Geisinger Medical Center honored for life support

DANVILLE, Pa. – The Extracorporeal Life Support Organization (ELSO) honored Geisinger Medical Center with the Gold Level Center of Excellence Award for care in life support. The medical center was one of only 54 hospitals worldwide recognized this year. 

Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) provides life support for failing organs in infants, children and adults. It is one of the most advanced forms of life support available to patients experiencing acute cardio-respiratory system failure, and it allows time for a patient’s lungs or heart to heal by using a heart-lung machine to oxygenate the blood outside the body. 

The Excellence in Life Support Award recognizes centers that demonstrate an exceptional commitment to evidence-based processes and quality measures, staff training, continuing education, patient satisfaction and ongoing clinical care. Only 201 awards have been bestowed since 2019. 

“Less than 10 percent of U.S. hospitals provide ECMO services, so to be honored for outstanding care in this field is a testament to the tireless effort and dedication our providers have contributed to improving our ECMO program,” said John Conte, M.D., chair of Cardiothoracic Surgery for the Geisinger Heart & Vascular Institute. “We are honored not only by the recognition but also to provide best-in-class outcomes for our sickest patients.”

Since launching its ECMO program in 2013, Geisinger has improved the survival rate of ECMO patients from 50 percent to 65 percent, thanks in part to continual education and coordination among teams within the health system and outside institutions who refer patients to Geisinger. 

“It’s about getting everybody on the same page,” said Evan Gajkowski, certified critical care nurse and ECMO coordinator for Geisinger. “We have established best practices with every hospital in our system, our Critical Care Medicine and Cardiac Surgery programs, and even with fellow health systems who send us patients in need of extracorporeal life support. When everyone understands what makes a patient eligible for ECMO treatment, outcomes improve. And results like this would not be possible without the intensive care nurses, perfusion staff and ECMO specialists who are at patient bedsides providing excellent care every day.”

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 central and northeastern Pennsylvania. Founded in 1915 by philanthropist Abigail Geisinger, the nonprofit system generates more than $8 billion in annual revenues across 163 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 500 medical professionals annually and is conducting more than 1,400 clinical research studies. With more than 27,000 employees, including 1,800 employed physicians and 5,200 registered nurses, Geisinger is among Pennsylvania’s largest employers, having an estimated economic impact of $16.8 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 follow on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.