The Wright Center for Community Health is partnering with the Lacawac Sanctuary to introduce the internationally popular Walk with a Doc program to Wayne County beginning Saturday, April 13 at 9 a.m. The program brings doctors and patients together at 94 Sanctuary Rd., Lake Ariel, to take a step toward better health on the second Saturday of every month.
Walk with a Doc is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to inspire communities through movement and conversation. The walk is open to the community and people of all ages. Participation is free and pre-registration is not required. Walkers will enjoy a refreshing and rejuvenating walk with doctors and other health care professionals, who will provide support to participants and answer questions during the walk.
“I’m very pleased to announce that our resident and fellow physicians and other primary care providers at The Wright Center are participating with the Lacawac Sanctuary to bring this exciting program to Wayne County,” said Nicole Lipinski, a registered nurse and director of the Geriatric Service Line at The Wright Center for Community Health. “It has shown such improved health results for countless people around the world.”
The Wright Center will also launch a Walk with a Doc program in Archbald this summer. On the first Saturday of every month, starting June 1, doctors and residents meet at the Laurel Street Trail Head to walk around the David P. Maslar Memorial Park. The walk begins at the Laurel Street Trail Head.
Walking as little as 30 minutes a day can improve blood pressure and blood sugar levels, help maintain a healthy body weight, and lower the risk of obesity, enhance mental well-being, and reduce the risk of osteoporosis, according to the American Heart Association.
Bad news for night owls: Sleeping less than seven hours a night could increase the risk of developing high blood pressure over time, according to a new study by an Internal Medicine resident physician at The Wright Center for Graduate Medical Education.
The study, “Sleep Duration and Hypertension Incidence: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis,” found that sleeping less than seven hours increased the risk of developing high blood pressure by 7%, and sleeping less than five hours increased the risk by 11%. Dr. Aayushi Sood, a third-year Internal Medicine resident physician in Scranton, Pennsylvania, worked primarily with Dr. Kaveh Hosseini, a cardiologist in Iran, and Dr. Rahul Gupta, an interventional cardiology fellow in Allentown, Pennsylvania, along with doctors in England and the United States, on the study, which took about five months to complete. The research team will present the findings at the American College of Cardiology’s (ACC) 73rd Annual Scientific Session & Expo in Atlanta, Georgia, on April 6-8.
Dr. Aayushi Sood
Using information from 16 studies conducted between January 2000 and May 2023, Dr. Sood and her fellow researchers evaluated hypertension, also known as high blood pressure, in more than 1 million people who were above the age of 18 years from six countries without any prior history of hypertension over a follow-up duration of 2.4 to 18 years. Several potential confounding factors could contribute to the link between less sleep and higher blood pressure, including lifestyle factors such as poor diet, physical inactivity, smoking, alcohol consumption, and psychological stressors. Those factors were not explicitly adjusted for in the study and could influence both sleep patterns and blood pressure, Dr. Sood said.
“So often, not getting enough sleep is something we take lightly,” Dr. Sood said. “It’s something you should talk to your doctor about because it can affect your health.”
Dr. Sood said more study is needed to understand the link between sleep and hypertension, and she is interested in pursuing further research.
“There are a lot of different theories attached to this research topic,” she said. “It could be that the lack of sleep is stimulating the sympathetic nervous system. If you do not sleep enough, your body could be stressed, which can also make your blood pressure go up.”
The native of Punjab, Northwest India, earned her medical degree from Washington University of Health & Science in San Pedro Town, Belize, in December 2019. After returning home to assist her parents, who are both physicians, in treating patients during the COVID-19 pandemic, she returned to the United States in July 2021 to begin her Internal Medicine Residency at The Wright Center for Graduate Medical Education in Scranton, Pennsylvania.
This isn’t the first time she’s worked with other doctors across the world on medical research.
“I believe that if you want to make a difference, you have to bring minds from all over the world together,” Dr. Sood said. “Everyone’s mind works differently, and each idea can bloom into something new.”
The Wright Center for Patient & Community Engagement (PCE) Golf Committee members, front row from left, are Mary Marrara, co-chair of PCE; Peter Moses, honorary chair; and Dr. Linda Thomas-Hemak, president and CEO of The Wright Centers for Community Health and Graduate Medical Education and co-chair of PCE; second row, Wright Center employees Lori Cotrone, Kara Seitzinger, Helayna Szescila, Ron Daniels, Edward Walsh, Jane Danish, and Mark Zulkoski.
The Wright Center for Patient & Community Engagement (PCE) will hold its second annual charity golf tournament on Monday, May 13 at the Glenmaura National Golf Club in Moosic to support patients throughout Northeast Pennsylvania.
The captain-and-crew Dr. William Waters Golf Tournament will feature a shotgun start at 10 a.m., following registration from 8:30 to 9:45 a.m. The driving range opens at 8:30 a.m.
The tournament is in honor of the late John P. Moses, Esq. a Wilkes-Barre native, influential attorney, and longtime philanthropist whose leadership was key in helping facilitate the establishment of The Wright Center for Community Health Wilkes-Barre Practice, the largest primary health center in the nonprofit’s network of 10 locations in Northeast Pennsylvania. The new Luzerne County location opened on Jan. 9, 2023, after the urgent relocation of its clinic from First Hospital in Kingston, amidst the hospital’s closure.
The Wright Center plans to name the Wilkes-Barre Practice building, at 169 N. Pennsylvania Ave., after Moses, who passed away on Oct. 31, 2022.
Moses’s son, Wilkes-Barre attorney Peter J. Moses, is honorary chair of the golf fundraiser. Co-chairs are: Linda Thomas-Hemak, M.D., FACP, FAAP, president and CEO of The Wright Centers for Community Health and Graduate Medical Education; and Mary Marrara, co-chair of PCE and secretary of The Wright Center for Community Health Boards of Directors.
“Renowned for his dedicated and generous service to multiple nonprofits in Northeast Pennsylvania, and also on the national stage as CEO of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, Attorney John Moses exemplified a remarkable life of integrity, generosity, and boundless dedication to making a difference,” said Dr. Thomas-Hemak. “We are excited that our charity golf tournament will spotlight his tremendous legacy in business, educational, legal, and community enrichment efforts.
His many meaningful contributions to the nonprofit sector can never be overstated. It is a privilege to raise resources in his honor to ensure everyone has equitable access to high-quality, whole-person primary health services, regardless of their insurance status, ZIP code, or ability to pay.”
PCE aims to improve the health of our communities through education, advocacy, and patient-centered services that help individuals overcome food insecurity, homelessness, and other factors known as the social and economic determinants of health (SDOH). Factors also include limited access to educational opportunities and a lack of financial resources. To address SDOH in regional communities, PCE’s team and volunteers hold community outreach activities, including nutritious food distributions of nonperishable items and fresh produce, coat and winterwear giveaways, back-to-school distributions of backpacks and classroom supplies, health fairs, blood drives, and other special mission-driven projects.
Last year’s inaugural charity golf tournament raised more than $40,000. The tournament is named after the late William M. Waters, Ph.D., who served as vice chair of The Wright Center for Community Health’s Board of Directors and co-chair of PCE. He passed away on July 21, 2022.
The entry fee for golfers is $275 or $1,100 for a foursome, which includes a golf cart, green fee, lunch, and beverage service on the course, followed by a 3 p.m. cocktail hour and 4 p.m. dinner. Tickets for the dinner only are $100.
Prizes will be awarded for closest to the pin, longest drive, and hole-in-one, including a special prize for a hole-in-one on a designated hole: a 2024 Honda Accord LX, courtesy of Matt Burne Honda, an event sponsor. Other event sponsors are: Audacy; Community Bank, N.A.; and PNC.
Various sponsorship levels, starting at just $300, are available for the tournament. For sponsorship details and inquiries, please contact Holly Przasnyski, PCE board coordinator, at przasnyskih@TheWrightCenter.org or 570-209-3275.
The Wright Center for Graduate Medical Education Regional Family Medicine Residency has named Dr. Stephanie A. Gill as the program director of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education-accredited program.
A board-certified family medicine physician, Gill is a Shickshinny native and a graduate of Northwest Area High School. She has been serving as a physician faculty member and associate program director for the residency program since 2022. She provides primary care for adults and children of all ages at The Wright Center for Community Health Wilkes-Barre Practice.
As program director, Gill provides administrative and clinical oversight of the education program that trains and educates the next generation of physicians and collaboratively provides preventive and primary health services at The Wright Center for Community Health’s network of primary care practices in Lackawanna, Luzerne, and Wayne counties.
Prior to The Wright Center, Gill was an attending physician at Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center and an assistant professor at Penn State College of Medicine in the Department of Family and Community Medicine. She also saw patients at the Penn State Medical Group Camp Hill.
A Penn State University graduate, Gill received her Doctor of Medicine from Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia. She completed her residency in family medicine at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center’s St. Margaret Hospital. At the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Gill completed a fellowship in faculty development, where she also earned a multidisciplinary master’s degree in public health.
Gill is a member of the Pennsylvania Academy of Family Physicians, American Association of Family Physicians, Society of Teachers of Family Medicine, and Family Medicine Education Consortium. She is on the board of directors for the Pennsylvania Coalition for Oral Health, the chairperson of the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine Oral Health Collaborative, and a steering committee member of Smiles for Life: A National Oral Health Curriculum.
The Wright Center is one of the largest U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration-funded Teaching Health Center Graduate Medical Education consortiums 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.
Visit TheWrightCenter.org to learn more about how The Wright Center for Graduate Medical Education’s physician workforce pipeline is educating and training the next generation of physicians and interprofessional providers.
The Wright Center for Graduate Medical Education welcomed 51 new resident physicians into its regional residency programs after achieving a 100% match on National Match Day for aspiring doctors.
The National Resident Matching Program’s Match Day is held annually on the third Friday of March. Medical students nation- and worldwide simultaneously learn at which U.S. residency program they will train for the next three to seven years. It is one of the most important and competitive processes in the medical school experience.
The Wright Center for Graduate Medical Education looks forward to Match Day each year as it learns which medical school graduates will continue their training in its Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME)-accredited, comprehensive, and community-focused residency programs in Northeast Pennsylvania. The Wright Center is one of the largest Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA)-funded Teaching Health Center Graduate Medical Education Consortiums in the country, with more than 245 physicians in training.
The Wright Center matched residents in the following regional programs: Family Medicine Residency (13); Internal Medicine Residency (33); and Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation Residency (5). Resident physicians will begin the first year of their residencies on July 1 in Scranton.
The incoming first-year residents hail from 13 countries: Bahrain (1); Canada (6); China (1); India (9); Nepal (3); Pakistan (12); Philippines (2); Saint Lucia (1); Saudi Arabia (1); Serbia (1); Uganda (1); United Kingdom (1); and the United States (12).
The residency programs received 5,072 applications and interviewed 516 candidates, or about 10.17% of the applicants. The National Resident Matching Program makes residency matches, using a mathematical algorithm to pair graduating medical students with open training positions at teaching health centers, educational consortia, hospitals, and other institutions across the U.S. The model considers the top choices of both students and residency programs.
“Match Day is one of the most exciting days of the academic year and a celebration to welcome our new residents,” said Jumee Barooah, M.D., designated institutional official and senior vice president of education at The Wright Center for Graduate Medical Education. “For the residents, the day represents the culmination of years of hard work and perseverance that began at an early age. For The Wright Centers for Community Health and Graduate Medical Education, it marks another milestone in meeting our mission to improve the health and welfare of our 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 was established in 1976 as the Scranton-Temple Residency Program, a community-based internal medicine residency. Today, The Wright Center is one of the nation’s largest HRSA-funded Teaching Health Center Graduate Medical Education Safety-Net Consortiums. 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 provide whole-person primary health services regardless of their insurance status, ZIP code, or ability to pay.
The Wright Center offers ACGME accredited residencies in three disciplines – family medicine, internal medicine, and physical medicine & rehabilitation – as well as fellowships in cardiovascular disease, gastroenterology, and geriatrics.
To celebrate World Oral Health Day and spread the word about dental services, three Wright Center for Community Health Practice locations will distribute bags of dental care items on Wednesday, March 20.
Child and adult patients with medical appointments at The Wright Center for Community Health Scranton, Mid Valley, and Wilkes-Barre practices will receive goodie bags stocked with a toothbrush, toothpaste, floss, and information about dental hygiene. All three clinics offer a range of dental services for adults and children.
Kim McGoff, The Wright Center’s director of dental operations
“Just because you visit a doctor doesn’t mean you visit a dentist regularly,” said Kim McGoff, The Wright Center’s director of dental operations. “We want to let everyone know about the dental services we offer and how oral health can affect physical health.”
Receiving routine oral health care not only lessens the likelihood of developing cavities, tooth pain, gum infections, and other mouth troubles, but it also promotes good overall health. According to the Mayo Clinic, oral bacteria and inflammation associated with gum disease may contribute to a number of serious conditions, including cardiovascular disease, pneumonia, and pregnancy and birth complications.
The Wright Center began offering dental services at the Mid Valley Practice, 5 S. Washington Ave., Jermyn, in 2013 and then expanded to the Scranton Practice, 501 S. Washington Ave. Earlier this year, the Wilkes-Barre Practice, 169 N. Pennsylvania Ave., began providing routine dental services – including exams, X-rays, and cleanings – for children and adults on Mondays and Tuesdays. To learn more or to make an appointment, visit TheWrightCenter.org/services/dental or call 570-230-0019.
The Wright Center accepts most dental insurances, including Delta Dental, Guardian, United Concordia, and Medical Assistance (Medicaid). To ensure high-quality oral care is available to everyone, The Wright Center offers a sliding-fee discount program to individuals who qualify based on Federal Poverty Guidelines that consider family size and income. No patient is turned away due to an inability to pay.
World Oral Health Day is an initiative of the FDI World Dental Federation, which represents more than 1 million dentists worldwide.
