LEWISTOWN — Geisinger-Lewistown Hospital is expanding its surgical services in the Lewistown area.

The focus of the services is dedicated to interventional pain, ophthalmology and other full capabilities of outpatient surgeries.

Geisinger Surgery Center — Highland Park in Mifflin County will offer several outpatient services, while creating needed capacity within the hospital’s main surgical suite. This will allow better access to ambulatory procedures within a modern, outpatient setting and accommodate planned growth within the hospital for total joint replacement, spine, urogynecology, endoscopy, general and colorectal surgeries, among others. The facility will be located in the former Mifflin County Surgery Center that was privately owned and is located beside the Geisinger-Lewistown Hospital (GLH) administrative suite.

The $6.5 million project is Geisinger’s latest investment in the Lewistown area and will support 13 new jobs and will serve 2,300 patients each year. Earlier this year, newly renovated space at Geisinger-Lewistown Hospital opened for patients needing nephrology and hematology and oncology care. Another recent investment by Geisinger in the Lewistown area was the purchase of the former Bon-Ton building for the expansion of the Geisinger School of Nursing.

“Geisinger continues to support our teams, facilities and programs here in Lewistown,” remarked Kirk Thomas, chief administrative officer, Western Region. “We’re investing in high-quality programs that provide care to meet our patients’ needs right where they live. We’re also investing in our community and that is the heart of what we do.”

The surgery center will have five pre- and post-surgery bays and two operating rooms that will provide full capability for outpatient surgery and extend the total number of operating rooms on the GLH campus to eight.

“This facility will be truly comprehensive and patient focused, allowing our neighbors to receive state-of-the-art care options here in Mifflin County,” Kirk said.

The center is anticipated to open in early 2024.