Perception of Geisinger

I had an insight recently based on a number of unrelated conversations with different people, but it painted an interesting picture...

Some folks in the community feel that Geisinger Health System should really do more to encourage growth, especially in the Danville area, whose downtown is not quite as active as even Bloomsburg's. There are others that say that Danville should do more to attract interest from Geisinger workers and area residents, sighting the poor downtown conditions for people's lack of patronizing the local economy/events. Many businesses downtown are not viewed as permanent attractions that will sustain the town culturally. It's a catch 22, because those businesses really won't be sustainable if they are not patronized.

Both perceptions are somewhat valid, but I think what is ironic is that many doctors that move into the area are used to big cities, and thus do not even take time to explore what the area has to offer. Danville is invisible to them. Doctors and other professionals tend to buy large expensive homes out in the country, and skirt around Danville. I see this first hand with many doctors I meet who move to the area from NY, NJ, DC, Philly, etc. and then continue to go to those locations for entertainment/arts instead of patronizing local artists. There have been only a few doctors that I've met recently who have patronized events (which is a sign that it can be done, but needs to be on a larger scale).

This is a multi-sided issue that is only going to improve if all elements (Geisinger, Danville, Artists, etc) make an effort.

Geisinger is now in the process of forming a Cultural Diversity Task Force, with which I am going to be involved. I am hoping that this can be an opportunity to expose people to what the area has to offer. I've also begun discussions with some other folks here to get some support for events such as Bengali New Year and Compassion Moves. (See www.mindspeak.com for more about these events.)