DANVILLE – Sen. Lynda Schlegel Culver (R-27) and Sen. Dave Argall (R-29) co-hosted a public roundtable of the Senate Majority Policy Committee today at Geisinger Behavioral Health Center Danville to discuss the challenges and opportunities in delivering mental health services across Pennsylvania.
The roundtable brought together state and local leaders, mental health providers, and community organizations to share insights on service gaps, workforce shortages, and successful and forward-thinking strategies to improve access to care.
“Mental health is a priority for our communities, and hearing directly from those on the front lines helps us make better policy decisions,” Culver said. “Today’s discussion highlighted both the challenges we face and the innovative efforts happening in the 27th District and across the commonwealth to support patients and families.”
“In the past few years, in part due to the work of this committee, our state government has invested hundreds of millions in new funding for mental health services,” said Argall. “Today’s testimony made it abundantly clear that we must all work together to further address the incredibly complex problems facing our mental health providers.”
Geisinger’s Role and Community Investment
The Geisinger Behavioral Health Center Danville, which opened to patients today, is a 96‑bed inpatient facility that provides care for adults, pediatric, and adolescent patients with acute behavioral health disorders such as anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, psychosis, and PTSD. This is the second of two behavioral health centers Geisinger opened in partnership with Acadia Health, following the Moosic facility in 2023.
“Our community’s mental health and substance use treatment needs have reached unprecedented levels, with 600 to 900 patients a week requesting mental health services within Geisinger alone,” said Dawn Zieger, vice president of behavioral health at Geisinger. “By combining inpatient facilities with expanded virtual care, we’ve grown from 26 providers to 141 in the last two years, cutting wait times from six weeks to just two weeks for many patients.”
Zieger also emphasized that virtual care delivery and new inpatient facilities are essential to closing gaps in access, especially for rural and pediatric populations, while policy adjustments are needed to help providers focus more on patient care and less on administrative burdens.
Participant Perspectives
Several participants shared the real‑world challenges counties and providers face in meeting community needs:
- The Honorable Kevin M. Dougherty, a justice of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, highlighted the judiciary’s commitment to improving outcomes for individuals with severe mental health needs who enter the court system.
He explained that he and the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts created an Office of Behavioral Health to strengthen court responses and better support individuals with behavioral health challenges.
- Melanie Gordon, the human services and criminal justice policy director for the County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania, said counties are on the front lines of service delivery and see firsthand the impacts of under‑resourced systems.
“Emergency departments are overwhelmed, county jails are acting as de‑facto mental health facilities, and schools are stretched beyond capacity,” Gordon said.
- Laura Herman, the mental health supervisor for Northumberland County BH/ID Services, emphasized the importance of having care close to home and the gaps in housing and transportation that limit recovery.
“Keeping services within our region is key to successful recovery for those seeking mental health services,” Herman said.
- Karla Alexander, the executive director of AGAPE, highlighted the growing needs of unhoused individuals.
“We’ve seen a rising number of people in crisis who also need mental and behavioral health services. Access remains limited, and that lack of support is a significant barrier to getting people stabilized,” Alexander said.
- Sam Kranzel, the warden of Montour County Prison, explained that individuals with severe mental health needs often end up incarcerated because they cannot access care.
“Our facilities have no resources to properly care for these inmates, and it is not fair to the families,” Kranzel said.
- George Nye, the warden of Columbia County Prison, echoed the concern for staff safety.
“The violent behavior of mentally ill inmates puts corrections officers at risk every day,” Nye said.
The senators noted that the insights gathered will help inform future policy discussions in Harrisburg as they work with community partners to improve the effectiveness of Pennsylvania’s mental health services.
The full video of the roundtable, the list of participants, and written testimony are all available on the committee’s website.
CONTACT: Jim Brugger (Argall)
Sam Clepper (Culver)