Springboard Healthy Scranton Summit Sets the Stage for Geisinger Symposium
Geisinger President and CEO Dr. David Feinberg welcomed an international audience at the Pine Barn Inn Wednesday afternoon for the unofficial kickoff of Geisinger’s National Symposium, From Crisis to Cure.
“What if we make Scranton the healthiest place in America and then we give away the playbook to the rest of the country,” he said to a packed room of national advisory board members, healthcare innovators and policy makers.
Geisinger chief philanthropy officer Nancy Lawton-Kluck and Springboard advisor Steve Tremitiere introduced Bruce Greenstein, chief technology officer for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, who delivered a national healthcare update and encouraged attendees to “look for more ways to use data in healthcare.”
Brian Ebersole, newly named director of Springboard Healthy Scranton, was officially introduced for the first time and told those gathered: “I have been energized to meet everyone in this room.”
Geisinger board member Virginia McGregor and Scranton resident described Springboard as “deeply personal for me.”
“I’m a fourth generation Scrantonian, the second oldest of 11 children, and I’m raising my six kids across the street from the home I grew up in. And in Scranton, we’re all still dying of the same things when it comes to four generations of cancer, mental health issues, heart disease.”
Dr. Andrea Feinberg, medical director for health and wellness at Geisinger, delivered an update on the system’s Fresh Food Farmacy; Andy Faucett and Vanessa Troiani spoke of recent updates surrounding the system’s MyCode genomic initiative and Geisinger’s Mike Evans and Jordan Barbour shared how the health system has decreased opioid prescribing by almost half and plans to bring a medication assisted therapy clinic to Scranton.
“In the short time I’ve been here, I’m thrilled to see the energy that Springboard has created in the City of Scranton,” Ebersole said. “Our next steps are how are figuring out how we are going to Scrantonize everything.”
“I want to thank everyone for contributing to the conversation. It’s been a great learning experience but the real learning comes now,” Dr. David Feinberg said at the event’s end.