LEWISTOWN -- Geisinger said the day-to-day operations of the health system, including Geisinger-Lewistown Hospital, will not change and it does not anticipate staff cuts.
These comments came after Geisinger was acquired by Kaiser Permanente as part of a new national non-profit health care initiative, Risant Health.
"Risant Health is designed to enable its health systems to continue to operate as regional or community-based health systems serving and meeting the needs of their communities, providers and health plans while gaining expertise, resources and support through Risant Health," Geisinger Chief Marketing and Communications Officer Don Stanziano said.
"Geisinger will operate independently under Risant Health and maintain its focus on serving its communities to make better health easier."
Geisinger officials want to assure patients, the health system will remain "exactly the same," Geisinger President and CEO Dr. Jaewon Ryu told reporters during a press conference on Wednesday.
The acquisition still needs regulatory approval. "It is structured in a way that preserves local ownership, all the localness of Geisinger," Ryu added.
The name above the door is not changing, as of now, Stanziano said.
"Geisinger's headquarters will remain in Danville," he explained. "Geisinger will continue to invest in current and new facilities, services and technologies to keep its communities healthy and allow it to accelerate and expand its impact to more communities across Pennsylvania and beyond."
Geisinger serves more than one million patients at its 10 hospitals. It has more than 25,000 employees and 1,700 doctors along with its health plan, a research institute and its College of Health Sciences, which includes schools of medicine, nursing and graduate education.
The partnership with Kaiser will also not impact ongoing projects Geisinger has underway, including the new School of Nursing which is scheduled to open in April or May 2024.