THE JANET WEIS CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL
The Janet Weis Children’s Hospital is the only children’s hospital in a wide region encompassing northeastern and central Pennsylvania as well as the southern tier of New York. The hospital is the culmination of a vision collectively held by our pediatric faculty as well as community members to create a special place solely for the medical management of children. The hospital was built completely with donated funds from Geisinger physicians and staff, larger individual donors, and thousands of our local neighbors who felt a need to create a place that would always be there for our kids. Since its opening in 1994, the hospital has remained the premier location in the region for inpatient pediatric healthcare.
The Janet Weis Children’s Hospital is named after our main benefactor, Mrs. Janet Weis. Like Abigail Geisinger, Mrs. Weis was a life-long member of our community and local philanthropist. The Weis family has operated a very successful supermarket chain for many years in the surrounding region, and they have been very generous to not only Geisinger but many other civic groups in the area. Janet’s husband, Siegfried, was the President of the Board of Directors of Geisinger in the 1980’s. At that time, he was approached by our pediatric faculty to consider building a children’s hospital. The initial response form the Board was less than optimistic, but Mrs. Weis was able to convince her husband and ultimately the Board to approve the project. To show their support, the Weis family made a generous donation to the cause, ultimately prompting over $30 million in donations from other supporters in the area. The hospital was aptly named after Mrs. Weis, permanently memorializing her support and persuasion to make the dream of having a children’s hospital a reality.
The Janet Weis Children’s Hospital is a 96-bed facility which houses:
Two floors for general patient care including specialized areas for child oncology and long-term EEG monitoring
A 14 bed Pediatric ICU which includes the Kiwanis Heart Center
A 42 bed Neonatal ICU
Our pediatric residency program suite, echocardiology laboratory Pediatric Sedation suite and several other ancillary services.
The Janet Weis Children’s Hospital is located on the campus of the main Geisinger Medical Center and abuts the Women’s Hospital where our newborn nursery is located. Additionally, the hospital is located such that the emergency department, surgical suites and radiology suite are all immediately adjacent to our pediatric services.
The hospital annually manages:
4,000 general medical/surgical admissions
1,800 newborn deliveries
700 NICU admissions
850 PICU admissions
Additionally, the Division of Pediatrics at the Danville Campus cares for:
21,000 general pediatric visits which include 12,000 Acute Care Clinic Visits and 5,100 Continuity Clinic Visits