Geisinger’s Pediatric Neurologist Recognized for Patient Advocate Award Anne Marie Morse, DO, director of pediatric neurology and pediatric sleep medicine at Geisinger Janet Weis Children’s Hospital, was recognized with the Patient Advocate Award by the organization Wake Up Narcolepsy. The award is given to individuals who have touched the lives of patients living with narcolepsy and other rare sleep disorders and who have set a high benchmark for their unwavering commitment to patient partnership and advocacy for health and well-being of children and adults living with narcolepsy. Dr. Morse is passionate about the need for transformational healthcare change that empowers the patient and delivers on achieving outcomes that the patient values. She executes on this belief using channels within the healthcare system and through research, but also via social media platforms, public appearances and patient interactions and partnerships. “My commitment and mission for healthcare progress starts and ends with the person on their own healthcare journey. Every effort is centered on empowering people living with any chronic disease, but especially those living with narcolepsy and idiopathic hypersomnia,” Dr. Morse said. “My intention is to augment understanding, awareness and knowledge, while combating stigma about sleep disorders. And finally, I want to advance care through personalized treatment that allows every patient to live fully despite a chronic medical condition trying to limit them.” Dr. Morse has been the director of pediatric neurology since 2018 and has grown the department from 5 providers to 15 to serve more families throughout the region. She also created and is the director of the Department of Pediatric Sleep Medicine and is the program director for the child neurology residency program. Her commitment to growth and development extends into the community. She founded with her pediatric residents a program called LEAP (Launching the Empowerment of Adolscents Program), with a mission to provide social support and decrease stigma for teens living with a chronic disease. She created a school-based program called Wake Up and Learn that empowers teens, families and schools to learn about using sleep as a tool for wellness, health and performance and helps identify teens struggling with sleep wake difficulties. The program has been a success in many central Pennslyvania middle and high schools. She replicated this success with the development of Sleep to Be Well, a-first-in-the-country program that educates people about sleep as a resource for better health. Morse received the award during Wake Up Narcolepsy’s Shadows to Light Gala held in New York City on Sept. 20. Wake Up Narcolepsy is a nonprofit organization dedicated to driving narcolepsy awareness, education and research toward improved treatments and finding a cure.
Scranton Counseling Center Drives Change with New Subaru Scranton Counseling Center (SCC) was awarded grants from the Moses Taylor Foundation and MileOneCares, the philanthropic arm of MotorWorld|MileOne Autogroup, to purchase a 2025 Subaru Legacy for SCC’s Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) program. Since this is a fully community-based program, ACT team members will use the car to travel to consumer appointments. ACT is a way of delivering a full range of services to people who have been diagnosed with a serious mental illness. ACT’s goal is to give consumers adequate community care and to help them have a life that is not dominated by their mental illness. With ACT, consumers get help taking care of all their needs to maintain a happy, healthy and safe life in the community. This includes a full range of services, such as medication management, medical oversight, therapy, drug and alcohol treatment, peer support, vocational and educational counseling, housing support, crisis services and any other services that would be beneficial and desired by the consumer. Pictured L to R: Janice Mecca, ACT Program Director and Doug Hein, SCC Director of Development. We are very thankful to MileOneCares and the Moses Taylor Foundation for their continued support of our programs and staff.
Geisinger Going Pink, Hosting Health Talks to Combat Breast Cancer The system will also deploy mobile mammogram bus This October, in honor of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Geisinger is doing its part to raise awareness about the importance of early breast cancer detection. Geisinger hospitals across central Pennsylvania will be lit up in pink, and the mobile mammogram bus will bring screenings to patients in underserved communities. Geisinger will also sponsor two free public education events: PA Health Talk: Genetics and Risk of Developing Breast Cancer will be held virtually Oct. 9 from 6 – 7 p.m. PA Health Talk: Comprehensive breast care, a discussion of breast cancer prevention and treatment, will be held at Geisinger Woodbine, 16 Woodbine Lane, Danville, Oct. 10 from 6 – 8 p.m. A virtual link will be available. To register for either PA Health Talk, visit events.geisinger.org. The pink mobile mammogram bus will be available at the following locations: Sept. 30 – Oct. 4: 1525 N. Church St., Hazle Township Oct. 7 – 11: 1 E. Norwegian St., Pottsville Oct. 14 – 18: 35 S. Mountain Blvd., Mountain Top Oct. 21 – 25: 1 E. Norwegian St., Pottsville Oct. 28 – Nov. 1: 1525 N. Church St., Hazle Township Patients can schedule mammograms through MyGeisinger or by calling 570-271-6000. “Early detection is one of the best ways to win the battle against breast cancer,” said Robin Skrine, M.D., director of breast health for Geisinger. “The American Society of Breast Surgeons and other leading health groups agree that lives are saved through annual mammograms beginning at age 40 — or earlier if there’s a history of breast cancer or other risk factors in a patient’s medical history.” Along with scheduling mammograms, Dr. Skrine urged women to attend the PA Health Talks to learn more about breast cancer and genetic risks. To learn more about breast cancer care at Geisinger, visit geisinger.org/breastcare.
Don’t Miss Pennsylvania Senate Debate Live on NEXSTAR! NEXSTAR to host an exclusive live telecast of the debate between the candidates for U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania on October 3 AT 8 P.M. ET Nexstar Media Group, Inc. announced today that it will host an exclusive live multi-market telecast of a debate featuring the candidates for the United States Senate from Pennsylvania. Democrat Bob Casey and Republican David McCormick have committed to attend and all candidates who meet eligibility criteria will be invited to participate. “DEBATE NIGHT IN PENNSYLVANIA: RACE FOR THE U.S. SENATE” will take place on Thursday, October 3, 2024, at 8:00 p.m. ET, at the studios of WHTM/abc27 in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and will be telecast and live streamed across the Commonwealth. Nexstar’s cable news network, NewsNation, will carry a simulcast of the debate nationwide. The one-hour debate will be available via broadcast or digital live stream to every Pennsylvania voter in every county of the state. The debate will bring together millions of viewers and will air on six Nexstar-owned or operated local stations serving the state: WHTM-TV (ABC) in Harrisburg/Lancaster, Lebanon, York, WPHL-TV (CW) in Philadelphia, WTAJ-TV (CBS) in Johnstown/Altoona/State College, WBRE-TV (NBC) in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre/Hazleton, WFXP-TV (FOX) in Erie, and WYTV-TV (ABC) in Youngstown, OH. In Pittsburgh, the debate will be carried by KDKA+. WETM2 in Elmira, New York, will live stream the debate, as will PIX11.com in New York City. Additionally, all radio stations throughout the Commonwealth will be provided free access to the debate. The debate will be moderated by WHTM/abc27 News anchor Dennis Owens, who will pose questions to the candidates focused on local and regional issues impacting communities across Pennsylvania. The election for U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania is scheduled to take place on Tuesday, November 5th. Voters must register to vote by October 21st. To register to vote, please visit https://www.vote.pa.gov/Register-to-Vote. For more information regarding the upcoming elections, including early voting dates, polling locations and voter identification requirements, please visit https://www.pavoterservices.pa.gov. Anyone requesting media access should contact Leisha Beard at lbeard@abc27.com Your Local Election Headquarters: Pennsylvania Democratic U.S. Senate Debate Thursday, October 3, 2024 8:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. EDT The U.S. Senate Debate will be carried on the following stations and websites: Station Network Market Station Website Social WHTM-TV ABC Harrisburg, Lancaster, Lebanon, York, PA Abc27.com @abc27news WETMNBCElmiramytwintiers.com@wetm18newsWFXP-TVFOXErie, PAYourErie.com@jetfoxyourerieWYTV-TVABCYoungstown, OHWytv.com@33wytvWBRE-TVNBCScranton, Wilkes-Barre, Hazleton, PAPahomepage.com@eyewitnessnewstvWTAJ-TVCBSJohnstown, Altoona, State College, PAWearecentralpa.com@wtajtvWPHL-TVCWPhiladelphia, PAPhl17.com@phl17KDKA+INDPittsburgh, PA Kdka.com @kdka WPIX-TVCWNew York City Pix11.comPIX11+ stream WIVBCBSBuffalo, NYWIVB.com@wivb
Greater Scranton YMCA Appoints Next President & CEO On September 26, the Greater Scranton YMCA’s Board of Directors appointed Rich Surridge as the organization’s next President & CEO. Rich has worked at the Greater Scranton YMCA for 17 years, beginning his YMCA career in July of 2007. During his time with the YMCA, Rich served in various roles at the Greater Scranton YMCA and Greater Wyoming Valley YMCA. Previous to being appointed President & CEO in September and Interim CEO in June, Rich served as the Greater Scranton YMCA’s CFO from 2007-2015; the CFO for both the Greater Scranton YMCA and the Wilkes-Barre Family YMCA from 2015-2021; and, most recently, the CFO and COO at the Greater Scranton YMCA from 2021 through June of this year. “On behalf of the board of directors, we are thrilled to name Rich as President and CEO of the Greater Scranton YMCA,” said Megan Wolff Galko, Chief Volunteer Officer, Greater Scranton YMCA. “His passion and dedication to the Y makes him the perfect person to continue our legacy of serving a critical need within the Northeast PA community by offering healthy meals for children and seniors, training in water safety, encouraging healthy habits, and offering a safe place for residents of all ages to spend time with their friends.” As President & CEO, Rich’s primary focus will be ensuring the Greater Scranton YMCA’s successful operation, including membership, program development, volunteer recruitment, staff supervision, community relations, collaborations, budgeting, and financial results. “I am honored to serve as the next President & CEO of the Greater Scranton YMCA,” said Rich. “I will work diligently to not only continue the important work of our YMCA, but also to grow our programs to meet the changing needs of our community. Working alongside our dedicated staff team, I am so excited to be a part of the impact the Greater Scranton YMCA will continue to make on the lives of children, adults and families from across our community.”
Greater Scranton YMCA Announces Retirement of President The Greater Scranton YMCA announces the retirement of its esteemed President & CEO, Trish Fisher, due to health concerns. Trish’s unwavering dedication to the development of the Greater Scranton YMCA during her ten years of service will forever be appreciated, and they express gratitude for her. During Trish’s tenure, the Greater Scranton YMCA underwent nearly $10 million in capital improvements, including the renovation of the welcome center and the creation of a commercial kitchen, teaching kitchen, universal locker room, power cycling room and more. Under Trish’s leadership, enrollment in its Early Childhood Education Programs has more than tripled, which motivated the opening of its second Early Learning Center in Olyphant in April of this year. The YMCA’s membership has also tripled during this time, fully rebounding from the hardships incurred during the COVID-19 public health emergency. Throughout the pandemic, Trish was proud to continue paying all staff, even during the times when the facility was forced to shut down. Since Trish joined the Greater Scranton YMCA, $10,963,376 has been raised to support these efforts and continue fulfilling the mission of turning no one away for an inability to pay. Trish played an integral role in the establishment of the Greater Scranton YMCA’s Year-Round Food Program, which provides daily breakfast, lunch and snacks to the children in their care. Understanding the importance of year-round education for all children, Trish spearheaded the implementation of the Summer Scholars Program at the Mid Valley and Dunmore School Districts. The program operates for six-weeks during the summer months, is free of charge and is targeted to rising first, second and third grade students who are struggling with reading. The members, staff, and volunteers are profoundly grateful to Trish for her cause-driven leadership and wish her all the health and happiness in the world as she enters her well-deserved retirement!
The University of Scranton Ranked in U.S. News For more than 30 consecutive years U.S. News has ranked The University of Scranton in the top 10 “Best Regional Universities in North.” U.S. News & World Report has once again ranked The University of Scranton among the top 10 regional universities in the north, placing Scranton No. 6 in its 2025 edition of the “Best Colleges” guidebook, which became available online today. This marks the 31st consecutive year the U.S. News has ranked Scranton in the top 10 in its category. U.S. News ranked Scranton No. 6 among “Best Regional Universities in the North” in its 2025 “Best Colleges” guide, marking the 31st consecutive year that Scranton was ranked in the top 10 universities in its category. U.S. News also ranked Scranton No. 6 in its category for “Best Undergraduate Teaching,” a selection of the top colleges in the nation that express a strong commitment to undergraduate teaching. Three of Scranton’s academic programs were among the top 50 in the nation. U.S. News ranked Scranton among the nation’s “Best Undergraduate Programs in Analytics” at No. 26 in the U.S.; “Best Undergraduate Programs in Accounting” at No. 41; among the “Best Undergraduate Programs in Finance” at No. 43. Other programs also enjoyed national recognition: “Best Undergraduate Nursing Programs” at No. 149; and among “Best Undergraduate Engineering Programs” at No. 190 (where a doctorate is not offered). Scranton’s was also listed among the 584 “Best Undergraduate Computer Science Programs” in the nation. Scranton also ranked No. 248 among America’s “Best Undergraduate Business Programs,” which listed only schools that hold accreditation by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB). For these program listings, U.S. News only ranked schools holding the highest recognized national accreditations in their fields. The rankings were based solely on dean and senior faculty recommendations from peer institutions. In addition, U.S. News ranked Scranton No. 53 as a “Best Value Regional University in the North,” which compares academic quality of programs to cost of attendance. This is the 11th consecutive year U.S. News has recognized Scranton as a “Best Value” school. Scranton was ranked No. 116 in its category in “Top Performers on Social Mobility,” which looks at the success of schools that enroll and graduate students who were awarded with Pell Grants. U.S. News uses data on nearly 20 measures of academic quality to rank bachelor’s degree colleges in America. For its rankings, U.S. News considers a range of quality indicators that include a peer assessment of academic excellence; faculty resources; financial resources; graduate indebtedness; freshman retention; graduation rates; Pell graduation rates, and graduation performance rates, which compares a school’s actual graduation rates with predicted graduation rates based on characteristics of the incoming class. U.S. News ranking analysis also includes student selectivity, as measured by SAT or ACT scores and high school ranking of students in the top 25 percent of their class. U.S. News categorizes colleges for their rankings based on the official Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching classification of universities. The 2025 U.S. News “Best Colleges” rankings became available online Sept. 24.
The Wright Center – Breast Cancer Awareness Month, a Time to Tout Preventive Measures October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and there is much to acknowledge in the progress made over recent years to combat this highly treatable disease. Raising awareness remains crucial, as breast cancer continues to affect alarming numbers of people. Aside from skin cancer, it is the most common cancer among American women. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), about 240,000 women are diagnosed with breast cancer each year, and 42,000 die from it. While men are much less at risk, about 1 in 100 breast cancer diagnoses still occur in males. Though breast cancer primarily impacts women over the age of 40, many younger women are also affected. Chances are, someone among your family, friends, or colleagues has faced or is currently battling the disease. Thankfully, advancements in early detection and genetic testing for the BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes have dramatically improved how breast cancer is treated. And we can’t forget the enormous contributions of countless nonprofit organizations, raising awareness, securing funding, and providing support services. When it comes to prevention, self-exams and regular mammograms are still the best methods for early detection, catching the cancer when it’s smaller, more manageable, and before it spreads. According to the National Breast Cancer Foundation, the five-year relative survival rate for localized breast cancer is 99%. You can also reduce your own risk by maintaining a healthy weight, staying active, limiting alcohol intake, and breastfeeding your children if possible. At The Wright Center, we are doing our part to recognize Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Throughout the year, we partner with Lackawanna Mobile X-Ray to offer mammogram screenings at various locations across Northeast Pennsylvania. The mobile mammogram unit will be at The Wright Center’s Teaching Health Center in Wilkes-Barre, 169 N. Pennsylvania Ave., on Thursday, Oct. 24, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., and Thursday, Dec. 12, from 1-4 p.m. Additional appointments are available at The Wright Center’s Teaching Health Centers in Scranton, 501 S. Washington Ave., and Mid Valley, 5 S. Washington Ave., Jermyn, on the first Wednesday of each month. Screenings will be available in Scranton from 9 a.m. to noon and in Jermyn from 1:30-5 p.m. this month on Oct. 2. To schedule an appointment, please call 570-230-0019. In addition, The Wright Center for Patient & Community Engagement will host a Wonderful Women Breast Cancer Support program on Wednesday, Oct. 16, from 5-7 p.m. at Teaching Health Center in Wilkes-Barre. Dr. Lisa Thomas from Hematology & Oncology Associates of Northeastern Pennsylvania will deliver the keynote address, and Julie Rutkowski from the Strong and Coura’Jess Foundation will share the foundation’s mission of supporting women with terminal illnesses. The foundation was named in honor of Julie’s daughter, Jessica Rutkowski, a mother of three who passed away in 2021 from stage 4 triple-negative breast cancer. Admission to the event is free, though reservations are encouraged. Please contact Holly Przasnyski at 570-209-3275 or email her at przasnyskih@thewrightcenter.org. This promises to be a meaningful event and reflects our ongoing dedication to women’s health. At The Wright Center, women have access to a wide range of health services, including preventive cancer screenings, well-woman visits, bone density tests, immunizations, Pap smears, HPV testing, STI services, and hormonal testing. “I want to emphasize once again that breast cancer is far from a death sentence, but it’s vital to promote the preventive services that can make a life-saving difference.” Kristina Tanovic, M.D., FACP, is board-certified in internal medicine and obesity medicine. Dr. Tanovic is accepting new patients of all ages at The Wright Center for Community Health’s primary care center in the Scranton Counseling Center, 329 Cherry St. Please call 570-591-5250 to make an appointment.
The Wright Center Earns National Recognition for Blood Pressure Control American Heart Association and American Medical Association present Target: BP Silver Award for commitment to prioritizing blood press control The Wright Center for Community Health has been recognized by the American Heart Association and American Medical Association for its commitment to improving blood pressure (BP) control rates, earning Silver-level recognition as part of Target: BP. The Silver Award recognizes practices that have demonstrated a commitment to improving blood pressure control through measurement accuracy. High blood pressure, or hypertension, is a leading risk factor for heart attacks, strokes, and preventable death in the U.S. There are 122.4 million U.S. adults living with hypertension, nearly half of all adults in the country. Unfortunately, just a quarter of them have their BP under control, making both diagnosis and effective management critical. In the U.S., heart disease and stroke are the No. 1 and No. 5 causes of death, and stroke is a leading cause of disability. “Optimal blood pressure management is key for better cardiovascular health and critical today, when heart disease and stroke continue to be leading causes of death for adults in the U.S.,” said Jignesh Y. Sheth, M.D., FACP, MPH, senior vice president and chief medical and information officer at The Wright Centers for Community Health and Graduate Medical Education. “High blood pressure is a leading risk factor of heart disease and stroke that can often be prevented or managed if diagnosed and treated properly.” Target: BP is a national initiative formed by the American Heart Association and American Medical Association in response to the high prevalence of uncontrolled blood pressure, the initiative aims to help health care organizations and care teams, at no cost, improve blood pressure control rates through an evidence-based quality improvement program and recognizes organizations, such as The Wright Center for Community Health, that are committed to improving blood pressure control. “By committing to helping more people in Northeast Pennsylvania control their blood pressure and reduce their risks for future heart disease and stroke, The Wright Center for Community Health is taking a key step to helping more people live longer, healthier lives,” said Yvonne Commodore-Mensah, Ph.D., MHS, RN, FAHA, Target: BP advisory group volunteer and associate professor at Johns Hopkins School of Nursing. “The Wright Center for Community Health’s participation in the Target: BP initiative shows its dedication to turning clinical guidelines into lifelines for patients and their families.” To learn more about the initiative, go to TargetBP.org.
