Driven by growing demand, the Geisinger College of Health Sciences decided to expand its nursing school into downtown Scranton.
Housed in the college’s Medical Sciences Building on Pine Street, the Northeast Campus of the Geisinger School of Nursing will start admitting students in the fall of 2027, providing an opportunity to earn an Associate Degree in Nursing. The building also contains the School of Medicine and School of Graduate Education.
“I’m excited to have it in the Medical Sciences Building because they’re going to mingle in and have interprofessional simulations and experiences with medical students and genetic counselors,” said Rebecca Stoudt, DNP, PhD, MSN, CRNA, associate dean of nursing and health professions education at Geisinger College of Health Sciences. “I think it’s a really great opportunity.”
The Scranton campus will enroll approximately 50 students each fall and 30 students each spring.
College officials modeled the program after the nursing school campus in Lewistown, in which more than 70% of nurses stayed local to work for Geisinger.
Julie Byerley, MD, MPH, president of Geisinger College of Health Sciences and chief academic officer at Geisinger, stated discussions about the nursing school in Scranton began following the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The nursing shortage has been going on a long time, but it really was exacerbated during COVID,” she said. “During COVID, we opened our nursing school in Lewistown. That started going so well that a couple years later we began considering whether or not we could expand it. We need all of the nurses we can produce and educate in northeastern and central Pennsylvania. We anticipate there will be demand because we hear from some of our Geisinger employees that they’re interested in pursuing a nursing degree and have difficulty finding access to programs.”
The Pennsylvania State Board of Nursing recently approved the plans for the Scranton location, college officials said.
Geisinger College of Health Sciences President and Dean Julie Byerley delivers a speech during the Class of 2030 White Coat Ceremony at the Sette LaVerghetta Center for the Performing Arts in Scranton, Pa., on Friday, Aug. 7, 2026. (ISAAC DIAZ/STAFF PHOTO)
Clinical learning opportunities will be facilitated at Geisinger Wyoming Valley Medical Center, Geisinger Community Medical Center and Geisinger South Wilkes-Barre, and other community partners including local nursing homes and the Greater Scranton YMCA, officials added.
Since being launched in 2008, the Geisinger College of Health Sciences has sought to transform the health profession workforce in the area, Byerley said.
“We have about 1,300 physicians who graduated from our medical school and a growing fraction of them are staying in our region,” she said.
Stoudt noted the nursing program in Lewistown typically sees high demand with some prospective students on a wait list.
She anticipates similar demand in Scranton with the application process starting within a week or two.
“Although all our regional schools do an amazing job, we also know that up in the Northeast there is still a very large gap and there are a lot of qualified people who would like to go to nursing school, and there’s not enough seats,” Stoudt said. “Leveraging our school in Lewistown, we’re bringing the same curriculum to Scranton and intend to produce more nurses to help Geisinger, and the community as a whole, while we continue to partner with all the other regional nursing schools as well.”
Stoudt stressed students will gain valuable hands-on experience to adequately prepare them the next steps after graduation.
“In the simulation lab, we’re building two inpatient nursing units, a maternal birthing suite simulator and a pediatric (one),” she said. “One of the hallmarks of our program is our simulation. All our students get the full clinic experience and they get it very early on. Before they actually start working with patients, we take them through rigorous simulation.”