Waverly Community House to Host Spanish for Adults Course The Waverly Community House is hosting Spanish for Adults with Kate Cawley. The objective of this six-week course is to establish a foundational understanding of the Spanish language through practical vocabulary development, a stock of frequently used phrases, and an idea of fundamental grammar and cultural perspectives. Using listening, reading and writing activities, the course will explore the following topics: Greetings/Introductions/Courtesy Letters, numbers, pronouns, days, months, weather, common objects Asking and responding to common questions: Who/What/Where/When/How Noun/adjective agreement Subject/verb agreement Tuesdays for six weeks at 6:00pm beginning January 23, 2024 in the CRB Room To register, please click HERE $65
The Scranton Counseling Center Launches Crisis Unit The Scranton Counseling Center marked a significant milestone with the successful launch of its Crisis Receiving Stabilization Unit on January 5th, 2024. This facility represents a crucial advancement in mental health care for Lackawanna and Susquehanna counties, providing both overnight and crisis residential support for adults in a secure environment for up to 72 hours. The center specializes in delivering immediate crisis counseling and creating personalized safety plans, catering to adults from the mentioned counties. The emphasis on direct and personalized care reflects the center’s commitment to addressing mental health concerns promptly and effectively. Importantly, the center adopts a no-appointment-necessary approach, eliminating barriers to access and ensuring individuals can seek immediate support during times of crisis. This proactive stance aligns with the center’s dedication to making mental health services readily available, underscoring the importance of timely assistance for those in need. The launch of this facility signifies not only a significant step forward in mental health care but also a tangible commitment to fostering a responsive and accessible support system within the community.
The RailRiders Pinstripe Pals Program Returns to Support Local Youth Leagues The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, in partnership with US Foods, are thrilled to announce that the Pinstripe Pals program has returned in support of area youth softball and baseball leagues. Applications are being accepted now and 10 youth leagues will be selected for the program once again this year. League representatives are encouraged to fill out the Pinstripe Pals application form and submit a 500-word (or less) essay describing why their league should be chosen. Each of the ten leagues selected will receive a $500 sponsorship from the RailRiders to assist in league expenses, as well as a $500 gift card courtesy of US Foods, which can be used to help teams pay for concession stand products and supplies. Applications are due by March 1. Each league selected will have the opportunity to participate in a pre-game parade at PNC Field before a RailRiders home game and the opportunity for RailRiders assistance with league fundraising. Selected leagues will have a photo of their choice placed in the GuideRail game day program on their league’s designated night. One of the teams in each league will serve as the “Field of Dreams” club on that night and take the field with the RailRiders players. Applications can be found on our website under the Community tab or upon request. Completed applications can be emailed to Robby Judge at rjudge@swbrailriders.com, faxed to (570) 963-6564 or mailed to: SWB RailRiders Attn: Pinstripe Pals 235 Montage Mountain Rd. Moosic, PA 18507 Winning leagues will be announced on March 8. For more information on the Pinstripe Pals program, presented by US Foods, please contact Krista Lutzick or Robby Judge at (570) 969-2255. The 2024 season begins on March 29 in Buffalo with the RailRiders home opener slated for April 2 against the Syracuse Mets. Season ticket plans are available now on www.swbrailriders.com or by calling (570) 969-BALL.
RailRiders Announce Annual Valentine’s Day Diner Reservations Knock Love Out of the Park: The RailRiders annual Valentine’s Day Dinner is back by popular demand! Choose from two sessions on February 14. Indulge in a delectable four-course meal for $85/person, spend a romantic evening in a private suite, and receive tickets to a 2024 RailRiders game of your choice! Want to dine as a group? Enjoy an evening with multiple couples or bring the little sweethearts in your life! Review the menu and event details online at https://loom.ly/1RYxZfo. Contact Kirsten Peters at kpeters@swbrailriders.com or (570) 558-4545 to reserve your spot! (Suites are limited and available on a first-come, first-served basis.)
RailRiders Selling Football Squares for February 11 Game Prizes Don’t Fumble Your Chance to Win Big: RailRiders Football Squares are BACK in advance of the Big Game on February 11! Fans who purchase any season ticket plan between NOW and February 9 will receive the corresponding number of football squares with your chance to win one of five prize packages. Prizes include Yankees tickets, a David Cone autographed baseball, replica jerseys, and more! Call (570) 969-2255, email info@swbrailriders.com, or review season ticket plans online at https://loom.ly/IEnyLsY.
The Wright Center Fights Against National Lack of Maternal Health Services One of the more unfortunate trends in American medicine is the lack of access to health services available to new mothers and their babies. Fortunately, this dire situation is getting some much-needed attention via the annual observance of Maternal Health Awareness Day, which will take place on Tuesday, Jan. 23. This year’s theme is the highly appropriate “Access in Crisis.” All over the country, maternal health services are becoming increasingly unobtainable for too many mothers and their babies, due to financial, staffing, and policy challenges that have led to more and more labor and delivery units shutting down, both in urban and rural areas. More than 2.2 million women ages 15 to 44 live in maternity care deserts with no hospitals that provide obstetric care, birth centers, OB-GYNs, or certified nurse-midwives, according to a 2022 March of Dimes report. Meanwhile, numerous mothers in the postpartum period lost their Medicaid coverage as the COVID-19 public health emergency drew down. That 12-month period is enormously critical to patients, given the potential for pregnancy-related complications. This is a significant crisis, so people should be striving to play a role in raising awareness about the crucial role maternal health care access plays for mother and baby. The Wright Center is happy to say that locally they have high-quality maternal health care providers, among them Maternal & Family Health Services. The Wright Center also delivers exceptional pediatric services. From newborn check-ups and well-visits to vaccinations, school physicals, and guidance through all the development stages, The Wright Center is here to help patients navigate their child’s health and well-being from infancy through the beginning of adulthood. The Wright Center’s pediatricians, family medicine physicians, and medical care teams are specially trained to manage all aspects of your child’s health care needs. Services include newborn care, routine vaccinations, well-child visits that test children’s hearing, vision, height, and weight, same-day sick appointments, back-to-school and daycare physicals, sports and camp physicals, asthma management, mental health screenings for ADHD, anxiety, and depression, and counseling centered on growth, development, nutrition, safety, and injury prevention. Great work is also being done by the Healthy MOMS (Maternal Opiate Medical Support) program, which was launched by The Wright Center and several other community organizations more than five years ago to assist pregnant women and new mothers overcome addiction and embrace a life in recovery. The program provides medication-assisted treatment, behavioral health, case management, and social services, ideally engaging mom and baby all the way up until the child’s second birthday. The evidence suggests that mothers who join the program and participate in recovery services well before their delivery dates are less likely to give birth to babies who experience neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS), a potentially painful and costly medical condition caused when a newborn withdraws from opioids or other drugs that the baby had been exposed to in the womb. Thanks to the collaborative efforts of community partners representing Northeast Pennsylvania’s health care, legal, housing, and social service organizations, Healthy MOMS has proven to be a resounding success, with more than 151 mothers active in the program today and 257 children born in the program since its inception. The Wright Center will continue doing it’s part to ensure local mothers have the care and resources needed for them and their children to enjoy a happy, healthy life.
Geisinger Working to Make all Emergency Rooms Ready for Kids When emergency rooms are equipped to care for children, outcomes are significantly better for young patients — which is why Geisinger is preparing every ER in the system to specifically treat children. The effort is led by Sarah Alander, MD, Geisinger director of pediatric emergency medicine, who has made readying Geisinger ERs for the 45,000 kids seen each year, systemwide, a priority. “A 2019 landmark study found that if an emergency room is trained and equipped to care for children, they are four times less likely to have a child die in their care,” Dr. Alander said. “It is important to provide the training to our emergency room staffs so they’re equipped to treat children safely and effectively and not treat them as small adults.” A nationwide program called the National Pediatric Readiness Project offers a voluntary survey to assess a trauma center’s level of preparedness for children’s care. Beginning in June 2025, the Pennsylvania Trauma Systems Foundation — the trauma center accreditation body for state hospitals — will require hospitals to conduct pediatric readiness assessments and have plans to address gaps. Geisinger has already voluntarily participated in the survey and created a council to help improve gaps at its hospitals. Geisinger’s Emergency Medical Services for Children Council, led by Dr. Alander, focuses on six areas improve pediatric readiness: Identifying personnel as “pediatric champions” at each emergency department Educating nurses and providing a pediatric critical care course and simulation training for physicians Joining national quality improvement programs on pediatric sepsis and airway management Attending regular safety meetings and reviewing safety events Compiling a collection of policies and procedures for children Working to standardize specialized equipment for the emergency care of children The council’s work on these priorities has yielded remarkable results. “In 2019, our system participated in the national pediatric readiness survey for the first time and had scores ranging from 40% to 68%,” said Megan Zelonis, RN, pediatric emergency care coordinator. “In the repeat 2021 assessment, our scores significantly improved to a range of 83% to 94%.”
Wright Center Executive Completes Workforce Leadership Program Tiffany Jackson, MSM, SHRM-CP, organizational development director at The Wright Centers for Community Health and Graduate Medical Education, recently completed the 2023 Northeastern Pennsylvania Workforce Leadership Academy and joins alumni of the program as members of the Aspen Institute’s Economic Opportunity Fellows Network. The Scranton Area Community Foundation, in partnership with the Aspen Institute and Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation, hosted the Workforce Leadership Academy. The 10-month peer-learning community engaged 22 fellows from Lackawanna and Luzerne counties in a series of retreats, workshops, and action learning projects. The regional program aims to create system changes in the workforce development field. Fellows worked with leading practitioners throughout the country as they deepened networks, strengthened systems leadership skills, applied race, equity, and system change frameworks to their work, and increased their understanding of effective strategies and programs. The Northeastern Pennsylvania Workforce Leadership Academy is one of eight national academies that were launched in 2023. As an alumnus of the academy, Jackson joins fellows from 14 previous academies in 11 cities in the United States and Canada. The Aspen Institute is an educational and policy organization based in Washington, D.C. The Wright Center for Community Health operates 10 primary and preventive care practices in Northeast Pennsylvania, including a mobile medical and dental unit called Driving Better Health. Its practices offer integrated whole-person care, meaning patients typically have the convenience of going to a single location to access medical, dental, and behavioral health care, as well as community-based addiction treatment and recovery services. The Wright Center for Graduate Medical Education is one of the nation’s largest Teaching Health Center Graduate Medical Education Safety-Net Consortiums funded by the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration. It develops the physician workforce of tomorrow in eight residency and fellowship programs.For more information about The Wright Center, go to TheWrightCenter.org or call 570-230-0019.
People’s Security Bank & Trust Donates Over $900,000 to Local Organizations Through the Pennsylvania Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) Program, Peoples Security Bank & Trust (PSBT) has been able to donate over $900,000 to private schools, scholarship organizations, pre-kindergartens, school districts, universities, and other non-profit organizations during 2023. The EITC Program allows businesses the opportunity to support local organizations by reallocating a portion of their tax dollars for donation purposes through the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development. The donations were used to fund scholarship programs, educational supplies, school grants, and innovative educational programs. Eighty-two organizations throughout Northeastern Pennsylvania and the Lehigh Valley have benefitted from these allocated funds. Since 2015, PSBT has donated over $6 million through the EITC program. “It is part of our responsibility to give back to our local communities. Through the Pennsylvania Educational Improvement Tax Credit Program, we have an opportunity each year to make advances in student education that will last a lifetime. Receiving a quality education leads to our communities becoming more cultivating, vibrant, and inclusive,” says Jeffrey Drobins, Executive Vice President, Chief Lending Officer.
