![\"Renovation](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/DSC_0482.jpg\")
Renovation work is underway at Geisinger Community Medical Center in Scranton to add a Level II Neonatal Intensive Care Unit to the hospital\u2019s third floor. (PHOTO COURTESY OF GEISINGER)<\/p>\n
Currently the only NICU in Scranton, a Level III, is located at Regional Hospital of Scranton\u2019s Moses Taylor Hospital campus. The NICU at GCMC will \u201cintegrate seamlessly\u201d with the Level III NICU at Geisinger Wyoming Valley Medical Center in Plains Twp. and the Level IV NICU at Geisinger Medical Center in Danville, Geisinger officials said.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur Level II NICU at Geisinger Community Medical Center will allow us to care for more babies and their families right here in the greater Scranton area and northeastern Pennsylvania community by enhancing our capability to care for premature and sick newborns,\u201d Dr. Ben Lee, director of the Division of Neonatology in Geisinger\u2019s northeast region, said in the release. \u201cWhether your baby is born in good health or in need of intensive care, our network of NICUs in NEPA and in the Geisinger system will be with you to provide the care your baby needs.\u201d<\/p>\n
Work to add the NICU, a $7.7 million investment in care for mothers and babies, began in late May. The 7,100-square-foot unit will house seven neonatal specialty care beds adjacent to the hospital\u2019s childbirth center and postpartum unit.<\/p>\n
\u201cProviding a higher acuity of care for newborns at Geisinger Community Medical Center grows and strengthens the services we offer and continue to expand in Scranton,\u201d Nick Coleman, associate vice president of clinical operations in Geisinger\u2019s northeast region, said in the release. \u201cOver the last two years alone, we\u2019ve added capability in inpatient care, postpartum care and diagnostic imaging, and renovations to add more postpartum beds and emergency medicine capacity are progressing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Expansion pending<\/p>\n
Renovations for the new NICU are taking place within the hospital\u2019s existing footprint as Geisinger\u2019s plans for a major expansion of GCMC remain pending. While Mayor Paige Gebhardt Cognetti proposed and the prior Scranton City Council narrowly approved late last year rezoning to accommodate that expansion, a neighbor of the hospital, Tom Hoppel of 215 Arthur Ave., subsequently sued the city seeking to reverse the rezoning.<\/p>\n
The prospect of the expansion has for years been a source of concern and controversy among a passionate group of Hill Section neighbors wary of the proposed development\u2019s impact on their neighborhood and quality of life.<\/p>\n
![\"An](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/STT-L-GEISINGER-0425-01.jpg\")
An aerial view of Geisinger Community Medical Center in Scranton Friday, April 24, 2026. (SEAN MCKEAG \/ STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)<\/p>\n
They had prevailed in an earlier zoning battle, with council voting in April 2023 to amend Scranton\u2019s then-proposed new zoning ordinance and map to limit the height of new buildings on GCMC\u2019s Colfax Avenue properties near the hospital to 45 feet.<\/p>\n