Geisinger Community Medical Center begins renovation to add neonatal intensive care unit

SCRANTON, Pa. - Renovation is underway at Geisinger Community Medical Center to provide more intensive care for newborns in Lackawanna County.

Work began in late May on the hospital's third floor to add a Level II neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) that is expected to open in the last quarter of this year. A Level II NICU is a specialty care nursery capable of caring for babies as young as 32 weeks gestation and as small as about 3.3 pounds.

Children born in this range of prematurity often need help eating or breathing until they get strong enough to thrive without assistance. Babies who remain on a Level II NICU for care can be moderately ill, but their conditions are expected to resolve with care.

The Level II NICU will integrate seamlessly with the Level III NICU at Geisinger Wyoming Valley Medical Center in Wilkes-Barre and Level IV NICU at Geisinger Medical Center in Danville. The combined offerings will provide comprehensive critical care to infants and support to their families during one of their greatest times of need.

"Our Level II NICU at Geisinger Community Medical Center will allow us to care for more babies and their families right here in the greater Scranton area and northeastern Pennsylvania community by enhancing our capability to care for premature and sick newborns," said Ben Lee, M.D., director of the Division of Neonatology in Geisinger's northeast region. "Whether your baby is born in good health or in need of intensive care, our network of NICUs in NEPA and in the Geisinger system will be with you to provide the care your baby needs."

The 7,100-square-foot unit at Geisinger Community Medical Center will house seven neonatal specialty care beds adjacent to the hospital's Childbirth Center and postpartum unit.

The NICU will also feature dedicated space for care teams and a lounge for families and visitors. The $7.7 million investment in care for mothers and babies is the latest in a wave of recent need-driven improvements to the medical center.

"Providing a higher acuity of care for newborns at Geisinger Community Medical Center grows and strengthens the services we offer and continue to expand in Scranton," said Nick Coleman, associate vice president of clinical operations in Geisinger's northeast region. "Over the last two years alone, we've added capability in inpatient care, postpartum care and diagnostic imaging, and renovations to add more postpartum beds and emergency medicine capacity are progressing."

About Geisinger

Geisinger is among the nation's leading providers of value-based care, serving 1.2 million people in rural and urban communities across central and northeastern Pennsylvania. Founded in 1915 by philanthropist Abigail Geisinger, the nonprofit system generates $9 billion in annual revenues across more than 130 care sites - including 10 hospital campuses - and Geisinger Health Plan, with 509,000+ enrollees in commercial and government plans. Geisinger College of Health Sciences educates more than 600 medical professionals annually and conducts more than 1,600 clinical research studies. With 28,000 employees, including 1,900 employed physicians and 5,400 registered nurses, Geisinger is among Pennsylvania's largest employers with an estimated economic impact of $18 billion on the state's economy. In 2024, Geisinger joined Risant Health, a nonprofit charitable organization created to expand and accelerate value-based care across the country. Learn more at geisinger.org or connect with us on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.