November 4, 2004
DANVILLE, PA – The Palmerton Hospital campus of the Blue Mountain Health System has joined Geisinger Health Plan's network of participating hospitals. Geisinger Health Plan members may now use the services of Palmerton Hospital, improving the health care options of members, businesses, individuals and Medicare beneficiaries in the area.
"This agreement is good news for businesses and residents of the area," says Michael Morucci, GHP’s vice president of marketing and sales. "GHP has just introduced additional products to give our customers more health coverage options through varied HMO and PPO plans. With this new contract, our members can now use Palmerton Hospital to receive services locally."
The new agreement was effective Friday, October 29.
Robert Clark, president and CEO of the Blue Mountain Health System, concurs. "Gnaden Huetten signed an agreement with GHP in January 2002 because it is important to provide health care to the approximately 1,500 residents of Carbon County who have Geisinger Health Plan," he said. "Now that Palmerton and Gnaden Huetten have joined together to form Blue Mountain Health System, it is in our patients’ best interest to provide an option for care."
This contract gives employers and residents a broad choice for health-care coverage. The Palmerton campus offers a full range of inpatient, outpatient and diagnostic services, including pediatrics, OB/GYN, ICU, CCU and med/surg; rehabilitation programs including pulmonary and cardiac rehabilitation; a sleep disorders center; and continence management program. Together, Blue Mountain Health System’s Palmerton and Gnaden Huetten campuses provide a continuum of care for most health-care needs.
"This arrangement with the Palmerton campus of Blue Mountain Health System meshes with the Health Plan’s commitment to enter into contracts where local hospitals and doctors can provide high quality care and responsive service to their communities. It’s clear that the Gnaden Huetten and Palmerton Hospitals, along with their physicians, have a history of commitment to the region," said Morucci.
Begun in 1985, Geisinger Health Plan is one of the nation’s largest rural HMOs and serves approximately 236,000 members in 40 counties throughout northeastern and central Pennsylvania Plan members have access to complete health-care benefits ranging from preventive care and routine office visits to hospital care and major surgery. Coverage is available for businesses of all sizes, individuals and families, and Medicare beneficiaries. PPO, self-funded and indemnity plans are sold through its affiliate, Geisinger Indemnity Insurance Company.
For more information, please contact
Amy Bowen, Public Relations Coordinator, (570) 271-8135