Wright Center Board Member Receives State Award Members News December 18, 2024 Michael P. Curran, CEO of Commonwealth Health System’s Regional Hospital of Scranton and Moses Taylor Hospital and volunteer member of The Wright Center for Graduate Medical Education Board of Directors, received a 2024 Impact Award from City & State Pennsylvania during an awards ceremony in Philadelphia. The multimedia news organization recognized Curran for nearly 25 years of transformative leadership in health services and his strategic emphasis on fostering strong public-private partnerships to build a pipeline of health care professionals within Northeast Pennsylvania communities. A standout initiative is Commonwealth Health System’s partnership with Jersey College to establish a School of Nursing on the Moses Taylor campus in Scranton. This project tackles Pennsylvania’s looming nursing shortage, which is expected to reach a deficit of 20,345 nurses by 2026, according to the Hospital and Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania. City & State Pennsylvania also highlighted how, as a volunteer board member at The Wright Center, Curran uses his expertise in workforce strategy to enhance partnerships between health care organizations and academic institutions. His efforts ensure that physician residency and fellowship programs are aligned with the region’s evolving health and social needs, helping to cultivate a sustainable, interprofessional health care workforce that is deeply connected to the communities they serve. “Michael’s leadership exemplifies the power of collaboration and strategic vision,” said Dr. Linda Thomas-Hemak, president and CEO of The Wright Centers for Community Health and Graduate Medical Education. “His leadership work has strengthened health care delivery and medical education in Northeast Pennsylvania and paved the way for future generations of health care professionals. We are proud and honored to have him as a board member of The Wright Center for Graduate Medical Education, where his expertise in workforce development continues to make a positive and lasting impact on our region.” Since becoming CEO in 2022, Curran led the successful merger of Regional and Moses Taylor hospitals, navigating complex regulations, fostering collaboration among physicians, staff, board members, and community partners, and uniting the hospitals’ 233 years of combined service under a single license. Moses Taylor is the region’s leader in obstetrics, gynecology, neonatal care, and senior mental health services, featuring Lackawanna County’s only Level III neonatal intensive care unit and state-of-the-art family birthing suites. Regional Hospital stands as a comprehensive acute care hub, excelling in medical, surgical, and cardiovascular specialties, with a nationally recognized Heart and Vascular Institute and the first in Pennsylvania to earn all four orthopedic certifications for hip fracture, and knee, hip, and shoulder replacement from The Joint Commission. Before joining Commonwealth Health, Curran served as system chief operating officer at Crozer Health, where he was key in developing an innovative neurosciences program that brought comprehensive stroke and brain surgery interventions to Delaware County for the first time. He also guided the integration of Prospect Medical Holdings into the Crozer-Keystone Health System, ensuring a smooth transition for the nonprofit, four-hospital system. He also served as president of Crozer-Chester Medical Center, a premier tertiary care teaching hospital in Delaware County, where he played a pivotal role in the hospital’s transformation, expanding specialty services like burn treatment, trauma services, and kidney transplant care. He received a bachelor’s degree in biology from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and a master’s in health administration from Cornell University. Headquartered in Scranton, The Wright Center’s growing network of community health centers in Lackawanna, Luzerne, Wayne, and Wyoming counties, including a mobile medical and dental unit called Driving Better Health, provides affordable, high-quality, nondiscriminatory, whole-person primary health services to everyone, regardless of age, ethnic background, ZIP code, insurance status, or ability to pay. No patient is turned away due to an inability to pay. Patients typically have the convenience of going to a single location to access integrated medical, dental, and behavioral health care, as well as community-based addiction treatment and recovery services. For more information, go to TheWrightCenter.org or call 570-230-0019. The Wright Center for Graduate Medical Education was established in 1976 as the Scranton-Temple Residency Program, a community-based internal medicine residency. Today, The Wright Center is one of the largest U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration-funded Teaching Health Center Graduate Medical Education Safety-Net Consortiums in the nation. Together with consortium stakeholders, The Wright Center trains residents and fellows in a community-based, community-needs-responsive workforce development model to advance their shared 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. The Wright Center for Graduate Medical Education’s residency and fellowship programs are accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education. For more information, go to TheWrightCenter.org or call 570-866-3017.
