The Miller Center for Recreation and Wellness

December 15, 2024 will mark the 5-year anniversary of the Miller Center Joint Venture. This communication from Miller Center Director Ryan McNally went out to the staff of the Miller Center’s partner organizations, including WellSpan Evangelical Community Hospital, WellSpan Community Health and Wellness, WellSpan Mobile Health, Community Action Agency Food Hub employees and volunteers, Cornerstone Kitchen Cafe operators Kyle and Alan Ard, The Miller Center Board of Directors, and other key stakeholders and leaders.

Sunday, December 15, 2024, marks the 5-year anniversary of the Miller Center Joint Venture. In reflecting on the past 5 years, it is apparent that we have accomplished so much. On December 15, 2019, we cut the ribbon on a Joint Venture that brought together a state-of-the-art recreation and wellness center, the expertise of the Greater Susquehanna Valley YMCA, and the resources of two local healthcare institutions. Together, we set out on a journey to be more than a traditional health and wellness center, to accomplish more than any one organization could do on its own, and we adopted a mantra that “Together We Can Achieve More”. This was made possible thanks to the Miller Family vision to bring public and private partnerships together under one roof in pursuit of improving the health of our region.

Just three months into the newly born Joint Venture we ran into the unexpected, a global pandemic that caused the need to shut our doors for an extended period of time. In that moment, it felt impossible to believe – something we certainly did not anticipate or have plans for. Despite this adversity, we were able to overcome the challenges brought about by the pandemic and emerge stronger.

As we celebrate our 5-year anniversary and close out another year of service to the community, I invite you to spend some time in reflection and celebrating all that we have accomplished, together.

Over the course of the past 5 years, our healthcare partners have invested more than $2.4 million of capital into the Miller Center. These investments not only enable the important work of the Miller Center partners, but also demonstrate the long-term commitment made by WellSpan Health and Geisinger in ensuring that the Miller Center remains a vibrant community asset long into the future.

This investment has funded:
• Additional parking capacity to support growing events.
• Acquisition of two adjoining residential properties, which will allow room for future growth and expansion.
• HVAC remediations that improved heating/cooling efficiency and comfort.
• Establishing visibility from Route 15 by securing space on a monument sign located on the south-east corner of the CVS property.
• Signage updates in and around the facility reflecting the partnership that was forged in 2019.
• Remediating the west entry, so it can be used as a primary entrance as needed during special events.
• Establishing a new use of the “Gear Store” by adding a Golf Simulator to our list of service offerings.
• Securing the entry of the fitness center by adding a secure sliding door.
• Reconfiguring the fitness center floor equipment layout to enhance functionality of the fitness floor design.
• Replacement of the mezzanine railing to enhance safety and child care license regulation requirements.
• Modifications to the family use courtside restroom to make the space more accommodating to our guests with special needs.
• Enhancements to storage systems, bringing more efficient storage options to our partners.
• Completion of the schematic design phase of a 120-child pre-school age child care center project.

The core or our mission is to enhance the health and wellbeing of the community through partnership, and our partners certainly have a lot to celebrate:

• According to the Susquehanna River Valley Visitors Bureau, events coordinated by the Lewisburg YMCA bring in over $2.5 million to the local economy each year. This includes spending on lodging, entertainment, and food while guests are in town for state, regional and even national events.
• The Lewisburg YMCA has more than 200,000 annual visits from members and guests representing more than 30 states.
• YMCA membership at The Miller Center has grown to nearly 4,000 members of all ages, fostering healthier lives.
• Through partnership, clinically integrated programs such as Phase 3 Cardiac Rehabilitation, and Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s Association programming have been started or maintained, serving community members striving to slow the progression or onset of certain disease conditions.
• WellSpan Community Health and Wellness and Mobile Health moved to The Miller Center in 2022, bringing expanded health education, and health fair program offerings to the Center. Community Health and Mobile Health serves more than 38,000 individuals each year through programs and services.
• Geisinger has completed its first pilot scale lifestyle-based research study through the Joint Venture. This study is pending publication and has validated (at pilot scale) a case that lifestyle-based intervention can be effective at improving biomarkers and reducing dependence on pharmaceuticals for patients with Type 2 Diabetes.
• The Food Hub at The Miller Center was founded in 2021 and has received, packaged, stored, and redistributed more than 44,000 pounds of food into our local communities and has served more than 8,600 food insecure individuals.

These are just a few of the celebrations to highlight as we reflect on the past and look forward to the future. Our future is bright, and we are very fortunate to have The Miller Center within our community. Because of you, our staff, partners, board members and leadership of our healthcare partners, we are able to impact the overall health and wellbeing of the community in ways that no one organization could accomplish alone. I look forward to working alongside each and every one of you as we move into a new year and beyond.

Together, we can achieve more.

With sincere gratitude,

Ryan M. McNally, MBA
Director, Miller Center & Community Health Initiatives
WellSpan Evangelical Community Hospital

Through a generous $2 million grant from The 1994 Charles B. Degenstein Foundation, the Miller Center—through its joint venture with Evangelical Community Hospital and Geisinger and in partnership with the Greater Susquehanna Valley YMCA—is poised to make childcare in the region more affordable and more accessible.

The $2 million grant from The 1994 Charles B. Degenstein Foundation, along with a $1.68 million U.S. Department of Agriculture Community Facilities Congressionally Directed Spending Grant previously secured with the help of U.S. Sen. Bob Casey’s office, will cover the construction costs for a childcare center at The Miller Center. The plans include an expansion on the west side of the facility. Other operational details are still in development.

“Our workforce at Evangelical is at least 50% women, if not more. Accessing affordable, quality childcare is the number one issue I hear when discussing the challenges facing young families with employees and prospective employees,” said Kendra Aucker, President and CEO, Evangelical Community Hospital, and President and Board Chair, The Miller Center. “We have to get creative and help these families with this essential service.”

“As an organization passionate about the health and well-being of the communities in Central Pennsylvania, we understand that far more goes into mental and physical health than just medicine,” said Matthew Walsh, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Geisinger, and Board Secretary, The Miller Center. “We’re proud to be part of this collaborative effort that will help provide local families with the support they need to live productive and fulfilling lives in these incredible communities.”

“In order to operationalize the expansion and make quality, affordable childcare more readily available to the families who need it, we’ll be looking to area employers to join us in this effort,” added Aucker.

The need for more affordable childcare options continues to grow.

“There are nearly 11,000 pre-kindergarten aged children in Union, Snyder, and Northumberland counties and almost 60% of them have working parents,” said Bonnie McDowell, CEO, Greater Susquehanna Valley YMCA. “Since the beginning of the pandemic, more than 1,500 childcare classrooms have closed in Pennsylvania. So as more and more children need care, parents face fewer and fewer options.”

Construction of the new space—the first step in this effort to address the community need—would not be possible without the support of The Degenstein Foundation.

“Charles Degenstein was a long-serving member of the Greater Susquehanna Valley YMCA and kids were his passion,” noted The 1994 Charles B. Degenstein Foundation Trustees. “The Foundation is pleased to continue its support of The Miller Center and the mission to develop a sustainable model of childcare that delivers more accessibility and more affordability to young families in our region. In addition, this effort benefits our business community by paving the way for more young families to remain in the workforce.”