Wilkes Barre General Hospital: Address, Phone & Patient Info

Online ER check-in

Commonwealth Health currently provides an online ER check-in option. This allows an appropriate patient to select an estimated treatment time rather than simply arriving without notice.

ER wait times

The hospital publishes a live average ER wait-time indicator online. It changes throughout the day and should not be copied into a static article as though it were a guaranteed appointment time.

Emergency patients are prioritized according to clinical need. Someone who arrives after you may be treated first if their condition is more urgent.

Heart attack and stroke access

Wilkes-Barre General has established cardiovascular and stroke capabilities. Its Heart & Vascular Institute is positioned above the Emergency Department and near operating rooms to support rapid diagnosis and intervention.

The hospital also provides intervention-capable stroke services and has offered treatments including mechanical thrombectomy, angioplasty, coiling and stenting for selected cerebrovascular emergencies.

Why emergency bills vary

A hospital emergency bill may include separate components such as:

• Emergency facility level
• Emergency physician professional services
• Laboratory testing
• X-rays, CT or MRI
• Radiologist interpretation
• Medication
• Procedures
• Cardiology or specialist consultation
• Observation
• Inpatient admission
• Operating-room services
• Anesthesia
• Medical devices or implants

Below are current examples from Commonwealth Health’s physician network and hospital-affiliated directory. These are not the entire 400+ member medical staff.

How to find a specific doctor

Wilkes-Barre General Hospital does not publish one consultation fee covering all of its 400+ physicians.

A cardiology consultation, general-surgery office visit, hospitalist service, emergency physician evaluation and specialist consultation can all be billed differently.

Before a scheduled specialist visit, ask the office:

• What is the new-patient consultation charge?
• What is the established-patient follow-up charge?
• Will a facility fee apply?
• Is the physician in-network with my exact insurance product?
• Is prior authorization required?
• Does telehealth have a different charge?
• Will tests be performed on the same day and billed separately?

The Commonwealth Heart & Vascular Institute at Wilkes-Barre General provides a continuum of cardiovascular services from diagnostic and interventional cardiology through open-heart surgery and rehabilitation.

The institute is positioned directly above the Emergency Department and near operating rooms, an arrangement intended to support rapid diagnosis and treatment.

Cardiovascular capabilities include

• Diagnostic cardiology
• Interventional cardiology
• Cardiac catheterization
• Electrophysiology
• Pacemaker and device procedures
• Structural heart care
• TAVR program
• Cardiothoracic surgery
• Open-heart surgery
• Cardiac rehabilitation

Wilkes-Barre General provides advanced neurological care including acute stroke treatment, neurosurgical services and endovascular intervention.

Published capabilities include

• Stroke evaluation and treatment
• Mechanical thrombectomy
• Cerebral angioplasty
• Coiling
• Stenting
• Neurological critical care
• Brain and spine surgery
• Minimally invasive neurosurgical techniques
• Intraoperative neurological monitoring
• Rehabilitation after neurological illness or surgery

Robotic-assisted surgery

Wilkes-Barre General has a long-established robotic surgery program and has served as a training site where surgeons observe complex minimally invasive cases.

Robotic-assisted applications have included procedures such as:

• Colorectal surgery
• Hernia repair
• Gallbladder surgery
• Gynecologic procedures
• Prostate-related surgery
• Other general-surgery procedures

Center for Advanced Endoscopy

The Center for Advanced Endoscopy is located on the first floor of Wilkes-Barre General Hospital. It contains four procedure rooms, 11 pre- and post-operative recovery bays and a waiting area.

Procedures listed by the hospital include:

The current first-floor campus map identifies both Lab / Testing and Imaging on the main hospital level, close to other patient-service areas.

Before scheduled imaging

• Confirm the exact test.
• Ask whether prior authorization is complete.
• Ask whether fasting or contrast preparation is required.
• Bring the imaging order when instructed.
• Bring photo ID and insurance information.
• Ask which entrance/registration desk to use.
• Ask whether the radiologist’s professional charge is separate.

Women’s Imaging Center

Commonwealth Health also operates a Women’s Imaging Center at the Thomas P. Saxton Medical Pavilion in Edwardsville. The center has held American College of Radiology recognition as a Breast Imaging Center of Excellence and offers services including 3D mammography, breast ultrasound and image-guided breast procedures.

The hospital campus has historically included:

• A parking garage attached to the main hospital
• A separate garage serving the adjacent Center for Same Day Surgery
• Accessible parking areas
• Parking-garage elevators connecting into the hospital

The current campus layout identifies a Parking Deck (Red Level) and Parking Garage Elevators on the first-floor route.

Best parking strategy

The current campus map identifies these first-floor destinations:

Visitor hours can change by unit, patient condition, infection-control requirements and hospital policy. The current public hospital material reviewed for this guide does not provide a sufficiently clear, current hospital-wide 2026 visitor timetable to safely publish one fixed set of hours.

Ask specifically about:

• Medical/surgical floor visiting
• ICU / critical-care visiting
• Emergency Department visitor limits
• Behavioral-health restrictions
• Age restrictions for children
• Number of visitors allowed at bedside
• Overnight support-person rules
• Current masking or infection-control rules

What visitors should bring

• Photo identification if requested
• Patient’s full name
• Patient room or unit if known
• Parking ticket if validation may be available

The current first-floor hospital layout identifies Admissions / Registration, Financial Counseling and Pre-Admission areas on the main campus.

For scheduled hospital care, bring:

Portal functions can include access to:

Commonwealth Health is also supported by the MyHealthHome – Oracle Health mobile app. Available functions depend on what the hospital has enabled.

The patient portal is useful for many results and summaries, but a formal medical record request may still be needed when you want a complete chart sent to yourself, another physician, an attorney, insurer or another facility.

Start with the portal when you need:

• Recent laboratory results
• Radiology reports
• Medication information
• Available clinical summaries
• Hospital-based patient documents

Contact the hospital for a formal record release when you need:

• A complete medical chart
• Records sent directly to another facility
• Records for legal or insurance purposes
• Large historical record sets
• Records not available in MyHealthHome
• Radiology images rather than only the written report

The hospital’s current financial-assistance policy states that emergency and medically necessary care will not be delayed or withheld based on a patient’s ability to pay.

Available assistance can include

• Charity Care Discount
• Uninsured Discount
• Eligibility screening for government programs
• Financial counseling
• Consideration for medically indigent patients

What the application can ask for

The hospital’s policy says applicants may be asked for documentation such as:

• Recent paycheck stubs
• Prior-year federal tax return
• Unemployment documentation
• Social Security benefit information
• Public-assistance information
• Household expenses
• Asset information

Commonwealth Health currently states that it accepts most major insurance plans, including Geisinger Health Plan in its regional messaging. However, insurance participation can differ by:

• Specific insurance product
• Hospital facility
• Physician
• Anesthesia group
• Radiology/pathology professional group
• Emergency physician group
• Scheduled service

Before scheduled care

1. Call the insurance member-services number.
2. Confirm hospital network status.
3. Confirm physician network status.
4. Ask whether prior authorization is required.
5. Ask about deductible and coinsurance.
6. Request a hospital estimate when possible.

Commonwealth Health states that free language-assistance services are available to patients who do not speak English.

The hospital’s campus map also identifies handicap-accessible restrooms and patient access routes.

Request help before arrival if you need:

• Spoken-language interpreter
• Sign-language communication support
• Wheelchair or mobility assistance
• Accessible parking guidance
• Help locating the correct entrance

The current hospital campus map identifies both a cafeteria and Starbucks on the first-floor hospital layout.

Exact daily food-service hours can change and are not sufficiently current in the material reviewed to publish a fixed 2026 timetable. Visitors who need food-service hours can confirm them through the main switchboard.

Luzerne County Transportation Authority’s current Route 1 – Mohegan Pennsylvania via Miners Mills lists Wilkes-Barre General Hospital (River St.) as a served stop.

LCTA’s current route information indicates that fixed-route service timing varies by schedule and that regular fixed-route service does not operate on Sundays. Check the latest LCTA timetable before depending on the bus for a medical appointment.

This is one of the important facts that changed recently.

Community Health Systems completed the sale of Wilkes-Barre General Hospital, Regional Hospital of Scranton and Moses Taylor Hospital to Tenor Health Foundation, with the transaction effective February 1, 2026.

Tenor Health Foundation describes itself as a nonprofit organization. The local network continues using the Commonwealth Health name for patient-facing hospital and physician services.

Michael Clark, who was named permanent CEO of Wilkes-Barre General Hospital in 2025, has continued in hospital/system leadership following the Tenor transition.