The Wright Center for Community’s Health’s Medical Homes in Scranton and Kingston Nationally Recognized The National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) recently announced The Wright Center for Community Health’s Kingston and Scranton practices have received NCQA Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH) Recognition for using evidence-based, patient-centered processes that focus on highly coordinated, team-based care within a network with long-term, participative relationships. The Kingston and Scranton practices join The Wright Center for Community Health’s Mid Valley, 5 S. Washington St., Jermyn, and Clarks Summit, 1145 Northern Blvd., South Abington Township practices, in earning the recognition seal. The Mid Valley and Clarks Summit practices received the NCQA PCMH honor three years ago and continue with annual formal review to meet the highest standards of the designation. The NCQA’s PCMH is a model of primary health care that combines teamwork and information technology to improve delivery and coordination of care; experience of care by patients, families and care teams, and enhances affordability with reduced cost of care and waste. The program was developed in 2008 to identify medical practices that have invested in a care model that empowers patients at the forefront, while nurturing a culture of continuous improvement. The NCQA’s recognition program is the most widely adopted PCMH evaluation program in the country. In order to be considered for PCMH recognition, health care practices must meet key standards in six important areas: Team based care and practice organization, care management and support, know and manage patients, care coordination and care transitions, patient-centered access and continuity, and continued performance measurement and quality improvement. Since its inception, more than 10,000 practice sites and 50,000 clinicians have earned the NCQA PCMH recognition seal. “We are extremely proud that a national organization has affirmed The Wright Center for Community Health’s commitment to improving the health and welfare of the communities we serve through a patient-centered medical home model approach,” said Dr. Linda Thomas-Hemak, president and chief executive officer of The Wright Centers for Community Health and Graduate Medical Education. “This model of care allows us to honor and keep patients at the forefront of everything we do and makes continuous quality improvement our priority.” The Wright Center for Community Health’s Kingston Practice at 2 Sharpe St., is located in First Hospital. A full-service primary and pediatric care office, family doctors, pediatricians and advanced practitioners provide checkups, physicals, screenings, treatment of common illnesses and injuries, as well as behavioral health, addiction and recovery services, sports medicine and hepatitis C and infectious disease services. Please go to TheWrightCenter.org or call 570-491-0126 to make an appointment. The Wright Center for Community Health’s Scranton Practice at 501 S. Washington Ave., is a full-service primary and pediatric care office that also offers dental services as well as rheumatology, sports medicine and infectious disease specialists, including the Ryan White HIV Clinic. Family doctors and advanced practitioners provide checkups, physicals, screenings, treatment of common illnesses and injuries as well as behavioral health and recovery services. To make an appointment, go to TheWrightCenter.org or call 570-941-0630.
Director of Addiction Services at The Wright Center for Community Health Participates in PA Panel Discussion Maria Kolcharno, L.S.W., director of addiction services for The Wright Center for Community Health, recently participated in a panel discussion at the Pennsylvania Perinatal Quality Collaborative Learning Session that addressed working relationships between Opioid Use Disorder Centers of Excellence and maternity care providers in the commonwealth. Kolcharno addressed numerous collaborative relationships The Wright Center for Community Health’s Healthy Maternal Opiate Medical Support program (Healthy MOMS) has formed with regional Children & Youth Service agencies, OB-GYN providers and hospital maternity units since it was founded in 2018 to better deliver services. During the program’s breakout sessions, she outlined workflow charts to assist others in replicating the collaborative relationships and processes the Healthy MOMS program has established with Centers of Excellence and maternity care teams. Topics discussed included best practices in connecting patients with opiate use disorder to local Centers of Excellence. Established in 2016, The Wright Center for Community Health’s Opioid Use Disorder Center of Excellence is one of 50 in the state. The program helps individuals in recovery reshape their lifestyles from the comfort of their own communities. Patients visit any of The Wright Center’s primary care practices in Lackawanna, Luzerne or Wayne counties to connect with supportive certified recovery specialists, case managers, social workers, and medical providers who collectively help them break the cycle of addiction through outpatient care. Linked to The Wright Center’s Opioid Use Disorder Center of Excellence, the Healthy MOMS program was co-founded with multiple agencies to assist women who are pregnant and have a substance use disorder. Healthy MOMS provides prenatal, perinatal and postpartum care, including medication-assisted treatment to women coping with a substance use disorder, and strives to break the stigma associated with it while building their self-esteem during and after their pregnancies, ideally engaging them in recovery support services. The Pennsylvania Perinatal Quality Collaborative includes 61 birthing hospitals and newborn intensive care units and 14 health plans in the state. Overall, the organization works to reduce maternal mortality and improve care for pregnant and postpartum women and newborns affected by opioids. For more information about the Healthy MOMS program, call 570-995-7821 or text healthymoms to 555888. Information about the program and its partners is also available online at healthymoms.org. Go to thewrightcenter.org/services for information about the Opioid Use Disorder Center of Excellence.
Chief Fellow of Wright Center’s Gastroenterology Fellowship Program Presents at Conference The Wright Center for Graduate Medical Education’s chief fellow of the Gastroenterology Fellowship Program had 18 research abstracts presented recently at the American College of Gastroenterology (ACG) 2021 Annual Scientific Meeting & Postgraduate Course in Las Vegas, Nevada. Hemant Goyal, M.D., wrote and presented five abstracts at the international conference. He presented: “Continued Aspirin Use and Bleeding Risk After Endoscopic Submucosal Dissection of Gastric Neoplasms: A Meta-Analysis,” “Don’t Blame the Duodenoscope Elevator, the Channels are Contaminated as Well: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis,” “How ‘Dirty’ are the Endoscope Channels: A Systematic Review and Mata-Analysis of Reprocessed Endoscopes,” “1-Day vs. 3-Day Low Residue Diet for Colonoscopy Bowel Cleansing: A Systematic Review,” and “Peptic Ulcer with Adherent Clot – Treat it or Leave It: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Trials.” Dr. Goyal also co-authored 13 other scholarly posters with national and international co-authors that were presented at the conference. The abstracts that were presented are based upon findings from The Wright Center for Graduate Medical Education’s Institutional Review Board-approved research studies, systematic reviews and meta-analyses. They will also appear in future editions of the American Journal of Gastroenterology. ACG, a professional organization that champions the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of digestive disorders, features one of the largest annual gastroenterology conferences in the United States.
The Wright Center Receives Two Awards for Scholarly Research Dr. Mark MadhokDr. Hemant Goyal Two faculty colleagues in The Wright Center for Graduate Medical Education collaborated on two award-winning scholarly research posters at the American College of Gastroenterology (ACG) 2021 Annual Scientific Meeting in Las Vegas, Nevada, in October. Mark Madhok, M.D., Ph.D., a board-certified internal medicine faculty physician and associate program director for the internal medicine residency program, presented, “National Trends in the Sporadic Malignant Colorectal Polyps in Young Patients: An 18-Year Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program (SEER) Database Analysis,” which was co-authored with Hemant Goyal, M.D. The scholarly presentation outlined their collaborative research based off national data about cancerous colorectal polyps in people 20-49 years of age. The research highlighted polyp growth that preceded full-blown cancer, a new and preventable problem in the age group. The poster received an ACG Presidential Award in the category of colorectal cancer screening. Dr. Goyal, the chief fellow of the Gastroenterology Fellowship Program, presented the research poster, “Peptic Ulcer with Adherent Clot – Treat It or Leave It: A Systematic Review and Metanalysis of Randomized Trials,” which was co-authored with Dr. Madhok. The scholarly work analyzed best practices to treat peptic ulcers with adherent clot found during endoscopy. Their work showed that treating these high-risk clots discovered during endoscopy reduces the risk of rebleeding. The poster received an ACG Presidential Poster Award in the category of GI bleeding. The Wright Center for Graduate Medical Education is the nation’s largest Health Resources and Services Administration-funded Teaching Health Center Graduate Medical Education Consortium. It trains highly skilled physicians in community-immersed, clinical-learning networks that strive to address the nation’s physician shortage and related health care access disparities. Resident doctors can choose from programs in internal medicine, family medicine, national family medicine and psychiatry. Fellowships also are available in cardiovascular disease, gastroenterology and geriatrics.
The Wright Center for Community Health Launches Online Smart Bot “Neo” The Wright Center for Community Health recently launched “Neo,” a secure patient-friendly smart bot on its website to help new and existing patients directly schedule appointments, refill prescriptions, learn about available COVID-19 services and more. By clicking on the easily identifiable icon, located at the bottom right-hand corner of the website (TheWrightCenter.org), consumers can start a convenient chat session with a live agent. “Neo” can find the nearest primary care location, help schedule an appointment, refill prescriptions, share the latest COVID-19 information, address billing questions and more. “Neo” begins the online interaction with the user by asking for a first name. It then offers a suite of options. The consumer can select, for example, assistance with making an office appointment with their primary care provider for themselves or a family member. “The Wright Center for Community Health strives to be on the cutting edge of technology when it comes to providing and delivering the best health care and information possible in Northeast Pennsylvania,” said Jignesh Y. Sheth, M.D., chief medical officer and senior vice president at The Wright Center. “The new technology is all about making it more convenient for patients to take care of their health needs while empowering them to schedule appointments directly online without having to go through a call center.” Users of the technology can also navigate the system to address their COVID-19 needs. The smart bot allows them to go through a menu of options that will help them effortlessly address vaccination, testing or monoclonal antibody infusion therapy appointments or ask general questions about the pandemic. In addition, “Neo” has learning capabilities that will streamline and personalize future interactions with the smart technology. HIPAA compliant, the friendly chatbot is safe and secure when it comes to protecting patient privacy. The bot also will be phased into Facebook Messenger and eventually allow for direct SMS texting capabilities.
Licensed Clinical Social Worker Joins The Wright Center A licensed clinical social worker with experience as a psychiatric therapist and clinical supervisor has joined The Wright Center for Community Health’s Mid Valley Practice at 5 S. Washington St., Jermyn. Danielle D. Sholcosky, M.S.W., L.C.S.W., C.P.R.P., of Dickson City holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in liberal studies with a minor in human development and family studies from The Pennsylvania State University. She earned her Master in Social Work degree with a behavioral health specialization from Marywood University. A licensed clinical social worker and licensed social worker, Sholcosky previously worked as a psychiatric therapist at NEPA Community Health Care and as a clinical supervisor and psychiatric therapist at NHS Human Services Agency of NEPA. Sholcosky also served as a support specialist at Step-by-Step, Inc. At the Wright Center, Sholcosky will provide outpatient individual, group and family therapy services to mental health and substance use disorder patients. To schedule an appointment with Sholcosky at the Mid Valley Practice, please call 570-230-0019
The Wright Center to Bring COVID-19 Vaccinations to South Side Farmers Market The Wright Center for Community Health is partnering with United Neighborhood Centers of Northeastern Pennsylvania to provide onsite flu and Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccinations, including third doses of Pfizer, on Saturday, Oct. 23 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the South Side Farmers Market, 601 Cedar Ave., Scranton. The regional health care provider will utilize its 34-foot mobile medical clinic, Driving Better Health, to provide services in conjunction with its community partners. The 500-block of Cedar Avenue will be closed to vehicular traffic to ensure safe, easy access to the mobile clinic and free information about health care services available at The Wright Center for Community Health. The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for ages 16 and older. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends Pfizer third-dose boosters be given six months after the second dose in these categories: Older adults (ages 65 and above) and those living in long-term care facilities; adults ages 50-64 at high risk of severe COVID-19 due to underlying medical conditions; adults ages 18-49 with underlying medical conditions should consider a booster, and adults 18-64 who work in health care and institutional settings, such as teachers, health care workers, daycare staff, grocery works and people in shelters or prisons. The CDC also recommended that people with compromised immune systems who had previously received two doses of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine get a third shot of the same type to boost their protection from COVID-19. The third shot should be administered at least 28 days after the second dose. People interested in receiving a vaccine are encouraged to pre-register online at TheWrightCenter.org or by calling 570-343-2382. Walk-up appointments also are welcome throughout the day. People seeking vaccination services are asked to bring a photo ID and insurance cards. For those who are uninsured, The Wright Center will never deny health care services based on a patient’s inability to pay. “The Wright Center for Community Health works collaboratively with community agencies to make outreach to underserved communities in Northeast Pennsylvania,” said Robin Rosencrans, practice manager for Driving Better Health. “Our mobile clinic makes vaccinations more accessible for people who otherwise might not have necessary transportation for appointments with their primary care providers.” Driving Better Health features two fully equipped examination operatories and a medical staff aboard the mobile medical unit. It is a way to bring health care to the region’s most vulnerable, underserved populations. It is staffed by a multidisciplinary, bilingual primary care team of clinicians who will deliver primary health care to those most in need.
The Wright Center Receives Grant to Support Healthy Moms Program The Wright Center for Community Health was recently awarded nearly $600,000 in federal grant funding to combat the ongoing opioid crisis by supplying addiction treatment and related services to pregnant women and new mothers who cope with substance use disorder. The grant will support women living in recovery in Northeast Pennsylvania who are active in the region’s Healthy Maternal Opiate Medical Support program (Healthy MOMS), which The Wright Center for Community Health co-founded with its community partners nearly three years ago. More than 115 mothers and their children are currently helped by the collaborative Healthy MOMS program, which relies on dozens of health care organizations, government agencies and nonprofit groups to extend services across a multicounty territory. The Pennsylvania Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs will administer the grant funding that was made available to states by the federal government, specifically through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). It is intended “to improve outcomes for individuals in recovery from substance use disorder,” according to Gov. Tom Wolf’s office. The Wright Center is one of 12 organizations in Pennsylvania to receive funding during the grant distribution process to expand access to pregnancy support services. Those services include postpartum health care, mental health care, nutrition education, employment readiness, childcare, life skills training and linkages to appropriate treatment programs, including medication-assisted treatment. One aim of the grant-funded project will be to extend supportive services to more women in southern Luzerne and Schuylkill counties. “We’re extremely grateful to be the recipient of funding that will enable us to help additional mothers and their families across our region,” said Maria Kolcharno, director of Addiction Services at The Wright Center for Community Health. “These moms essentially face a triple challenge today: caring for babies, maintaining sobriety and emotionally pushing through the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s a lot to ask of anyone, especially women who because of their past substance use might be alienated from a support network of family and friends.” Among public health officials, pregnant women who use substances are deemed a priority population to receive recovery services, because both they and their unborn babies are especially vulnerable. The COVID-19 pandemic seemingly has made the situation even more fragile for certain people living in recovery and triggered a spike in substance misuse, as reflected in increased rates of relapse and drug overdose. Pennsylvania, for example, experienced a 14-percent increase in drug overdose deaths in 2020 compared to the prior year, according to preliminary data released this summer by the state Department of Health. The latest grants are part of $55 million in federal funding awarded to Pennsylvania through the SAMHSA Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment Block Grant Program COVID-19 Supplemental Awards. Announced in early October, the $598,644 award made to The Wright Center will allow the Healthy MOMS program to further serve women and their children in Lackawanna, Luzerne, Monroe, Pike, Schuylkill, Susquehanna, Wayne and Wyoming counties. A collaborative venture from the start, the Healthy MOMS program would not be an effective project without the substantial and sustained contributions of its dozens of community partners. Information about the project and its partners is available at this website: healthymoms.org. Learn more about the Healthy MOMS program by calling 570-995-7821 or texting healthymoms to 555888.
The Wright Center to Host Trunk-N-Treat The Wright Center for Community Health is hosting its annual “Trunk-N-Treat” celebration in multiple locations for all children and families of the region. Saturday, Oct. 30 at 4 p.m. at its Hawley Practice, 103 Spruce St., Hawley. Friday, Oct. 29 at 5:30 p.m. at its Mid Valley Practice, 5 S. Washington Ave., Jermyn. The free safe trick-or-treating event enables children and their families to participate in the annual Halloween tradition in a safe and socially-distanced manner during the COVID-19 pandemic. COVID masking will be required for everyone who participates in the event. Physicians, administration, staff and board members will decorate their vehicles and distribute candy and healthy treats to children who participate in the annual program.
New nurse practitioners at Wright Center’s Hawley and Jermyn practices Allison MillerKayla Gatto Two certified registered nurse practitioners with diverse experience in general nursing and acute patient care have joined The Wright Center for Community Health to provide primary and preventive care to people of all ages. Greentown resident Allison Miller, M.S.N., C.R.N.P., F.N.P.-C., joins The Wright Center’s primary care practice in Wayne County at 103 Spruce St., Hawley. She earned her master’s, bachelor’s and associate degrees in nursing from The Pennsylvania State University. Miller is a board-certified registered family nurse practitioner and a member of the Emergency Nurses Association. Prior to joining The Wright Center, she worked as an education liaison for Regional Hospital of Scranton and as an emergency department nurse for Moses Taylor Hospital. At The Wright Center, Miller will see infant, adolescent, adult and geriatric patients. To schedule an appointment with Miller at the Hawley Practice, please call 570-576-8081. Dunmore resident Kayla Gatto, M.S.N., C.R.N.P., F.N.P.-B.C., joins The Wright Center’s Mid Valley Practice, 5 S. Washington Ave., Jermyn. She earned her master’s degree in nursing from The University of Scranton and her bachelor’s degree in nursing from Wilkes University. Gatto is a board-certified registered family nurse practitioner. She most recently served as a registered nurse in the medical surgical intensive care unit at Geisinger Wyoming Valley, Wilkes-Barre. At The Wright Center, Gatto will provide family practice care to patients of all ages. To schedule an appointment with Gatto at the Mid Valley Practice, please call 570-230-0019.
