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Board approves merger

LEWISTOWN – Lewistown Healthcare Foundation voted Thursday evening to approve the Comprehensive Integration and Merger Agreement with the leadership of Geisinger Health System. The 12 members present at the meeting voted unanimously in favor of the merger, said Lewistown Hospital President and CEO Kay Hamilton.

“We are very excited that Lewistown Hospital’s Board has voted to support a merger with Geisinger Health System,” Hamilton said. “Lewistown Hospital is an integral part of the community. We see this merger as critical in positioning the organization for the future to continue to care for patients in Lewistown and neighboring communities.”

This vote was a necessary step in the process to fully merge and integrate Lewistown Hospital and its entities into Geisinger Health System, Hamilton said.

The Lewistown Hospital corporate membership and the Geisinger Board of Directors will vote on the integration and merger later this month. Finalization of the merger is pending regulatory approval by the state Attorney General’s Office, the Pennsylvania Department of Health and other federal regulators. The merger is expected to be finalized within the next three months.

“We believe together we can build programs, grow services, improve outcomes and demonstrate value,” said Geisinger President and CEO Glenn Steele Jr. “Lewistown Hospital has a long history of providing excellent care for patients. We look forward to building on that excellence to ensure the residents of Lewistown continue to have access to quality care, close to home.”

Lewistown Hospital and Geisinger has been working together for a number of years to develop programs like the hospitalist, tele-stroke, tele-echo and eICU. The Geisinger-Lewistown physician practice has served the community since 1983 and a second primary care practice is located in Juniata. Geisinger also acquired Lewistown Cardiology Associates in October 2011 and Juniata Valley Gastroenterology Associates and Endoscopy Center in May 2012.

For more information on the merger of Lewistown Hospital and Geisinger Health Systems, visit lewistownhospital.org.

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