‘Anything for the patients’
Nurse Manager at The Wright Center for Community Health finds ways to learn, grow as a caregiver
Tiffany Richmond, right, laughs with Laura Sweeney, co-assistant manager of medical assistants, at The Wright Center for Community Health Mid Valley. Richmond, the licensed practical nurse manager at The Wright Center for Community Health, works closely with colleagues to ensure all patients receive affordable, high-quality, whole-person primary health services.
More than a decade ago, when Tiffany Richmond had just begun working as a licensed practical nurse (LPN), she volunteered to cover the shift of a nurse’s aide who had called off sick, leaving the team shorthanded.
“I’ll never forget the more experienced nurse who said, ‘Why would you volunteer for that? It’s beneath you,’” Richmond said. “I was so upset because, in my mind, I’ll do whatever I can for a patient, then or now.”
Today, Richmond has plenty of opportunities to pass along her patient-focused mindset as the LPN nurse manager at The Wright Center for Community Health. She began working for The Wright Center as an LPN in 2017, and since 2021, she has overseen nurses at The Wright Center’s network of community health centers in Northeast Pennsylvania, making sure everyone is working to provide the affordable, high-quality, whole-person primary health services patients deserve.
Tiffany Richmond is the licensed practical nurse manager at The Wright Center for Community Health.
Richmond, 35, became interested in working in health care as a child. She remembers accompanying her mother, a private duty aide, to people’s homes where she provided care.
“It sounds silly, but I’ve always loved taking care of people and helping people,” she said. “What my mother did made a big impression on me, so I decided that’s what I wanted to be.”
Richmond takes every opportunity to learn and grow in her career. She remains involved in the Career Technology Center in Scranton, where she earned her LPN credentials in 2014, and helps oversee The Wright Center’s vaccine program for children through the state Department of Health. In 2020, she played a key role in The Wright Center’s COVID-19 testing and vaccination efforts, including helping to write COVID-19 protocols and providing care inside an enormous tent in front of The Wright Center for Community Health Mid Valley in Jermyn for several months.
“That was a crazy time but a fulfilling one. We were doing COVID-19 testing, giving vaccines, and then we added monoclonal antibody treatment for people with COVID,” she said. “I look back on it and think, how did we get through it? But again, it’s the mindset of anything for the patients.”
Richmond finds the most rewarding aspect of her job to be the relationships she builds with her patients, particularly those with chronic conditions, whom she regularly monitors as part of her responsibilities.
“The concept of chronic care management is something that’s expanding throughout the country, but we’ve been doing this for years,” she said, noting that frequent check-ins with patients who have diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, heart conditions, and other chronic conditions can help improve their health and well-being. “It’s as basic as checking that they’re taking their medications, but it’s also a chance to advocate for them and make sure they have what they need to focus on their health.”
When she’s not working, the Clarks Summit native says she enjoys being the family photographer for her five siblings and 16 nieces and nephews. She also spends plenty of time spoiling her 2-year-old Goldendoodle, Luna.
“Family is important to me, and that includes my patients and colleagues at The Wright Center,” she said.
Tiffany Richmond, right, reviews notes with Bryan Boyle, director of certified registered nurse practitioners and physician assistants at The Wright Center. Richmond, the licensed practical nurse manager at The Wright Center for Community Health, was inspired to pursue a career in health care after watching her mother care for patients.
