD, MPH, Geisinger Commonwealth President and Dean (Ex-Officio) Geisinger Health Foundation Nancy Lawton-Kluck Chief Philanthropy Officer Robin Endicott, CFRE Vice President, Philanthropy Jane Kanyock, MBA, CFRE Director of Major Gifts Chris Boland Director of Alumni Relations Dorothy Williams Administrative Assistant
Geisinger College 2024
of Health Sciences
Julie Byerley, MD, MPH President, Geisinger College of Health Sciences Dean, Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine Executive Vice President and Chief Academic Officer, Geisinger
Drive to THRIVE
better health easier
On the cover: Better health is a journey and a thriving community is our destination. With our five-year strategic plan, Geisinger College of Health Sciences is well on its way!
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Research Strategic Priority
Turn hypotheses into health by disseminating and implementing research results
‘Reinvigorated’ Henry Hood award put the spotlight on research excellence An important strategic goal of Geisinger College’s new Drive to THRIVE plan is to sharpen the focus on disseminating and celebrating achievements in research. Still
This year, Vice Dean for Research and Chief Scientific Officer Christa Martin, PhD, said her team took a major step toward that goal. “One highlight of this year was re-invigorating the Henry Hood Award for Clinical and Research Excellence, which recognizes excellence in research that advances clinical care,” she said. “This year’s awardee was Dr. Chris Still, professor of medicine at the School of Medicine and founding director of the Center for Obesity and Metabolic Health at Geisinger. Dr. Still’s research has resulted in several significant discoveries including the identification of a gene that protects against liver disease which has led to drugs being developed that we’ll soon be able to offer to our patients in early clinical trials.”
Hood Award,” Dr. Still said. “Through our work at the Center for Obesity and Metabolic Research, we focus on the same mission of improving patient care through clinical and research excellence that Dr. Hood practiced during his career. This is a privilege that I don’t take lightly.” The Henry Hood Award includes a prize of $50,000 to be used to advance clinical care through research, innovation and education at Geisinger. Named for the late Geisinger neurosurgeon and CEO Henry Hood, MD, the award was established by Geisinger’s board of directors to honor dedication to excellence through clinical practice and state-of-theart research that advanced and enhanced patient care.
Dr. Still founded Geisinger’s Obesity Institute (now the Center for Obesity and Metabolic Research) in 2008. “I am humbled and honored to be the recipient of the Henry
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Kenric Maynor, MD, Medicine Institute chair, left, and Christa Martin, PhD, chief scientific officer and Geisinger Commonwealth’s vice dean for research, right, present the Henry Hood Award for Clinical and Research Excellence to Christopher Still, DO, director of the Center for Obesity and Metabolic Health.
Research
Study supports genetic testing for people with cerebral palsy Meta-analysis shows genetic testing should be standard of care for CP A Geisinger meta-analysis of recent research on the genetics of cerebral palsy (CP) provides evidence that genetic testing should be offered as the standard of care for people with the disorder, similar to current recommendations for people with other neurodevelopmental disorders (NDD). The findings were published in JAMA Pediatrics. Sequencing of the whole genome — all genetic information in the body — or the exome — the genome’s protein-coding regions — is a standard
diagnostic test for people with NDD. However, this recommendation does not currently include CP, so people with the disorder may not be offered genetic testing unless they also have a NDD. “Waiting for a co-occurring diagnosis of intellectual disability or autism in an individual with cerebral palsy to consider genetic testing is a missed opportunity to improve clinical outcomes,” said Andres Moreno De Luca, MD, MBA, physicianscientist and clinical neuroradiologist.
Knowing the genetic cause of high cholesterol predicts disease risk better than cholesterol levels alone, study finds Study participants with a genetic variant linked to high cholesterol were more likely to develop heart disease Having a genetic cause of high cholesterol increases the risk of heart disease more than having high cholesterol levels alone, a Geisinger-led study found. An estimated 6% to 13% of Americans have very high levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, known as severe hypercholesterolemia. These high LDL levels increase the risk of heart disease, heart attack and stroke. The research team included Geisinger investigators Matthew Oetjens, PhD, MS, Alexander Berry, PhD, Laney Jones, PharmD, and Samuel Gidding, MD. They evaluated genetic data from 11,738 UK
Biobank participants who had high LDL levels. The team observed a small difference in the rate of heart disease between those with the lowest LDL and highest LDL levels. However, when participants were grouped by the specific genetic cause of their condition, there were distinct differences in the rates of disease. For example, people with a single gene variant linked to high cholesterol or with elevated lipoprotein (a), a form of LDL cholesterol, had a significantly increased risk of future disease when compared to the rest of the study participants. The results were published in Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology.
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Research
Routine screening for three genetic conditions is cost-effective, study shows One-time screening for adults 40 and younger should be considered by health policymakers, research team says Routinely screening adults age 40 and younger for three genetic conditions that carry a high risk of serious illness is cost-effective based on quality and quantity of life measures, a new study shows. Published in May in the Annals of Internal Medicine, the study evaluated the cost effectiveness of a onetime, all-in-one genomic screening of adults ages 20 to 60 for three conditions: hereditary breast and ovarian cancer syndrome; Lynch syndrome, the most common cause of hereditary colorectal cancer; and familial hypercholesterolemia, which increases low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and the likelihood of heart disease and stroke at a younger age. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has determined that there is sufficient evidence to consider population-wide genetic testing for these conditions; however, current practice guidelines focus on screening patients with a high-risk family history. To analyze cost effectiveness, the research team used the quality-adjusted life-year (QALY), a generic measure that assesses the quality and quantity of life gained to determine the value of medical interventions. The study defined interventions costing no more than $100,000 per QALY gained as cost-effective, a long-standing and well-accepted benchmark in the United States. Assuming a genetic test costs $250 — and, for positive results, a confirmation test costing another
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$250 — the study found that one-time screening of adults age 40 and younger was cost-effective. For example, among 30 year olds, the incremental cost of adopting routine screening came to $68,600 per QALY gained. For this group, screening would be cost-effective at the $100,000 per QALY threshold if the test cost $413 or less. For 40 year olds, the cost of a single test would need to be $290 or less, and for 50 year olds, the cost would need to be $166 or less to be cost-effective. Data from Geisinger’s MyCode Community Health Initiative provided real-world evidence to inform the cost-effectiveness model. “Our data analysis on the MyCode population, including the prevalence of disease and uptake of risk-reducing interventions after disclosure of genetic results, contributed key parameter estimates for the study model,” said Jing Hao, PhD, MD, assistant professor in the Department of Population Health Sciences at Geisinger and one of the study’s principal investigators. “The model accounts for a range of factors in sensitivity analyses and indicates that the cost-effectiveness of population genomic screening can be further improved with optimized real-world implementation leading to better disease management.” The study team included researchers from Geisinger, Vanderbilt University Medical Center and the University of Washington.
Research
Student research
Geisinger Commonwealth held its annual Summer Research Immersion Program (SRIP) symposium, featuring student work. Three students, all members of the class of 2026, were recognized with awards of distinction. From left are Samuel Wyman, Christina Shaffern and Ara Khoylyan.
Seen at the 2023 Spring Research Symposium are Sonia Lobo, PhD, RYT, associate dean for research & scholarship; Sireesha Mamillapalli, PhD, assistant professor of biochemistry & physiology; Mahdi Taye, MD Class of 2025; Matthew Hamers, MD Class of 2026; & Gabi Waite, PhD, professor of physiology and immunology.
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Cover Story
Drive to THRIVE
better health easier
In July, Geisinger College of Sciences unveiled its fiveyear strategic plan, Drive to THRIVE. And as the name indicates, Geisinger College is going places. In the driver’s seat are tools and ideas that college president Julie Byerley, MD, MPH, labels “uniquely Geisinger.”
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Cover Story
“Our strength is that students and learners say, ‘I was able to ask the question and there the data was in my hands’ versus you can’t even get your fingers on data to ask questions at most other places.”
The plan begins with a simple question: How does a College of Health Sciences — an academic enterprise dedicated to research and scholarship — make better health easier? “Making better health easier sounds like a simple premise — but ‘easier’ requires an incredibly complex execution when it comes to modern systems and organizations. That’s why Drive to THRIVE emphasizes being ‘uniquely Geisinger.’ It’s our signature strength,” Dr. Byerley said.
— Christa Martin, PhD She added that Geisinger is in a unique place to do this because extensive patient data is routinely collected and stored in the electronic record. “We are set up to collect data as part of clinical care. And, with it, we encourage our learners to think, to ask questions and realize that they have their fingertips on the solutions,” Dr. Martin said. “This approach also helps us retain learners and recruit them back.”
Built around Research, Education and People, the plan relies on leaning into the “uniquely Geisinger” way of using data to constantly assess quality and value, then extending the concepts that animate precision medicine to students and learners.
Education: Data-driven for better outcomes
“One of our intentions is to inspire the next generation of health professionals, inspire meaningful discovery, inspire each other toward wellness and teamwork and the feeling that they are making a difference.”
In terms of education, uniquely Geisinger means inventive use of data coupled with what Dr. Byerley calls “confident humility” to do what’s right for patients, the community and learners.
— Julie Byerley, MD, MPH Research: A focus on primary care In the research sphere, that means close alignment with the needs of the system and the communities Geisinger serves, especially when it comes to prevention and primary care — two areas where “value” and “ease” are readily deployed. As Vice Dean for Research and Chief Scientific Officer Christa Martin, PhD, said, “We’re a learning health system where the data we generate every day is leveraged to discover how to take better care of patients. So why not do research in primary care?” Dr. Martin explained that Geisinger has teams dedicated to decision sciences and behavioral insights, teams that analyze what motivates people to do things like take their medications and get flu shots and mammograms. “These insights are most powerful in the hands of a primary care doc,” Dr. Martin said. “They’re on the front lines, seeing patients most frequently.”
“We're on the cutting edge of the use clinical data to drive educational and clinical outcomes,” said Michelle Thompson, MD, Vice Dean for Graduate Medical Education and Chief Education Officer. “The informatics and data structure inherent in our healthcare system allows us to improve the educational outcomes for our learners and outcomes for our patients.” She added, “Precision medical education is a systemic approach of integrating data and using analytics to assess learners in a clinical setting, then using it to drive precise educational interventions or create individual learning plans.” For example, clinical effectiveness scorecards are used in primary care residency clinics to assess how well residents are taking care of patients. “We're helping residents understand this data as it relates to patients,” she said. “We're also looking at ways to begin to implement this in both assessment and teaching.” Confident humility in education begins with modeling teamwork and community engagement.
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Cover Story
“There's an inspiring servant-leader culture at Geisinger, where people are really more interested in the outcomes for those they serve than the fanfare they receive while doing so,” Dr. Byerley said. “We’re willing to innovate and change to create better outcomes. We aren’t wedded to the way things have always been done in medicine or medical education.”
a lower tier. So, while issues of gender and racial identity are important, we also have this rich tapestry where we're able to reflect these other populations and really serve them.” Doing so, she notes, could also “offer solutions to the larger urban settings grappling with the ‘more traditional’ DEI issues.”
“It’s nice to know if your clinical preceptor thinks you’re doing a good job in clinic but it’s even more important to know that you have good control over your patient’s diabetes.” — Michelle Thompson, MD People: Expanding our view of diversity and inclusion Community engagement is built into the curriculum for graduate students, nursing students and medical students — another “uniquely Geisinger” aspect of our educational programs. Next steps will rely upon the efforts of the college’s vice dean for health equity and inclusion, Valencia Walker, MD, MPH, who seeks to expand the way we think about diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI).
Naturally, being Geisinger, data will be used to back up confident humility. “After you’ve worked really hard, you need to ask — is this better? Has there been meaningful or sustainable structural change?” Dr. Walker said. “We’ll measure this with metrics of accountability.”
Those metrics will include retention of rural, disadvantaged and underrepresented-in-medicine students. “Are we sustaining those efforts and, more importantly, are those students graduating?” she said. “Are we addressing the barriers that make it more challenging for women to advance in healthcare — and that's not just physicians, but staff. That type of data and knowing those results will drive action and create some accountability.”
“There is an emphasis on people “I would love for people to not necessarily feel within the strategic plan,” Dr. Walker overwhelmed by DEI work but to understand how it said. “And on how the way people works seamlessly into the things they already do and work has changed since the pandemic. are already great at doing.” We know that there is truly a need to invest in people. So, when I think — Valencia Walker, MD, MPH about DEI, I think about the need for growth in the institution that make efforts at inclusion and belonging — of Dr. Byerley said the final uniquely Geisinger piece a clear culture around professionalism — necessary.” of Drive to THRIVE is inspiration. “Our intention is Addressing inclusion and belonging as evolving issues to inspire, especially the real people that we serve will be crucial to the institution’s future, she said. — members of our community, the people we know and care about. It’s these people that make us truly However, she added, “We tend to talk about committed to outcomes, prevention and value.” DEI from the lens of a multicultural society that reflects our larger urban cities. Issues around rural communities, veterans, disability status, social economic status and religion are often placed at
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To read our full plan, visit go.geisinger.edu/drivetothrive.
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Strategic Priority
Build a professional and resilient community of practice that brings together faculty, staff and learners in an inclusive learning environment
Vice Dean for Health Equity and Inclusion Valencia Walker, MD, MPH talks about DEI “What attracted me to the position at Geisinger was that I met multiple people who recognized there was a need for change, and there was a need for effort in the DEI space. This is especially important now, three years after the murder of Mr. George Floyd, when so many institutions across all sectors have kind of had a retreat in terms of their support and positioning on issues of justice, inclusion and anti-racism. So, recognizing the backlash — even some outright hostility — I thought it was an amazing opportunity to come to an institution where people were still hungry for change and improvement. “And oh my gosh, my students! They want to be so involved! They are why we are currently working on identifying other faculty and training them to start doing the work. I'm also working with a fantastic group of people in the Graduate Medical Education space who I think will help us identify the various work people are doing across different clinical programs and bring those things together.” — Valencia Walker, MD, MPH
A place to ponder legacy The Association of American Medical Colleges held its first-ever Learner Summit in June in Washington, D.C. Attendees were chosen through a competitive national process. Among them was Chinma Ugorji, MD, Geisinger’s co-chief resident of medicine/pediatrics. The Learner Summit prompted Dr. Ugorji to focus on her professional legacy. “One area where I’ve done the most work during my residency is diversity, equity and inclusion. I want to be thought of as a strong advocate,” she said.
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School of Medicine Strategic Priority
Clinton
Advance the West Campus as a model interprofessional educational hub with a unique rural community commitment
Transformation in the west: How a community hospital became a hub of rural care research, learning and opportunity By many measures, Lewistown is idyllic. It’s a rural community with easy access to the picturesque Juniata River and plenty of boating and fishing. It’s a small town where neighbors know one another and have been friends for generations. However, Lewistown is also not immune to the issues that plague such communities. Because it is so representative of rural and small-town America — in both its blessings and its challenges — Lewistown could be a laboratory for analyzing and solving the health disparity issues faced by similar communities nationwide. And now it is. Thanks to a convergence of healthcare, academia and research at Geisinger, Lewistown is a growing hub of discovery and learning.
advantage of Geisinger’s practice model. We’re very fortunate to have that constellation of factors come together.” The “constellation” has, since 2013, shown results: •
In 2018, the Lewistown Family Medicine Residency Program, a collaborative effort between Geisinger and the Family Practice Center, was established with a substantial grant from the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA).
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In 2020, the Geisinger Lewistown Hospital Pharmacy Residency welcomed its first cohort of residents.
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In 2022, the first cohort of Geisinger Commonwealth medical students arrived at the newly launched West Campus.
Mifflin
Lewistown Ju
Lewistown’s community hospital has always been a gem, delivering basic services the surrounding area needed. The hospital also had its own diplomagranting nursing school. But when it was acquired in 2013 by Geisinger, the depth and breadth of services dramatically increased. Education leaders recognized they had an unusual opportunity. “Speaking from experience, it’s very hard to mount a medical student education program in a rural community hospital because of the accreditation requirements and the need for a coverage of a wide array of services,” said Geisinger College Provost and Vice Dean for Education William Jeffries, PhD. “With Geisinger, we have the ability to cover all the essentials — but the population is also uniquely rural and so we have the added opportunity to take
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•
In 2023, the Geisinger Lewistown Hospital School of Nursing dipolma program closed and the Geisinger School of Nursing opened, which offers an associate degree in nursing. To house the new school, the Geisinger College of Health Sciences began renovating a large property in the heart of Lewistown.
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In 2023, Geisinger also received two new HRSA grants: one for a first-of-its-kind in the Commonwealth residency program in preventive medicine and another for a Clinical Faculty and Preceptor Academy to enhance teaching skills of nursing faculty in the midAtlantic region.
Lycoming
School of Medicine
With medical and nursing students, and medicine and pharmacy residents, the West Campus is a hive of interprofessional education, another “uniquely Geisinger quality” that education claims. Fourth-year medical student Evan Bair has found the collaborative atmosphere energizing. “I worked with a pharmacy resident during my inpatient medicine rotation,” he said. “Right before I would present my patient, I would go to her and say, ‘Here’s what medication changes we’re making. What do you think?’ It was an interdisciplinary collaborative experience that I don’t think you’ll get anywhere else. We all got comfortable with collaborating and asking questions.”
Union
The Drive to THRIVE strategic plan calls for revving up the synergy with physical infrastructure.
Columbia Montour
W
Danville
“We’ll open a brand new state-of-the-art medical simulation center in the new home of the nursing school,” Julie Xanthopoulos, MD, PhD, regional associate dean of Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine’s West Campus in Lewistown said. “We plan to use that simulation space for all our learners, and we’re looking forward to doing simulations with mixed students working as a team.”
Northumberland
The new nursing school building, in the heart of Lewistown, will do more than host interprofessional activities. The plan is to open the doors of the renovated 46,660-square-foot building to the community.
Snyder
Rebecca Stoudt, PhD, DNP, CRNA, Geisinger College’s associate dean of nursing student education, explains the vision. “We’ll take part in the community life of Lewistown and invite people to come to the building for things like blood pressure screenings by the medical students. We’ll offer community education and let our neighbors hear from nurses, medical students and residents.”
Schuy
uniata
Dr. Xanthopoulos said learners respond to this focus on understanding the distinct place in which they are learning. “A small community likes ours puts the learner in a different perspective, where they’re aware of the impact we have on patients, families and the community,” she said. “In addition to infrastructure, we are building other community immersion partnerships too. We’re also working on an Amish healthcare elective at a clinic that’s a medical home for patients and their families from the Plain and English communities of Central Pennsylvania who have special needs caused by genetic disorders.”
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Mifflin
Lewistown Juniata School of Medicine
For Dr. Xanthopoulos, the change happening in Lewistown is personally meaningful because Lewistown is her hometown. She returned to it after earning her MD/PhD from Yale University. “I was born in this hospital that I work in,” she said. “And my grandfather was a family medicine doctor who did everything. I grew up watching how much he was appreciated. After my residency, I had planned to go on to fellowship and do more, but at that point I felt I could have meaningful relationships with patients here that I couldn’t have in a large city in a tertiary care setting with all its complexities. Sometimes I walk in a patient’s room and my name is up on the board and the patient expects to see my grandpa. I am constantly reminded of him and what he’s done for people.” Dr. Stoudt also comes from tiny, rural communities. She said that growing access in these communities is as important to her as the relationships she builds. “It just gives me chills because I came from a very small town in Indiana,” she said. “It was smaller than Lewistown and to get any kind of specialized healthcare, we had to travel a few hours away.”
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In addition to access to care, the West Campus gives back in another vital way — opportunity, especially that provided by the School of Nursing. “The resources that are available to students has vastly increased with the transition to the ADN program,” said Beth Finkbiner, MSN, RN, director of the School of Nursing. “Whether it’s academic assistance or mental health assistance or even library services, there’s just so much more since we joined the College and even the collaboration with other facilities within Geisinger. I think the community ultimately benefits, because most of our students are from this area and graduate to then fill positions at our local rural hospital.”
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Dr. Stoudt said that cycle is a powerful economic engine. “I can just share some of our students’ sentiments about having this opportunity to come to our school and become a nurse, especially those who are part of the Nursing Scholars program who receive tuition relief” she said. “This is giving them an opportunity to take themselves out of poverty. Some of our students are the first people in their family to go to college, so they’re very grateful for the chance.”
School of Medicine
Match Day Match Day 2023 saw 16 Geisinger Commonwealth students match at Geisinger. Meanwhile, Geisinger hospitals successfully matched 136 students into 26 residency programs. In addition, Geisinger’s newest residency programs, Child Neurology and
York
Integrated Vascular Surgery, both enjoyed successful matches.
geisinger.edu/matchday
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School of Medicine
A career in community. A legacy of excellence. “Employee No. 40,” founding department chair and regional dean Janet Townsend, MD announces retirement. Dr. Janet Townsend’s first day at The Commonwealth Medical College just happened to be the day the fledgling school got word of its preliminary accreditation by the LCME in 2008. She’s been at the center of every crucial moment in the life of the school ever since. That includes the charter class graduation in 2013, the moment “TCMC” became Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine in 2017, and the inaugural Geisinger Commonwealth Day in 2022 when Geisinger College of Health Sciences was announced. Of that first memorable day in Scranton, Dr. Townsend said, “So we’re in the bank building — we didn’t even have our own building yet — and everybody was nervous, waiting all day to hear from the LCME. And then we got the great news of our accreditation and everybody jumped for joy! We had everything ready to start to advertise the fact that the school had accreditation and would be recruiting, and that started the famous bus trip to recruit the Class of 2013.” As the recruitment bus made its way around Pennsylvania and some neighboring states and the faculty roster grew, Dr. Townsend was also occupied with helping to build a curriculum. That work, carried out by the core faculty and dedicated community partners, remains a source of great pride to Dr. Townsend. Central to the curriculum then and now is a strong focus on being accountable to community. “From this engagement with community came a number of positive developments, especially the Community Health Research Projects (CHRPS), conducted by first-year medical student groups in partnership with community health representatives and the development of the medical school’s Behavioral Health
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Initiative, which Dean Steven Scheinman initiated with key regional stakeholders,” she said. “That was really exciting work and many of those programs we developed were incorporated into the curriculum. Students got the experience of partnering with communities and that theme of partnership has been integral to our school from the beginning,” she said. As the school became more established, it became increasingly clear that it needed a stable clinical partner to continue to flourish. In 2017, The Commonwealth Medical College found that partner in Geisinger. “I thought integration with Geisinger was exactly what we needed to do to mature and to grow. I was very excited about it,” Dr. Townsend said. Dr. Townsend was tasked with establishing the Geisinger Commonwealth campus at Geisinger Medical Center in Danville. Since Dr. Townsend had spent her entire career before TCMC at Montefiore Medical Center in New York City, she said, “For me, it was like coming home. Here I was, once again in a big medical center and health system that provided high-value innovative care, sponsored cutting-edge research, and had a long tradition and experience of training medical students, residents and fellows. I was privileged to serve as a ‘bridge’ person, connecting medical school and system faculty members and leaders” During the latter phase of her tenure at Geisinger, Dr. Townsend also had the opportunity to contribute to the development of the Geisinger Lewistown Rural Family Medicine Residency, collaborate in the development of the primary care theme in the new medical school curriculum, and to work with regional education leaders in advancing rural primary care.
School of Medicine
When she was appointed as faculty affairs dean in 2020, her relationships with system clinicians and administrative leaders helped her team streamline many of the faculty appointment processes, mentor faculty members toward academic promotion, and work together with other members of Dr. Byerley’s leadership team to finalize the college’s strategic plan, part of which includes creating a “home” for faculty engagement and support under the leadership of Nicole Woll, PhD, MEd, including the new Academy of Educators. “It’s just remarkable. It’s going to bear so much fruit in the future,” she said. As she assesses her long and storied career, Dr. Townsend hopes she’ll leave a legacy that honors the vision of the medical school founders who wanted to create an institution that helps its region thrive. “I expect that the College will continue to look inward and self-assess, and adapt while also looking outward to partners whose voices, perspectives and strengths should inform our work.”
Upon Dr. Janet Townsend's retirement, Geisinger College has consolidated Faculty Affairs and Faculty Development into one group — the Center for Faculty and Professional Development — that will continue to advance work to: •
Strengthen the faculty role
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Enhance recognition of faculty contributions
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Oversee the promotions process, which is dependent on peer evaluation and faculty engagement in promotions committee work
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Support faculty to provide consistent, excellent teaching
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Expand and promote continuing professional development offerings
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Create a leading, national reputation for innovation and excellence in health professions education
This work is led by Nicole Woll, PhD, MEd, vice dean for faculty development, and will include office space in both Danville and Scranton, bringing together the resources of the entire academic system.
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School of Medicine
MD Commencement Geisinger Commonwealth’s ceremonial mace and academic regalia were again on display at the commencement celebration for the MD Class of 2023 in May. The keynote address was delivered by Old Forge native Catherine DeAngelis, MD, Johns Hopkins University Distinguished Service Professor Emerita.
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School of Medicine
White Coat MD Class of 2027
There were tears, cheers and plenty of bouquets at Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine’s 15th annual White Coat Ceremony, held for the Class of 2027 in August.
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School of Medicine
You’re speaking my language: The value of qualified interpreters
Triano
Olivia Granja became a qualified interpreter because she hoped one day she could use her native language to help patients. But the Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine third-year student never dreamed the day would come so soon.
“I was on my peds rotation at AtlantiCare, and we got a call because a woman had delivered her baby in the parking lot of the emergency room,” she said. While the team was still caring for the woman and her newborn, Granja learned that the patient only spoke Portuguese. “It turns out she was from Minas Gerais, a state in Brazil, but she was living in Newark and was on vacation in Atlantic City.” When Granja began to speak to the new mother and her family in Portuguese, the relief was palpable. “I was able to calm her — she was obviously very worked up — and I talked to the family, too, and gave them the address of the hospital she was being transferred to.” Qualified medical interpreters aren’t just people fluent in a certain language. The Americans with Disabilities Act defines a qualified interpreter as one “who is able to interpret effectively, accurately and impartially both receptively and expressively, using any necessary specialized vocabulary.” According to Becky Ruckno, Geisinger’s director of health literacy and interpreting services, qualified interpreters have passed skills-based assessments. “We have had truly bilingual staff that have failed that test,” she said. “It's a different skill set. Medical terminology is very different. And I can’t tell you how beneficial it is to be in the room with a person speaking your language instead of using [the remote interpretation service] LanguageLine. There's an increased trust in the patient — you can feel it.”
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Granja was in the position to fulfill this special role thanks to a new program at Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine. According to Mary Lawhon Triano, MSN, CRNP-C, medical director of the school’s Clinical Skills and Simulation Center and an assistant professor of medicine, the idea for the program came from the Class of 2023. “They really pushed us as we were thinking about changes in the curriculum that pertain to social justice and health equity,” she said. “The students connected me to Becky. She’s been a fabulous advocate for the program.” Fourth-year student Lizbeth Sandoval calls herself the new program’s “guinea pig.” She was the first to go through the process of becoming certified. As an Abigail Geisinger Scholar, she was eager to help the predominantly Spanish-speaking patients who visit Geisinger’s Wilkes-Barre primary care clinic, where she frequently rotated as a third-year student. “I was co-president of the Latino Medical Student Association, and I knew that Professor Triano was working on this project with some upperclassmen. She is faculty advisor for the club and we were brainstorming ideas as to what we could do to meet patient needs. I am a native Spanish speaker, but we didn’t know how to approach the process of getting certified.” Tasked with doing the “homework” on the process of getting certified, Sandoval took a special course and then took the test. “Interpretation Services at Geisinger set me up with LanguageLine, who administers the exam. Then I received a phone call and interpreted a conversation for about 30 minutes. With that, I was qualified!” In the year since, Sandoval has put her certification to good use many times. “I've been interacting with patients, and it's been a pretty awesome experience,” she said. “It's a unique situation that you're in as a student, because you're not just the interpreter for
School of Medicine
the physician-patient interaction — you're also part of the clinical team and you have that knowledge to be able to provide. You get to interpret but then you also get to educate the patients at a completely different level than an interpreter with an iPad would be able to do. A lot of times I'll introduce myself in Spanish, and the patient’s face lights up. I still offer the opportunity for them to use the LanguageLine iPad if they prefer, but 100% of the time they've said, ‘No! No! We’d rather speak to you.’”
Becky Ruckno wholeheartedly agrees with the reaction Sandoval reports. “One of our system interpreters was recently interpreting for a patient. The nurse asked the patient, ‘Have you ever experienced sexual violence?’ and when the question was interpreted for her, the woman asked, ‘Is this safe?’ The interpreter affirmed it was, and the woman grabbed her hand and said she was abused as a small girl and never told anybody until today. Of course, everybody was crying — but that's the power of being in the room.”
Mary Triano, MSN, CRNP-C, medical director of the Geisinger Commonwealth's Clinical Skills and Simulation Center and an assistant professor of medicine, was instrumental in launching the 'students as qualified interpreters' program with a group of concerned students of the Class of 2023. Here she works with members of the Class of 2027.
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School of Medicine
Geisinger Commonwealth Day In October, Geisinger College of Health Sciences celebrated its second Geisinger Commonwealth Day — an annual event honoring the college’s past and embracing its future. Attendees toured the Medical Sciences Building, had the opportunity to sign up for the MyCode® Community Health Initiative and learned about research opportunities for students and learners.
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School of Medicine
Turkey Trot Geisinger Games
New Abigail Geisinger Scholars
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Graduate Medical Education
Graduate Medical Education Strategic Priority
Define workforce needs for our system and our region
Grant establishes ‘first of its kind’ preventive medicine residency program in Pennsylvania Graduate Medical Education has been awarded a three-year, $750,000 Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) grant focused on the Thompson development of a public health — general preventive medicine (PH/GPM) rural residency program — the first of its kind in Pennsylvania. Based at Geisinger Lewistown Hospital, the residency program will primarily serve the communities of Mifflin, Juniata and surrounding counties, while creating opportunities for health promotion and disease prevention across Geisinger and in the Commonwealth. “This program is the first of its kind to receive funding from HRSA’s Rural Residency Grant Planning
Geisinger Wyoming Valley graduates its first internal medicine cohort of 13 residents. Program director, Dr. Wasique Mirza said of the first 13 residents, “Internal medicine residents are the backbone of any clinical service. It was a big missing piece in the Northeast.”
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Program and will support development of physicians who are knowledgeable in the unique care needs seen in rural populations. Currently in the United States, only four of the 64 accredited PH/GPM programs are located in rural regions and access to this training is unavailable in Pennsylvania,” said Michelle Thompson, MD, Geisinger’s designated institutional official, chief education officer and vice dean for graduate medical education. We anticipate initial residency accreditation for the three-year program in 2026, with the first class of two residents matriculating in 2027,” she said. “We’re grateful for the opportunity to collaborate with the Pennsylvania Department of Health and Geisinger College of Health Sciences’ School of Graduate Education to design a public health/general preventive medicine residency program dedicated to improving health in Geisinger’s Western Region and making better health easier for all Geisinger patients — no matter where they live.”
Graduate Medical Education
Additional grant funding strengthens graduate-level primary care curricula targeting screening, care of eating disorders training into the primary care behavioral and mental health curriculum delivered to our Lewistown family medicine residents. Specifically, the funding will support faculty time in developing eating disorder curriculum that will be integrated into both formal didactics and experiential learning.” Maneval
Townsend
In May, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) notified Geisinger that it would receive additional funds for graduate medical education programs in primary care. Designated Institutional Official Michelle Thompson, MD, said the funds will be used to implement training on Screening, Brief Intervention and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) for eating disorders. SBIRT is a public health approach to the delivery of early intervention and treatment services for people with eating disorders and those at risk of developing them. Dr. Thompson, who is chief education officer and vice dean for Graduate Medical Education, said, “The money will be used to incorporate this important
“Faculty support will be instrumental to the development of content to help diagnose and provide effective, comprehensive care for eating disorder patients,” said Mandy Maneval, MD, PhD, Geisinger Lewistown’s family medicine program director. “Through this education, our program aspires to increase access to and availability of primary care physicians ready to care for these vulnerable patients.” The additional funding is part of a larger, five-year HRSA-funded Primary Care Training Enhancement (PCTE) grant awarded in 2020 to increase the preparedness of family residents to practice in rural and underserved areas. Dr. Thompson serves as principal investigator on the grant, and Dr. Maneval and Janet Townsend, MD, professor emerita, are co-investigators.
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Graduate Medical Education
Inaugural New Resident Welcome Fair A new start in a strange place for a high-stakes career you’ve been dreaming of your whole life — what’s there to be stressed about? Fortunately, for the new residents who just arrived at Geisinger, special welcome events just for them were held both in the Northeast and in Danville. In Danville, the borough closed part of Mill Street so residents could mix and mingle with their new colleagues and members of the community and get acquainted with their new home.
Tompkins
“This year we decided to reimagine our welcome event and help increase traffic to the downtown businesses — to really make that connection for all of our new learners,” said Jessica Brown, education specialist.
organizations, churches, animal care and childcare. We also encouraged residents to visit the downtown restaurants. We received positive feedback from store owners regarding how well the event went.” Ms. Brown said planning the event was truly a team effort “My favorite part of this whole process was the positive reactions we received, and the photos shared. Overall, the fair was a success.”
Schuyler
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The weather cooperated and the turnout was great, Ms. Brown said. “The event included our new interns, as well as program directors, current residents and fellows, and many community members,” she said. “There were about 60 vendors ranging from nonprofit organizations to some of the borough
Tioga
Sayre Bradford
Tioga
Susquehanna Wayne Lackawanna
Resident and Fellow Teachers Wyomingof the Year
Scranton
Sullivan
Pike
Lycoming
n Matthew Hart, MD
Resident Teacher of the Year, Central
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Columbia Fellow Teacher of Montour the Year, Central Salman Kahn, MD
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Northumberland
Wilkes-Barre James Haggerty, DO
Suman Kaza, MD
the Year, Northeast
Fellow Teacher of the Year, Northeast
Luzerne Resident Teacher of
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School of Nursing
School of Nursing Strategic Priority
Start a nursing school that becomes a nationally recognized leader in rapid workforce development and preceptor training
Grant-funded Clinical Faculty and Preceptor Academy educates nurse faculty
Rebecca Stoudt
In 2022, Geisinger received a Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) grant to grow its nursing preceptor and clinical instructor workforce by establishing a Clinical Faculty and Preceptor Academy (CFPA).
Two components are associated with the CFPA: •
The first part is an educational training component that includes multiple modules of education with a certificate from Geisinger School of Nursing, along with continuing education credits.
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The second part is resources and updates for reference, including future updates to training based on current trends. The new skills, techniques and knowledge gained from this program will allow clinical faculty and/or preceptors to provide elevated educational experiences that enhance nursing education.
According to Rebecca Stoudt, DNP, PhD, CRNA, Geisinger College of Health Sciences associate dean of nursing student education, the HRSA grant helped “develop online, self-directed learning modules that can be used by nurses interested in taking on an additional educational role as a preceptor or clinical instructor.” She added, “These modules address traditional concerns of nurse education, but also include more timely content, such as diversity, equity and inclusion and social determinants of health. Our goal was to make it easy for nurses to adopt teaching roles in addition to their responsibilities at the bedside and to incentivize them to do so. As such, until the grant runs out in 2026, it also funds a financial incentive program for Geisinger nurses (LPN and RN) who take on the roles of preceptors and clinical faculty.” The program is intended to encourage nurses to work as preceptors and clinical faculty for nursing students The CFPA will fill the existing clinical faculty gap and strengthen undergraduate nursing education. It supports professional growth and development of staff, educators, clinical faculty and preceptors, which will in turn improve the severe nursing shortage that has worsened since the pandemic.
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School of Nursing
Commencement Twenty-three students earned their diplomas in professional nursing on Aug. 4. The class of 2023 is the final diploma program at Geisinger Lewistown Hospital School of Nursing. Beginning in 2024, students work toward earning their associate degree in nursing from the newly opened Geisinger School of Nursing.
Geisinger’s School of Nursing will have a brand-new home. The former Bon-Ton building located in the heart of Lewistown’s downtown is undergoing a $10 million renovation that will be completed in the spring of 2024. “We’re really proud to be moving to the downtown area and are so excited to transition our students and faculty into a space that represents what we stand for — excellence,” said Stacey Osborne, vice president, chief nursing officer, Geisinger Lewistown Hospital. “This is a pivotal move for our school and reflects our teams’ many hours of hard work.”
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School of Graduate Education
School of Graduate Education Strategic Priority
Education that adds value to the system and targets the health of larger community
MBS students 'HELP' improve quality of life for elderly patients Sixteen Geisinger School of Graduate Education Master of Biomedical Sciences (MBS) students will spend some time this semester working to enhance the quality of life for elderly patients, thanks to a partnership with Geisinger Volunteer Services’ Hospital Elder Life Program (HELP).
In addition to personal satisfaction, the student experience is enhanced by the opportunity to work with a multidisciplinary clinical team and gain research opportunities.
Student HELP volunteers spend time interacting with patients while watching for signs of delirium. During their weekly shift, they provide companionship and aid with walking and meals. Since the partnership with the MBS students began in 2020, the program reports increases in patient satisfaction and decreases in fall rates, readmissions and length of stay for HELP patients at Geisinger Wyoming Valley Medical Center and Geisinger Community Medical Center.
Commencement Geisinger College of Health Sciences conferred 56 Master of Biomedical Sciences (MBS) degrees upon students who composed Geisinger Commonwealth’s MBS Class of 2023. Commencement ceremonies were held virtually.
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Faculty Development
Faculty Strategic Priority
Create a leading, national reputation for innovation and excellence in health professions education through the Academy of Educators
Geisinger Academy of Educators inducts new members and bestows awards Geisinger Academy of Educators held its second induction and advancement ceremony in October. Educators from across the system gathered to celebrate the first members of the Academy to receive Excellence in Education Awards who were (from left to right): Stephen Voyce, MD, chief of cardiology at Geisinger Community Medical Center for the Geisinger Heart Institute and director of clinical cardiology research, who was also selected as an inaugural inductee to the Geisinger Internal Medicine Residency Faculty Honor Roll for contributions to teaching and mentorship. Youngjin Cho, MS, PhD, assistant professor of immunology in the Department of Medical Education. Jodie Reider, MD, associate program director for the Internal Medicine Residency Program and codirector of the Internal Medicine Residency Clinician Educator Track.
Mark F. Olaf, DO, FACEP, vice chair of education for emergency medicine and associate regional dean for Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine and distinguished fellow of the American College of Emergency Physicians Teaching Fellowship.
Excellent communication, key to provider effectiveness, honed in simulation programs Dan Davis, PhD, chief bioethics officer and professor and director, Center for Translational Bioethics and Health Care Policy interacts with a standardized patient. Geisinger’s Healthcare Communication Program team builds training programs that simulate the many different kinds of sensitive conversations — from acknowledging error to delivering bad news — that medical teams engage in every day.
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School of Medicine
Philanthropy Strategic Priority
Targeting the health needs of our community
Funding the future of medicine A donor reception celebrated philanthropy at Geisinger Commonwealth and honored donors who support endowed or annual scholarships. Scholars personally expressed their gratitude and Michelle Schmude, EdD, detailed the medical school’s exacting admissions process that matches donors’ wishes with students who can best fulfill them. To make a donation, contact the Geisinger Foundation at 570-271-6461 or visit geisinger.edu/gcsomdonate.
Alumni profile ALUMNI: We want to share your news and stories –like this one from Matthew Mullen, MD, a member of the Charter Class of 2013. The double board-certified adult cardiac surgeon is now a Geisinger physician himself, performing minimally invasive open heart surgery at Geisinger Community Medical Center in Scranton. “It was always in the back of my mind that I would come back to northeast Pennsylvania once I finished training,” he said. “The whole purpose of the new med school was to improve the healthcare offered in this region and I felt that I would be able to contribute in a meaningful way with the skills that I learned in residency at the University of Virginia.” He also contributes to the community he loves by mentoring Geisinger Commonwealth students and lecturing at the School of Medicine. “Obviously patient care is the number one priority, but advancing the field and training people under you — that’s what academic medicine means.” Do you have news you’d like to share with your fellow alumni? Let us know at geisinger.edu/alumniupdate.
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Geisinger College of Health Sciences 525 Pine St., Scranton, PA 18509 geisinger.edu/gchs
Abigail Geisinger Scholar spotlight Giving is the foundation of change For Anitza Quintero, emphasis on community is key. Inspired by her parents and using the strength and work ethic they instilled, Anitza Quintero’s mission is to care for those who are most vulnerable. Propelled by her desire to be of service, she went to South and Central America on mission trips in college. After graduation, she worked in a small Texas border town helping migrant children as a case manager. These experiences helped solidify her decision to pursue medicine. “Working at the border, I felt like I was doing real work for a big, important issue, which is serving underserved populations,” she said. “Being handson, learning and immersing myself in a different culture started drawing my attention to community-focused medical schools. I found that Geisinger was doing that; it was helping the community. Very early on I realized that Geisinger values giving — not only giving financial support but giving your time and passion. I think giving is the foundation of change, so that resonated with me. The more research I did, I found out there’s actually a program dedicated to helping the community. What better way to teach young, incoming medical students that this is the way you’ll work later on. You’re transforming these principles into real-time work, and that’s something that I value.”
Geisinger College of Health Sciences is committed to non-discrimination in all employment and educational opportunities.
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