Letter to the Editor: Wilkes-Barre General Hospital is Vital to the Community

4/11/2024

Last year, our hospital and clinic team played a vital role in more than 569,000 encounters where we helped people get well and live healthier. Around the clock, every day of the year, regardless of holidays, weather or other disruptions – we are here for our community. The skills, talents and energy of our employees and physicians are the force powering all that we do and I am grateful for their steady focus on delivering safe, quality care and a compassionate experience for patients.

We care deeply about all the patients we serve. Life-saving medically necessary care is provided for all patients in our emergency room, regardless of their ability to pay. Members of our community who cannot fully afford their medical care are provided deep discounts or even charity care. Last year, we provided more than $22 million in charity and uncompensated care for the community’s most vulnerable.

Our hospital continues to grow and evolve and we are applying our resources toward the services, facilities and technologies that are important to our patients. As part of the hospital’s growing full-service cardiac program the structural heart team performed the first transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) in June 2023, a specialized catheter-based minimally invasive procedure that can be an alternative for open-heart surgery.

Access has been enhanced by Commonwealth Health Physician Network’s recruitment of specialists for interventional cardiology, cardiac electrophysiology, and general surgery which means more specialty services here locally.

Our impact extends beyond our campus; including the more than $11 million in taxes we pay that support critical infrastructure such as first responders, schools and roads. And the payroll of $150 million ripples through the local economy as employees buy goods and services.

Wilkes-Barre General Hospital is essential to our community and we are able to perform our vital role through the commitment and compassion of every member of our team. We are honored to serve and extremely proud of our hospital’s $208 million community impact in 2023.

Helping people get well and live healthier is rewarding work, and we are grateful for the trust every patient places in us.

Chris Howe
Interim CEO Commonwealth Health Wilkes-Barre General Hospital

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