Today the nation will observe National Women’s Physicians Day, celebrating the birthday of Elizabeth Blackwell, our country’s first female medical doctor. We’ll also recognize the progress and achievements of women in the medical field since Dr. Blackwell earned her degree in 1849.
Here at Geisinger, our more than 600 female physicians practice across the vast spectrum of specialties and serve in leadership roles that shape and improve the lives of those in our communities.
We also take special pride in our history as a health system founded by a visionary woman — Abigail Geisinger — in 1915. As Geisinger has grown, so has our obligation to the women who care for our patients, guide our vision and build their careers here. One example? The formation of an employee resource group that advocates for a first-class experience for Geisinger’s female employees. This group’s efforts have yielded a long list of workplace improvements, including the establishment of a parental leave policy that guarantees new parents two weeks of paid leave. This policy, offered at less than 15 percent of the nation’s hospitals, is available not only to parents who give birth or adopt a child but also to foster parents and those who assume legal guardianship.
As a female physician at Geisinger, I’m proud that our efforts to bring fairness and equality to the workplace can be held up as a standard locally and nationally. It’s with this mindset that we take today, National Women’s Physicians Day, to celebrate the work we’ve done and look forward to continuing as catalysts for change and stewards for progress.
Please join me and all of Geisinger in thanking our women physicians and physician leaders for all they do each day to make our communities better places to live, work and raise a family.
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