Blood drive to honor injured Scranton officer

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The Wright Center for Community Health Scranton Practice is hosting an American Red Cross blood drive on Friday, Feb. 9, to honor a city police detective injured in a January shooting.

Regional residents can make an appointment to donate blood between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. at The Wright Center’s Scranton Practice, 501 S. Washington Ave., by visiting redcross.org and using sponsor code: The Wright Center or call 1-800-RED-CROSS.

The drive is in honor of Scranton police Detective Kyle Gilmartin, who was shot on Jan. 11 in West Scranton. He and other Scranton police officers were investigating a pair of gang-related gunfire incidents at the time. After being treated at Geisinger Community Medical Center, Detective Gilmartin is recovering at a rehabilitation center.

“As a medical organization, we want to help where the need is greatest, and January is a time when there are critical blood shortages here and nationwide,” said Gerri McAndrew, co-director of The Wright Center for Patient & Community Engagement. “We know that treating Detective Gilmartin required a lot of blood, so we thought hosting a blood drive in his honor would be fitting.”

In addition to helping address the blood shortage, anyone who donates blood in February will receive a $20 Amazon gift card by mail.

Headquartered in Scranton, The Wright Center operates 10 primary and preventive care practices, including a mobile medical and dental vehicle called Driving Better Health, in Northeast Pennsylvania. Its practices offer integrated whole-person care, meaning patients typically have the convenience of going to a single location to access medical, dental, and behavioral health care, as well as community-based addiction treatment and recovery services.

Resident physician to participate in Arizona Health Policy Scholar Program

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Ashley Okuagu, D.O., a first-year resident physician in The Wright Center for Graduate Medical Education’s unique National Family Medicine Residency (NFMR) program, has been selected as a 2024 Arizona Health Policy Scholar.

Headshot of Dr. Ashley Okuagu on a blue background

Dr. Ashley Okuagu

Dr. Okuagu is receiving her graduate medical education and training at one of The Wright Center’s four, NFMR partner sites: El Rio Health, in Tucson, Arizona.

As a member of the scholars program – conducted by the Arizona Academy of Family Physicians – she will participate in a series of trainings and events that equip physicians to be advocates for their patients and profession in both state and federal halls of power. The program’s aim is to cultivate physician leaders who will work to improve health care, realizing that advocacy offers another level of meaning and purpose to their professional role in family medicine.

The five-month program will culminate in May with participants attending the Family Medicine Advocacy Summit, a multi-day conference in Washington, D.C.

Each Arizona medical school and residency program was permitted to choose only one representative to participate in this year’s scholars class.

“We are proud and very excited that Dr. Okuagu has been selected as a member of the Arizona Health Policy Scholars Class of 2024,” said Lawrence LeBeau, D.O., the NFMR program director. “Physician advocacy is essential to providing quality patient care in a challenging health care environment. Participation in this advocacy scholars program will provide Dr. Okuagu with valuable education, experience, and mentorship to develop her skills in physician advocacy.”

She and other participants will receive instruction on many issues, including how to build relationships with legislators and policymakers, becoming familiar with the mechanics of legislative advocacy, and understanding rural health care policy.

Dr. Okuagu is a resident leader in the NFMR program. Founded nearly 11 years ago by The Wright Center for Graduate Medical Education and its partners, the family medicine residency has a single curriculum that is tailored to the resources available at each of the training locations in Arizona, Ohio, Washington state, and Washington, D.C.

The program was established to generate highly skilled, compassionate physicians who are inclined to serve in rural or other medically underserved areas throughout the United States. Many of its graduates have a heart for treating patient populations that historically have been marginalized, such as low-income individuals, people who are experiencing homelessness, and justice-involved individuals.

Since the NFMR program’s inception, more than half of its graduates have entered practice in one of the nation’s community health centers. In fact, The Wright Center-led program has succeeded in retaining an average of 36 percent of its graduates at the same health centers in which they trained, meaning those physicians chose to continue working among high-needs patient populations in rural or underserved urban communities.

The American College of Physicians’ Pennsylvania Eastern Chapter collaborating with The Wright Center for Leap into a Day of Giving

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Pop-up food pantry to address food insecurity in regional communities

The American College of Physicians’ Pennsylvania (PA-ACP) Eastern Chapter will conduct a volunteer-driven “Leap into a Day of Giving” in partnership with The Wright Centers for Graduate Medical Education, Community Health, and Patient & Community Engagement to address food insecurity in Northeast Pennsylvania.

PA-ACP Eastern Chapter members and inclusive community partners are supporting and staffing the pop-up food pantry for members of the community at Weston Field, 982 Providence Rd., Scranton, on Thursday, Feb. 29 from noon-3 p.m.

Free prepackaged bags of nonperishable food items will be provided to those in need. Food resources include shelf-stable pantry items such as dry cereal, breakfast bars, pasta, soups, cans of vegetables, tuna, and chicken, and more. Bags will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis due to a limited supply.

The Wright Center is also accepting donations of food items from the public. Donations are being accepted at The Wright Center for Community Health’s Clarks Summit, Mid Valley, and Scranton practices.

Volunteers representing the PA-ACP Eastern Chapter and The Wright Center for Graduate Medical Education’s Internal Medicine Residency Program will pack and distribute the bags of food.

The nation’s largest medical specialty organization, the American College of Physicians (ACP) has about 159,000 members who are internal medicine physicians and medical students. The Pennsylvania Chapter of the ACP consists of three regions: Eastern, Western, and Southeastern. 

Dr. Linda Thomas-Hemak, president and CEO of The Wright Centers for Community Health and Graduate Medical Education, also serves as governor of the PA-ACP Eastern Chapter. The food pantry is another example of The Wright Center living its mission is to improve the health and welfare of communities through inclusive and responsive health services and the sustainable renewal of an inspired and competent workforce that is privileged to serve. 

Dr. Linda Thomas-Hemak

“The health and welfare of our communities depend on equitable access to high-quality, affordable primary and preventive care and nutritious foods,” said Dr. Thomas-Hemak. “I am honored to be organizing this initiative and calling forth all my PA-ACP Eastern Chapter member colleagues to engage. Days of Giving offer us all opportunities to come beyond our usual daily responsibilities to answer what Martin Luther King, Jr. identified as life’s most persistent and urgent question: “What are you doing for others?”

For more information about the pop-up food pantry or to donate to it, please contact Gerri McAndrew, co-director, The Wright Center for Patient & Community Engagement, at mcandrewg@TheWrightCenter.org.

The Wright Center for Community Health achieves Gold status for Advocacy Center of Excellence Program for second time

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ACE Gold Badge

The National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC) recently recognized The Wright Centers for Community Health as a Gold Advocacy Center of Excellence (ACE) for the second time.

The Wright Center was first awarded Gold ACE status in January 2022 – the first community health center in Pennsylvania to achieve the recognition. Being awarded a second Gold ACE status, effective Dec. 19, 2023, shows The Wright Center’s continued dedication to advocating for and supporting community health centers that provide comprehensive primary and preventive health services to medically underserved populations in rural and urban areas.

Dr. Linda Thomas-Hemak

“The Wright Center is honored to be recognized by NACHC for the second time with designation as a Community Health Center Gold Advocacy Center of Excellence,” said Dr. Linda Thomas-Hemak, president and CEO of The Wright Centers for Community Health and Graduate Medical Education. “We are very grateful and proud to be expanding our mission-driven advocacy efforts to ensure our elected officials at the local, state, and federal levels understand and commit to investing in the comprehensive, affordable, equitable, and innovative primary health services that The Wright Center and our community health center colleagues across our country provide to people of all ages, income levels, and insurance statuses.”

ACE levels recognize consistent engagement, success, and ongoing commitment to prioritizing advocacy. Community health centers that receive the designation are actively engaged with NACHC and forums addressing federal policy issues, as well as their state primary care association and platforms to address key state and local policy issues that impact the entities and their patients. NACHC awards three levels of ACES: bronze, silver, and gold. The status is valid for two years.

In order to earn ACE status, a community health center must complete a checklist of activities and accomplishments as outlined by NACHC. The Wright Center’s employees, for example, developed and wrote guest editorials that addressed important public health issues that affect community health centers and patients and hosted round table discussions with elected officials. Additionally, an in-house advocacy committee offers training, and the organization also hosts elected officials at its primary care practices.

Certificate

Headquartered in Scranton, The Wright Center operates 10 primary and preventive care practices, including a mobile medical and dental vehicle called Driving Better Health, in Northeast Pennsylvania. Its practices offer integrated whole-person care, meaning patients typically have the convenience of going to a single location to access medical, dental, and behavioral health, as well as community-based addiction treatment and recovery services.

The Wright Center for Graduate Medical Education receives osteopathic manipulation treatment table from state Osteopathic Medical Association

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The Wright Center for Graduate Medical Education recently received an osteopathic manipulation treatment table from the Pennsylvania Osteopathic Medical Association (POMA).

The Wright Center for Graduate Medical Education recently received an osteopathic manipulation treatment table from the Pennsylvania Osteopathic Medical Association (POMA). William Swallow, D.O., M.S., FACOFP, president-elect of POMA, visited The Wright Center’s administrative offices in Scranton to present the table and meet several students with A.T. Still University School of Osteopathic Medicine who are learning at The Wright Center. POMA’s foundation regularly makes donations to support osteopathic medical residents across the state. Participating in the presentation, from left, are Samantha Ponce, National Network Program coordinator, The Wright Center for Graduate Medical Education; SOMA students Douglas Fisher, Amanda Munkres McDonald, and Sandy Durosier, and Dr. Swallow.

The Wright Center supports effort by Keystone Health Information Exchange to earn quality recognition for exchange of health data

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Reflecting its commitment to the transfer of timely and accurate health data, The Wright Center for Community Health recently participated in a program to validate information-sharing processes and ensure they meet the rigorous standards set by the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA).

The Wright Center is a member of the Keystone Health Information Exchange (KeyHIE), which includes 35 Pennsylvania hospitals, plus dozens of other participating organizations such as physician practices, long-term care facilities, home health agencies, and pharmacies.

NCQA Aggregator

KeyHIE, with the support of participants such as The Wright Center, took the necessary steps in 2023 to earn the NCQA’s Data Aggregator Validation certification. The Wright Center is now recognized as an approved “ingestion site” for data transmission.

The NCQA’s Data Aggregator Validation program evaluates an organization’s management and exchange of health data. Data streams that earn its validation undergo an end-to-end look – from ingestion at primary sources through transmission to end users – at the quality and integrity of data and the procedures used to manage and safeguard it.

By receiving the Data Aggregator Validation designation, KeyHIE conveys to health plans, providers, government organizations, and others that they can trust the accuracy of aggregated clinical data for use in Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set reporting and other quality programs.

Founded in 2005, KeyHIE is one of the oldest and largest health information exchanges in the United States. It serves more than 5.8 million patients over a large geographical area, including Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

The Wright Center, headquartered in Scranton, operates 10 primary and preventive care practices in Northeast Pennsylvania, including a mobile medical and dental vehicle called Driving Better Health. Its practices offer integrated whole-person care, meaning patients typically have the convenience of going to a single location to access medical, dental, and behavioral health care, as well as community-based addiction treatment and recovery services.

The Wright Center accepts most major health insurance plans, including Medical Assistance (Medicaid), Medicare, and CHIP. No patient is turned away due to an inability to pay.

To learn more about KeyHIE, visit keyhie.org.