The Wright Center for Community Health’s new Alzheimer’s and Dementia Clinic is one of only eight health systems across the country selected as an adopter of the innovative Alzheimer’s and Dementia Care Program created at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).

UCLA’s award-winning Alzheimer’s and Dementia Care Program is designed to help patients and their families with the complex medical, behavioral and social needs of Alzheimer’s disease and other types of dementia.  Advanced Practice Providers (nurse practitioners or physician assistants) and Dementia Care Specialists are at the heart of the program, and work with the patient’s primary care doctor/specialist to create and implement a personalized care plan.

By adopting the UCLA program, The Wright Center’s Alzheimer’s and Dementia Clinic now offers dementia patients an individually tailored care plan that builds in medical needs, solutions for caregiver stress and cultural traditions unique to each person and their family.

“This new program will help vulnerable older people who tend to get overlooked. So many elders don’t get the attention and care that they need – and deserve – for chronic conditions. Seniors face unique healthcare challenges, including social isolation and lack of support services, that must be addressed to preserve their ability to age in place with dignity. For cognitive conditions such as Alzheimer’s and other dementias, early detection and diagnosis enables access to symptomatic treatments, more time for critical care planning, better disease management and an opportunity for diagnosed individuals to have a voice in their future care,” explained Susan Scanland, CRNP, who brings nearly 40 years of experience with dementia and geriatrics to the Wright Center’s care team.

The Wright Center’s Alzheimer’s and Dementia Clinic offers 90-minute consultations with a dementia care manager who assesses, evaluates and provides a comprehensive analysis of the patient’s needs; a personalized care plan developed for the patient’s primary care provider; and follow-up care in the patient’s home or at Wright Center clinics. Support is also provided to family members and caregivers in the form of a designated care coordinator who organizes all treatments and in-home services, as well as access to advice and assistance available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, which may reduce the need for emergency room visits and hospitalizations.

The Alzheimer’s and Dementia Clinic operates out of The Wright Center’s Mid Valley Practice, 5 S. Washington Ave., Jermyn; its Scranton Practice, 501 S. Washington Ave.; and its Clarks Summit Practice, 1145 Northern Blvd., South Abington Twp. Appointments are now being scheduled by calling 570-941-0630. The new Alzheimer’s and Dementia unit is just one component of The Wright Center’s new Geriatric program, already recognized by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement as an Age-Friendly Health System Partner for providing a full spectrum of comprehensive, safety-net primary health and support services for seniors, and for serving as a trusted primary health advisor for seniors and their families to support independent living. The unprecedented growth rate of Pennsylvania’s aging population – compounded by a shortage of doctors and care teams who specialize in the physical, mental and behavioral health challenges specific to seniors – compelled The Wright Center to create a new geriatrics program, which also includes a new geriatrics fellowship program directed by Edward Dzielak, D.O. An alum of The Wright Center’s original residency program and a faculty-physician, Dr. Dzielak leads efforts to develop age-friendly practices as standard operating procedure for The Wright Center’s older adult patients.

The U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, awarded $2,759,235 to Geisinger to expand its Addiction Medicine Fellowship Program through a collaboration with The Wright Centers for Community Health and Graduate Medical Education.

The federal grant money will be used to increase and strengthen treatment for substance use disorders in Central and Northeast Pennsylvania. Addiction Medicine fellows will train at 16 sites in areas with demonstrated need across Central and Northeast Pennsylvania, including six counties with drug overdose rates higher than the national average of 21.7 per 100,000 population. These include Columbia, Lackawanna, Luzerne, Lycoming, Monroe and Montour counties.

“We are grateful for the funding, which will help us to recruit and train physicians to meet the needs of their patients with substance use disorders wherever those patients present,” said Margaret Jarvis, M.D., Chief of Addiction Medicine at Geisinger. “The grant specifically targets community-based settings and telehealth, two areas more likely to be accessed by rural and underserved populations, while addressing all three priorities HRSA cited as vital, including combating the opioid crisis, transforming the workforce and expanding telehealth services.”

“Our local community is in the throes of an opioid epidemic. The Wright Center is dedicated to building a compassionate, highly qualified workforce that understands how to help vulnerable patients most at-risk of suffering from addiction, including pregnant women, the elderly, veterans and those linked to the criminal justice system. We are grateful for the learning opportunities that will come from our strategic partnership with Geisinger,” said Jumee Barooah, M.D., Designated Institutional Official for The Wright Center.

The proposed project will:

• Increase the number of board-certified addiction medicine physicians produced by the Geisinger Addiction Medicine Fellowship program each year.
• Expand training opportunities in The Wright Center’s community-based clinical learning environments, including its Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Opioid Use Disorder Center of Excellence (OUD-COE), its Ryan White HIV/AIDS Clinic and its network of primary care practices that offer comprehensive, safety-net services inclusive of medical, dental, addiction/recovery and behavioral health. GHS addiction medicine fellows will learn with and from The Wright Center’s skilled physician-faculty, including Addiction Medicine board-certified providers; staff trained in OUD-COE best practices; and residents and fellows studying Internal Medicine, Family Medicine, Psychiatry, Gastroenterology, Infectious Disease, Dental and Behavioral Health. Fellows will care for patients served by The Wright Center’s OUD-COE and its related recovery support programs, including the Healthy MOMS (Maternal Opiate Medical Support) initiative; contribute to the community’s understanding of best practices in Addiction Medicine for underserved patient populations and their families; and lead Addiction Medicine-focused quality-improvement studies to identify real-time clinical solutions to substance use disorder workflow challenges.
• Reach new patient populations through geographic expansion, increased use of telehealth and service delivery on rotations including obstetrics/gynecology.

The current program trains two fellows per year, with most training occurring in the Northeast.  Through this expansion, Geisinger will train 21 additional physicians (for 31 total) over the course of the grant period to deliver evidence-based care to patients with OUD and other substance use disorders.

Additionally, Dr. Dempsey will supervise physicians and medical directors across all clinical locations and facilitate participation in quality initiatives while also implementing and evaluating procedures, processes and protocols to support the organization’s goals and objectives of quality of care, resident education and sharing of best practices according to the tenants of the Patient-Centered Medical Home model. Dr. Dempsey will review and provide feedback to medical directors and clinic managers to improve patient satisfaction survey scores; collaborate with nurse managers to enhance nurse-clinician relationships; and support physician, nurse practitioner and physician assistant recruitment.

“To truly care for patients and to be effective in establishing wellness and curing illness, we have to treat the whole patient. This includes caring for them physically, emotionally and spiritually,” Dr. Dempsey said of his patient-care philosophy. “I’m honored to accept this role and share my decades of experience with our expansive care teams to further our mission.” Dr. Dempsey earned his bachelor’s degree in biology from The University of Scranton and graduated from St. George’s University School of Medicine. He completed his residency at Tallahassee Memorial Regional Hospital Center and returned to Scranton to work in private practice with the Lackawanna Medical Group until 1992. He served as medical director of WorkMed for Occupational Health until 1994, then became an emergency department staff physician at Community Medical Center in Scranton. In 2010, he joined PrimeMed Medical Group in Wilkes-Barre. Dr. Dempsey previously worked as Medical Director of Community Life Support Ambulance Services in Clarks Summit; Director of the Human Performance Lab at Marywood University; Director of Primecare Correctional Care in Pittston; and as the athletic team physician for Lackawanna College and Marywood University.

A Waverly Twp. resident, Dr. Klamp earned a bachelor’s degree in biology from The Pennsylvania State University and graduated from Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. He completed his residency in primary care internal medicine at the Alameda County General Hospital in Oakland, California. He has lectured and volunteered globally, including in Guyana, the Republic of Georgia, Gambia, India, Sudan, Bolivia and Nicaragua.

Dr. Klamp is accepting patients at The Wright Center’s Clarks Summit Practice, 1145 Northern Blvd., South Abington Twp., on Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays, and at the Scranton Practice, 501 S. Washington Ave., Wednesdays and Thursdays. To schedule an appointment, call 570-585-1300.