The Wright Centers for Community Health and Graduate Medical Education awarded federal grants to plan and develop residency programs in pediatric dentistry, pediatrics, and obstetrics and gynecology Scranton, Pa. (April 5, 2023) – The Wright Centers for Community Health and Graduate Medical Education have been awarded three grant awards totaling $1.5 million from the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) for the planning and development of three residency programs, further expanding and enriching physician training opportunities in Northeast Pennsylvania. As a nearly 50-year-old nonprofit enterprise providing graduate medical education and primary health services in Northeastern Pennsylvania, The Wright Center, along with partnering institutions and community providers, intends to explore establishing accredited residency programs in pediatric dentistry, pediatrics, and obstetrics and gynecology. “We are grateful for the high-impact financial support from HRSA’s Bureau of Health Workforce and Congressman Cartwright’s reliable leadership support for our mission and our region,” said Dr. Jumee Barooah, The Wright Center’s designated institutional official. “These graduate medical education planning and development grants will allow The Wright Center to invite and convene inclusive community stakeholders to strategic planning conversations inspired by a shared understanding of the impact of these training programs to increase access to primary health services and future career opportunities for children and adults in the communities we serve.” This federal grant funding was made available through HRSA’s Bureau of Health Workforce Teaching Health Center Planning and Development Program, using appropriations from the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. The initiative is intended to strengthen and expand community-based residency programs in rural and other medically underserved communities across the United States. HRSA’s Teaching Health Center Graduate Medical Education funding is allocated specifically for physician and dental training that includes community-based and governed care settings, such as The Wright Center for Community Health’s Federally Qualified Health Center Look-Alike venues. The training opportunities created for these residents help to expand and improve the distribution of the nation’s primary health services workforce beyond affluent urban areas to economically disadvantaged areas. As a grant awardee, The Wright Center may apply its funding to startup costs, including planning meetings, curriculum development, recruitment and training of residents and faculty, and necessary activities related to obtaining program accreditation from either the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) or the Commission on Dental Accreditation. The successful introduction of these programs will represent another milestone in The Wright Center’s continued strategic growth as a generator of compassionate, highly skilled, and patient-centered physicians who can help to address the region’s and nation’s ongoing health care services inequities and workforce shortages. The nonprofit organization was founded in 1976 as the Scranton-Temple Residency Program. A year later, it welcomed its first class of six internal medicine residents. Since then, the organization has been renamed and has grown in size and scope to reflect the community’s – and the country’s – evolving needs. It now trains about 250 residents and fellows each academic year in the region and at partner training sites in Arizona, Ohio, Washington state, and Washington, D.C. The Wright Center currently offers residencies in internal medicine, family medicine, physical medicine & rehabilitation, and psychiatry, as well as fellowships in cardiovascular disease, gastroenterology, and geriatrics. All of its residency and fellowship programs are accredited by the ACGME. Additionally, in partnership with NYU Langone Dental Medicine, The Wright Center has served as a training site since 2021 for dentists in an Advanced Education in General Dental Residency Program. To learn more about the medical education opportunities at The Wright Center, visit TheWrightCenter.org.
The Wright Center names CRNP for Mid Valley Practice Maggie Dempsey, R.N., BSN, MSN, of Dunmore, has joined The Wright Center for Community Health as a certified registered nurse practitioner at the Mid Valley Practice, 5 S. Washington Ave., Jermyn. She will see patients of all ages. Dempsey received a Bachelor of Science in nursing degree from Drexel University and Master of Science in nursing degree from Clarion University of Pennsylvania. Prior to joining The Wright Center for Community Health, she worked as a registered nurse at medical centers in Philadelphia and Scranton. She holds a certification as a family nurse practitioner from the American Association of Nurse Practitioners, as well as certifications in basic, coronary, and advanced life support from the American Heart Association. As a certified registered nurse practitioner, Dempsey will provide primary health care services, including the assessment and management of patient care through The Wright Center’s patient-centered medical home model that places patients at the forefront of their care and delivers high-quality, affordable health care with a coordinated team-based approach. The Wright Center for Community Health provides integrated care at convenient locations in Lackawanna, Luzerne and Wayne counties. The nonprofit’s network of nine primary care clinics provides patients with the convenience of going to a single location to access medical, dental, behavioral health, and addiction and recovery services, as well as other supportive service lines. With a sliding-fee discount program available, The Wright Center reduces barriers to care by ensuring health care is affordable for everyone in need, regardless of their ability pay. Patients can schedule appointments at the most convenient location by using the express online scheduling service at TheWrightCenter.org. To learn more about The Wright Center’s mission and integrated health care services, call 570-230-0019 or visit TheWrightCenter.org.
Scranton Area Community Foundation Grant supports The Wright Center The Wright Center for Community Health was recently awarded a $3,000 grant by the Scranton Area Community Foundation in support of the collaborative Healthy Maternal Opiate Medical Support program (Healthy MOMS) that focuses on helping pregnant women and new mothers overcome addiction and embrace a life in recovery. Through the CHILDCARE Helps MOMS work program, the grant will support working mothers in the Healthy MOMS program who need assistance paying for emergency child care costs. The program provides financial assistance so mothers can return to work, closing the gap until the mother receives subsidized child care assistance. The grant will be able to fund 67 weeks of child care. The project fulfills an unmet need by providing financial assistance for mothers in the Healthy MOMS program who are seeking to return and remain in the workforce. In addition, Healthy MOMS participants are offered blanket services that include medication-assisted treatment and addiction services, counseling, primary health care, OB-GYN care, parenting tips, legal advice and a range of other supports. The program promotes the well-being of both mom and newborn, ideally engaging them in wrap-around services until the child turns 2 years old. Launched in 2018, the program serves Lackawanna, Luzerne, Monroe, Pike, Schuylkill, Susquehanna, Wayne and Wyoming counties. To date, Healthy MOMS has supported more than 300 mothers and 189 babies. “We are grateful for the Scranton Area Community Foundation’s financial support and the community partnerships that enable this program to touch two generations in our regional communities,” said Maria Kolcharno, the director of addiction services and a leader of the Healthy MOMS program at The Wright Center. “The lack of affordable child care continues to be a challenge for women enrolled in Healthy MOMS.” In addition to primary care, oral health and women’s health services, The Healthy MOMS program realizes that mothers with substance use disorder would be identified via Social Services, such as the local Child Welfare Office, via the legal system, and by additional MAT providers in the area. Mothers who enter the Healthy MOMS program always have a choice as to who their medical providers will be. For more information about the Healthy MOMS program, call 570-955-7821 or visit HealthyMOMS.org.
The Wright Center, Kolcharno Presents at Meeting Maria Kolcharno, LSW, director of addiction services and leader of the Healthy Maternal Opiate Medical Support (MOMS) program at The Wright Center for Community Health, recently outlined the novel program to participants at the Pennsylvania Perinatal Quality Collaborative Virtual Meeting. Kolcharno addressed the importance of collaborative relationships for making referrals and establishing communication pathways between OB/GYN and medication-assisted treatment providers to coordinate patient care for mothers with substance use disorder. “In 2016, The Wright Center began a journey to offer opiate use disorder treatment. When it started, there was a large influx of pregnant women with substance use disorder coming into the program,” Kolcharno said. “Our leadership team looked at how we can better serve people who have so many needs. They were not coming in just for counseling. They were experiencing food insecurity, lack of safe housing, and they weren’t receiving the medical care they needed. Our Healthy MOMS program grew from the needs of the women in our community.” During the event’s breakout session, Kolcharno provided workflow charts to assist organizations looking to replicate the relationships and processes the Healthy MOMS program has established with maternity care times and medical Centers of Excellence. Part of that process involved visiting birth hospitals to meet with labor and delivery nurses and doctors to introduce them to the Healthy MOMS program. “The biggest part was talking about the stigma of being a mother with a substance use disorder and being pregnant. It’s two things people never want to hear together – pregnant and addicted to a substance,” said Kolcharno. The labor and delivery staffs were open about their feelings for treating the patient population and the ways in which they can offer support to the new mothers. Out of these conversations, a small, but effective tool, was designed by providers: A Healthy MOMS pin. According to Kolcharno, when mothers in the program see the pin, they know the nurses are an extension of the Healthy MOMS program that has become an integral part of their lives. Part of The Wright Center’s Opioid Use Disorder Center of Excellence, the Healthy MOMS program was co-founded with multiple agencies to assist women who are pregnant and have a substance use disorder. Healthy MOMS provides prenatal, perinatal, and postpartum care, including medication-assisted treatment to women coping with a substance use disorder, and strives to break the stigma associated with the disorder while building their self-esteem during and after their pregnancies, ideally engaging them in recovery support services. Currently there are 142 mothers active in the program, with 206 babies born through the program. Since its founding, more than 300 mothers have participated in the program. The Pennsylvania Perinatal Quality Collaborative includes more than 60 birthing hospitals and newborn intensive care units and over 10 health plans across the state. Overall, the organization works to reduce maternal mortality and improve care for pregnant and postpartum women and newborns affected by opioids. For more information about the Healthy MOMS program, call 570-995-7821 or text healthymoms to 555888. Information about the program and its partners is also available at healthymoms.org. Go to thewrightcenter.org/services for information about the Opioid Use Disorder Center of Excellence.
The Wright Center Celebrates First Graduate of NIMAA Medical Assistant Program A collaborative program between The Wright Center for Community Health and the National Institute for Medical Assistant Advancement (NIMAA) has graduated the first student from the initiative that seeks to address the national shortage of clinical medical assistants. Melissa Lemus of Scranton, the first graduate of the program, has been hired as a certified medical assistant by The Wright Center for Community Health to work at the nonprofit’s Scranton Practice, 501 S. Washington Ave. A medical assistant is responsible for assisting doctors and nurses in providing care to patients in hospitals, doctor’s offices and other health care facilities. Duties include recording and updating medical histories and contact information in patient files, scheduling patient appointments and performing standard care procedures, such as taking blood samples, health coaching, measuring and recording vital signs, and more. The NIMAA program educates and trains students over 29 weeks to become certified clinical medical assistants. The program, which requires a commitment of 32-36 hours per week, combines flexible online learning with a paid internship at one of The Wright Center for Community Health’s primary care practices in Lackawanna, Luzerne or Wayne counties. Participants may be eligible for federal assistance and other cost-defrayment options. Students who are accepted into the program receive personalized training with experienced medical professionals at The Wright Center for Community Health during the clinical portion of their education. After completing the educational component, students are eligible to take the National Healthcareer Association Medical Assistant examination to receive their certified clinical medical assistant credential. The employment outlook for medical assistants is projected to grow 18% from 2020 to 2030, much faster than the average for all occupations. About 104,400 openings are projected annually on average, over the decade, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. For more information about the training program, contact Carla Blakeslee, The Wright Center’s clerkships coordinator, at blakesleec@thewrightcenter.org. Or visit nimaa.edu.
The Wright Center for Community Health Receives HRSA Recognition The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, recently awarded The Wright Center for Community Health with its Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH) recognition. The recognition is given annually to health centers that embrace the PCMH model of care, which prioritizes a commitment to continuous quality improvement and a patient-centered approach to care. With the addition of this recognition, or badge, The Wright Center has received a total of three HRSA badges this year through the federal agency’s Community Health Quality Recognition program. The Wright Center also previously earned the 2022 Advancing Health Information Technology for Quality badge and the newly established Addressing Social Risk Factors to Health badge. HRSA annually reviews health centers’ performance data and bestows badges on federal Health Center Program awardees and Look-Alikes that have made notable quality improvement achievements in the areas of health equity, access, quality, and use of health information technology. HRSA encourages the recipients of its badges to prominently display them on the health centers’ websites and elsewhere, as outward symbols of the centers’ leadership in those key areas. The Wright Center previously adopted the PCMH model of care, with several of its primary care practices in Northeast Pennsylvania being formally evaluated by the National Committee for Quality Assurance and receiving PCMH recognition. Under the PCMH model of care, a patient is engaged in a direct relationship with a chosen physician or another provider who serves in a leadership role and coordinates a cooperative team of health care professionals. The leader takes responsibility for the comprehensive integrated care provided to the patient, and advocates and arranges appropriate care with other qualified providers, specialists and community resources as needed. Research has shown that PCMHs can improve the quality of care and the patient experience, while also reducing health care costs. The Wright Center for Community Health, which in 2019 became a HRSA-designated Federally Qualified Health Center Look-Alike, currently operates a network of primary care practices in Lackawanna, Luzerne and Wayne counties.
The Wright Center Receives Grant The Wright Center for Community Health was recently awarded a $5,000 grant from the Robert H. Spitz Foundation in support of the collaborative Healthy Maternal Opiate Medical Support program (Healthy MOMS) that focuses on helping pregnant women and new mothers overcome addiction and embrace a life in recovery. The grant will support working mothers in the Helping MOMS Out of Poverty (HOP) program who need help with initial costs of paying for security deposits, rent and utility bills to secure safe housing, an important step in maintaining their recovery and independently caring for their children. Healthy MOMS participants are offered a variety of necessary services that include medication-assisted treatment and addiction services, counseling, primary health care, OB-GYN care, parenting tips, legal advice and a range of other support programs. The program promotes the well-being of both mom and newborn, ideally engaging them in wrap-around services until the child turns two years old. Launched in 2018, the program serves Lackawanna, Luzerne, Monroe, Pike, Schuylkill, Susquehanna, Wayne and Wyoming counties. To date, Healthy MOMS has supported more than 300 mothers and 193 babies. “We are grateful to the Robert H. Spitz Foundation for their financial support and the various community partnerships that enable our program to help two generations in our communities,” said Maria Kolcharno, the director of addiction services and a leader of the Healthy MOMS program at The Wright Center for Community Health. “The lack of affordable, safe housing continues to be a challenge for women enrolled in Healthy MOMS. This grant will help women in our program afford safe housing in which to raise their children and secure their future.” The Robert H. Spitz Foundation awards grants to registered nonprofit organizations that support initiatives and programs serving the residents of Lackawanna County and Northeast Pennsylvania. Among the foundation’s four priority areas are “programs that aim to break the cycle of poverty, remove economic barriers, and encourage independence in adults and children through access to safe, affordable housing, transportation, education and other important issues.” To date, the Robert H. Spitz Foundation has distributed more than $4.6 million in grants to the community. The Scranton Area Community Foundation has served as administrator of the foundation since 2016. Learn more at safdn.org. For more information about the Healthy MOMS program, call 570-955-7821 or visit HealthyMOMS.org.
The Wright Center for Community Health Promotes Garvin The Wright Center for Community Health has promoted Marcella Garvin to lead case manager of the collaborative Healthy Maternal Opiate Medical Support (MOMS) program. Garvin joined the regional nonprofit primary and preventive care provider in 2020 as a case manager for the Healthy MOMS program. In her previous role, Garvin provided care and support to mothers in recovery from substance use disorder. She focused on developing and expanding the Healthy MOMs program in Luzerne and Wyoming counties, collecting and analyzing data related to the program. As the lead manager for the Healthy MOMs program, Garvin is responsible for providing comprehensive case management services to address the opioid epidemic as it affects pregnant women, newborns and their families. The position will collaborate with community partners to assist with pregnancy-related issues and work closely with the program’s community partners. Garvin’s additional responsibilities include a range of patient-centered services that link clients with medication-assisted treatment and addiction services, counseling, primary care, OB-GYN care, and a range of other supports. Garvin earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in linguistics from the University of Pittsburgh and an MBA in business administration and technology from Carlow University. In addition, she is a certified recovery specialist and a certified addiction counselor. A member of the Luzerne County Breastfeeding Coalition and County Cares, Garvin is also pursuing her certification as a certified lactation counselor. The Healthy MOMs program is modeled after a similar program in Ohio, using a collaborative, team approach to treat mothers with substance use disorder in a holistic manner. Launched in 2018, the program is offered in Lackawanna, Luzerne, Monroe, Pike, Schuylkill, Susquehanna, Wayne and Wyoming counties. To date, 199 infants have been born into the Healthy MOMs program and 149 mothers are actively engaged in it. For more information, call 570-955-7821 or visit HealthyMOMS.org.
The Wright Center for Community Health and Luzerne County Community College Collaborate on Program for Certified Recovery Specialists Seventeen students enrolled in the collaborative certified recovery specialist (CRS) credential program at Luzerne County Community College recently completed the educational component to become professionals in the recovery field. The students now are eligible to take the Pennsylvania Certification Board examination to become a state-certified CRS. The Wright Center for Community Health and Luzerne County Community College worked in partnership on the program to train about 40 CRSs in the regional program with the assistance of grant funding from the Appalachian Regional Commissioner under its own INSPIRE initiative. The initiative is a regional partnership that provides recovery opportunities for growth, education and sustainable success. Through the grant initiative, the new CRSs will obtain new employment or enhance their current positions and about 50 businesses will be improved through employee education and/or hiring of a CRS. A CRS credential qualifies peers who are living in recovery with drug and alcohol substance use disorders to help others in their journey through the recovery process. Recovery specialists are able to share similar life experiences by offering insight into their own recovery process. These professionals acknowledge their lived experience as a person in recovery with colleagues, patients and others. Through certification and their unique experiences, CRSs are able to serve as role models, advocates and motivators for others to live a successful life in recovery. Certified recovery specialists also advocate to reduce stigma, eliminate barriers, increase support systems and build community. Overall, the services aim to substantially improve an individual’s ability to sustain recovery and wellness.
The Wright Center for Community Health Project PROGRESS The Wright Center for Community Health, along Luzerne County Community College, The Institute, the Northeast Pennsylvania Area Health Education Center and the Wayne Pike Workforce Alliance have joined together to reduce the stigma associated with substance use disorder by connecting people in recovery with recovery-friendly employers in the new community-based, recovery-to-work program, Project PROGRESS. Project PROGRESS is an acronym for Providing Recovery Opportunities for Growth, Education and Sustainable Success, which serves Northeast Pennsylvania counties, including Lackawanna, Luzerne, Pike, Susquehanna, Wayne and Wyoming. Project PROGRESS is funded in part through a grant from the Appalachian Regional Commission along with financial support from the five partner organizations. “The goal of the project is to reduce the impact of stigma related to recovery on employees, employers and the region. Often people connect recovery and substance use, which is true, but think bigger. Recovery is about coming into healthy ways of being. The impact of being in recovery is incredible and demonstrates hard work. Whole communities benefit when people are in recovery,” said Meaghan Ruddy, Ph.D., senior vice president of Academic Affairs, Enterprise Assessment and Advancement, and Chief Research and Development Officer for The Wright Center for Community Health. In November 2020, Gov. Tom Wolf renewed for the 12th time his declaration that the opioid epidemic has placed Pennsylvania in a state health emergency. From 2015 to 2018, 1,149 people are reported to have died from opioid overdoses in the project’s six-county service area, according to OverdoseFreePA. “A community’s capacity to create anything at the community level will in large part rely on the robustness of that community’s understanding of a need and commitment to creating solutions to meet that need. Leadership and innovative organizations in the six counties of focus for Project PROGRESS are painfully aware of the impact the opioid crisis is having on our friends and neighbors,” said Dr. Ruddy. Yet, according to Dr. Ruddy, many community members lack an understanding of addiction as a chronic illness. In addition, health care workers default to stigmatizing the language of addiction when treating patients and many employers refuse to hire people in recovery. “This is all part of a structural misunderstanding of the tragic complexity of individuals struggling with addiction, and a lack of knowledge of the fact that individuals in recovery create communities in recovery,” she said. Olyphant resident and deejay makes recovery his business Earning money came easily for Jason McConnell from the time he was a teen, pulling in hundreds of dollars per night at area hotspots as a popular deejay. The Olyphant native’s prospects sank fast, however, as a substance use disorder that first surfaced in high school began destroying his business relationships, his credit rating and his life. The lucrative weekend gigs declined, until finally one night the college dropout found himself playing music at one of the few spots that would still agree to hire him: a strip club. Humiliated and dejected, he quit, left the club and drove straight to a liquor store. Before his Saturday night ended, McConnell, then in his mid-20s, had been charged with a DUI offense. “That was really the turning point,” says McConnell, now 30 and sober for nearly six years. “The day after that DUI, I remember sitting in a rocker at my parents’ house, beneath the deck, and I felt so empty inside. That’s when I was like, ‘Let’s do whatever we have to do. I can’t live like this anymore.’” For people like McConnell who are intent on overcoming a substance use disorder and leading a healthier life, the challenge often goes beyond dealing with the physical and psychological addiction. They also face financial hurdles, often because social stigma and other barriers prevent them from vying for desirable jobs or even entering quality educational and training programs. Their road to recovery becomes blocked, potentially resulting in poor outcomes, even relapse. The Wright Center for Community Health – a Scranton-based provider of primary care, medication-assisted treatment and recovery-related services in Northeast Pennsylvania – recognizes how difficult it can be to get and stay sober, especially if a person struggles to find and maintain well-paying employment. That’s why The Wright Center and multiple partners began a regional initiative called Project PROGRESS. The project, which was publicly launched in September 2022, aims to expand opportunities for people living in recovery to find meaningful and family-sustaining employment, including careers in the health care field. Fueled by grant funding from the Appalachian Regional Commission, the project’s promoters will engage with business owners and leaders across multiple industries to reduce the unfair stigma associated with substance use disorders and remove obstacles that prohibit workplace participation. In McConnell’s case, his ability to earn money immediately after treatment – and while living in the vulnerable stage of early recovery – was hobbled by the lack of a college degree. But he had an entrepreneurial drive. He managed to slowly revive his deejay operation while also launching a cellphone repair service. Then, during a checkup at The Wright Center for Community Health, another job prospect emerged. Dr. Linda Thomas-Hemak, The Wright Center’s president and CEO, who also had been McConnell’s longtime physician, knew about the impressive strides he had made toward changing his life for the better. “She said that I would be great for a position as a certified recovery specialist,” he recalls. McConnell suspended business at his cellphone shop for two weeks so that he could complete the required training, then began work as a certified recovery specialist – a person who has gone through the recovery process and can serve as a mentor, role model and motivator. “When I meet a new patient, I try to explain to them that I’ve been where they’re at,” he says. “The job involves a lot of talking about your personal experience and giving suggestions.” Through the Project PROGRESS program, training to become a certified recovery specialist has been provided by Luzerne County Community College to dozens of individuals. More trainees are expected to soon enter the pipeline. Similarly, the Northeast Pennsylvania Area Health Education Center offers preparation to become a community health worker. Thanks to McConnell’s support network and his steady employment, he was able after completing treatment to put his life on a whole new trajectory. He gradually restored his credit rating. He even turned his once-tarnished deejay business into a thriving moonlighting enterprise. “When I got sober, I realized it was a second chance at being happy, being everything that I ever wanted to be,” he says. “And with a clear mind, you can go a long way.”
