CareSite Pharmacy

TUNKHANNOCK TWP. - A new Geisinger medical facility that is scheduled to open for patients on Nov. 6 will house its own pharmacy. Geisinger officials gave a tour of the new 25,000-square-foot building to media on Wednesday, and say the state of the art facility will provide an arrange of services. Among them are family medicine, internal medicine, general surgery, ENT (ears, nose and throat), OB/GYN, cardiology, audiology, neurology, otolaryngology, thoracic surgery and ophthalmology. The new facility will have a pharmacy operating under the CareSite name. It will provide a fullline of prescription medications and other health care products. “The opening of this new facility is evidence of Geisigner’s commitment to advancing quality care here in Wyoming County,” John Gardner, Wyoming County medical director for Geisinger, said. He noted that in six months they hope to hire a specialist for rheumatology and dermatology.

Meanwhile, Geisinger is selling its Route 6 Meshoppen and the West Tioga Street Tunkhannock clinics. “There has been a lot of interest,” Dr. Gardner said. He noted that interest has come from a wide-variety of people, including professionals and retail establishments. Although Geisinger is also leaving its location at the Tyler Memorial Hospital, Geisinger physicians will continue to admit patients and do procedures at the hospital. The Tyler, Tunkhannock and Meshoppen clinics handled some 20,000 patient visits a year. Groundbreaking for the new facility, which is located at the intersection of Route 6 and Trieble Road just west of Tunkhannock, was held in August 2005. The project has a total cost of $4.3 million. “The nice thing about this facility is that we will have electronic connectivity,” Lori Zaleski, CareSite Pharmacy regional manager, said.

The connectivity will allow Geisinger staff to order medications electronically. Physicians will be able to share X-rays with patients in a digital format on computer monitors in an examination room. The Tunkhannock, Meshoppen and Tyler facilities didn’t have an on-site pharmacy or an infusion treatment room. As a result, Wyoming County residents in need of infusion therapy had to travel to hospitals and clinics outside the county.

Other services available include optometry, X-rays, DXA (bone density) scanning and nutrition counseling. It will employ 50 people. The opening of the clinic coincides with the organization’s 20th anniversary celebration. An open house to the public is scheduled for Sunday, Nov. 18. Geisinger, which was founded in 1915, also operates another clinic in Wyoming County on Route 11 in Nicholson. The medical group now serves 2.5 million people in 40 counties throughout the state.