DANVILLE -- With 5,000 new jobs added in the past decade, Geisinger Health System has increased its workforce by 72 percent, Dr. Victor Vogel told members of the Greater Susquehanna Valley Chamber of Commerce.
Speaking Thursday in the Danville Elks, Vogel said there were 700 physicians when he arrived at Geisinger in April 2010 and now there are more than 900 doctors. "We can't provide the expert care without expert people," he said.
The health care system employs 14,500 people, which equates to more than $1 billion in salaries, training and education, he said.
Geisinger impacted the region with nearly $266 million in community support in 2010, he said. The 2011 figure, which isn't available yet, should be larger, said Vogel, director of the Geisinger Cancer Institute and an oncologist.
Geisinger provided more than $173 million in 2010 to treat the elderly and the poor where the cost wasn't covered by Medicare and Medicaid. Geisinger provided $25 million in free care to people who didn't have insurance or couldn't afford care.
The health care system spent $12.5 million on research. "This is my 25th year in medicine, and none of the drugs and strategies I used to treat breast cancer were available in 1986, and it's all because of research, which is very important," he said.
With Geisinger recognized as a national model and a financial success in an environment that is becoming increasingly challenging, Geisinger is working actively to innovate, improve and be creative, he said.
Geisinger serves an area from State College to Wilkes-Barre, home to 2.5 million to 3 million people.
"I grew up on farms in York County and lived in cities all my life after college. I think of Geisinger as an expanded city," Vogel said.
"Geisinger has great plans for new programs and new facilities," he said.
