Program overview
The Administrative Fellowship at Geisinger is a leadership training program that fosters your growth and development as a healthcare and insurance leader. Close relationships with the system leaders who serve as mentors, as well as the support and encouragement to create and implement solutions to real-world healthcare problems, define the experience.
Here’s how it works
The fellowship program is a two-year leadership experience with the opportunity to apply specific graduate study principles in the practical work setting of a fully integrated healthcare delivery system.
Six program concentrations capitalize on the market and clinical differences of Geisinger’s service area hubs. While there currently is a fellow in each concentration, it is not guaranteed that every concentration will be fulfilled each year. For this recruitment cycle, we’re recruiting fellows for our Hospital Operations Central Region Track, Hospital Operations Northwest Region Track, Hospital Operations Northeast Region Track, Geisinger Health Plan Track, Research and Innovation Track, and Clinical Operations Track. Refer to our applications & selection process for more information. Although each concentration provides a unique experience, the core of our program is the integrated system itself and the knowledge gained through significant involvement with clinical operations, the health plan, community practice, finance, information technology and research.
Hospital Operations – Central Region Track
This track will provide an immersive experience in campus leadership at Geisinger Medical Center, Geisinger Bloomsburg Hospital, Geisinger Shamokin Area Community Hospital and Geisinger Healthplex Woodbine. The fellow will gain an understanding of operational interdependencies and develop the leadership skills and competencies required of today’s hospital administrator. Projects will include opportunities to interface with various departments; engage in business planning, strategic planning and master facility planning; and collaborate with Geisinger’s Transformation Management Office on process improvement, problem-solving and change management. This track will be based out of Geisinger Medical Center in Danville and precepted by Megan Brosious, chief administrative officer of the Central Region.
Hospital Operations – Northeast Region Track
The Northeast Region hospital operations track will provide the selected candidate with a deeply engaging and hands-on experience that consists of operational leadership, strategic thinking, change management and performance and process improvement throughout Geisinger Wyoming Valley Medical Center, Geisinger South Wilkes-Barre, Geisinger Community Medical Center and Geisinger Healthplex CenterPoint. The fellow will have a unique opportunity to work alongside the regional executive team, gain exposure to various service lines and contribute to the achievement of Clinical Enterprise initiatives throughout the Northeast. Projects will include hands-on experiences across multiple departments and subject areas. Key emphasis will be placed on developing leadership skills and competencies required for healthcare leaders. This track will be based out of Geisinger Wyoming Valley Medical Center, Wilkes-Barre, Pa., and Geisinger Community Medical Center, Scranton, Pa. The fellow will be precepted by Ron Beer, chief administrative officer of the Northeast Region.
Hospital Operations – Northwest Region Track
The Northwest Region Hospital Operations track will provide an immersive experience in community-based hospital leadership inclusive of Geisinger Lewistown Hospital, Geisinger Scenery Park, and Geisinger Healthplex State College. The fellow will gain an understanding of operational interdependencies and develop the leadership skills and competencies required of today’s Hospital Administrator. Projects will include the opportunity to interface with various departments; engage in business planning and strategic planning; and, generally, serve in an interim operations leadership role. This track will be based out of Geisinger Lewistown Hospital in Lewistown, Pa., and precepted by Tammy Anderer, chief administrative officer of the northwest region, and AJ Hartsock, AVP of clinical operations for the western region.
Health Plan Finance and Operations Track
This track will provide a deep understanding of the interplay between Geisinger Health Plan and Geisinger’s clinical enterprise with a focus on population health and bending the cost curve. The fellow will gain a broad understanding of insurance operations and how integrated healthcare systems are uniquely positioned to move toward value-based care. The selected candidate will work closely with the Geisinger Clinical Operations track fellow to meet learning objectives and advance collaboration between the Health Plan and clinical enterprise. This track will be based out of the Geisinger Hughes Building in Danville and precepted by Mark McCullough, chief financial and operating officer of insurance operations, with support from the associate vice president of finance for the Health Plan.
Clinical Operations Track
This track will provide exposure and expertise in operations management, including access and operational excellence, practice management and strategic leadership. The fellow will gain an understanding of important dynamics and key factors that contribute to success, and they’ll have the opportunity to gain experience within a value-based integrated healthcare system. The selected candidate will work closely with the Geisinger Health Plan track fellow to meet desired learning objectives and advance collaboration between the Health Plan and clinical enterprise. This track will be based out of Geisinger in Danville and precepted by the Geisinger Clinical Enterprise CAOs. Matthew Van Leeuwe, chief administrative officer, will be the 2023 Clinical Operations preceptor. He is responsible for hospital services throughout the enterprise.
Health Innovation and Research Track
Innovation and Research are part of the fabric of Geisinger. The Steele Institute for Health Innovation forages a new generation of leading-edge solutions to slow rising healthcare costs, improve quality, and increase access — driving change that positively affects our communities and beyond; the Research Institute leverages Geisinger’s data to advance medicine and care delivery, embracing a “team science” approach to solve the biggest problems in healthcare. This fellowship track allows the administrative fellow to participate in projects within and across the Steele Institute and the Research Institute, offering a unique perspective on the strategy and differentiation of an integrated health system. Administrative fellows will work alongside all domains of the Steele Institute, including Digital Transformation, Social Determinants of Health (SDoH) Innovation, the Keystone Accountable Care Organization, Data and Informatics, and the Intelligent Automation Hub, and the Research Institute, including Genomic Health, Autism & Developmental Medicine, Bioethics and Decision Sciences, Health System Sciences, and Population Health Sciences. Throughout their experience, the selected candidate will create solutions that will impact Geisinger and the broader healthcare industry. This track is sponsored by the vice president for Innovation Operations and the vice president of Research.
First-year opportunities
Fellows will work in selected key departments and divisions of Geisinger with the objective of obtaining an applied understanding of their respective skills and of the interplay amongst organizational units. First-year roles and responsibilities include:
- Project management and operational program development
- Design and implementation of clinical service line business plans
- Committee leadership and management
- Administrator on-call
- Performance improvement leadership
- Presentation to community boards and stakeholders
Second-year opportunities
The second year is flexible, and placement is based on the mutual needs, interests and goals of the fellow and the organization. The intent of the second year is to provide real and significant management accountability. Fellows often fill a role as interim operations managers in the clinical service lines of the health system. Some fellows have opted for a second year focused more on a specific interest, such as strategic planning or marketing at the health plan.
This two-year training program carries no commitment of employment at Geisinger upon completion, although the majority of administrative trainees have continued their careers in the system. The knowledge and skills developed during the program are broadly applicable to any healthcare or insurance organization.