Wilkes-Barre General Hospital
Commonwealth Health Wilkes-Barre General Hospital is celebrating 150 years of service to the community. Founded in 1872, Wilkes-Barre General Hospital was the first hospital in the Wyoming Valley. Every year, we take care of thousands of patients and families across Northeastern Pennsylvania. From primary care to more than 60 medical specialties, as well as acute care and specialty hospitals, and walk-in clinics, our commitment to our patients is unwavering. We also contribute significantly to the economic health of the community - employing thousands of people, paying taxes, and donating to charities. We are firmly committed to delivering better healthcare to our patients and to helping our communities grow and prosper.
Wilkes-Barre General Hospital is Northeastern Pennsylvania’s largest community hospital with 412 beds and a medical staff of more than 400 physicians representing nearly 60 medical and surgical specialties.
Wilkes-Barre General Hospital has long been recognized for excellence in heart and vascular care, and offers advanced treatment for wide-ranging specialties, including orthopedic surgery, neurosurgery and minimally invasive robotic-assisted procedures.
Accredited Geriatric Emergency Room
The accredited geriatric emergency department at Wilkes-Barre General Hospital is one of just three emergency departments in Pennsylvania – and the only one in Northeastern PA – to achieve accreditation from the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP). As the area's only Accredited Geriatric ER, Wilkes-Barre General Hospital is dedicated to providing specialized emergency care to our aging population and is focused on providing the highest level of care for our patients, their families and our community.
Emergency services for seniors:
Heart and Vascular Institute
The Commonwealth Heart and Vascular Institute at Wilkes-Barre General Hospital offers a range of cardiac care, from an array of diagnostic and interventional cardiology to open-heart surgery and rehabilitation. The Heart and Vascular Institute is directly above the emergency department and near the existing operating rooms to ensure rapid diagnosis and treatment.
Chest Pain Center - The Chest Pain Center at the Heart and Vascular Institute is fully accredited by the Society of Chest Pain Centers. The unit is designed to improve the evaluation and treatment of chest pain, reduce length of stay, improve ED-to-bed time and to help eliminate gridlock within the hospital telemetry areas.
Stroke Center - Our accredited stroke center meets strict national standards that support better outcomes for stroke care, treatment, rehabilitation and recovery. Our stroke center offers patients a range of treatment options including neurosurgery, neurological critical care, tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) medication, and sophisticated endovascular procedures, such as thrombectomy, angioplasty, coiling and stenting. Our stroke center, together with our rehab center, are committed to patient-centered collaborative acute neurological and stroke care through aggressive early intervention and progressive treatment which focuses on each patient’s individual needs.
Robotics
This program gives our surgeons the technology to provide patients more options and achieve better outcomes, while providing an alternative to both traditional open surgery and conventional laparoscopy. In robotic surgery, the surgeons’ hands are at the controls of a high-tech robotic platform that enables them to perform even the most complex and delicate procedures through very small incisions.
Surgeons have access to the hospital’s two robots which utilize the most advanced features in robotic-assisted surgery.
Epicenter - One of the first Epicenters for robotic general surgery in the country, Wilkes-Barre General Hospital is a training site for surgeons to observe routine and complex robotic-assisted general surgery cases. Doctors and entire surgical teams from around the United States visit Wilkes-Barre General to observe sophisticated, minimally invasive procedures.
Orthopedics
Joint Center
Wilkes-Barre General Hospital’s orthopedics program has been designated a Blue Distinction Center-Plus for spine surgery and a Blue Distinction Center for knee and hip replacement surgery by Blue Cross/Blue Shield.
Our Joint Center features a team of skilled, experienced orthopedic surgeons, nurses and other health care professionals who provide the latest in orthopedic treatment and surgical techniques. While we explore alternatives to surgery whenever possible, we perform nearly 2,000 surgical procedures (including arthroscopic and reconstructive techniques) each year.
Breast Imaging Center of Excellence
The Women’s Imaging Center at the Thomas P. Saxton Medical Pavilion, Edwardsville, has earned designation as a Breast Imaging Center of Excellence by the American College of Radiology (ACR), a recognition granted to facilities that meet stringent accreditation requirements for mammography, stereotactic breast biopsy, breast ultrasound and ultrasound-guided breast biopsy.
The center offers digital breast tomosynthesis, also known as 3D mammography, a revolutionary new screening and diagnostic breast imaging tool to improve the early detection of breast cancer.
Center for Advanced Endoscopy
The Commonwealth Health Center for Advanced Endoscopy at Wilkes-Barre General Hospital is on the first floor of the hospital and includes four procedure rooms, 11 pre- and post-operative recovery bays and a waiting area.
A team of highly specialized experts perform specialty procedures in this center including:
- Capsule pH testing
- Colonoscopy
- Gastroscopy
- Esophageal motility
- Enteroscopy
- Stent placement
- Colon decompression
- Bronchoscopy
- ERCP
- Flexible sigmoid
- Interventional procedures
- Polypectomy