Regional Business Leaders Encouraged to Complete Survey Business leaders in select counties in Northeast Pennsylvania are being asked to complete an online regional workforce survey that is being conducted in support of Project PROGRESS, a collaborative program that advocates for people in recovery by seeking to reduce the stigma associated with substance use disorder and connecting them with family-sustaining employment and educational opportunities. The Institute, a nonprofit applied research and economic consulting organization, recently distributed the brief survey through the local chambers of commerce and other business organizations in Lackawanna, Luzerne, Pike, Susquehanna, Wayne and Wyoming counties that are served by the Project Providing Recovery Opportunities for Growth, Education and Sustainable Success (Project PROGRESS) initiative. Spearheaded by The Wright Center for Community Health, Project PROGRESS participating organizations include Luzerne County Community College, Northeast PA Area Health Education Center, The Institute and Wayne Pike Workforce Alliance. Project PROGRESS helps employers meet their workforce needs while assisting prospective workers in securing and maintaining employment – an important recovery milestone. To accomplish its goals, The Institute is gathering data to educate program organizers on the need for substance use disorder education and support in the region. The short survey is part of the data-gathering process and will require less than 10 minutes to complete. It is entirely confidential. Employers requesting additional information will be referred to ProjectPROGRESSnepa.org. Project PROGRESS is funded in part through a grant from the Appalachian Regional Commission along with financial support from several partner organizations. “The goal of the project is to reduce the impact of stigma related to recovery on employees, employers and the region. People who are committed to their recovery make excellent employees. Their work ethic and dedication to their employer are unmatched,” 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 declared a state health emergency due to the opioid epidemic. From 2015 to 2018, 1,149 people 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 community’s understanding of a need and their 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,” added Dr. Ruddy. For more information about Project PROGRESS, please go to ProjectPROGRESSnepa.org or email info@ProjectPROGRESSnepa.org or call 570-591-5136.
The Wright Center Tribute Dinner A tribute dinner in honor of pioneering physician and longtime community leader Dr. Robert E. Wright and his late wife, Carole, will be held this fall to benefit one of the couple’s favorite charitable causes: the tuition-free NativityMiguel School of Scranton. Event sponsorships and reserved dinner seats are currently available for the school’s 2022 Tribute Dinner fundraiser, which is set for 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 27, at the University of Scranton’s DeNaples Center. Donations honoring the Wrights by those who are unable to attend the dinner are also being accepted. Proceeds from the campaign will support the school’s mission of “breaking the cycle of poverty, one student at a time.” The Wrights left an enduring legacy on Northeast Pennsylvania’s educational landscape by, in part, helping to establish the NativityMiguel School of Scranton, an independent Catholic co-educational middle school for students of greater economic need in the Scranton and Wilkes-Barre areas. The school began instructing its first class of fifth-graders in 2015. Today, the small but impactful institution educates more than 60 students in grades five through eight. Dr. Wright, a Lackawanna County native, also founded and led the Scranton-Temple Residency Program, forerunner of The Wright Center for Graduate Medical Education, and was instrumental in the startup and ultimate success of The Commonwealth Medical College, now known as the Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine. Carole Wright supported those monumental projects, which collectively serve the region as a physician workforce pipeline to help meet the ongoing need for primary care doctors and other health care practitioners. A practice manager, Carole Wright also was vital to the establishment and growth of her husband’s hematology/oncology practice – the first of its kind in the region. And she was a consistent servant-leader, aiding many area nonprofits as a volunteer, a board member and a benefactor.
The Wright Center ‘The Good of the Hive’ Artist Lecture Travelers on the 200 block of Mifflin Avenue in Scranton have noticed a buzz of activity over the past several weeks, as muralist Matt Willey creates his unique work of honeybee art for his initiative, “The Good of the Hive,” on the side of the Civic Ballet Theater building. A world-renowned mural artist who is raising awareness about the importance of pollinators through his art, Willey has been painting the bee mural since late August. His newest painting brings Willey closer to his personal commitment of hand-painting 50,000 honeybees — the number of bees in a healthy, thriving hive — in murals around the world. Lackawanna College, the academic sponsor of the mural project, will host a lecture by Willey on Friday, Oct. 14 at 6 p.m. at the school’s theater, 501 Vine St., Scranton. Seating for the free event, which is open to the public, is on a first-come, first-served basis. Willey is an artist, an activist and environmentalist. His work aims to spread knowledge about the pollination process, the importance of honeybees in the world, and spark deeper conversation using bees as a metaphor for the health of human communities. The completed mural at the Civic Ballet Theater, 234 Mifflin Ave., Scranton, will be unveiled during a special reception on Friday, Nov. 4 at 5:30 p.m. Light fare will be served during the event. “We are honored to be the premier sponsor of this unique mural project that will be on display in our city for years to come,” said Kara Seitzinger, director of public affairs and advisor liaison to the president and CEO of The Wright Centers for Community Health and Graduate Medical Education. “Matt’s work is inspiring communities around the world to think collectively, in the same way that honeybees do. The health of a honeybee hive is the perfect metaphor for the health of a community. “We encourage the community to attend his lecture to hear his fascinating story and insights,” she added. Willey has shared the stories of “The Good of the Hive” through speaking engagements around the world, at the United Nations, the Food and Agriculture Organization, the German and French Embassies in Washington, D.C., Smithsonian’s National Zoo, Duke University, Georgetown University, the Planetary Health Alliance 2018 annual meeting in Scotland, many podcasts, including the National Education Association, and educational institutions throughout the U.S. His work has been featured in The New York Times, Reuters London, The Today Show, The Huffington Post, The Washington Post, and countless other publications and media channels. Willey’s mission is to ignite radical curiosity and active engagement around planetary health issues through art, bees and storytelling. His vision is a world filled with people that see and experience the beauty and connectedness of all things. “The hive I’m creating is a metaphor for us all: no matter your color, nationality, religion, gender, age or economic status. This piece of art is an idealized picture of health to focus on as we work toward solutions,” Willey said. The worldwide mural project demonstrates perseverance in the face of adversity. Six years into an estimated 20-year project, Willey has created 35 murals and installations with over 8,600 hand-painted bees. He has reached hundreds of thousands of people and created large-scale works at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo in Washington D.C., Dag Hammarskjold Plaza in New York City and Burt’s Bees Global Headquarters in Durham, North Carolina.
The Wright Center Addresses Workplace Wellness Meaghan Ruddy, Ph.D., senior vice president of Academic Affairs, Enterprise Assessment and Advancement, and chief research and development officer, recently participated in the panel discussion, “Fostering Workplace Wellness through the COVID-19 Pandemic and Beyond,” for members of the health care community. The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) webinar featured a panel discussion with health center staff from throughout the country describing specific strategies they use to foster workplace wellness. Topics addressed by panelists during the 90-minutes of presentations included burnout, compassion fatigue, secondary traumatic stress and moral injury. Employees in a 2018 Gallup poll identified five organizational factors of burnout: unfair treatment at work, unmanageable workload, lack of role clarity, lack of communication and support from their manager, and unreasonable time pressure. Ruddy participated in the panel discussion, “Fostering Workplace Wellness – Strategies and Recommendations from Health Center Management,” by panelists from San Diego, California; and College Station, Texas. Each panelist addressed a question posed to them by the panel facilitator. Ruddy was asked to discuss how two newly created positions within The Wright Center enterprise have helped to address employee wellness and burnout. Those new positions are a wellness and resilience specialist and a director of health humanities. “Resilience can be a challenging topic when we’re talking about burnout because numbness and exhaustion basically are signs of chronic neurological overwhelm. A lot of ideas that are very well-intended can bounce off and seem kind of challenging or unintentionally even weaponized as we look at people who seem to have a failure of resilience as having some sort of character flaw,” Ruddy said. “Staff help is vital to operational excellence, but these expectations have to be metered by the reality of what it means to be a human in these environments. Our wellness and resiliency specialist, as well as our director of health humanities, work together to create and implement reflection and programming to address clinical learning environment challenges.” The Wright Centers for Community Health and Graduate Medical Education are working towards becoming certified as a Sanctuary Model organization, an evidence-supported template for promoting safety and recovery from chronic stress and adversity by teaching trauma-informed approaches to organizational development. The Sanctuary Model recognizes that just as people are susceptible to adversity, organizations themselves are equally as vulnerable. At its core, the Sanctuary Model is based on an understanding of trauma and how it affects individuals as well as whole organizations and systems. According to Ruddy, the pandemic has exacerbated trauma in the health care workforce. The ripples of this trauma continue to impact the ability of “amazing and compassionate” individuals to show up as their best selves. The Wright Center is investing in the model for the betterment of the workforce and the people and communities the enterprise serves.
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 Offers Access to Oral COVID-19 Medications In the ongoing effort to reduce COVID-19-related hospitalizations and deaths across the region, The Wright Center for Community Health is following federal and state “test-to-treat” guidelines by providing certain patients with therapeutic treatments for COVID-19 such as Pfizer’s Paxlovid. Paxlovid – which is available only by prescription – has been found to substantially decrease the chances of severe symptoms in high-risk patients such as older adults if it is started early in the course of infection, typically within five days of symptoms appearing. Individuals 12 and older who test positive for coronavirus are eligible for the treatment if they meet certain criteria, such as having an underlying medical condition that puts them at increased risk for complications. Individuals who are prescribed the treatment during a visit at The Wright Center for Community Health Mid Valley Practice in Jermyn can obtain the medication on site. At The Wright Center’s other clinics in Northeast Pennsylvania, a patient in need can have the prescription immediately sent a pharmacy supplier of Paxlovid. “Early treatment can make the difference between a relatively quick recovery and a much more difficult, potentially life-threatening, situation,” said Dr. Jignesh Sheth, chief medical officer of The Wright Center for Community Health. He noted that the health center has supplies of both Paxlovid and another antiviral medication, molnupiravir, allowing for a rapid and seamless response between a patient’s positive test result and the start of treatment. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorized Paxlovid’s use in December 2021, but distribution efforts were initially spotty. Since then, Pfizer ramped up production, and the White House last month announced plans to expand access to the treatment. Paxlovid is now widely available in community pharmacies. Possible side effects of the oral antiviral include an impaired sense of taste, high blood pressure, diarrhea and muscle aches. If you are taking other medications, talk with a health care provider about potentially significant drug interactions. Paxlovid is not recommended in patients with severe kidney or liver impairment. For eligible patients, The Wright Center also continues to offer monoclonal antibody infusions – an FDA-authorized therapy that has been shown to lessen the severity of COVID-19 symptoms for certain individuals deemed at increased risk of hospitalization. Although several monoclonal antibody medicines have received the FDA’s authorization during the pandemic, only one, bebtelovimab, is currently continuing to be used because of its proven effectiveness against the omicron variant. Delivered via an intravenous “push,” the medication is administered to the patient in about two to six minutes, followed by one hour of observation in the clinic. The therapy is a one-time treatment. In total, The Wright Center has administered more than 1,400 COVID-19 monoclontal treatments in the past 18 months, helping to lower the burden on the region’s hospitals by limiting severe illness and saving lives. For more information about The Wright Center’s health services, including its COVID-19 testing and treatment options, call 570-230-0019 or visit www.thewrightcenter.org.
The Wright Center Graduation Ceremony The Wright Centers for Community Health and Graduate Medical Education celebrated the accomplishments of 69 residents and fellows who completed their specialized education and training during the 44th annual graduation ceremony on Saturday, June 25, at the Scranton Cultural Center at the Masonic Temple. The Class of 2022, known for its resiliency and dedication in the face of a worldwide pandemic, features graduates from Internal Medicine (28), Regional Family Medicine (11), National Family Medicine (16) and Psychiatry (4) residents, and Cardiovascular Disease (3), Gastroenterology (2) and Geriatrics (3) fellowships, many of whom will continue their education or practice of medicine in Northeast Pennsylvania. The graduating class also includes the first two dental graduates who are members of The Wright Center’s affiliation with the New York University Langone Dental Medicine Postdoctoral Residency Program. The Wright Center for Graduate Medical Education’s cohort of highly skilled and compassionate caregivers will help to address the nation’s physician workforce shortage and improve access to care after working in The Wright Center for Community Health’s network of primary care practices in Lackawanna, Luzerne and Wayne counties and regional hospitals and other health care facilities. “Through it all, though, The Wright Center has remained true by following our guiding mission and core values, which remain our bedrock,” said Linda Thomas-Hemak, M.D., president and CEO, in her welcoming remarks. “We have addressed the far-ranging effects of world events on the people we aim to lift up and provide opportunity to every single day. “There is no doubt that COVID-19 has reshaped health care and how we train and educate our residents and fellows, who offer hope for the future of our national health care delivery and educational systems,” she said. “I know the experience has been challenging – fraught with uncertainty, anxiety and unconscionable loss. The Wright Center is extremely proud of the innovation, teamwork and togetherness exhibited by each of you.” Graduates of this year’s class who plan to stay in the region to practice medicine or continue their studies include Dr. Gurminder Singh, who will begin an internal medicine residency at The Wright Center; Dr. Roger Elliott, who will join Adfinitas Health, Scranton, as a hospitalist; Dr. Pranav Karambelkar and Dr. Purveshkumar Patel who will remain with The Wright Center for a Cardiovascular Disease fellowship; Dr. Jacob Miller, who will join the Veterans Administration Medical Center in Wilkes-Barre as a teaching hospitalist, and Dr. Saba Safdar who will join the recently opened Lehigh Valley Hospital in Dickson City as a hospitalist. Other members of the graduating class will continue their education or begin practicing medicine across the United States in Arizona, California, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Washington, D.C. Following the welcome address, Pranav Karambelkar, M.D., an internal medicine chief resident and president of house staff council, congratulated his fellow graduates on their successful completion of their residencies and fellowships. “The onset of the pandemic threw a mixed bag of emotions at us, including a sense of fear, uncertainty, fatigue, isolation, anger and grief. It tested our knowledge, our patience and our confidence,” he said during his graduate remarks. “We call them ‘challenges,’ but at times that felt like a major understatement. We knew little about how to tackle this virus and how to comfort our patients, friends, families and ourselves. But we as residents never backed down. We wore those fearless faces under our masks everyday with pride as we cared for our patients. “We looked to each other for emotional support and a sense of normalcy in a life that was otherwise stressful,” added Karambelkar. “The sense of camaraderie was like no other and it’s a feeling I’ll never forget.” Jumee Barooah, M.D., The Wright Center’s designated institutional official, acknowledged the graduates’ “dedication and determination and patient and community service” that played an oversized role in their success. “As practicing physicians, you are also lifelong learners and you are not finished growing as individuals and clinicians,” she said. “You will continue to be problem-solvers as you adapt, study and research symptoms and issues in order to shape and improve your chose profession.” Keynote speaker Harold Baillie, Ph.D., chairperson of The Wright Center for Graduate Medical Education Board of Directors, provided sage advice to each member of the class as they embark on a lifelong career of care and service to their patients. “That magic, the world of science and skill and experience that you bring to the patient, and the world of needs, and fears, and hope, and most of all trust that the patient brings to you, are the source of what I consider to be the two greatest and most challenging virtues you will need: humility and responsibility,” he said. “You don’t know everything, you can’t control nature, and at best you are a learning partner with your patient, as your patient, not you, suffers their biology. That humility leads directly to your responsibility: They have come to you in trust, for whatever help and hope you can give them. By welcoming them, you take on the utmost responsibility to see them through their journey. The dignity and resources of that human being now in your charge demands of you no less.” In his closing remarks, Lawrence LeBeau, D.O., program director of the National Family Medicine Residency, reminded graduates that their experiences during their time with The Wright Center do not define their futures as medical professionals. “You have all shown remarkable resilience and a resolve to learn your craft while providing compassionate, high-quality, community-oriented care despite all the additional challenges thrown at you by the pandemic,” said LeBeau. “Hopefully, the experience and some of the lessons learned from it will help to guide your career by motivating you to be strong advocates for your patients, strong advocates and supporters of a more just and equitable health care system and, more broadly, as leaders in your communities to support the changes needed to build a more just and equitable society as a whole.” Established in 1976, The Wright Center for Graduate Medical Education is the nation’s largest Health Resources and Services Administration-funded Teaching Health Center for Graduate Medical Education program, a critical component of the country’s physician workforce pipeline that fills an urgent need for primary care physicians. For more information about The Wright Center for Graduate Medical Education, go to TheWrightCenter.org or call 570-230-0019.
Healthy MOMS Case Manager Presents at U.S. Breastfeeding Committee Conference Marcella Garvin, a case manager of the Healthy Maternal Opiate Medical Support program (MOMS) at The Wright Center for Community Health, recently made the presentation, “It Takes a Village: Utilizing a Collaborative Approach to Promote Breastfeeding Among Women with Substance Use Disorder,” at the U.S. Breastfeeding Committee Conference in June. Garvin’s presentation focused on how the novel program educates mothers in recovery early in their pregnancies about the importance of breastfeeding their newborns. “Breastfeeding is strongly recommended for any new baby. However, women with substance use disorder have lower rates of breastfeeding. When a mother in recovery is utilizing medication as part of their treatment, babies can sometimes experience withdrawal symptoms,” said Garvin. The Healthy MOMS program aims to reduce or eliminate withdrawal symptoms through intensive case management. Part of the collaborative approach includes providing mothers with education about the importance of breastfeeding early in their pregnancy. “We have seen excellent results, improving our breastfeeding rate nearly 40% from the inception of the program. We have also seen that educating and providing mothers with support early in their pregnancy has resulted in better outcomes for their babies,” said Garvin. Data from the program shows a lower incidence of neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) in mothers who join the program more than 30 days prior to delivery and lower incidences or severity in mothers who are breastfeeding. NAS is a withdrawal syndrome that can occur in newborns exposed to certain substances, including opioids, during pregnancy. Garvin joined The Wright Center for Community Health as a case manager for the Healthy MOMs Program in 2020. In her role, she works closely with mothers working to overcome substance use disorder through recovery. Launched in 2018, the Healthy MOMS program has 140 mothers active in the program and has had 177 children born into the program, as of June 2022. The program takes a collaborative, holistic approach to treating mothers with substance use disorder. It aims to help pregnant women and new mothers overcome addiction and embrace a life in recovery. 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 support. 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. The Healthy MOMS program has served mothers as young as 14, but most are in their late 20s and 30s. Named after a program of the same name in Ohio, it was introduced in this region as a pilot program in two counties, with initial grant funding secured by the Lackawanna/ Susquehanna Office of Drug and Alcohol Programs. Today, it assists women in Lackawanna, Luzerne, Monroe, Pike, Schuylkill, Susquehanna, Wayne and Wyoming counties. The nonprofit Maternal and Family Health Services Inc. and multiple area hospitals are among the many health care, social service and government agencies that power the program’s ongoing success. For more information about the Healthy MOMS program, call 570-955-7821 or visit HealthyMOMS.org.
The Wright Center News The Wright Center’s Dr. Mark Madhok Presents Study at a National Conference Mark Madhok, M.D., Ph.D., FACP, associate program director of the Internal Medicine Residency at The Wright Center for Graduate Medical Education, recently made an oral presentation at the Digestive Disease Week: Discover. Comprehend. Advance. meeting in San Diego, California. Digestive Disease Week is the world’s premier meeting for physicians and researchers in the fields of gastroenterology, hepatology, endoscopy and gastrointestinal surgery. It enables them to explore exciting new developments with leaders in their specialty field. He presented, “Overall Polyp Detection Rate (PDR) from Screening, Surveillance and Diagnostic Colonoscopies Shows Excellent Equivalency with Screening PDR: A Study from the National Institutes of Health Repository of 298,920 Colonoscopies.” Madhok’s research study identified the issue that lower-quality colonoscopies are linked to a higher incidence and mortality of colorectal cancer. The quality of colonoscopy varies widely among physicians performing colonoscopies and the Adenoma Detection Rate (ADR), which is the percentage of times a gastroenterologist detects a precancerous polyp during a colonoscopy. The 298,920 colonoscopies studied were performed by 421 gastroenterologists at 83 sites. Four groups of polyp detection rates were studied for each endoscopist: Screening PDR, Surveillance PDR, Diagnostic PDR and Overall (combined) PDR. The study concluded the Overall PDR shows a high level of agreement with all three methods of polyp detection rates (screening, surveillance and diagnostic), regardless of the number of procedures performed by the colonoscopist. In addition, there is no difference in the ratio of benign tumors to cancerous polyps for the first and middle parts of the colon compared to the lower part of the colon by all 421 doctors in the study. The Wright Center for Graduate Medical Education offers residencies in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Internal Medicine, Regional Family Medicine, National Family Medicine and Psychiatry, as well as fellowships in the specialty fields of Cardiovascular Disease, Geriatrics and Gastroenterology. A board-certified internal medicine physician, Madhok also is a primary care and internal medicine physician at The Wright Center’s Scranton and Scranton Counseling Center practices. In addition, he is a clinical associate professor of medicine at Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine and an adjunct clinical associate professor of medicine at A.T. Still University School of Osteopathic Medicine in Arizona. For more information about The Wright Center for Graduate Medical Education, please go to TheWrightCenter.org or call 570-230-0019. The Wright Center for Graduate Medical Education Presents Scholarly Work at the Beyond Flexner 2022 Conference The Wright Center for Graduate Medical Education recently made seven scholarly presentations at the annual Beyond Flexner Conference, “Moving the Dial on Social Mission: Ensuring Health Professions Education Meets the Challenges of Today,” in Phoenix, Arizona. The interprofessional forum focuses on advancing health equity and social justice through health professions education. The annual conference brings together leaders in change to share new strategies and tools, identify and address challenges, and organize to advocate for meaningful change. Meaghan P. Ruddy, senior vice president of academic affairs, enterprise assessment and advancement, and chief research and development officer, made the oral presentation, “An Addiction Medicine Fellowship’s Innovative Approach to Patient Care.” Co-authors included Drs. Karen E. Arscott, a primary care physician, addiction medicine specialist and internal medicine faculty; Jumee Barooah, designated institutional official; and Linda Thomas-Hemak, president and CEO. Dr. Isaac Navarro, faculty physician in the Advanced Education in General Dentistry residency, offered the oral presentation, “Developing and Implementing an Advanced Education General Dental Residency Program during a Pandemic.” The presentation’s co-authors included Drs. Barooah and Thomas, and Ruddy. The oral presentation, “Transformation Opioid Use Disorder Recovery in a Teaching Health Center: Healthy MOMS,” was presented by Ruddy. Co-authors included Maria Kolcharno, director of addiction services; and Drs. Lekha Yadukumar, an internal medicine resident, and Thomas-Hemak. Drs. Barooah and Erica Schmidt, a psychiatry resident physician, made the oral presentation, “A Northeast Pennsylvania-Based Psychiatry Residency’s Innovative Training Program.” The presentation’s co-authors included Drs. Vinod Sharma, associate Psychiatry Residency director and psychiatrist; Barooah and Thomas-Hemak. The workshop, “Teaching Health Center Programming Toolbox: Tools for Community Health Centers to plan for Physician Workforce Development,” was presented by Drs. Douglas Spegman, chief clinical officer of El Rio Health in Arizona; and Thomas-Hemak, and Ruddy. Drs. Lawrence LeBeau, program director of the National Family Residency; Barooah and Thomas-Hemak, and Ruddy presented the research poster, “Development and Outcomes of a National Graduate Medical Education Safety-Net Consortium.” The poster presentation, “Community Health Center-Based Training and Practice: Developing Master Adaptive Learners Through Integrate Care Quality Improvement,” was delivered by Drs. Ray Wagner, assistant professor and regional director of medical education El Rio Health, and Valerie Sheridan, dean, A.T. Still University School of Osteopathic Medicine in Arizona (ATSU-SOMA); and Lisa Tshuma, assistant professor, ATSU-SOMA; Sue Dolence, a licensed clinical social worker, El Rio Health; Anna Tanguma-Gallegos, data informatics specialist, ATSU-SOMA; and Ruddy.
Wright Center/Weinberg Food Bank Feeds NEPA Families Families throughout Northeast Pennsylvania are struggling to put food on their tables. The lingering supply-chain effects from the COVID-19 pandemic and the surging rate of inflation, combined with the rising costs of food, gasoline and medicine, are forcing many families to choose between those three essential items. Sadly, many times food becomes the item families skimp on. The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Northeast Regional Food Bank and The Wright Center for Community Health partnered several years ago to provide food to underserved areas of Lackawanna and Luzerne counties where food pantries aren’t as plentiful. “We’re doing it together. The Weinberg Foundation has been wonderful to work with. They get grants and donations for food. I reach out to Mary Ellen Spellman when we need to distribute food and she gets the order together for us,” explained Gerri McAndrew, co-director of Patient & Community Engagement at The Wright Center for Community Health. McAndrew works out of The Wright Center’s Mid Valley Practice in Jermyn and oversees the organization’s food pantry and donation schedule. Donations of food, hygiene supplies and children’s backpacks are stored in what the Mid Valley staff refers to as “Gerri’s She Shed,” a shed housing refrigerators, freezers and storage shelves to properly stock and organize all the donations. “We have food drives for as many families as need it. Usually there are 30 families in the up-valley area who need food, but The Weinberg Foundation supplies us with enough food to accommodate 50 families,” McAndrew explained. “We have employee volunteers who organize and pack the food into bags and another group of employees who load the groceries in the families’ trunks, gather their information, and they’re on their way.” McAndrew stresses that no one who needs food will ever be turned away, and recipients do not have to be patients. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the drive-thru food pantries are only being held at the Jermyn location. She sends food to The Wright Center’s clinical locations in Clarks Summit, Scranton and Kingston for distribution there when needed. “We don’t want families driving all the way up here, especially with the price of gas,” she added. Thanks to donations from The Weinberg Foundation, The Wright Center’s staff provides three or four heaping bags of nutritious foods to each recipient. A typical donation will include fresh fruits and vegetables, such as apples, zucchini and rutabagas; frozen meats such as ground beef and pork tenderloin; block and shredded cheese; milk; canned vegetables and dried fruits. “The Weinberg Foundation always gives us a generous supply of fresh and canned foods and dairy and I think that’s great. A lot of people and businesses donate canned goods which we appreciate,” said McAndrew. “Groceries have gotten so much more expensive. Not that everyone we help is on a fixed income, but some of these people must make a choice between their food and medicines.” At a food pantry day in May, one woman told McAndrew, “I need a cow with my children. You don’t know how much milk I go through.” Even if the donated food helps them for one week, it’s a week that parents do not have to worry about what or how to feed their children. It isn’t just families that benefit from the food pantry. Many recipients are older individuals who are on fixed incomes that don’t cover all their expenses. “We have an older couple who lives next door to us here in Jermyn, and when I’m out at the shed and I see the woman outside, I’ll ask if she needs anything and bring her something over from our freezer. She’s so appreciative of the help,” said McAndrew. The partnership between these two organizations clearly demonstrates their commitment to the Northeast Pennsylvania community. McAndrew looks forward to the day when the COVID-19 pandemic is a thing of the past and more food pantry donation days can take place. “I love my job. I love doing what I do for the community. I realize how fortunate we are. I’m so grateful to The Weinberg Foundation for helping make all of this happen,” said McAndrew.
