The Wright Center Names Christen Marante as Associate Vice President Christen Marante, BSN, RN, of Roaring Brook Township, has been hired as associate vice president of the Value-Based Performance Program at The Wright Center for Community Health. As a key member of the nonprofit enterprise’s Finance Department, Marante will focus on developing and maintaining excellent relations with payors, including commercial insurance carriers. This responsibility includes implementing pricing strategies and communicating payor participant requirements to The Wright Center’s clinicians and other stakeholders. Marante had previously worked at The Wright Center from 2019-21 as its Luzerne County practice manager. “We are delighted Christen will rejoin our organization and help us in an executive leadership role,” said Ron Daniels, chief financial officer of The Wright Centers for Community Health and Graduate Medical Education. “One area in which she will especially focus her attention is assisting in planning and rolling out alternative payment model strategies to strengthen our value proposition.” In 2022, Marante earned a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree from Penn State University. She is completing a master’s degree program in nurse executive leadership from Illinois-based Chamberlain University. Marante most recently worked as a nursing house supervisor for Commonwealth Health’s Moses Taylor Hospital and its Regional Hospital of Scranton. She assisted in directing day-to-day administrative and operational functions for the two hospitals’ 286-bed campus, providing guidance to more than 250 employees. In her early career, Marante devoted five years to clinical work, including a stint as a charge nurse in the pediatric intensive care unit of The Children’s Hospital at Palms West in Royal Palm Beach, Florida. Since 2015, she has been president and owner/manager of Pristine Contours LLC, an aesthetic medical spa with locations in Greenacres, Florida, and the Shoppes at Montage in Moosic. For more information about The Wright Centers for Community Health and Graduate Medical Education, go to TheWrightCenter.org or call 570-230-0019
The Wright Center’s CEO to Share Insights on Primary Health Linda Thomas-Hemak, M.D., FAAP, FACP, president and chief executive officer of The Wright Centers for Community Health and Graduate Medical Education, recently participated with a select group of national primary care experts in a conversation with the head of the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). During the 1.5-hour virtual event, the physicians and other panelists shared their perspectives from the field about the future of primary health care in America with Carole Johnson, HRSA administrator, and other high-ranking officials within HRSA, an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. “It was an absolute honor to have been extended an invitation to connect virtually with HRSA Administrator Carole Johnson and the primary care and public health enthusiasts she convened from across our country to explore perspectives on the hopeful future of primary care delivery and workforce development, and also potential levers and accelerants for system improvements,” said Dr. Thomas Hemak. “The gathering was a welcomed, extremely valuable, learning opportunity to share and explore thoughtful, experienced insights on primary health services delivery and integration, health care finance, health equity, and the unique perspectives and struggles of underserved populations and communities. “Such crucial national conversations illuminate the powerful poise of HRSA and its leadership to imagine, ignite, and accelerate national solutions for health care delivery and workforce development,” she added. Participants included Dr. Robert Phillips, founding executive director of the Center for Professionalism and Value in Health Care of the American Board of Family Medicine Foundation; Dr. Tumaini Rucker Coker, chief of the Division of General Pediatrics and professor of pediatrics at the University of Washington School of Medicine and Seattle Children’s Hospital; Dr. Frederick Chen, chief health and science officer at the American Medical Association, and Danielle Potter, family medicine nurse practitioner at El Rio Health in Tucson, Arizona. “I was privileged to lend my voice to this important conversation on behalf of our dedicated Wright Center care teams as well as our patients, many of whom encounter barriers to care because of longstanding, systemic issues that can best be addressed at the national level,” said Dr. Thomas-Hemak. “It’s extremely humbling to be asked to be a part of this event with thought leaders from throughout the U.S. who have a vision for a health system that consistently delivers affordable, high-quality care and is accessible by all.” A first-generation physician and native of Northeast Pennsylvania, Dr. Thomas-Hemak completed Harvard Massachusetts General Hospital’s combined Internal Medicine and Pediatrics Residency. Today, she is quadruple board-certified in internal medicine, pediatrics, addiction medicine, and obesity medicine. She currently serves as a member of HRSA’s Council on Graduate Medical Education, governor-elect of the American College of Physicians’ Pennsylvania Chapter, Eastern Region, and board chair of the Northeast Pennsylvania Area Health Education Center. The Wright Center for Community Health, which in 2019 became a HRSA-designated Federally Qualified Health Center Look-Alike, operates a network of nine primary care practices in Lackawanna, Luzerne, and Wayne counties. The practices provide safety-net, comprehensive primary and preventive health services that cover the lifespan from pediatrics to geriatrics. A special emphasis is placed on medically underserved populations, and no patient is turned away due to an inability to pay. The Wright Center for Graduate Medical Education trains about 250 residents and fellows annually along with more than 250 interprofessional learners from affiliated academic institutions. It is the nation’s largest HRSA-funded Teaching Health Center Graduate Medical Education Safety-Net Consortium. Together, the complementary parts of The Wright Center nonprofit enterprise work to fulfill its mission to improve the health and welfare of communities through inclusive and responsive health services and the sustainable renewal of an inspired, competent workforce that is privileged to serve. For more information about The Wright Center, go to TheWrightCenter.org or call 570-230-0019.
The Wright Center’s New Talent Acquisition Role The Wright Center‘s Douglas Klamp’s plan to become a veterinarian was upended during a college trip in 1982 to southern Africa, where he saw stark injustice and soon discovered his life’s calling. Klamp, who was then a Penn State University senior, was an eyewitness to how South Africa’s now-abolished system of racial segregation split the population into the haves and have-nots. In neighboring Lesotho, he was especially struck by rural Black residents’ “lack of access to health care.” “There were not any health facilities for many, many miles,” he says. “And very few people had cars, so it would be a half-day or a day-long hike to get to a provider.” Even before he flew home that summer, Klamp had decided to change his career path. He would become a physician. Today, Dr. Douglas Klamp is a valued leader at The Wright Centers for Community Health and Graduate Medical Education, where he remains as committed as he was four decades ago to the cause of expanding access to health care for low-income, rural, and other underserved populations. Klamp, associate program director for Internal Medicine, treats patients and trains new physicians at The Wright Center’s primary and preventive care clinics. This year, he added the role of physician chair of resident and fellow talent acquisition. In the newly created post, Klamp will help recruit top-quality medical school graduates who are a good fit for The Wright Center’s graduate medical education programs, looking especially for individuals with a heart for helping the underserved. The task requires filtering through more than 5,000 applications each year and interviewing hundreds of candidates to fill only 80 available slots, an undertaking that requires considerable effort from all program directors and associate program directors. The chosen physicians then work at The Wright Center’s training locations in Northeast Pennsylvania or one of its partner training sites across the nation. While embedded in those communities and serving patients, each doctor is also fulfilling the requirements of an accredited residency or fellowship program in disciplines such as internal medicine, family medicine, psychiatry, and geriatrics. Klamp seems perfectly suited for the talent acquisition role because he embodies The Wright Center’s mission and ideals. The nonprofit organization was founded in 1976 as the Scranton-Temple Residency Program with an inaugural class of six internal medicine residents. Today’s Wright Center trains about 250 residents and fellows each academic year, upholding a proud tradition of producing highly skilled and compassionate doctors, and helping to address workforce shortages in medically underserved areas across the U.S. Those workforce shortages could get worse because of the COVID-19 pandemic, which strained the health care system and intensified burnout. But the outbreak also spotlighted the essential and at times heroic job performed by physicians. National Doctors’ Day – observed each year on March 30 – pays tribute to all of the dedicated people who have chosen to devote years of study and training to become physicians. They contribute not only to individual lives, but also to the health of their communities. “Some recognition of the amount of hard work, and the importance of the work, is appreciated,” says Klamp, a Waverly Township resident, husband, and father of two. Klamp attended The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, one of only two students in his class of 110 who had not gone to private school, he says. In the late 1990s, Dr. Robert Wright, the namesake founder of The Wright Center, convinced Klamp to move to this region to serve as associate program director of the Scranton-Temple Residency Program and founding medical director of its associated health center. Klamp would later leave The Wright Center to take on other challenges. He ran a private practice in Scranton for about 17 years, before rejoining the nonprofit organization as a full-time employee in 2020. Throughout Klamp’s career, he has traveled abroad repeatedly as part of volunteer medical and service-related trips. Among the destinations: Bolivia, Gambia, the Republic of Georgia, Guyana, Nicaragua, and Sudan. During a two-month stint in Agra, India, he worked in a charity hospital where common maladies included tuberculosis, malaria, and intestinal worms. “We’d see 80 to 120 patients a day,” he says. On other trips, he primarily taught and lectured to doctors native to those areas. No matter the location or task at hand, Klamp has found one thing constant about his profession ever since his first urge to enter the field: Being a primary care doctor continues to spark his humanitarian impulses. “I still find reward,” he says, “in making people better: emotionally, physically, and financially, in terms of helping them gain access to the health care system without getting poor in the process.” For information about The Wright Center, its services, and its mission-oriented physicians, visit www.TheWrightCenter.org. Captions: FOR PUBLICATION Operating Room in India Dr. Douglas Klamp, left, assists doctors during an operation at a charity hospital in Agra, India, in 1991 as part of a program for the U.S. Medical Aid Foundation. Dr. Klamp recently added the additional role of physician chair of resident and fellow talent acquisition to help recruit top-quality medical school graduates for The Wright Center’s eight residency and fellowship programs. FOR PUBLICATION Dr. Klamp with patient Dr. Douglas Klamp, left, talks to a patient at one of The Wright Center for Community Health’s nine primary care practices in Northeast Pennsylvania. Dr. Klamp, a board-certified internal medicine physician, accepts adult patients ages 18 years of age and older at the Clarks Summit and Scranton practices. FOR PUBLICATION Gambia The Wright Centers for Community Health and Graduate Medical Education’s Dr. Douglas Klamp has worked around the world to improve access to health care, including in the West African nation of Gambia. In 1993, he served as the group leader for Operation Crossroads Africa with fellow providers from Gambia and the United States.
The Wright Center Receives Grant The Wright Center for Community Health has received a $25,000 grant from The Scranton Area Community Foundation in partnership with the City of Scranton American Rescue Plan Non-Profit COVID Relief Grant program. The grant will support a project to provide innovative IT infrastructure for data integration at the county level. It will enable nonprofit, community, and educational organizations, the city of Scranton, Lackawanna County, and health care, mental health, and social service organizations to collaborate on successful partnerships and community initiatives. It will create a shift from problem-focused to solution-focused analysis and has the capacity to provide the knowledge needed to optimize health and well-being while addressing structural racism, equity, privacy, and security. The Wright Center for Community Health (TWCCH) was the first community health practice in Northeast Pennsylvania to offer outpatient COVID-19 testing and the first to roll out coronavirus vaccines for health care personnel. Overall, The Wright Center for Community Health’s network of primary and preventive care practices conducted more than 44,564 COVID-19 tests from 2020 through July 2022, with 11,150 performed at the Scranton Practice. In the early days of the pandemic, TWCCH quickly responded to community and patient needs, acquiring personal protective equipment (PPE) and hygiene supplies to safeguard patients and health care providers throughout the region. The nonprofit enterprise implemented new policies to comply with the governor’s orders on matters such as social distancing, hand washing, and face masking. The Scranton Area Community Foundation enhances the quality of life for all people in Northeastern Pennsylvania through the development of organized philanthropy. A public 501c3 community foundation, the Scranton Area Community Foundation serves as a steward, a grant maker, a charitable resource, and a catalyst for change. The foundation manages more than 200 charitable funds established by philanthropic individuals in the community and have granted more than $18 million to assist the educational, human service, environmental, civic, and arts and cultural organizations in Northeast Pennsylvania. The foundation also manages assets of more than $31 million through two private foundations, the Northeastern Pennsylvania Health Care Foundation and the Robert H. Spitz Foundation. The American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) of 2021 is a $1.9 trillion economic stimulus bill passed by the 117th United States Congress and signed into law by President Biden on March 11, 2021. Of the $1.9 trillion bill, $350 billion was allocated to state and local governments to enable them to address strategic economic and infrastructure investments and address governmental budget shortfalls. The city of Scranton has been awarded $68.7 million in ARPA funds to respond to the COVID-19 public health emergency and its economic impacts. Scranton City Council approved ARPA funding to be made available as grants to community organizations, nonprofits, and small businesses that have faced economic hardship resulting from or exacerbated by the pandemic. For more information about The Wright Centers for Community Health and Graduate Medical Education, please go to TheWrightCenter.org or call 570-230-0019.
The Wright Center News The Wright Centers Expand Presence in Luzerne County The Wright Centers for Community Health and Graduate Medical Education will increase access to high-quality, comprehensive, affordable primary health services and health care career development opportunities through relocation and expansion of their Kingston primary care and workforce development center into downtown Wilkes-Barre. The Wright Center for Community Health recently completed the purchase and is repurposing a 34,460-square-foot building at 169 N. Pennsylvania Ave. The more than 3-acre site enables the nonprofit community health center to expand opportunities for regional residents to receive integrated, whole-person primary health care at one convenient location. The new primary care clinic will educate primary care physicians, medical students, and interprofessional health students from regionally and nationally affiliated academic institutions. The center will open Monday, Jan. 9, at 8 a.m. “We are honored to have this opportunity in Luzerne County to expand the delivery of our mission to improve the health and welfare of the communities we serve through inclusive and responsive health services and the sustainable renewal of an inspired and competent workforce that is privileged to serve,” said Linda Thomas-Hemak, M.D., FACP, FAAP, president and CEO of The Wright Centers for Community Health and Graduate Medical Education. “We are grateful for and inspired by Gov. Tom Wolf’s validating, generous Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program award. “We are also grateful to and inspired by our supportive governmental and legislative leaders, Sordoni Construction, and all of our partners who made this development project in Wilkes-Barre possible. We look forward to giving back through the regional and local community benefit impact we deliver,” Dr. Thomas-Hemak added. “Together, we are building a preferred future in which everyone will benefit from a health system that prioritizes equity, quality, and affordability of comprehensive primary health care services and career opportunities. “Our deep investment into Wilkes-Barre will enable The Wright Center to grow our operations and our collaborative, interprofessional relationships to ensure everyone in the service area has equitable access to whole-person primary health services, regardless of their ZIP code, insurance status, or ability to pay. We are equally committed to pipeline, community-driven partnerships to open up dream mapping about health care career opportunities, so the demographics of our future health care workforce can better and more inclusively reflect the demographics of our regional community,” she added. In 2019, the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) designated The Wright Center for Community Health as a Federally Qualified Health Center Look-Alike, providing resources that allow the nonprofit organization to further assist medically underserved rural and urban communities and vulnerable populations, including people who are underinsured and uninsured. 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 to pay. The Wright Center’s network of clinics in Northeast Pennsylvania primarily serves patients from Lackawanna, Luzerne, Susquehanna, Wayne, and Wyoming counties. The Wright Center is no stranger to Luzerne County. The enterprise has operated teaching health centers in Wilkes-Barre and Kingston for many years and partnered on several public health initiatives with community resource agencies. The Wright Center for Community Health has utilized its 34-foot mobile medical unit, better known as Driving Better Health, to further address barriers to quality care in several underserved communities, partnering with social service organizations and school districts in lower Luzerne County to deliver routine vaccinations, COVID-19 vaccinations, boosters, and testing to where people live, work, and study. The first phase of the new clinical, educational and administrative center in Wilkes-Barre will be open Monday through Saturday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. and 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on holidays that occur Monday through Saturday. The center has ample, off-street parking and is within walking distance of downtown Wilkes-Barre, the James F. Conahan Intermodal Transportation Center, and public transportation bus stops. It will offer family-friendly primary medical, behavioral, and addiction and recovery services across the lifespan, from pediatrics to geriatrics. Ultimately, its integrated services will offer patients the convenience of going to a single location to access full-service primary medical, dental, behavioral health, addiction and recovery services, and other supportive programs. Over the next several months, The Wright Center will hopefully be adding more than 25 medical examination rooms, 30 behavioral health rooms, and 10 dental operators to increase access. The new facility will also include state-of-the-art conference and learning rooms, complete with audio-visual technology, computers, and more for provider care teams and learners, as well as dedicated space for partnering community resource agencies. The full project is expected to be completed by the end of 2023. To make an appointment at The Wright Center for Community Health Wilkes-Barre Practice, call 570-491-0126 or go to TheWrightCenter.org Dr. Linda Thomas-Hemak, center, discusses how the new Wright Center for Community Health Wilkes-Barre Practice will improve the health and well-being of residents in Wilkes-Barre and Luzerne County. New COVID-19 Vaccine Available at The Wright Center Children and infants as young as 6 months old can now receive the updated coronavirus vaccines at several of The Wright Center for Community Health’s primary care practices, increasing their defense against sickness during the upcoming holiday season and new year. Nationally, health officials have in recent weeks reported a surge of respiratory illnesses, including COVID-19, influenza, and respiratory syncytial virus, more commonly known as RSV. Hospitals in some areas have returned to operating at or near capacity levels due to the sharp rise in seasonal illnesses. Meanwhile, certain cold medications are in short supply, and officials in several large U.S. cities are again urging indoor masking. Lackawanna and Luzerne counties were classified as “low” for community spread of COVID-19 as of Dec. 8. New cases, though, had trended higher in the weeks since Thanksgiving. And, Susquehanna County’s community level is currently “high,” according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “As winter’s official start draws near, and more activities are conducted indoors, we hope to see more families taking the opportunity to safeguard their health, especially now that adults, children, and even many infants are eligible to get the most up-to-date vaccines,” said Dr. Jignesh Sheth, chief medical officer of The Wright Center for Community Health. Vaccines are the most powerful tool against the highly contagious virus, with demonstrated effectiveness during the pandemic in reducing severe illness, hospitalization, and death. The updated boosters, also called bivalent vaccines, offer protection against the original strain of COVID-19 as well as the now-prevalent omicron sub-variants that account for most new infections in the United States. The Moderna-made pediatric booster is available for individuals ages 6 months through 5 years. Children are eligible for the Moderna booster two months after completing their final primary series dose. Similarly, the Pfizer bivalent vaccine has been approved for children ages 6 months through 4 years old; it will be given as a third primary dose. People can schedule appointments by visiting The Wright Center’s website at TheWrightCenter.org and using the express online scheduling service or by calling 570.230.0019. Locations currently offering the updated pediatric boosters include the Kingston Practice, the Mid Valley Practice in Jermyn, and the Scranton Practice. A patient may choose to receive the booster shot with or without a vital sign assessment and/or primary care office visit, for which out-of-pocket expenses might be billed by the patient’s health insurance provider. Adults and children 6 months and older also are encouraged to get an annual flu shot. All available flu vaccines in the U.S. for the 2022-23 season are the quadrivalent variety, meaning they are designed to protect against four different flu viruses. Appointments to receive the flu vaccine can be made at any of The Wright Center’s locations in Northeast Pennsylvania. The Wright Center for Community Health, headquartered in Scranton, is a Federally Qualified Health Center Look-Alike that operates eight primary care practices in Lackawanna, Luzerne, and Wayne counties. The Wright Center provides comprehensive primary and preventive health services – including medical, dental, behavioral health, addiction and recovery, and infectious disease services – that cover the lifespan from pediatrics to geriatrics. The Wright Center’s sliding-fee discount program ensures health care is affordable for everyone in need. No patient is turned away due to an inability to pay. The Wright Center Presents Healthy MOMS Program to Participants at Conference Maria Kolcharno, LSW, director of addiction services, and Marcella Garvin, Healthy Maternal Opiate Medical Support program lead case manager, at The Wright Center for Community Health, recently collaborated on the presentation, “Healthy MOMS: It Takes a Village,” at the Family Service Association of Northeastern Pennsylvania’s National Family Week Conference at Mohegan Pennsylvania. The presentation provided a forum to discuss the variety of services available in the region and the best practices to advocate and link mothers with substance use disorder to supportive programs for them and their young children. “The presentation focused on the strong foundation we are building of healthy mothers in our community. It’s a collaborative effort among many organizations across nine counties,” said Kolcharno, who also addressed basic facts about addiction, and how mothers can connect with the program and how they gain independent through their own recovery. The Wright Center for Community Health, for example, recently collaborated with Maternal and Family Health Services to share a lactation specialist who serves as a mother’s coach after the child is born. “This population wouldn’t normally get a lactation coach,” said Kolcharno, who is a key leader of the Healthy Maternal Opiate Medical Support program. “A lot of insurance companies will not cover this service. By offering it, we are seeing healthier babies and mothers.” The Healthy MOMS program is part of The Wright Center for Community Health’s Opioid Use Disorder Center. It 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. The program strives to break the stigma associated with addiction while building patients’ self-esteem during and after their pregnancies, ideally engaging them in recovery support services. Currently there are 149 mothers active in the program, with 204 babies born through the program. Since its founding, more than 300 mothers have participated in the program. 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. New Pediatrician joins The Wright Center for Community Health Scranton Practice Dr. Prachi Agarwal, a board-certified pediatrician, will join The Wright Center for Community Health Scranton Practice, 501 S. Washington Ave., beginning in January. The Wright Center for Community Health provides primary and specialty care for children of all ages, from newborn check-ups and well visits to vaccinations, school physicals, and overall anticipatory guidance through a child’s developmental stages. Dr. Agarwal earned her medical degree at KLE University, Belgaum, India. She completed her pediatric training and graduated with excellence from Rutgers Health/Monmouth Medical Center in Long Branch, New Jersey. She is an active member of the American Academy of Pediatrics and possesses certifications from the Brazelton Touchpoint Parenting Program and the Neonatal Resuscitation Program. The Wright Center was designated a Federally Qualified Health Center Look-Alike in 2019. It offers high-quality, affordable integrated health care at its network of primary care practices in Northeast Pennsylvania, providing patients with the convenience of going to one location to access medical, dental, and behavioral and mental health care, plus addiction treatment and other supportive services. To schedule an appointment with Dr. Agarwal at the Scranton Practice, go to TheWrightCenter.org to use the express online scheduling system or call 570-941-0630.
The Wright Center Awarded Trio of Grants From City of Scranton The Wright Center for Community Health recently received three grant awards from the city of Scranton as part of a distribution of federal funds to promote residents’ recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. Scranton awarded a total of about $1 million in wellness grants to nearly two-dozen area nonprofits. City officials focused this round of grant giving on three categories: drug overdose prevention, behavioral health and violence prevention, and wellness. The Wright Center – a Scranton-based provider of primary health care and preventive services – is active in all three of the targeted categories and was chosen to receive a combined $145,000 in grant support. The organization will inject those public resources into three ongoing programs to benefit patients, health care providers, and the larger community. The first award, to be used for overdose and prevention programs, will enable The Wright Center for Community Health to further engage community partners and patients in the services of its state-designated Opioid Use Disorder Center of Excellence. A portion of the $50,000 grant will provide community training on the topics of substance use disorder, medication-assisted treatment, and stigma surrounding addiction. Among the intended recipients of the educational sessions are law enforcement professionals, first responders, and government officials. This grant also will assist with harm reduction and long-term recovery support services in the region, which aim to reduce fatal overdoses. The second award of $50,000 will be used to enhance The Wright Center for Community Health’s existing resiliency and wellness programming. Its Lifestyle Medicine service line will be integrated more fully into primary health care services, with the intent of engaging more high-risk patients in programs designed to help them positively adjust their behaviors. A prime focus will be on treating obesity as a chronic disease that contributes to diabetes, cardiovascular disease, sleep apnea, cancer, and overall premature death. The third award, in the amount of $45,000, will underwrite The Wright Center’s participation in a training program conducted by the New York-based Sanctuary Institute to promote employee wellness and create a supportive, trauma-informed environment for the benefit of the organization’s workforce, patients, and the broader community. The institute’s training model is seen by many as a needed antidote to the intensified pressure on health care workers and others brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. Scranton’s mayor announced the wellness grant distributions at a news conference on Nov. 22. The funds are part of $68.7 million that Scranton had received through the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 to address the pandemic’s economic and health-related fallout on city residents. All applications were reviewed by the city, including by its public health coordinator, Dr. Rachna Saxena, and compliance consultants from Anser Advisory to ensure that organizations were not receiving duplicate federal benefits, per the guidelines set by the U.S. Department of the Treasury. Applications were also reviewed for project sustainability, service to city residents, and more. “The thoughtful and generous allocation of American Rescue Plan Act funds by Scranton City Council will support our mission-driven efforts to improve the health and well-being of the patients and communities we humbly serve,” said Dr. Linda Thomas-Hemak, president and CEO of The Wright Centers for Community Health and Graduate Medical Education. “Thanks to our local and federal officials,” she said, “these resources will help us to expand and augment our ongoing efforts to address the opioid epidemic and empower recovery, our resiliency and wellness programming, and trauma-informed training for our governing board, executive management, health care providers, interprofessional learners, and patients.” The Wright Center for Community Health operates a network of primary care practices in Northeast Pennsylvania, three located in the city, providing access to affordable, nondiscriminatory, high-quality services including medical, dental, and behavioral health care. The nonprofit enterprise also maintains an administrative and educational hub in Scranton’s South Side neighborhood.
The Wright Center News Wright Center Names Dr. Shah as Medical Director of Behavioral Health, Associate Program Director, and Physician Faculty A board-certified psychiatrist with more than 35 years of experience at clinical sites in Northeast Pennsylvania has joined The Wright Centers for Community Health and Graduate Medical Education where she will train and educate the next generation of psychiatrists and provide behavioral health services to adult patients. A graduate of M.P. Shah Government Medical College in India, Dr. Jyoti R. Shah is an American Psychiatric Association Distinguished Life Fellow. She completed a psychiatry residency, including a rotation in neurology, at St. Vincent’s Hospital and Medical Center in New York. She will provide patient care, and education and administrative leadership as the medical director of The Wright Center for Community Health Behavioral Health Service Line. She will begin seeing patients ages 18 and above at the Scranton Practice, 501 S. Washington Ave., Scranton, on Nov. 1. In addition, she will serve the nonprofit enterprise as a psychiatric physician faculty member and as the associate program director of the Psychiatry Residency. Shah will provide administrative and clinical oversight of the educational program, ensuring high-quality patient care, teaching and supervision of resident physicians. Overall, more than 250 resident physicians are enrolled in The Wright Center for Graduate Medical Education’s five residency and three fellowship programs. For the past two years, Shah has served as the medical director of Behavioral Health Services at Commonwealth Health First Hospital in Kingston after being the assistant medical director for nine years. She began her professional career in the local health care system at the VA Medical Center in Wilkes-Barre as a staff psychiatrist, before assuming the roles of acting chief and chief of the psychiatric service line for 20 years. Shah is also active in her profession and community. She is a member of the American Psychiatric Association, and served as vice chairperson and chairperson of the National Alliance for Mentally Ill Keystone Pennsylvania chapter and president of the Pennsylvania Psychiatry Society. At King’s College in Wilkes-Barre and Penn State School of Health and Sciences in Williamsport, she held academic appointments in clinical medicine. Patients can schedule appointments for behavioral health services by directly calling the primary care practice. To find a convenient location, go to The Wright Center’s website at TheWrightCenter.org. To learn more about The Wright Center’s mission and integrated health care services, call 570-230-0019. Wright Center Employee Receives Apex Honor for Customer Service Excellence The Pennsylvania Association of Community Health Centers has presented Kari Machelli, R.N., the associate vice president of Integrated Primary Health Services at The Wright Center for Community Healthy, with the Awards for Primary Care Excellence (APEX) in recognition of her stellar customer service. An APEX represents the pinnacle of service, quality, innovation and achievement in primary health care. The association bestows its awards in 10 categories to recognize the outstanding efforts of dedicated individuals and teams who work or volunteer for Pennsylvania’s community health centers. Machelli received the award at the Pennsylvania Association of Community Health Centers Annual Conference and Clinical Summit in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. “Kari Machelli ranks as one of the most competent and patient- and family-centered nurses I have ever encountered,” says Dr. Linda Thomas-Hemak, president and CEO of The Wright Centers for Community Health and Graduate Medical Education. “She is most deserving of the APEX Customer Service Award, and our organization is privileged to have her on our team. My career continues to be tremendously enriched by the honor of working with Kari.” In her executive leadership role, Machelli oversees the nurse care managers and community health workers across the organization who provide medical and socioeconomic support services for patients. She also supervises and supports the case managers and certified recovery specialists within The Wright Center’s Opioid Use Disorder Center of Excellence. A resident of Blakely, Machelli began her career at The Wright Center as an R.N. care manager and has been with the organization for more than 20 years. She earned her nursing degree from The Pennsylvania State University and remains passionately committed to providing high-quality, compassionate, whole-person care to each of her patients and their families. She and her husband, Anthony, have two daughters, Mia and Gianna. Patients can schedule appointments at the most convenient location in Northeast Pennsylvania 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.
The Wright Center News The Wright Center Accepting Appointments To Receive COVID-19 Boosters Children as young as 5 years old can receive the updated coronavirus booster vaccines at several of The Wright Center for Community Health’s primary care practices, helping to defend themselves, their families and the broader population from sickness. The updated boosters, also called bivalent vaccines, offer protection against the now-prevalent omicron variant that accounts for most new COVID-19 infections in this region and across the United States. Federal health officials had previously authorized the use of the new shots in adults and teens, and on Oct. 12 expanded those eligible to also include elementary-age kids. Age restrictions vary by product. The Pfizer-made pediatric booster has been approved for children 5 to 11 years old, while the Moderna pediatric booster is available for individuals ages 6 to 17. Both companies’ pediatric boosters are approved for use at least two months after a child has completed the initial two-shot series. Updated boosters – the first redesigned coronavirus vaccines to be released in the U.S. since the initial rollout in late 2020 – are intended to help contain a possible surge of new cases this fall and winter. Vaccines have proven to be the most powerful tool against the highly contagious virus, with demonstrated effectiveness during the pandemic in reducing severe illness, hospitalization and death. “These bivalent boosters pack a one-two punch against COVID-19, protecting against the initial virus as well as the variants responsible for the most suffering today,” said Dr. Jignesh Sheth, chief medical officer of The Wright Center for Community Health. “As the holiday season approaches, and more activities are conducted indoors, we hope to see more families taking the opportunity to safeguard their health, especially now that adults and most children are eligible to get the most up-to-date boosters.” People can schedule appointments by visiting The Wright Center’s website at TheWrightCenter.org and using the express online scheduling service. Locations currently offering the updated pediatric boosters include the Kingston Practice, the Mid Valley Practice in Jermyn and the Scranton Practice. A patient may choose to receive the booster shot with or without a vital sign assessment and/or primary care office visit, for which out-of-pocket expenses might be billed by the patient’s health insurance provider. Wright Center Names Dr. Gil as Associate Program Director And Physician Faculty A board-certified family medicine physician, with a deep interest in the integration of oral health into primary care, has joined The Wright Centers for Community Health and Graduate Medical Education where she will train and educate the next generation of physicians and collaboratively provide primary care for adults and children of all ages as a preceptor alongside a high-quality empaneled care team of resident physicians. Dr. Stephanie A. Gill received her Doctor of Medicine from Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and completed her residency in family medicine at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center’s St. Margaret Hospital in Aspinwall, Pennsylvania. Gill completed a fellowship in faculty development at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, where she also earned a multidisciplinary Master of Public Health degree. As the associate program director and a member of the physician faculty for The Wright Center for Graduate Medical Education’s Regional Family Medicine Residency, Gill will provide administrative and clinical oversight of the educational program, provide patient care, precept family medicine residents, and teach and supervise resident physicians and medical students at clinical sites. She is accepting patients at the Kingston Practice, 2 Sharpe St. After Wright Center Residency,This Physician Is Ready Rather than aim to retire at the earliest opportunity, Dr. Kevin Beltré plans to stay in medicine for the long run and be “one of those doctors working well into their 70s.” “My professional goal is to keep practicing medicine and serving the patients and community as long as I possibly can,” says Beltré, 32, who is on track to soon complete The Wright Center for Graduate Medical Education’s Regional Family Medicine Residency. To lessen the likelihood of career burnout, the physician already made one bold decision: He switched a few years ago from an emergency medicine focus, which he realized wasn’t the right fit for him, to the family medicine field, where he found his niche and an urge to make primary health care a lifetime pursuit. Recently the former Philadelphia resident made another significant life choice, one which demonstrates his commitment to his profession and to Northeast Pennsylvania. He signed an employment contract with the Lehigh Valley Health Network that will keep him actively treating children and adults in the heart of Lackawanna County – where he attended medical school and where he is set to finish The Wright Center’s residency in December. He expects to begin the job in early March 2023 at offices near the newly opened Lehigh Valley Hospital-Dickson City. For Beltré, it will be a major personal milestone. “I just can’t wait to be there March 6 as an attending physician,” he says. For The Wright Center, it will signify that its mission is being met – and the organization’s still-unfolding success story continues to be written. From its start in 1976, The Wright Center for Graduate Medical Education has been committed to generating a steady stream of competent, compassionate and community-minded physicians to help keep pace with rising patient demand and address persistent shortages of health care professionals in the region and across the United States. Early proponents of the Scranton-based physician training program were especially interested in developing doctors who would choose to practice locally. These community leaders, including namesake founder Dr. Robert Wright, foresaw the coming challenge in filling the slots of retiring physicians and tending to the ever-broadening health care needs of an aging population. They launched an internal medicine residency, whose initial class consisted of six trainees. In the more than 45 years since then, The Wright Center for Graduate Medical Education has grown in size and scope to reflect the community’s and the country’s evolving needs, now training about 250 residents and fellows each academic year. Today, The Wright Center is proud to be the largest U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration-funded Teaching Health Center Graduate Medical Education consortium in the nation. It offers residencies in four disciplines – family medicine, internal medicine, physical medicine & rehabilitation, and psychiatry – as well as fellowships in cardiovascular disease, gastroenterology and geriatrics. All of its programs are accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education. Many of its learners have expressed an inclination to work in community-based settings, as opposed to hospitals, and to treat patients from traditionally marginalized populations. Ideally, after graduation, The Wright Center’s alumni will opt to use their talents in the Scranton region – as Beltré plans on doing – or in one of America’s many medically underserved areas, such as low-income urban neighborhoods and rural communities. “Doctor Beltré’s journey in many ways exemplifies why The Wright Center exists,” says Dr. William Dempsey, deputy chief medical officer for The Wright Center for Community Health. “He’s a bright empathetic physician who grew up in this state, did his training with us and now will apply his skills and knowledge in this community for the benefit of local residents – possibly for decades.” Sensible Lifestyle Changes Can Combat, Prevent Diabetes Most of us have been affected by diabetes in some way, be it firsthand or through a family member, as this common yet extremely serious disease continues to create serious health concerns for the populace. Thankfully, though, more people than ever are being proactive about their diabetes care, while observances like World Diabetes Day help advance the cause. Created in 1991 by the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) and the World Health Organization, World Diabetes Day became an official United Nations Day in 2006. Since then, it has been observed every Nov. 14 – the birthday of Sir Frederick Banting, who co-discovered insulin along with Charles Best in 1922 – and has become the world’s largest diabetes awareness campaign, reaching a global audience of more than 1 billion people in more than 160 countries. The campaign is represented by a blue circle logo that serves as a global symbol for diabetes awareness. This year’s World Diabetes Day theme is “Access to Diabetes Care.” The IDF is calling on policymakers to increase access to diabetes education to help improve the lives of the more than half a billion people living with the chronic disease worldwide. It’s certainly a message well worth sharing, given the dire statistics. According to the IDF Diabetes Atlas, 537 million adults (1 in 10) were living with diabetes in 2021 – and that number is expected to grow to 643 million by 2030 and 783 million by 2045. Nearly one in two adults (44%) with diabetes remain undiagnosed (240 million), and the majority of them have Type 2 diabetes. Meanwhile, more than 1.2 million children and adolescents (0-19 years) live with Type 1 diabetes. Plenty of people manage their diabetes and live long, healthy lives. Still, the disease remains a killer, claiming 6.7 million adult lives in 2021 – 12.2% of all deaths globally. And the costs associated with diabetes care are astronomical – it was responsible for at least $966 billion in health expenditures last year, equating to 9% of the global total spent on health care, according to the IDF. The Wright Center for Community Health is doing its part to combat diabetes locally, including through our Lifestyle Medicine initiative, now a central component of all of our primary care practices throughout Northeast Pennsylvania in Lackawanna, Luzerne and Wayne counties. While medications and cutting-edge treatments and surgeries are obviously key to bettering and prolonging our lives, it’s also very important to note that happiness is linked to good overall health and sadness facilities sickness. Too often we look for relief in all the wrong places, such as unhealthy foods and life choices. That’s why we need to take a more proactive, rather than reactive, approach to our health. Lifestyle Medicine adheres to this philosophy by helping individuals and families improve their health and quality of life by adopting and sustaining lifestyle behaviors, including eliminating tobacco use, improving diet, practicing stress relief techniques, increasing physical activity, strengthening personal relationships and connections, and adjusting sleep habits for better, more restorative rest. It’s not alternative medicine, but rather an evidence-based approach that very well could revolutionize health care in this country. The concept is gaining significant traction in the medical community, precisely because the data is showing it can prevent, treat or even reverse diseases like diabetes, cancer and hypertension. Lifestyle Medicine is all about making those conscious choices to alter our behaviors for the better. Our team of primary care providers, trained in both conventional medicine and Lifestyle Medicine, work with patients to create a personalized lifestyle self-care plan that you can implement and sustain. Diabetes is a very serious disease, but prevention and treatment are well within reach thanks to modern medicine and concepts like Lifestyle Medicine that allow people to be enthusiastic participants in their own long-term care. The Wright Center Encourages Individuals To Get Vaccinated Against Flu in 2022 Flu vaccines are now available to patients at The Wright Center for Community Health’s network of community health centers in Northeast Pennsylvania. Most individuals are encouraged to receive a flu shot before Halloween to help minimize the seasonal resurgence of the virus this fall and winter. Vaccines developed for the 2022-23 flu season – including higher-dose vaccines recommended for older adults – are in stock at all of The Wright Center’s primary care practices in Lackawanna, Luzerne and Wayne counties. To schedule an office visit that includes the flu vaccination, call 570-230-0019 or go online to TheWrightCenter.org and use the express scheduling system. It is recommended that everyone ages 6 months and older, with few exceptions, receive the flu vaccine, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Flu vaccines are approved by federal health officials and made widely available at health centers, doctors’ offices, pharmacies and certain other locations to encourage widespread participation by people who want to protect themselves and others in their community, including young children, senior citizens and other high-risk populations. “The flu can pose serious health risks, even the possibility of death, for certain people,” says Dr. William Dempsey, deputy chief medical officer of The Wright Center for Community Health. “That’s why we encourage everyone to be a good citizen, a good neighbor, and roll up their sleeve to get vaccinated. It might be a momentary discomfort, but it’s far better than the potential misery caused by body aches, sore throat and the flu infection’s other symptoms.” Experts advise that people in the U.S. get vaccinated at this time of year, preferably before the end of October. The flu season in North America typically starts in the fall and peaks between December and February. For people ages 65 and older, the CDC this year is recommending the use of higher-dose flu vaccines that are potentially more effective than the standard dose. In addition to older adults, other populations at increased risk of developing severe flu symptoms and potential complications include adults with chronic health conditions such as heart disease, HIV/AIDS, asthma, diabetes and kidney disease; pregnant women; cancer patients; young children; and children with neurologic disorders. Individuals in a high-risk category who experience flu-like symptoms are urged to call a health care provider right away. Prompt treatment with a flu antiviral medication can often prevent serious complications. All available flu vaccines in the U.S. for the 2022-23 season are the quadrivalent variety, meaning they are designed to protect against four different flu viruses. Talk with your primary care physician or another trusted health care provider if you have questions about the flu vaccine. The clinical team at The Wright Center is available to provide fact-based advice and proven strategies for coping with the seasonal respiratory virus and other issues that affect health and wellness. Wright Center Names Director of Behavioral Health Integration The Wright Center for Community Health has named Danielle Sholcosky, MSW, LCSW, CPRP, of Dickson City as director of Behavioral Health Integration and Therapist Services. Sholcosky has worked as a licensed clinical social worker for The Wright Center for Community Health since 2021. Sholcosky received her Master of Social Work degree from Marywood University and a Bachelor of Arts in liberal studies with a minor in human development and family studies from Penn State University. She has also earned several continuing education certificates, including Eye Movement, Desensitization and Reprocessing Basic Training from The ClearPath Training Center; Mental Illness and Substance Abuse from Drexel University College of Medicine; and Certified Psychiatric Rehabilitation Practitioner from the Psychiatric Rehabilitation Association. In addition, she has made several scholarly presentations at national and state conferences, including the National Conference for Undergraduate Research Annual Conference, the Annual Convention of the Pennsylvania Communication Association and the Eastern Psychological Association Annual Conference. Sholcosky’s presentations also have been cited in Reuters’ Health: Health eLine, Psychology Today, Prevention magazine and more.
The Wright Center Schedules Winter Coat and Clothing Giveaways As winter approaches, The Wright Center for Patient & Community Engagement aims to help underserved individuals and families in the community prepare for colder temperatures by offering free coats, warm clothes and personal care items. Two distributions are scheduled for November in Lackawanna County. During these Community Closet events, patients and community members are invited to select items for children and adults from among an assortment of new and gently used coats, hats, boots, gloves and other outerwear. Community Closet events are planned at these practice locations on the listed dates: The Wright Center for Community Health Mid Valley Practice 5 S. Washington Ave., Jermyn Thursday, Nov. 3,from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. The Wright Center for Community Health Scranton Practice 501 S. Washington Ave., Scranton Monday, Nov. 14, from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Each attendee will be awarded 10 “points” to exchange for clothing and 5 “points” to exchange for hygiene items that will be marked with points, rather than prices. Quantities will be limited and available on a first-come, first-served basis. Organized by The Wright Center for Patient & Community Engagement, this year’s clothing distributions are made possible by generous donations from The Wright Center’s employees, board members and valued supporters such as Operation Warm. The Wright Center for Patient & Community Engagement focuses on improving access to health care while addressing the negative social and economic determinants of health that can affect underserved patients, including food insecurity, limited educational opportunities, homelessness and poverty. For more information about the Community Closet events, call Gerri McAndrew, director of community outreach and engagement, at 570-591-5273.
The Wright Center News Wright Center Launches National Physician Assistant Program The Wright Center for Community Health recently welcomed eight master’s degree-level students who will be gaining knowledge and experience in its primary care practices as they complete a program to become physician assistants. The students are part of the first class to enroll in the Central Coast Physician Assistant program, a new initiative of A.T. Still University of Health Sciences (ATSU) in partnership with the National Association of Community Health Centers and select health centers across the country. Participants in the 24-month program attend ATSU’s Santa Maria campus in California for one year during their pre-clinical phase. Then they enter a clinical phase, which includes 35 weeks of supervised clinical practice experiences at The Wright Center or other partnered community health center. “The Wright Centers for Community Health and Graduate Medical Education are deeply immersed in and passionately committed to developing and inspiring our current and future interprofessional health care workforce,” said Dr. Linda Thomas-Hemak, president and CEO of The Wright Centers for Community Health and Graduate Medical Education. “We are excited to embrace an expanded role in preparing physician assistants to work in community-based teaching health center settings, where they will serve and care for historically underserved populations. “Our partnership with ATSU’s College for Healthy Communities will force-multiply the delivery of our shared mission to improve the health and welfare of America,” she added. “Future graduates of the program will be essential for the continued workforce renewal of safety-net community providers such as The Wright Center for Community Health, which depend on dedicated teams of caring, patient- and community-centered healers.” Physician assistants Bryan Boyle and Angelo Brutico, each of whom is a Marywood University alumnus and Wright Center employee, will provide on-site program supervision and leadership as ATSU’s regional directors of physician assistant education. The Central Coast Physician Assistant program prepares its graduates to be “highly competent professionals in the science of medicine” who are “steeped in the osteopathic tradition of body, mind, and spirit care for the whole person.” The Wright Center and ATSU have a long track record of successfully collaborating to conceptualize and launch programs that develop compassionate, skilled physicians and other health care professionals to help address workforce shortages in the nation’s rural and other underserved communities. Representatives from the A.T. Still University School of Osteopathic Medicine in Arizona (ATSU-SOMA), based in Mesa, were involved in the planning stages of The Wright Center for Graduate Medical Education’s National Family Medicine Residency – a first-of-its-kind program that places resident physicians in one of four partner training sites in the U.S. In 2020, as part of a separate program, The Wright Center for Community Health became a rotational host site for aspiring doctors enrolled at ATSU-SOMA – which prides itself on being “the medical school of the future.” The school’s unique medical education model allows students to spend their first year on campus in Mesa, Arizona, followed by three years at a community health center, where an emphasis is placed on fostering community-minded physicians who will be advocates for equitable health care access. About 30 ATSU-SOMA medical school students are currently based at The Wright Center’s primary care practices in Northeast Pennsylvania. These programs, in combination with The Wright Center for Graduate Medical Education’s existing residency and fellowship programs, have positioned The Wright Center nonprofit enterprise to be a true regional provider of interprofessional health care education. The inaugural cohort of physician assistant students is scheduled to complete its clinical rotation at The Wright Center in June 2023. To learn more about opportunities in the Central Coast Physician Assistant program, visit ATSU’s website at atsu.edu. Or contact Carla Blakeslee, The Wright Center’s coordinator of clerkships, by calling 570-591-5116 or sending an email to blakesleec@thewrightcenter.org.
