WellSpan Health explained

WellSpan Health
Type:	Private (not-for-profit)
Area Served:	York, Adams, Lancaster, Franklin and Lebanon counties, Pennsylvania; Northern Maryland, U.S.
Num Employees:	Approximately 20,000
Founded:	1880
Website:	http://www.wellspan.org/
Mission Statement:	Working as one to improve health through exceptional care for all, lifelong wellness and healthy communities. -->
Industry:	Health care
Key People:	Roxanna L. Gapstur, Ph.D, R.N., president and chief executive officer

WellSpan Health is an American integrated health system located in South-Central Pennsylvania and parts of northern Maryland. Headquartered in York, Pennsylvania and employing about 20,000 people, WellSpan Health operates eight hospitals (including a surgical hospital and a behavioral health hospital): WellSpan York Hospital, WellSpan Gettysburg Hospital, WellSpan Ephrata Community Hospital, WellSpan Good Samaritan Hospital, WellSpan Chambersburg Hospital, WellSpan Waynesboro Hospital, WellSpan Philhaven, and WellSpan Surgery and Rehabilitation Hospital.^[1] WellSpan operates over 220 patient care locations which offer services such as diagnostic imaging, laboratory services, rehabilitation facilities, primary care facilities, urgent care facilities, specialty centers (such as cardiac centers, oncology centers, and neuroscience services), medical equipment retail, and retail pharmacies.

History

In December 1879, York businessman Samuel Small gathered others in the community to discuss the idea of establishing a local hospital to support York's growing population needs and manufacturing interests. He offered to donate the land on which the hospital would be built, and on January 14, 1880, the letters of incorporation were filed with the Court of Common Pleas of York County to build the York Hospital and Dispensary. The three-story building was constructed at the corner of West College Avenue and Church Alley. An annual report for the year 1896 shows that a total of 1,922 cases were treated (1,756 in the dispensary and 166 as inpatients).^[2]

York Hospital and Dispensary later shortened its name to York Hospital and then York Health Network. In 1999, Gettysburg Hospital^[3] became the second hospital in York Health Network.

In 2000, York Health Network joined WellSpan Health.^[4]

Recent mergers and acquisitions include:

• Ephrata Community Hospital,^[5] Ephrata, Pennsylvania, on October 1, 2013
• Good Samaritan Health System,^[6] Lebanon, PA, on July 1, 2015
• Philhaven,^[7] the 14th largest mental health provider in the United States, on January 1, 2016
• Summit Health, a health system based in Franklin County, on November 1, 2018^[8]
• Evangelical Community Hospital, a health system based in Union County, on February 26, 2024^[9]

Services and programs

Residency programs

WellSpan York Hospital, the health system's flagship hospital, offers many graduate medical educational programs, including 14 residency and fellowship programs sponsored in fields such as internal medicine, cardiovascular medicine, general surgery, emergency medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, dentistry, orthopedic surgery, sports medicine, osteopathic medicine, and family medicine. WellSpan York Hospital also hosts allied health certification programs for nurse anesthetists, radiology, phlebotomy, medical laboratory science, and respiratory care. Residency programs are also offered at several other of WellSpan's hospitals; these hospitals are often affiliated with different regional medical schools and universities.^[10]

Mental health services

Under the Philhaven name, WellSpan provides mental health services at 20 locations throughout its coverage area, including a 103 bed inpatient facility in Mount Gretna, Pennsylvania, additional psychiatric inpatient units at acute care hospitals, and out-patient and community based mental health programs.^[11]

Home health care

Through WellSpan VNA Home Care, WellSpan provides home health care services throughout the south central and central Pennsylvania region, including Franklin County, Cumberland County, Adams County, York County, Lancaster County, Lebanon County, Berks County, and Dauphin County.

Emergency services

WellSpan provides EMS coverage to a number of municipalities in several counties including York County and Franklin County. WellSpan also operates Disaster Response Teams (DRTs) at several of their hospitals which are tasked with responding during large scale disasters. These DRTs are capable of medical decontamination (decontaminating incoming patients from hazardous materials), assisting in hospital evactuations, among other things.

Key statistics

• WellSpan Health provides more than $126 million each year in charitable, uncompensated care.^[12]
• Employs more than 19,000 employees across south central Pennsylvania.^[13]
• WellSpan Medical Group includes more than 1,200 primary care and specialty physicians and advanced practice clinicians.
• Includes more than 130 outpatient patient care locations that offer services such as diagnostic imaging, laboratory, rehabilitation, primary care, walk-in health care, durable medical equipment and other specialty services.
• Includes a regional home care organization (WellSpan VNA Home Care).

WellSpan corporate leadership

• Roxanna L. Gapstur, Ph.D., R.N., president and chief executive officer^{[14] [15]}
• Anthony Aquilina, MD, executive vice president, chief physician executive^[16]
• Laura Buczkowski, Executive Vice President & Chief Financial Officer^[17]
• R. Hal Baker, MD, senior vice president, clinical improvement, and chief information officer^[18]
• P. Geoffrey Nicholson,Jr., MD, senior vice president, population health^[19]
• Cynthia Fruitrail, Senior Vice President & Chief of Staff^[17]
• Harvey Green, Senior Vice President & Chief Development Officer^[17]
• Amy Nelson, Senior Vice President & General Counsel^[17]
• Michael Seim, MD, Senior Vice President & Chief Quality Officer^[17]

External links

• WellSpan Health
• WellSpan Ephrata Community Hospital
• WellSpan Gettysburg Hospital
• WellSpan York Hospital
• WellSpan Surgery & Rehabilitation Hospital
• WellSpan Medical Group
• WellSpan VNA Home Care
• WellSpan Philhaven

Notes and References

1. Web site: About - WellSpan Health . 2023-05-27 . www.wellspan.org.
2. Book: Pennsylvania Office of the Auditor General, Amos Herr Mylin, Alexander K. Pedrick . Charitable Institutions of Pennsylvania Which Have Received State Aid in 1897 and 1897 . W.S. Ray, state printer . 1898 . 477–479 . 21 July 2016.
3. News: Hanlon . Rebecca . Jun 12, 2015 . Health care report 2015: Growing partnership. WellSpan-Good Samaritan affiliation to bring care expansion . Central Penn Business Journal . 3 October 2016.
4. Web site: York County Heritage Trust/Historical Society of York County . York Hospital/York Health System records, 1880-2000. . 21 July 2016 . ArchiveGride.
5. Web site: Stauffer . Heather . 18 August 2014 . WellSpan announces tobacco-free hiring policy . 3 October 2016 . CPBJ.com . Central Penn Business Journal.
6. Web site: Francisco . Danielle . Good Samaritan Health System joins WellSpan after a year of talks . 3 October 2016 . WITF.org.
7. Web site: PHILHAVEN OFFICIALLY JOINS WELLSPAN HEALTH ON JAN. 1 . 3 October 2016 . Philhaven.org.
8. Web site: Wenner . David . 2018-11-01 . With merger, another central Pa. hospital system gets bigger . 2023-05-27 . pennlive . en.
9. Web site: Wellspan . 2024-02-26 . WellSpan Health and Evangelical Community Hospital Announce Definitive Agreement to Combine Health Systems . 2024-02-26 . Wellspan . en.
10. Web site: Residency Programs - WellSpan Medical Education . 2023-05-27 . www.wellspanmedicaleducation.org.
11. Web site: About WellSpan Philhaven - Mental Health Care South Central PA . 2023-05-27 . www.wellspanphilhaven.org.
12. Web site: 2016 Community Benefit Report: Healthy Body. Healthy Mind. Healthy Community.. www.wellspan.org. WellSpan Health. 28 November 2016.
13. Web site: WellSpan Health. www.companyontop.com. CompanyOnTop: We Know Business. 28 November 2016.
14. Web site: WellSpan Health welcomes new President and CEO Roxanna L. Gapstur | WellSpan Health. Wellspan.org. Wellspan Health. 1 May 2019.
15. Web site: About WellSpan: Our Management Team. WellSpan.org. 3 October 2016.
16. Web site: Anthony Aquilina, DO - WellSpan Health . 2022-08-02 . www.wellspan.org.
17. Web site: WellSpan Health Executive Leadership - WellSpan Health . 2023-05-27 . www.wellspan.org.
18. Web site: Who We Are . 3 October 2016 . HIMSSanalytics.org.
19. Web site: WellSpan Health appoints new Senior Vice President for Population Health WellSpan Health . 2022-08-02 . www.wellspan.org . en.