Doctors who have successfully completed their medical education and are continuing their training within a clinic or hospital setting are known as residents. Residents join The Wright Center’s program from all around the globe and stay with us for three years of training. Our regional programs are based in Northeast Pennsylvania and include Family Medicine and Internal Medicine residencies, as well as a Cardiovascular Disease fellowship. We have graduated more than 600 physicians to date. In July 2017, we welcomed our first class of Psychiatry residents, who joined our community-based program and are co-training with our primary care residents.

The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) continues to recognize the great need for primary care doctors and right-venue healthcare. Reaffirming its investment in the Teaching Health Center (THC) initiative, HRSA awarded $13.7M to The Wright Center for the 2016-17 Fiscal Year (FY).

We ensure that our trainees are immersed in community-based settings, including multiple regional public health-based learning environments. Through partnerships with community-based primary care providers and hospitals, our residents rotate within Federally Qualified Health Care Centers, non-profit and for-profit partnering hospitals, our local Veteran’s Affairs hospital and specialty clinics.

Some of our partners include:

• Maternal and Family Health Service
• Rural Health Corporation
• Scranton Counseling Center
• Scranton Primary Health Care Center
• Wayne Memorial Community Health Center

Residents also rotate through The Wright Center for Primary Care (practices located in Jermyn and Clarks Summit), a Ryan White Infectious Disease clinic and School-Based Health Centers in the Scranton School District. Exposure to a variety of clinical environments enhances the residents’ learning experience and promotes immersion into the community.

The Wright Center also hosts learners in our unique National Family Medicine Residency, an AOA accredited Osteopathic program in partnership with A.T. Still University School of Osteopathic Medicine in Arizona, that places learners in Community Health Centers throughout America. Recognized by Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) as a pioneering Teaching Health Center Graduate Medical Education Consortium inspired by the Affordable Care Act, this initiative addresses physician workforce shortages, particularly in rural and inner-city regions and in areas with misdistribution and escalating healthcare disparities.

Our National Family Medicine Residency learners train at the following FQHC partner sites:

• El Rio Community Health Center, Tucson, AZ
• HealthPoint, Auburn, WA
• HealthSource of Ohio, New Richmond, OH
• Unity Health Care, Washington, DC
• Virginia Garcia Memorial Health Center, Portland, OR

The Wright Center graduated its first class of National Family Medicine doctors in 2016.

As a pioneering Teaching Health Center, The Wright Center serves as a steward of federal resources and encourages our residents to actively serve the nation’s underserved patient population. We continue to lead local and federal advocacy efforts to promote resident training opportunities in community- based settings to address America’s provider shortage, misdistribution and related health disparities. The Wright Center has received $49.1M in continued HRSA funding since the THC program began in 2011.

As of July 1, 2017, our Residency and Fellowship Programs include:

• Regional Internal Medicine residents | 90
• Regional Family Medicine residents | 34
• National Family Medicine residents | 48
• Regional Psychiatry residents | 4
• Regional Cardiology fellows | 9

The Wright Center also focuses on innovations to make patient care delivery more efficient, effective, affordable and satisfying to patients and providers. Within Northeastern Pennsylvania, our primary care teams in Mid Valley and Clarks Summit use a Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH) model to provide care. This interdisciplinary approach is shaping the future of healthcare. Our physicians care for over 16,000 patients of all ages throughout these locations, as well as in hospitals, schools, nursing homes, pop-up clinics and other community venues. As a non-profit, safety-net provider, we provide patients with access to non-discriminatory, high-quality healthcare regardless of ability or inability to pay.

We are also engaged in practice transformation innovations at all of our Wright Center for Primary Care locations. In 2013, our Mid Valley location was named one of the “30 top innovative primary care practices in the United States” by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. We are active users of technology to improve patient care and move health metrics in our communities and cultivate a learning culture to achieve continuous improvements. Our leadership is passionate about the investment in Health Information Technology for shared accountability and improved health outcomes for patients. Most recently, The Wright Center was recognized by the Healthcare Information Management Systems Society (HIMSS) for its outstanding utilization of Health IT to substantially improve patient outcomes while achieving return on investment and was named one of three 2015 HIMSS Ambulatory Davies Award recipients in the country.

Our Patient-Centered Services Include:
Health Assessments   •   Physical Exams   •   Sick Visits   •   Treatment for Infections and Minor Injuries   •   Spiritual Support   •   Department of Transportation Physicals   •   Health and Wellness Education   •   Vaccines   •   Infectious Disease Treatment   •   Cardiac Monitoring and EKG   •   Chronic Disease Management   •   Nutritional Counseling   •   Oral Health and Education   •   On-Site Laboratory Services   •   Mental/Behavioral Health Services   •   Pain Management   •   Family Planning   •   Diabetes Prevention and Education   •   Rheumatology   •   Sports Medicine   •   At Home Sleep Studies   •   Addiction and Recovery Counseling

Sustainable solutions for the most complex physical, psychological and socioeconomic health threats and challenges are not about one provider, one patient or one organization, but rather an entire community leveraging its strengths and pulling together to generate collective solutions and make a measurable impact on population health. As a non-profit community asset we have a responsibility to support local organizations also working to improve the physical and mental health of those within our communities. We are proud to partner with organizations such as United Neighborhood Centers, The Boys and Girls Club, Telespond, Scranton Counseling Center, Tobacco Free Northeast, Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine, The Scranton Chamber and the Children’s Advocacy Center, among many others, to encourage access to healthcare, integrate care coordination and encourage those in our community to take ownership of their health. Our partnerships with community resources and academic agencies are ever developing and expanding.

The Wright Center has proven itself to be a successful vehicle for responsibly stewarding federal funds into the Northeast Pennsylvania economy. The Wright Center for Graduate Medical Education received revenues from federal grants, hospital affiliations (residency and fellowship agreements) and reimbursements, IRB and research fees, interest and dividends. The Wright Center Medical Group received supplies and revenues from patient services, grant support, 340B drug pricing and various contributions. At the close of FY2015-16, operations reflected net assets of $10.8 million (The Wright Center Medical Group: 58% and The Wright Center for Graduate Medical Education: 42%).

Impacting the Regional Economy through Direct and Indirect Resource Infusion
In 2016, we engaged a consultant to ensure our compensation plan was in line with market leaders. Despite a reduction in federal funding, we delivered a Cost of Living Adjustment to our staff and bolstered our team to include new positions. Through our advanced, performance-based culture we will aim for continued impact on our local economy through workforce production, job opportunities and employee and physician retention.

In 2016, we reported:

• 343 total employees
• 189 residents/fellows
• 40 new full-time positions

The Wright Center’s impact on the economy in Northeast Pennsylvania goes beyond payroll and purchasing; it also includes direct and indirect effects. When The Wright Center purchases goods from local suppliers and bolsters partnerships with regional organizations for services like consulting and construction, those businesses, in turn, buy some of what they need from other local companies.

Similarly, The Wright Center’s employees (and the employees of partners and suppliers) spend part of their take-home pay locally for housing, utilities, food, child care, entertainment and other routine household needs.