Gerald Zaboski Named Senior Vice President for the University of Scranton Gerald Zaboski ’87, G’95, was named senior vice president for the Office of the President at The University of Scranton, effective July 1, 2022. Rev. Joseph Marina, S.J., president of The University of Scranton, has named Gerald Zaboski ’87, G’95, as senior vice president for the Office of the President, effective July 1, 2022. Zaboski currently serves as vice president for enrollment management and external affairs. In his new position, he will continue to oversee the areas of marketing, communications and external affairs for Scranton, in addition to assuming new responsibilities for assisting the president with the advancement of the University’s strategic plan, and the creation and sustaining of new and existing partnerships with other institutions of higher learning, both international and domestic. “Beginning his service in 1988, Gerry’s vast experience at Scranton and unquestionable devotion to our mission will prove quite beneficial to our success in the years ahead,” said Father Marina in an announcement to the University community regarding the promotion. Zaboski will also continue to serve as a member of the University’s cabinet and as the leader for the University’s Incident Management Team. Zaboski joined the staff at the University in 1988. During his career at Scranton he served as executive assistant to the president, vice president for external affairs and vice president for alumni and public relations. He has also served on and chaired several committees including the University’s 125th Anniversary Committee. Prior to joining the University, he worked as public information manager for the Greater Scranton Chamber of Commerce. Zaboski serves on the board and executive committee of the Agency for Community Empowerment, and on the boards of Lackawanna Industrial Fund Enterprises and the Institute for Public Policy and Research. He also serves as treasurer of the West Wyoming Hose Company #1. He is a past president of the Scranton Lions Club. A resident of West Wyoming, Zaboski earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from The University of Scranton and is a member of Alpha Epsilon Alpha and Alpha Sigma Nu honor societies.
Wright Center’s Dr. Eisenberg Named Senior Advisor at the Center for Healthcare Innovation Dr. David Eisenberg, the deputy chief medical officer for value-based care, health informatics and operational sustainability at The Wright Center for Community Health, has been named a senior advisor by the Center for Healthcare Innovation. The Center for Healthcare Innovation is a nonprofit research and educational institute based in Chicago, Illinois, that brings diverse global leaders together to work on improving health care for everyone, regardless of socioeconomic status, gender, race, ethnicity or other social determinants. Its members include health care providers, executives, caregivers, authors, entrepreneurs, researchers and more who work collaboratively on the common goal of reducing health disparities. At The Wright Center, he leads value-based care contracts across four major payers and three Medicaid managed care organizations for primary and behavioral health service lines; collaborates with executive leadership on business development and sustainability, and engages in cross-functional initiatives that drive integration and alignment to improve operational and financial performance. Eisenberg earned his Bachelor of Science in neuroscience from the University of Pittsburgh and his Doctor of Medicine from Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine. He served an internship in The Wright Center for Graduate Medical Education’s Psychiatry Residency and is a candidate for his Master of Management in clinical informatics from Duke University. In addition, Eisenberg has clinical and administrative experience in developing and implementing interoperability workflows across multiple disciplines of health care. Overall, the Center for Healthcare Innovation advocates for those who are vulnerable, at-risk and underserved by developing collaborative relationships that make health care more equitable for all patients; increases understanding and metrics of health equity; produces impactful research on trends and challenges to health equity; analyzes and disseminates best practices for reducing disparities, and develops ideas for policymakers that work to eliminate obstacles to care and reducing health disparities. It accomplishes its objectives by hosting educational events for global health care innovators, conducting independent research, and advising leaders and teams on how to solve strategic health care and health equity challenges in the industry. For more information about The Wright Center for Community Health, please go to TheWrightCenter.org or call 570-343-2383.
FNCB Bank Supports Dallas Foundation for Excellence in Education, Inc. FNCB Bank presents an $8,000 Education Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) donation to the Dallas Foundation for Excellence in Education, Inc. in support of the academic experience of students in the Dallas School District. Since 2010, FNCB has contributed just under $2,500,000 to local educational and scholarship organizations through the EITC initiative. From left: Kelley Zionce, FNCB Bank Community Office Manager (Back Mountain) and Greg Riley, Dallas High School Principal. FNCB Bank, locally based since 1910, has announced an $8,000 Pennsylvania Education Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) donation to the Dallas Foundation for Excellence in Education, Inc. The donation will help support the academic experience for students of the Dallas School District. Since 2010, FNCB has contributed just under $2,500,000 to local educational and scholarship organizations through the EITC initiative. The support of the Dallas Foundation for Excellence in Education, Inc. is part of FNCB’s larger Community Caring initiative. As a true, local community bank, FNCB Bank is making a difference through volunteerism, donations and outreach programs.
Geisinger Working to Drive Down Prescription Costs with EQRx Geisinger is working to lower prescription drug costs thanks to their work with EQRx, a new type of pharmaceutical company committed to developing and delivering important new medicines to patients at radically lower prices. Geisinger is committed to working to provide safe, effective, and affordable medications easily accessible to its patients and health plan members. The parties have signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding (MOU) that provides a roadmap for Geisinger and EQRx to enter into a commercial agreement that would give Geisinger’s members and patients access to EQRx’s pipeline of innovative medicines, contingent upon approval by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The MOU contemplates an expansion of the existing, long-term strategic collaboration between the two organizations with a shared goal of bringing innovative therapies to the people Geisinger serves, in a financially sustainable way. The agreement would initially focus on EQRx’s two lead oncology programs, aumolertinib and sugemalimab, and could be expanded to other EQRx pipeline programs. Aumolertinib, an epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) inhibitor, and sugemalimab, an anti-PD-L1 antibody, have both shown promising Phase 3 data for the treatment of patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). “Our partnership with EQRx is well aligned with Geisinger’s commitment to our community to make better health easier by directly addressing the rising costs of healthcare and medications in particular,” said Mike Evans, Chief Pharmacy Officer, Geisinger. “Ballooning medication costs are placing an unsustainable burden on both patients and the U.S. healthcare system. This partnership marks Geisinger’s commitment to disrupt the status-quo and help make lower-cost medications for our patients a reality.” “We are committed to partnering with different types of health systems worldwide to increase access to medicines, and we are thrilled to collaborate with Geisinger, a leading integrated delivery network,” said Melanie Nallicheri, chief executive officer of EQRx. “The MOU provides a roadmap for access to future EQRx products, beginning with our two lead oncology programs, and paves the way to delivering these lower-cost, innovative medicines to the more than one million people within Geisinger’s health system upon FDA approval.”
Performances of STOMP at Scranton Cultural Center Postponed to June 2022 The January 12 & 13, 2022 performances of STOMP at the Scranton Cultural Center at the Masonic Temple have been postponed due to a breakthrough case of COVID-19 within the company. The engagement has been rescheduled for Wednesday, June 1st & Thursday, June 2nd, 2022 and tickets for these June dates are now on-sale at the Scranton Cultural Center at the Masonic Temple Box Office or online at BroadwayInScranton.com. Current tickets will be valid for the new corresponding dates. Wednesday, January 12, 2022 is now Wednesday, June 1, 2022 at 7:30pm Thursday, January 13, 2022 is now Thursday, June 2, 2022 at 7:30pm You will have 30 days to receive a refund from point of purchase. If you do not choose this option, your tickets will remain valid for the rescheduled date. Please contact the Scranton Cultural Center at the Masonic Temple Box Office or the Broadway Theatre League Office (570.342.7784) with any questions. We appreciate your understanding and look forward to seeing you in June.
Lackawanna College Announces Tuition-Free Education Partnership with Allied Services Lackawanna College announced a new partnership which will allow employees at one of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s largest non-profit healthcare systems to attend college tuition-free. Under the agreement, eligible employees at Allied Services Integrated Health System can pursue a bachelor’s or an associate degree at Lackawanna College. Full-time and part-time employees at Allied Services will be eligible for the Lackawanna College Business Partners Scholarship which covers tuition for the Fall and Spring semesters. “The need for trained healthcare professionals in our area continues to grow,” stated Dr. Jill Murray, Lackawanna College President. “Our evolving partnership with Allied Services enhances the quality of our area’s healthcare services by filling in-demand positions with a skilled workforce. Opportunities like this make college affordable and accessible – a great equalizer for families and our communities.” This latest partnership enhances Allied Services’ existing tuition assistance and tuition reimbursement programs for employees. In 2021, Allied Services and Lackawanna College announced a new nursing scholarship to provide full tuition for eligible students in Lackawanna College’s nursing associate degree program. Students awarded these scholarships can work at Allied Services while continuing their education and be guaranteed a full-time position upon graduation and licensure as a registered nurse. In addition, Allied Services offers its own scholarship and tuition assistance programs to support a diverse workforce that includes mental health workers, mechanics, therapists, accountants, nutritionists, social workers, and many more. “As a leading employer in Northeast and Central Pennsylvania, we recognize the importance and value of investing in our employees, their families, and their futures,” said Attorney Bill Conaboy, President and CEO. “Our employees are at the heart of all we do for our patients, our residents, and our communities. We look forward to supporting them as they pursue their personal and professional goals. ” The public-private partnership is one of many that are in the works at Lackawanna College that will cover a student’s full tuition. “The Lackawanna College Business Partnership Scholarship Initiative helps businesses of all sizes develop and retain employees,” said Jeff Gregory, Director of College Enrollment Partnerships. “A partnership with Lackawanna College includes a tuition scholarship that can be offered to employees, allowing the workforce to pursue a bachelor’s or associate degree.”
University of Scranton Physics Professor Awarded NSF Grant for Ham Radio Workshop Nathaniel Frissell, Ph.D., assistant professor physics and electrical engineering at The University of Scranton, was awarded a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant of $49,995 to support the “The Ham Radio Science Citizen Investigation (HamSCI) 2022 Workshop,” which will take place March 18-19, 2022. Pictured working in the new ham radio station on campus, are, from left: Simal Sami, a sophomore who is part of Scranton’s Magis Honors Program in STEM; Dr. Frissell; and Veronica Romanek, a junior physics major. The National Science Foundation (NSF) awarded a grant of nearly $50,000 to Nathaniel Frissell, Ph.D., assistant professor of physics and electrical engineering at The University of Scranton. The grant will support “The Ham Radio Science Citizen Investigation (HamSCI) 2022 Workshop,” which will take place March 18 and 19 at The U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama. The conference, which will take place in-person, also has a virtual format option. The Ham Radio Science Citizen Investigation (HamSCI) is a collective of professional researchers and licensed amateur radio operators (a.k.a. hams) with the objective to foster collaborations between the amateur and professional communities for the purposes of advancing scientific research and understanding, encouraging the development of new technologies to support this research, and to provide educational opportunities for the amateur radio community and the general public. The workshop will serve as a team meeting for the HamSCI Personal Space Weather Station project, which is a $1.3 million NSF funded project previously awarded to Dr. Frissell. The project seeks to harness the power of a network of licensed amateur radio operators to better understand and measure the effects of weather in the upper levels of Earth’s atmosphere. The theme for the two-day HamSCI workshop is “The Weather Connection.” The fifth annual workshop will feature prominent leaders in space weather, atmospheric weather and the connection between them. Speakers include a keynote presentation by Chen-Pang Yeang, Sc.D., Ph.D., associate professor at the Institute for the History and Philosophy of Science and Technology, University of Toronto and author of “Probing the Sky with Radio Waves: From Wireless Technology to the Development of Atmospheric Science.” He will discuss “Ham Radio and the Discovery of the Ionosphere.” Tamitha Skov, Ph.D., research scientist in the Physical Sciences Laboratory Aerospace Corporation, will discuss the ionospheric impacts of space weather. Dr. Skov is well-known to the amateur radio community as “The Space Weather Woman” through her innovative YouTube space weather forecasts. Jim Bacon, a well-known retired meteorologist from the United Kingdom and active developer of the PropQuest website, will provide an amateur radio tutorial on the influences of terrestrial weather on radio propagation and the ionosphere. “The workshop series has led to cutting-edge work in the fields of space physics, citizen science, and the use of crowd-sourced ionospheric data,” said Dr. Frissell. “To maximize the potential of the ham radio-professional researcher relationship, meetings are needed to bring these groups together to learn about each other’s communities, vocabularies, share ideas, and participate in activities that advance both the scientific field and the radio hobby.” Dr. Frissell’s research focuses on the ionosphere, which is an atmospheric region that extends from about 50 to 600 miles above the earth’s surface. According to Dr. Frissell, changes in the ionosphere alter the behavior of radio wave propagation and greatly affect the radio communications and global navigation satellite systems. Understanding ionospheric structures and processes will lead to an increased understanding and prediction of these effects. In August 2021, Dr. Frissell received a six-figure grant through the NASA’s Space Weather Applications Operations 2 Research Program for the research project “Enabling Space Weather Research with Global Scale Amateur Radio Datasets.” The location of the 2022 conference near the NASA Marshal Space Flight Center. Registration for the HamSCI Workshop 2022 will open soon. Registration and additional information about the conference can be found on the HamSCI Workshop 2022 webpage.
Wright Center for Graduate Medical Education Scholars’ Research Accepted at Health Resources & Services Administration Conference Ronakkumar PatelEdward DzielakNirali PatelJumee BarooahLinda Thomas-Hemak The federal Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA) has accepted a scholarly research abstract from The Wright Center for Graduate Medical Education for presentation at its highly competitive national conference in April. Dr. Nirali Patel, a board-certified internal medicine and board-eligible geriatrics physician and associate program director of the Geriatrics Fellowship and core faculty for internal medicine, will present the paper, “Value Impact of a Community-Based, Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education-Accredited Geriatrics Fellowship Immersion in an Essential Community Provider’s COVID-19 Response.” She co-authored the abstract with Drs. Linda Thomas-Hemak, president and CEO; Jumee Barooah, designated institutional official, Edward Dzielak, a geriatrics and internal medicine physician and program director of the Geriatrics Fellowship, and Ronakkumar Patel, a resident physician in the internal medicine program. The abstract, one of 72 accepted for presentation, illustrates how HRSA’s investment in The Wright Center for Graduate Medical Education’s Geriatrics Fellowship led to the successful training of its first graduating class during the height of the pandemic. Fellows acted as a key pandemic workforce, offering safely managed and supervised in-person clinic, home-based and telehealth visits for geriatric patients. In addition, fellows also engaged in deployment of The Wright Center for Community Health’s 34-foot mobile medical unit, Driving Better Health, to deliver primary health services, as well as COVID-19 testing, monoclonal antibody infusions and vaccinations at senior living facilities. Along with primary care residents, geriatric fellows formed a vital workforce for the Pennsylvania Department of Health’s Education Support and Clinical Coaching Program that provided support to personal care, assisted living and skilled nursing facilities. HRSA’s abstract review committee chose the research article for its Bureau of Health Workforce Virtual All Grantee and Stakeholder Meeting. The focus of the meeting is for participants to learn from grantees and trainees about programs, ideas and research that can improve the health workforce. Overall, The Wright Center for Graduate Medical Education has had 75 scholarly abstracts, written on a wide array of topics in medicine, accepted for presentation at professional conferences since the beginning of the 2021-22 academic year. The fellowship in geriatrics is a one-year program that emphasizes quality of care and a deep understanding of socioeconomic determinants of health for older patients that face the unique health challenges that come with aging. For more information about The Wright Centers for Community Health and Graduate Medical Education, go to thewrightcenter.org or call 570-343-2383.
Regional Manufacturers Report Significant Results from NEPIRC Engagements Throughout 2021, regional manufacturing firms attributed over $120 million in revenue impact, $11.7 million in cost savings and $21.2 million in expansion, modernization and workforce training to their successful engagements with the Northeastern Pennsylvania Industrial Resource Center (NEPIRC). Those financial impacts allowed the firms to create and retain 1,200 full-time manufacturing jobs – bringing our region’s industrial employment to nearly 44,000. NEPIRC clients reported those impacts during surveys administered by the Fors Marsh Group under the guidance of the U.S. Department of Commerce National Institute of Standards & Technology. As a result of the dynamic results reported by NEPIRC clients during 2021, the organization maintained its placement among the top performers in the Manufacturing Extension Partnership National Network. NEPIRC also received a Sliver Award for Excellence in Economic Development from the International Economic Development Council during the year. “We’re proud of the impacts that our offerings have had upon our manufacturing clients during this critical time of rebound and recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. These results speak to the expertise of our staff and the dedication of our manufacturers to continue to thrive amidst adversity, retain their existing workforce and create new good-paying jobs,” said Eric Joseph Esoda, NEPIRC’s President & CEO. “Our manufacturing economy has already returned to near pre-pandemic levels of employment and hundreds of job opportunities are still listed on our Manufacturing Job Board,” he added. In addition to capturing client financial and employment impacts, the Fors Marsh survey process assessed NEPIRC client overall satisfaction levels and their reasons for choosing NEPIRC for their consultative service needs. Most NEPIRC clients partnered with NEPIRC due to their staff expertise, reputation for results, exclusive focus on the manufacturing sector or practical cost of services. NEPIRC’s Annual Impact Report can be found at www.NEPIRC.com > “Our Impact”.
