Latest news with #Geisinger
Dominion Post
31-07-2025
- Health
- Dominion Post
UPMC cuts ribbon on WV GoHealth Urgent Cares
MORGANTOWN – UPMC has opened 81 urgent care centers across Pennsylvania and West Virginia, and celebrated Wednesday with a ribbon-cutting at its Waynesburg, Pa. Site. Its 23 West Virginia locations are all former MedExpress sites – including the Morgantown UPMC-GoHealth Urgent Care at the corner of 705 and Pineview Drive. UPMC also held ribbon-cuttings last week at its Weirton and Charleston urgent cares. The ribbon-cutting ceremony in Waynesburg. Photo courtesy of UPMC. 'The UPMC mission is to serve our communities with outstanding patient care, which is why we are pleased to partner with GoHealth,' said Dr. Donald M. Yealy, chief medical officer and chair of emergency medicine at UPMC. 'UPMC-GoHealth Urgent Care will allow us to serve you even better with convenient, flexible access to high-quality health care when and where you need it.' UPMC said its new UPMC-GoHealth partnership 'creates a digital and physical front door to connect patients to care within the robust network of trusted UPMC physicians and specialists. It also brings more ambulatory services, such as primary care, women's health, orthopedics and radiology, closer to communities that need them.' UPMC-GoHealth Urgent Care centers provide care for non-life-threatening acute conditions, including flu, fever, earaches, insect bites, sprains, simple fractures, cuts requiring stitches and more for patients ages 6 months and older, UPMC said. The centers will accept most major insurance, including UPMC Health Plan, Highmark, Geisinger, Medicare and Medicaid, and provide self-pay options. In Pennsylvania, the UPMC-GoHealth Urgent Care network incorporates former MedExpress, UPMC Urgent Care and UPMC Express Care locations. In announcing Wednesday's ribbon-cutting, UPMC commented regarding its West Virginia presence, 'Going forward, we are exploring plans for future services that will serve defined health needs of these communities.' Its Morgantown UPMC-GoHealth Urgent Care is situated between the Vandalia Health Mon Medical Center campus and WVU Medicine's Ruby Memorial Hospital campus. Given that Vandalia and WVU Medicine are existing statewide healthcare systems, The Dominion Post asked UPMC its thoughts on establishing a West Virginia presence. John Reasbeck, Vice President of Community & Ambulatory Care, said, 'UPMC is committed to serving our communities with outstanding health care and the new UPMC-GoHealth partnership further cements that commitment. … If patients need follow-up or specialty care, our clinicians will provide easy referral to UPMC's world class system of specialists. We're also happy to refer patients and provide visit records to any credentialed clinician of their choosing.' We asked Vandalia and WVU Medicine their thoughts on UPMC expanding into West Virginia. David Goldberg, president and CEO of Vandalia Health-Northern Region, and executive vice president of Vandalia Health, said, 'We welcome UPMC Go-Health to the community. MedExpress has had a longstanding and positive presence in our region, faithfully serving our friends and neighbors. We look forward to continuing a collaborative relationship to ensure patients have timely access to care, including our Vandalia Health specialists, and a choice of providers.' WVU Medicine confined its comments to the Waynesburg ribbon-cutting, with a spokesperson saying, 'Since opening a WVU Medicine Urgent Care location adjacent to our Waynesburg clinic several weeks ago, our providers have been seeing dozens of patients every day. We're honored to serve the community with this additional service in Greene County.' MedExpress originated in Morgantown in 2001. Optum, a United Health Group subsidiary, bought MedExpress in 2015. By then, it had expanded to 141 centers in 11 states. The UPMC-GoHealth partnership announced plans to acquire the MedExpress locations in Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Virginia last October. The Dominion Post reported in August 2023 that MedExpress was eliminating all of its registered nursing positions at all of its medical centers. We asked UPMC it it would be employing registered nurses at its UPMC-GoHealth Urgent Care centers, and Reasbeck said no. However he said, 'UPMC-GoHealth Urgent Care has retained existing staff and is hiring more.' UPMC operates more than 40 hospitals and 800 outpatient sites in Pennsylvania, New York, and Maryland, as well as overseas. UPMC Insurance Services covers more than 4 million members. GoHealth said it partners with health systems to simplify and improve the way patients access high-quality healthcare for non-life-threatening conditions. Its on-demand care platform serves 12 health system partners across 16 states at approximately 400 co-branded neighborhood centers. Todd Latz, CEO of GoHealth, said, 'Today's health care consumers expect frictionless, high-quality health care that fits their lives – care that is convenient, personal and connected. By combining our on-demand care, operational expertise and experience, both in-center and virtually, with the long tradition of UPMC clinical excellence and deep understanding of the local health care landscape, we will make easy access to high-quality care a reality for many more people.'
Medscape
30-06-2025
- Health
- Medscape
Bariatric Surgery Boosts Self-Esteem, But Does It Last?
The benefits of bariatric surgery can extend beyond physical weight loss and improved metabolic parameters, according to a new study finding that self-esteem surges in the first year following the surgery. 'We certainly know that bariatric surgery can help with diabetes, hypertension, and sleep apnea, but we don't talk as much about how obesity affects basic self-esteem — how the patient feels about themselves,' study investigator Justin Dhyani, MD, Geisinger Medical Center, Danville, Pennsylvania, told Medscape Medical News . 'It seems logical that when a patient loses weight, self-esteem will increase, but the nearly 40-point rise in self-esteem scores we saw in just 12 months was really impressive,' said Dhyani. But how long does it last? Leslie Heinberg, PhD, Department of Psychiatry and Psychology, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, told Medscape Medical News that the self-esteem boost in the first year after surgery noted in this study is 'absolutely in line' with her own clinical observations. It's after the first year when challenges may arise, said Heinberg, who wasn't involved in the research. Early Self-Esteem Boost For their study, Dhyani and colleagues used the Geisinger database to identify 5056 adults (mean age, 48 years; 85% women) with obesity (BMI ≥ 35) who had bariatric surgery between 2006 and 2019. Most had Roux-en-Y gastric bypass or sleeve gastrectomy. A total of 534 participants completed a survey on self-esteem within 12 months before and 6-24 months after weight-loss surgery. Overall, the researchers found that self-esteem scores more than doubled just 12 months after bariatric surgery — from 33.6 at baseline to 75.5 (out of 100) at 12 months ( P < .0001). However, patients with a higher BMI at the time of surgery (BMI ≥ 50) experienced smaller gains in self-esteem compared with peers with lower baseline BMI (< 40), which could be due to lingering effects of weight stigma. 'When you start out at a higher BMI, you have a longer way to go to reach what society might think is a normal weight, said Dhyani, adding that the externalized weight stigma certainly would affect how patients feel about themselves. 'That's what I think is going on,' he told Medscape Medical News. Dhyani presented the study at the 2025 American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS) Annual Scientific Meeting in Washington, DC. He noted that longer-term follow-up will be important to see whether these gains in self-esteem persist over time, particularly in light of known trends in weight regain after surgery. Beyond the 'Heavenly Period' Heinberg told Medscape Medical News the first year after bariatric surgery is colloquially called the 'heavenly period' because people are losing a lot of weight, they're finding big improvements in their health and quality of life, and they're often getting a lot of positive attention. But 'beyond the first year, quality of life may stabilize, and people find that they have to work hard so they don't experience weight recurrence,' said Heinberg. 'They still have the same challenges as before surgery, like stressful jobs. They're just in a smaller body.' That's why ongoing counseling is so important. 'At Cleveland Clinic, the psychology team is embedded within the bariatric program. We see patients a bit more in the first year, but then annually is recommended,' Heinberg said, adding that they are available to patients more frequently if needed. April Williams, from Gig Harbor, Washington, who had bariatric surgery in 2019, said the 'temporary high' with surgery-induced weight loss can be followed by an 'emotional crash' as the weight loss eventually slows down and people stop commenting and offering praise. People need to realize the 'chronic and progressive nature of obesity. Just because you've treated it with bariatric surgery, the disease is still progressing in your life,' Williams told Medscape Medical News . Driven in part by a lack of post-surgery support, much of it due to COVID, Williams founded BariNation, a patient-led organization that supports people at all stages of their bariatric weight loss journey. Jamie Sarver, LPN, program coordinator with Cleveland Clinic's Bariatric and Metabolic Institute, said bariatric surgery is 'an opportunity to make an investment in yourself, [but] it's not a quick fix.' Sarver also had bariatric surgery in 2019. She shared that prior to surgery, she often felt 'uncomfortable' in her own skin, but her perception of herself has 'evolved several times' since the surgery. 'Initially I was glad for the rapid weight loss, smaller clothing sizes, and noticeable changes in my abilities to do physical activities. Over time, and as I've maintained my weight loss, my perception of myself has evolved further to feeling proud and confident of what I've achieved in these 5 years since surgery,' Sarver told Medscape Medical News . Few Takers Despite the physical and psychological benefits of bariatric surgery, only about 1% of Americans eligible for bariatric surgery choose to pursue it. Dhyani said highlighting the emotional and social benefits of bariatric surgery could encourage more patients to consider the procedure. 'I think letting patients know more about the self-esteem aspect of it might open up their minds to this type of care to improve their lives,' he said. Richard M. Peterson, MD, MPH, president-elect of the ASMBS and professor of surgery at UT Health San Antonio, San Antonio, told Medscape Medical News that one of his initiatives is to 'improve the image of bariatric surgery.' 'A lot of people still have the very old-school view that bariatric surgery is dangerous. But the truth is this surgery — that improves overall health and weight loss — is safer than having your gallbladder removed,' said Peterson.
Yahoo
27-06-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Healthy.io, Geisinger and Boehringer Ingelheim Study Reveals Significant Increase in Albuminuria Identification with the Addition of Smartphone Technology
Longitudinal data highlight the significant impact of adding a novel home screening test to standard lab testing, increasing opportunities for earlier identification of disease and disease management. BOSTON, June 20, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- a leader in transforming the smartphone camera into a medical device, Geisinger, one of the nation's leading providers of value-based care, and Boehringer Ingelheim, a leading research-driven biopharmaceutical company, today announced data demonstrating the longitudinal impact of a novel chronic kidney disease (CKD) screening pilot program. The study, supported by Boehringer Ingelheim, included 4,000 patients from Geisinger with diabetes and/or hypertension, two prominent risk factors for CKD. Patients in the pilot group received either Minuteful Kidney™ smartphone-powered urine albumin-to-creatinine ratio (uACR) home test or a standard laboratory test, accompanied by patient outreach. The pilot group was compared to a 1:1 propensity-score-matched control group that received usual care (standard, routine healthcare services). Previously reported results revealed a significant 2.5-fold increase in uACR completion rates (53.1% vs. 21.2%, p<0.001) in the pilot group vs. control group. Findings presented at the American Diabetes Association (ADA) 85th Scientific Sessions on June 20, 2025, demonstrate that over a 270-day follow-up period, patients in the pilot group were more likely to receive a diagnosis related to CKD or proteinuria than those in the usual care arm (4.7% vs. 2.9%, p<0.001). Based on results of the Minuteful Kidney™ test, individuals with an elevated uACR (≥30 mg/g) were more likely to complete a primary care follow-up visit (95.3% vs. 92.9%, p<0.001) or a nephrology visit (7.2% vs. 1.7%, p<0.001) compared to those with a normal uACR (< 30 mg/g). Additionally, there were a higher proportion of new ACEi/ARB prescriptions (7.5% vs. 4.4%, p=0.024) or new SGLT2i prescriptions (4.1% vs. 2.7%, p=0.054) for individuals with elevated uACR (≥30 mg/g) compared to those with uACR <30mg/g, indicating the importance of identifying albuminuria. "Closing the uACR testing gap by reaching untested at-risk populations remains a top priority," said Geoff Martin, CEO of "These study results demonstrate how smartphone-enabled testing and education can enhance CKD screening compliance, which ultimately has the potential to improve patient outcomes. We value the collaboration with Geisinger and Boehringer Ingelheim as we work to close a care gap by supporting earlier identification of CKD through screening those identified as at risk of disease." "Detecting CKD early is crucial, as timely intervention can help mitigate the risk of disease progression and cardiovascular complications," said Brian DiDonato, Senior Vice President, Cardio-Renal-Metabolic Brands at Boehringer Ingelheim. "We are proud to support this important study of Minuteful Kidney program, which presents an innovative approach to address the urgent need for enhanced CKD screening." "uACR testing is critical for evaluating kidney health and risk of cardiovascular events such as myocardial infarction or stroke," said Alexander Chang, M.D., MS, Associate Professor from the Department of Population Health Sciences at Geisinger. "Given the increased rates of engagement, testing and follow-up care shown in this study, we are excited about the potential for the Minuteful Kidney program to drive earlier diagnosis rates and help make a direct, positive impact on patients' lives." Limited awareness of, and access to, comprehensive screenings often contribute to poorer outcomes, emphasizing the urgent need for innovative solutions. Minuteful Kidney is the only FDA-cleared, smartphone-enabled home uACR test for CKD, allowing patients to receive clinical-grade results within minutes. As a part of the pilot program, participants in the pilot group received education via the engagement team. For those completing the Minuteful Kidney test, the associated app provided additional education regarding testing and supported follow-up and results sharing with healthcare providers. The pilot program demonstrated how a home testing approach can complement and help remove barriers to care. About CKD CKD is a national health crisis that affects more than 35 million U.S. adults, increasing their risk for cardiovascular (CV) disease, kidney failure and dialysis. Yet approximately 90% of those with CKD are unaware that they have it, as it often has no symptoms until it progresses to more advanced stages. Clinical guidelines recommend routine screenings for at-risk individuals using both estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) and uACR tests; however, broad adoption of these guidelines remains low. This testing gap hinders early detection of both kidney dysfunction and CV risk, as elevated uACR is associated with an increased risk of CV events, including myocardial infarction, stroke, hospitalization for heart failure and CV death. About transforms the smartphone camera into a medical device to deliver healthcare at the speed of life. The company's at-home urinalysis and digitized wound care services enable providers and healthcare systems to close gaps in access and care while increasing patient satisfaction. is a global leader in digital health and is a recipient of the 2023 MedTech Breakthrough 'Best In-Home Testing Solution' Award and the Juniper Research's Digital Health Innovation 'Best Digital Diagnostics Solution' 2023 Award. The company has offices in Boston, London and Tel-Aviv. About Geisinger Geisinger is among the nation's leading providers of value-based care, serving 1.2 million people in urban and rural communities across Pennsylvania. Founded in 1915 by philanthropist Abigail Geisinger, the nonprofit system generates $10 billion in annual revenues across 126 care sites — including 10 hospital campuses — and Geisinger Health Plan, with more than half a million members in commercial and government plans. Geisinger College of Health Sciences educates more than 5,000 medical professionals annually and conducts more than 1,400 clinical research studies. With 26,000 employees, including 1,700 employed physicians, Geisinger is among Pennsylvania's largest employers with an estimated economic impact of $15 billion to the state's economy. On March 31, 2024, Geisinger became the first member of Risant Health, a new nonprofit charitable organization created to expand and accelerate value-based care across the country. Learn more at or follow on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and X. About Boehringer Ingelheim Boehringer Ingelheim is a biopharmaceutical company active in both human and animal health. As one of the industry's top investors in research and development, the company focuses on developing innovative therapies that can improve and extend lives in areas of high unmet medical need. Independent since its foundation in 1885, Boehringer takes a long-term perspective, embedding sustainability along the entire value chain. Our approximately 54,500 employees serve over 130 markets to build a healthier and more sustainable tomorrow. Learn more at Media Contact - info@ Logo - View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
26-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Ultima Genomics Selected to Support the World's Largest Proteomics Studies to Date Led by Regeneron Genetics Center
FREMONT, Calif., June 26, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Ultima Genomics, a developer of an innovative new ultra-high throughput sequencing architecture, today announced that its UG 100 ™ sequencing platform has been selected to support Regeneron Genetics Center® (RGC™) and its recently launched U.S. large-scale proteomics study. The study, comprised of 200,000 blood serum samples secured by RGC from its long-standing research collaboration with Geisinger Health System, will be combined with the recently announced UK Biobank Pharma Proteomics Project, the largest proteomics study undertaken to date, which will also utilize Ultima's UG 100 sequencing platform for the analysis of 600,000 samples from UK consented participants. Combined, these studies reflect the growing role of high-throughput, cost-efficient sequencing in enabling large-scale counting applications across proteomics and other emerging omics fields. For these efforts, RGC will utilize the Olink Explore HT platform and Ultima's UG 100 platform. Ultima's technology was selected for its scalability, efficiency, and suitability for large population-level studies requiring high-throughput data generation. "We are pleased to continue supporting the ever-expanding large-scale proteomics studies that have the potential to drive important scientific and clinical insights," said Gilad Almogy, founder and CEO of Ultima Genomics. "These RGC proteomics studies build on the growing momentum we are seeing for population-scale proteomics and counting applications powered by Ultima's sequencing platform." About Ultima Genomics Ultima Genomics is unleashing the power of genomics at scale. The Company's mission is to continuously drive the scale of genomic information to enable unprecedented advances in biology and improvements in human health. With humanity on the cusp of a biological revolution, there is a virtually endless need for more genomic information to address biology's complexity and dynamic change—and a further need to challenge conventional next-generation sequencing technologies. Ultima's revolutionary new sequencing architecture drives down the costs of sequencing to help overcome the tradeoffs that scientists and clinicians are forced to make between the breadth, depth and frequency with which they use genomic information. The new sequencing architecture was designed to scale far beyond conventional sequencing technologies, lower the cost of genomic information and catalyze the next phase of genomics in the 21st century. To learn more, visit Ultima Media ContactVikki Herrera408-206-7009vikki@ View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE Ultima Genomics
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Community raises concerns on possible Geisinger Cancer Treatment Center
EAST BUFFALO TOWNSHIP, UNION COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — A Geisinger Cancer Treatment Center is coming to Union County, but not everyone is happy about it. The land, which was once going to be a Giant distribution center, is now planned to become a treatment center. Borough officials say the current plan includes one building bringing in around 300 cars per day. Residents say they're worried about how the new project could bring a lot of traffic to Route 15. 'Because of where it is located and because of how fast the speed is on that hill, it's going to be nothing but a death trap,' East Buffalo Township resident Tina Prowant said. Wilkes-Barre now better prepared for floods 'I think the main concern is traffic safety because it's on Route 15. Giant had proposed building a supermarket on this site back in the 2000s. This is very different, it's not going to be anywhere near the traffic volume that the supermarket would create,' East Buffalo Township Chair of Board Supervisors James Knight explained. The borough believes land development has already been approved, and the project is considered an appropriate use for the site. The final step now is for Geisinger to apply for zoning and building permits. Once those are in place, construction can begin. The land is currently being cleared and graded. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
