The Wright Center invites community members to enjoy a warm, cozy, and free bowl of soup at its community health centers in Scranton and Wilkes-Barre. The meals are available on a first-come, first-served basis due to limited quantities.
The Wright Center for Community Health Scranton, 501 S. Washington Ave., will offer soup and bread donated by or purchased from area restaurants on Monday, Jan. 19, from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sponsors include state Senator Rosemary Brown’s office, state Senator Marty Flynn’s office; state Representative Bridget M. Kosierowski’s office, the Lackawanna County Sheriff’s Office, Caravia Fresh Foods, Pasquale’s Pizzeria and Family Restaurant, the Sacco family, and others. Community officials will join The Wright Center’s employees to serve the hot meal.
Additionally, The Wright Center’s community health workers will be at the event to provide information about services, including help with temporary housing, utility assistance, transportation to medical appointments, health insurance, food, and clothing.
The Wright Center for Community Health Wilkes-Barre, 169 N. Pennsylvania Ave., will host a similar event with soup and bread donated by or purchased from area restaurants on Monday, Feb. 16, from 11:30 to 2 p.m.
The Wright Center will also provide information about whole-person primary and preventive care services, including pediatric and geriatric services, as well as the Ryan White HIV Clinic.
“This is about more than soup – it’s about showing up for our communities,” said Gerri McAndrew, director of development and relations for community outreach at The Wright Center. “While we offer a warm meal, we’re also helping people understand the high-quality, whole-person primary health services available to them at The Wright Center, no matter their circumstances.”
The events are organized by The Wright Center for Patient & Community Engagement, which helps many of the most under-resourced individuals and families in Northeast Pennsylvania, including those experiencing food insecurity, homelessness, social isolation, poverty, or other hardships. To learn more, visit TheWrightCenter.org/patient-and-community-engagement. For a full list of upcoming community events, visit TheWrightCenter.org/events.
Gerri McAndrew
The Wright Center for Community Health, based in Scranton, Pennsylvania, offers affordable, high-quality, whole-person primary and preventive health services at its growing network of 13 community health centers in Lackawanna, Luzerne, Wayne, and Wyoming counties. It accepts all insurance plans and offers a sliding-fee discount program to ensure primary and preventive care services are affordable for everyone. No patient is ever turned away due to an inability to pay. For more information, go to TheWrightCenter.org or call 570-209-0019.
Mid Valley Community Health Center also receives recognition for behavioral health
The National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) recently awarded The Wright Center for Community Health’s Clarks Summit and Jermyn locations with Patient-Centered Medical Home certificates for delivering high-quality, patient-centered care.
The Wright Center for Community Health Clarks Summit, 1145 Northern Blvd., South Abington Township, and The Wright Center for Community Health Mid Valley, 5 S. Washington Ave., Jermyn, each again achieved this special recognition, acknowledging that they have the tools, systems, and resources to provide patients with the right care at the right time.
Four of The Wright Center’s community health centers have retained the NCQA voluntary accreditation in recent months. In October, The Wright Center’s community health centers in Scranton and Wilkes-Barre were notified that they had successfully retained the recognition seal. Every year, The Wright Center’s community health centers undergo a formal review to ensure compliance with the Washington, D.C.-based organization’s high standards.
NCQA is a private, nonprofit organization dedicated to improving health care quality. Its Patient-Centered Medical Home program reflects input from the American College of Physicians, the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Osteopathic Association, and others. It was developed to assess whether health centers are functioning as medical homes and to recognize their efforts.
The Patient-Centered Medical Home model is designed to enable patients and their care teams to foster stronger relationships, help patients manage chronic conditions more effectively, and enhance the overall patient experience. The model has been shown to increase staff satisfaction and reduce health care costs. It also increases patient satisfaction by offering open access to health care services and extended hours.
For the public, NCQA accreditation signals that The Wright Center for Community Health maintains a focus on quality improvement and has key processes in place to help patients prioritize their health.
“We are proud to retain this recognition seal at our community health centers,” said Dr. Jignesh Sheth, senior vice president and enterprise chief operations and strategy officer at The Wright Centers for Community Health and Graduate Medical Education. “The NCQA seal communicates to the public that we are fully committed to prioritizing patient-centered care, including offering morning, evening, and weekend hours to allow patients to access care when it is convenient for them and expanding behavioral health and dental services to truly offer a team-based approach to care.”
Mid Valley’s certification carries an additional NCQA distinction in behavioral health integration. This recognition demonstrates that recipients have the resources, evidence-based protocols, standardized tools, and quality measures to meet patients’ needs, according to NCQA.
“Many times, primary care physicians will be the first to identify a health issue that requires behavioral health services,” Dr. Sheth said. “Offering affordable, high-quality behavioral health services where patients are already receiving whole-person primary health services eliminates barriers and helps improve patient health overall.”
For more information about The Wright Center for Community Health, visit TheWrightCenter.org or call 570-230-0019.
The Wright Center for Community Health continues to strengthen its commitment to preventive care as two more doctors earn board certification in lifestyle medicine, equipping them to help patients prevent, manage, and even reverse chronic disease through sustainable lifestyle change.
Dr. Ivan Cvorovic, FACP, CPE, and Dr. Kristina Tanovic, FACP, joined The Wright Center in 2020. The Wright Center’s Lifestyle Medicine program focuses on the six pillars of health: nutrition, exercise, sleep, stress management, relationships, and the avoidance of risky substances.
“This training enhances the care we provide today, giving our patients more evidence‑based tools and support,” Dr. Cvorovic said. “It also allows us to offer patients a more holistic, empowering approach to their health.”
There’s a clear need for lifestyle medicine services locally and nationwide. In 2023, for example, 76.4% of American adults – about 194 million – reported having at least one chronic condition, and 51.4% of U.S. adults, or about 130 million, reported having more than one chronic condition, according to a report that was published by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in April 2025.
Chronic conditions, including high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and obesity, can lead to more serious conditions, such as cardiovascular disease, chronic respiratory diseases, diabetes, some cancers, and arthritis. The CDC report shows that many chronic conditions are influenced by lifestyle risk factors, including excessive alcohol use, tobacco use, physical inactivity, and poor nutrition.
As part of its commitment to provide whole-person primary and preventive health services to people of all ages, income levels, and insurance statuses, The Wright Center offers lifestyle medicine at its 13 community health centers across Lackawanna, Luzerne, Wayne, and Wyoming counties. The Wright Center’s physicians and clinicians conduct a thorough patient assessment of current health habits and then introduce and empower individualized treatment plans based on specific risk factors. Treatment plans can include improving nutrition, increasing physical activity, managing stress, eliminating tobacco use, and moderating alcohol consumption.
“Earning this certification strengthens what we can offer patients, aligns with our values, and supports The Wright Center’s mission to build healthier communities,” Dr. Cvorovic said.
Dr. Cvorovic is also a board-certified internal medicine hospitalist and certified physician executive at The Wright Center for Community Health. He serves as director of hospital services and the internal medicine residency hospitalist faculty for The Wright Center for Graduate Medical Education. Dr. Tanovic is also board-certified in internal medicine and obesity medicine and serves as associate program director, a teaching hospitalist, and core faculty of The Wright Center for Graduate Medical Education’s Internal Medicine Residency Program.
Both doctors graduated from the University of Belgrade School of Medicine and completed their internal medicine residencies at Icahn School of Medicine at James J. Peters VA Medical Center, a Mount Sinai School of Medicine-affiliated facility in the Bronx, New York.
Drs. Cvorovic and Tanovic are each accepting new patients at The Wright Center for Community Health Scranton, 501 S. Washington Ave. In fiscal year 2024-25, The Wright Center served about 38,300 unique patients at its growing network of community health centers. As a nonprofit Federally Qualified Health Center Look-Alike and safety-net provider, it serves everyone, from pediatrics to geriatrics. No patient is turned away due to an inability to pay.
The Wright Center accepts all insurance plans and offers a sliding-fee discount program to ensure whole-person primary and preventive health services are affordable for everyone. For more information, visit TheWrightCenter.org or call 570-230-0019.
The Wright Center for Community Health has partnered with a health care technology company to test a new digital platform that promotes naloxone readiness and empowers individuals to respond to overdoses.
Contingency Management Innovations (CMI), a division of Q2i, developed the groundbreaking digital platform, NALCAM, which combines mobile technology with behavior reinforcement and public health education to strengthen community overdose response capacity. CMI contacted The Wright Center, which has worked with the company on another project, to test the new platform. In all, seven patients involved in The Wright Center’s state-designated Opioid Use Disorder Center of Excellence participated in the recently completed research pilot.
Scott Constantini, associate vice president of primary care and recovery services integration at The Wright Center for Community Health
“We know that Narcan prevents overdose deaths,” said Scott Constantini, associate vice president of primary care and recovery services integration at The Wright Center for Community Health. “The Wright Center is always looking for ways to innovate, so when programs like this are developed, we want to participate.”
Through the NALCAM app, participants who register their naloxone kits will receive digital check-ins and brief learning modules to ensure they carry their kits and know how to use them. Completing check-ins and modules provides participants with small rewards to motivate them to carry naloxone and stay ready to use it. The approach is rooted in evidence-based contingency management principles, a behavioral science model proven to improve engagement and retention across a range of backgrounds, according to CMI.
“NALCAM demonstrates how digital contingency management can drive measurable public health outcomes,” said Steven Jenkins, CEO of Q2i. “By rewarding proactive, life-saving behaviors like naloxone carriage and overdose education, we’re helping states, counties, and health care organizations build scalable, data-informed programs.”
The Wright Center for Community Health, a Scranton-based provider of whole-person primary health services, is committed to helping individuals with substance use disorder. The Wright Center became a state-designated Opioid Use Disorder Center of Excellence in 2016. Since then, it has provided outpatient addiction treatment and recovery services, including medication-assisted treatment, to thousands of people in Northeast Pennsylvania.
The Wright Center is one of many approved, community-based distribution sites, officially known as “recognized entities,” that receive naloxone kits through the Pennsylvania Overdose Prevention Program. The program was launched in 2023 as a joint initiative between the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency and the Pennsylvania Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs. Anyone can pick up a free naloxone kit at any of The Wright Center’s 13 community health centers in Lackawanna, Luzerne, Wayne, and Wyoming counties. For a list of locations and hours, visit TheWrightCenter.org/locations.
To learn more about the services available through the Opioid Use Disorder Center of Excellence, call 570-230-0019 or visit TheWrightCenter.org/services/coe.
During a visit to The Wright Center for Community Health Scranton recently, Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz and U.S. Representative Robert Bresnahan Jr. pose with a poster explaining The Wright Center’s Teaching Health Center Graduate Medical Education Safety-Net Consortium model. From left, Brian Ebersole, senior vice president of strategic enterprise and ecosystem development; Dr. Jignesh Y. Sheth, senior vice president and enterprise chief operations and strategy officer; Dr. Linda Thomas-Hemak, president and CEO; Dr. Oz; Representative Bresnahan; and Jennifer Walsh, Esquire, senior vice president of enterprise integrity, chief legal and governance officer.
Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz and U.S. Representative Robert Bresnahan Jr. toured The Wright Center for Community Health Scranton ahead of a health care roundtable with local stakeholders and officials on Friday, Dec. 5.
Dr. Linda Thomas-Hemak, president and CEO of The Wright Centers for Community Health and Graduate Medical Education, welcomed Dr. Oz and Representative Bresnahan to the community health center. The two federal officials met with leaders at The Wright Center, as well as local stakeholders, including Shelley Riser, president and CEO of the Pennsylvania Association of Community Health Centers; and James Pettinato, CEO of Wayne Memorial Hospital.
Dr. Oz asked several questions about the important role of Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) and Look-Alikes (FQLAs) play in modern health care. FQHCs and FQLAs ensure health care for the nation’s underserved communities and vulnerable populations by offering services to all, regardless of their ability to pay, according to the Health Resources and Services Administration. The Wright Center for Community Health was designated as an FQLA in 2019.
Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz, left, speaks with Dr. Linda Thomas-Hemak, president and CEO of The Wright Centers for Community Health and Graduate Medical Education; Dr. Jignesh Y. Sheth, senior vice president and enterprise chief operations and strategy officer, and Jennifer Walsh, Esquire, senior vice president of enterprise integrity, chief legal and governance officer. Leaders at The Wright Center spoke with Dr. Oz and U.S. Representative Robert Bresnahan Jr. about the ways The Wright Center’s community health centers in Lackawanna, Luzerne, Wayne, and Wyoming counties increase access to affordable, high-quality, whole-person primary health services for all.
“We are sincerely grateful to Dr. Oz, Congressman Bresnahan, and their staffs for visiting The Wright Centers for Community Health and Graduate Medical Education and for recognizing the essential role community health centers, community-based primary care, and physician and health care workforce development play in the health and vitality of our region and our nation,” Dr. Thomas-Hemak said. “As a Federally Qualified Health Center Look-Alike and nationally recognized Patient-Centered Medical Home, The Wright Center ensures accessible, whole-person-focused, team-based, and cost-effective care for about 38,300 individuals each year across Northeast Pennsylvania.”
Additionally, Dr. Oz asked about The Wright Center’s Graduate Medical Education Program, which is one of the nation’s largest Teaching Health Center Graduate Medical Education Safety-Net Consortiums (GME-SNC), funded by the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). Under Dr. Thomas’ leadership, The Wright Center pioneered a transformative, community-led GME-SNC model that reimagines medical education as a force for public health improvement.
“Our scalable GME-SNC model intentionally integrates health care delivery, interprofessional workforce development, innovation, and community voice to provide high-quality, affordable, and compassionate primary and preventive whole-person health services, especially in rural and underserved communities, while training 430 residents, fellows, and interprofessional learners annually, with strong retention in those communities,” Dr. Thomas-Hemak said. “At a time when hospital mergers and closures, accelerating health care workforce shortages, and fragile rural health care infrastructures threaten timely access to care, our integrated primary care and GME-SNC model serves as both a stabilizing anchor for local health systems and a lifeline for patients and families. It is a profound privilege and honor to share our mission-driven work and the voices of our patients and learners with our distinguished guests.”
Dr. Oz said he appreciated the opportunity to learn about The Wright Center, its efforts to train the next generation of health care professionals, and how its growing network of 13 community health centers in Lackawanna, Luzerne, Wayne, and Wyoming counties is increasing access to affordable, high-quality, whole-person primary health services for all.
“The decisions CMS makes in Washington and Baltimore affect Americans in every one of the country’s nearly 20,000 cities and towns — urban, rural, and everything in between,” Dr. Oz said. “That’s why it’s so important for us to get out of the Beltway and hear directly from people in those communities. I’m grateful to Congressman Bresnahan for bringing together local Northeastern Pennsylvania experts and stakeholders to work toward real, bipartisan solutions that can lower costs, increase access, and improve quality of care.”
After touring The Wright Center in Scranton, Dr. Oz and Representative Bresnahan attended a health care roundtable with Dr. Thomas-Hemak and other stakeholders from around Northeast Pennsylvania. Topics included Pharmacy Benefit Manager (PBM) reform, medical modernization, insurance coverage, value-based care, and the Rural Health Transformation Fund.
Representative Bresnahan said, “Today’s discussion with Administrator Oz and our local health care community was extremely productive. It was a fantastic opportunity to sit down with local leaders to discuss how we can best implement the Rural Health Transformation Fund and the importance of high-quality health care. I want to thank Administrator Oz for coming to Scranton to hear firsthand from our community. We’re committed to delivering real, practical solutions that improve access to care, lower costs, and ensure every community gets the support it needs.”
The Wright Center, based in Scranton, Pennsylvania, offers affordable, high-quality, whole-person primary health services at its growing network of community health centers in Lackawanna, Luzerne, Wayne, and Wyoming counties. It accepts all insurance plans and offers a sliding-fee discount program based on federal poverty guidelines that considers family size and income. No patient is ever turned away due to an inability to pay. For more information, go to TheWrightCenter.org or call 570-209-0019.
Established in 1976 as the Scranton-Temple Residency Program, The Wright Center and its consortium stakeholders train residents and fellows in a community-based, community-needs-responsive workforce development model. To date, more than 1,100 medical residents and fellows have graduated from The Wright Center’s Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education-accredited residency and fellowship programs. For more information, go to TheWrightCenter.org or call 570-866-3017.
During a visit to The Wright Center for Community Health Scranton, Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz and U.S. Representative Robert Bresnahan Jr. took a photo with key leaders. Front row from left, are Aimee Wechsler, director of government affairs; Dr. Ketaki Pande, Internal Medicine resident physician; Laura Spadaro, vice president and chief primary care and public health policy officer; Shelley Riser, president and CEO of the Pennsylvania Association of Community Health Centers; Dr. Himani Mongia, Internal Medicine resident physician; and Harold W. Baillie, The Wright Center for Graduate Medical Education Board chair; second row, Dr. Emre Demirtas, Internal Medicine resident physician; Dr. Seyma Bayram, Internal Medicine resident physician; Brian Ebersole, senior vice president of strategic enterprise and ecosystem development; Jennifer Walsh, Esquire, senior vice president of enterprise integrity, chief legal and governance officer; Kenneth G. Okrepkie, The Wright Center for Community Health Board member; Congressman Bresnahan; Dr. Linda Thomas-Hemak, president and CEO of The Wright Centers for Community Health and Graduate Medical Education; Dr. Oz; Deborah Kolsovsky, The Wright Center for Community Health Board chair; Dr. Jignesh Y. Sheth, senior vice president and enterprise chief operations and strategy officer; Mason Hemak, project manager; James Pettinato, CEO of Wayne Memorial Hospital; Dr. Sirin Keten, a former observation student; and Dr. William Dempsey, chief population health value-based care officer of The Wright Center.
Dr. Mary Louise Decker, the infectious diseases medical director at The Wright Center for Community Health, has been accepted as a fellow of the American College of Physicians (ACP).
Dr. Mary Louise Decker
Dr. Decker, a board-certified infectious disease physician, leads The Wright Center’s Ryan White HIV and Infectious Disease/HEP C Clinic. Dr. Decker is accepting new adult patients at our community health centers in Scranton and Wilkes-Barre. She earned her medical degree from Georgetown University School of Medicine in Washington, D.C., where she completed her residency in internal medicine and fellowship in infectious diseases.
ACP fellows are a distinguished group of doctors dedicated to continuing education in medical practice, teaching, and research. More than 31,000 physicians have earned this mark of distinction since 1975, according to the ACP. Dr. Decker may now use the letters “FACP” after her name in recognition of this honor.
This is not Dr. Decker’s first fellowship. In 2022, she was one of 175 physicians worldwide elected as a fellow of the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA). Fellowship in IDSA is one of the highest honors in infectious diseases, conferred on those who have demonstrated professional excellence and provided significant service to the profession.
The largest medical specialty organization and the second-largest physician group in the United States, ACP has more than 143,000 internal medicine physicians, related subspecialists, and medical students. Internal medicine physicians are specialists who apply scientific knowledge and clinical expertise to the diagnosis, treatment, and compassionate care of adults across the spectrum from health to complex illness. For more information about ACP, go to acponline.org.
The Wright Center, based in Scranton, Pennsylvania, offers affordable, high-quality, whole-person primary health services at its growing network of 13 community health centers in Lackawanna, Luzerne, Wayne, and Wyoming counties. For more information about its integrated medical, dental, mental and behavioral health, addiction and recovery, and Ryan White HIV services, go to TheWrightCenter.org or call 570-230-0019.
