McCormick tours Lewisburg hospital showcasing rural care technology
McCormick saw Lewisburg’s hospital using AI, a surgical robot and a new heart scanner to keep specialist care local. The visit also tied Union County to a $50 billion federal rural health program.
Dave McCormick toured WellSpan Evangelical Community Hospital in Lewisburg on Monday, June 30, to see how artificial intelligence, telemedicine, a surgical robot and a new CT scanner are being used to keep advanced care closer to home.
Allen Fasnacht, the hospital’s president, said the technology push is a way to make care both more accessible and more efficient for people living in the surrounding communities. McCormick said rural health systems are under strain nationwide, but singled out the Lewisburg hospital as a place investing in tools that can help sustain high-quality care.
That investment includes WellSpan’s GE Revolution APEX 16 CT scanner, which can produce high-resolution images in a single rotation and, in some cases, capture the entire heart in one heartbeat. The scanner supports cardiac imaging, stroke and neurovascular care, lung screening and oncology, with 512 slices per scan and a 23-millisecond rotation speed. The hospital also uses a da Vinci robotic surgery system, surgeon-controlled and designed to improve precision, with less pain and quicker recovery time for patients. The hospital began robot-assisted hernia and gallbladder surgeries in March 2025.
Pennsylvania unveiled its Rural Health Transformation Plan on November 20, 2025, with a proposal that could provide up to $200 million a year for five years if approved. The plan is aimed at technology adoption, workforce recruitment and retention, transportation, EMS and maternal health. CMS later announced awards to all 50 states under the Rural Health Transformation Program, with first-year awards in 2026 averaging about $200 million.
Union County’s population was estimated at 42,313 on July 1, 2025, and 20.5% of residents were 65 or older, according to Census estimates. Evangelical’s roots go back to 1926, the current Lewisburg hospital opened in 1953, and a 2021 addition gave every patient a private room. WellSpan and Evangelical Community Hospital combined in 2024, bringing the Lewisburg hospital into a system that now serves more than 1.3 million patients across 12 counties in Central Pennsylvania and Northern Maryland.
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