Honesdale resident exploring ways to help others in recovery after receiving support from The Wright Center for Community Health’s Healthy Maternal Opiate Medical Support Program

Shannon Sharkazy and her children, from left, Carter, 10; Blake, 11; Mason, 5; and Emerson, 4 spend time in the orchard on their Beach Lake property. For more information about the Healthy MOMS Program, go to HealthyMOMS.org

Shannon Sharkazy has always felt a calling to help others. First, though, she had to help herself.

A 36-month prison sentence for cocaine distribution and related charges proved to be the impetus for her recovery from substance use disorder in 2006. While incarcerated, Sharkazy helped some of her fellow inmates learn to read and take other steps to change their lives, igniting her passion for helping others.

“After I came home from prison, I knew I was not cut out for my old life,” the 41-year-old Honesdale, Pennsylvania, resident said. “I didn’t want to be that person, so I had to make some changes.”

Today, Sharkazy is a devoted mother of five children, ranging in age from 16 months to 11 years old. When she isn’t working as the administrator of a church in Beach Lake, Pennsylvania, she operates Gypsy Hollow, a transition home for rescued farm animals, where she is in the process of developing the mentorship program, Second Act, to help women – especially moms – learn and improve relationship, communication, and mindset skills.

She also speaks publicly about her recovery journey, attributing her success to those who supported her, including The Wright Center for Community Health’s Healthy Maternal Opiate Medical Support Program, known simply as Healthy MOMS.

“I needed support,” Sharkazy said. “They immediately saw who I really was and what I needed.”

Healthy MOMS focuses on helping mothers-to-be and mothers with substance use disorder, bringing together health care, legal, housing, and social services organizations from more than seven counties in Northeast Pennsylvania. Participants can join before giving birth and remain in the program until the child turns 2. An assigned case manager helps with a range of support services, including medications for opiate use disorder, counseling, primary and OB-GYN care, parenting tips, legal advice, and more.

The program has served mothers as young as 14, but most are in their late 20s and 30s. Named after a similar program in Ohio, it was introduced in this region as a pilot program in two counties, with initial grant funding secured by the Lackawanna/Susquehanna Office of Drug and Alcohol Programs. Today, it assists women in Lackawanna, Luzerne, Monroe, Pike, Schuylkill, Susquehanna, Wayne, and Wyoming counties. Since its launch in 2018, they’ve helped more than 500 mothers and welcomed more than 280 infants.

“As we know too well, it takes a village to raise a child. The complex struggles surrounding opioid addiction can make pregnancy an even tougher time,” said Maria Kolcharno, Healthy MOMS Program manager and director of addictions services at The Wright Center for Community Health. “The evidence suggests that mothers who join the program and participate in recovery services well before their delivery dates are less likely to give birth to babies who experience neonatal abstinence syndrome, a potentially painful and costly medical condition caused when a newborn withdraws from drugs the baby had been exposed to in the womb.”

Over time, Sharkazy started taking prescription medication to manage pain caused by several debilitating, chronic issues. “My doses kept increasing,” Sharkazy said. “And then I got pregnant again, and I thought, ‘I can’t be on these ridiculous doses anymore. I need help.’”

She became aware of The Wright Center for Community Health offering medications for opiate use disorder through her ex-husband’s experience at the community health center in Jermyn. Aware that Suboxone, a prescription drug for managing substance use disorder, could also provide pain relief, Sharkazy started her treatment with The Wright Center in November 2019. She found the staff, especially Ed Walsh, a case manager in The Wright Center’s state-designated Opioid Use Disorder Center of Excellence, and Dr. Charles Burns, a former Wright Center doctor board certified in addiction medicine, to be exceptionally supportive and free of judgment.

Sharkazy then became one of the first clients in the Healthy MOMS Program to access the specialized health services she needed. Healthy MOMS Case Manager Michele Coyle has worked with Sharkazy for four years, celebrating her successes and helping her through life’s challenges. Over the years, Sharkazy has served as a keynote speaker at Wright Center events and shared her story at several other programs around the region.

“It’s been beautiful to see her maintain her sobriety and to act as an advocate for her children and herself,” Coyle said.

Sharkazy remained in the Healthy MOMS Program for the birth of her fifth child, Ethan, who is now 16 months old. When she had similar problems with hospital staff over the stigma of using Suboxone, Healthy MOMS staff again advocated for her, including producing paperwork.

“I can’t imagine being a mom newly in recovery or a mom without a support system, facing these challenging situations,” Sharkazy said. “I knew I could just call Michele, and she would be there to talk to, do check-ins, and just to make sure I was mentally in the right place.”

Coyle said that, over the years, Sharkazy has become a resource to other clients, especially those with children who have special needs.

“I’m supporting her needs, but sometimes, I go to her for advice. She’s navigated the system and is willing to share what she’s learned,” Coyle said. “I think we’ve learned a lot together.”

“We have a lot of opportunities now to do more with and for the moms in the program,” Coyle said. “Every case is different, but we’re ready to meet the needs of each client.”

These days, Sharkazy is thriving, thanks to the continued support of the Healthy MOMS Program.

“It’s amazing to see her succeed,” Coyle said. “This is why I do what I do. It’s nice to think about how I had a small part in her journey to where she is today.”

Sharkazy has also found myriad ways to fulfill her goal of helping others. In addition to raising her children, caring for her ailing father, and looking after a variety of rescued farm animals, she works at Beach Lake United Methodist Church. She has also shared her story while serving as an advocate for varied topics, including children with cystic fibrosis and Down syndrome, the lack of rural health care resources, single mothers, and mothers with substance use disorder.

“I tell my story to everyone. It’s a way to pay it forward,” she said. “Working with and being a voice for moms in recovery is something I want to continue to explore.”

For more information about the Healthy MOMS Program, go to HealthyMOMS.org.

The Wright Center for Community Health hosted a ribbon cutting and open house on Tuesday, Sept. 3, to celebrate the opening of its newest community health center in Dickson City at 312 Boulevard Ave. The facility provides whole-person primary health services Monday through Friday, from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., to people of all ages, from pediatrics to geriatrics. Along with members of the public, and executive leadership and board members from The Wright Center, Dickson City Borough Councilmen Jack Horvath and Richard Cesari; Borough Manager Cesare Forconi; Drew Popish, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro’s northeast regional director; and Thom Welby, Pennsylvania State Rep. Bridget Malloy Kosierowski’s district director, participated in the event.

The Wright Center for Community Health hosted a ribbon cutting and open house on Tuesday, Sept. 3, to celebrate the opening of its newest community health center in Dickson City.

The new full-service, family-friendly office at 312 Boulevard Ave. opened for patient care on Tuesday, Sept. 3, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and open house held at 5:30 p.m. Along with members of the public, Dickson City Borough Councilmen Jack Horvath and Richard Cesari; Borough Manager Cesare Forconi; Drew Popish, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro’s northeast regional director; and Thom Welby, Pennsylvania State Rep. Bridget Malloy Kosierowski’s district director, attended the event.

Drs. Supriana Bhandol and Ajit Pannu, who will lead the new location, offered health center tours during the open house. Both doctors are graduates of The Wright Center for Graduate Medical Education’s Regional Family Medicine Residency and began providing care to patients at The Wright Center for Community Health in Scranton in November.

The new location occupies the former medical offices of Drs. Cynthia M. Oleski and Giovanni Ramos. After deciding to relocate, the doctors contacted The Wright Center, which has been providing whole-person primary health services across the region for decades, to ensure that patients would not experience any interruptions in care.

The Wright Center for Community Health in Dickson City will be open Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., offering affordable, comprehensive whole-person primary health services for people of all ages, from pediatrics to geriatrics. Services will include checkups, physicals, screenings, treatment of common illnesses and injuries, and more. To make an appointment, call 570-489-4567 or visit TheWrightCenter.org.

In addition to the Dickson City location, The Wright Center will also open its first primary care community health center in Wyoming County on Monday, Sept. 9, at the former Tyler Memorial Hospital, 5950 U.S. Route 6, Suite 401, Tunkhannock. With these new locations, The Wright Center will operate 12 community health centers, including a mobile medical and dental unit called Driving Better Health, serving patients of all ages, income levels, and insurance statuses in Northeast Pennsylvania.

The Wright Center for Community Health offers a sliding-fee discount program. Based on a family’s size and income level, the program reduces barriers to care and ensures everyone has access to affordable, whole-person primary health services.

Dr. Jignesh Y. Sheth, senior vice president and chief medical and information officer at The Wright Centers for Community Health and Graduate Medical Education, was selected as a 2024 Trailblazer in Building and Infrastructure by City and State Pennsylvania.

The multimedia news organization acknowledged Dr. Sheth’s visionary leadership, strategic planning, research, and meticulous attention to detail in transforming 10 buildings across Lackawanna, Luzerne, and Wayne counties into The Wright Centers’ welcoming and comprehensive community health centers. These centers provide whole-person primary health services to people of all ages regardless of insurance status, ZIP code, or ability to pay, and have significantly enhanced care delivery and overall well-being for underserved populations throughout Northeast Pennsylvania. To read the special edition, go here.

“I’m honored to be recognized as a 2024 Trailblazer in Building and Infrastructure,” said Dr. Sheth, who is dual board-certified in internal medicine and addiction medicine. “This achievement reflects the collective efforts of our dedicated team, who share a commitment to creating spaces that truly serve our communities’ needs. Our goal has always been to ensure that our health centers are not just functional but also welcoming environments where patients feel valued and cared for. This recognition is a testament to the power of collaboration, thoughtful design, and a patient-centered approach in transforming health care delivery.”

City and State also highlighted Dr. Sheth’s focus on blueprints and designs, such as selecting the soothing color schemes of waiting and examination rooms, fiscal responsibility, and contractor coordination, as well as how he oversaw the projects while continuing to provide care to his own patients and ensuring that The Wright Centers’ community health centers maintained uninterrupted services despite the extensive construction. Dr. Sheth sees adult patients at The Wright Center’s Mid Valley location in Jermyn.

After completing his internal medicine residency in 2009 through the Scranton-Temple Residency Program, now The Wright Center for Graduate Medical Education, Dr. Sheth joined The Wright Center as an internal medicine primary care physician and lead physician for population management and reporting.

Over the years, Dr. Sheth has pioneered innovative approaches that have significantly improved patient wellness and health care delivery. His contributions earned him several promotions at The Wright Center, including vice president for patient safety and quality in 2013, culminating in his current role as senior vice president and chief medical and information officer, a position he has held since 2018.

The National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC) recently presented the 2024 Innovative Research in Primary Care Award to Dr. Sheth. The award, which honors a health center clinician who has been active in primary care research or evaluation in community practice, prevention, public health, care coordination, or the clinical practice of medical services, was presented during NACHC’s 2024 Community Health Institute (CHI) & Expo Conference held Aug. 24-26 in Atlanta, Georgia.

Dr. Sheth and his wife, Hetal Sheth, live in Clarks Summit with their children, Zian, 9, and Jiaa, 5.

As a nonprofit Federally Qualified Health Center Look-Alike and safety-net provider, The Wright Center serves vulnerable and medically underserved populations, regardless of age, ethnic background, ZIP code, insurance status, or ability to pay. It accepts all insurance plans and offers a sliding-fee discount program based on federal poverty guidelines that consider family size and income. No patient is ever turned away due to an inability to pay.

Headquartered in Scranton, The Wright Center operates 11 primary and preventive care community health centers in Lackawanna, Luzerne, Wayne, and Wyoming counties, as well as a mobile medical and dental unit called Driving Better Health. Patients typically have the convenience of going to a single location to access integrated medical, dental, and behavioral health care, as well as community-based addiction treatment and recovery services.

The Wright Center for Graduate Medical Education was established in 1976 as the Scranton- Temple Residency Program, a community-based internal medicine residency. Today, The Wright Center is one of the largest U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration-funded Teaching Health Center Graduate Medical Education Safety-Net Consortiums in the nation.

The National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC) recently presented the 2024 Innovative Research in Primary Care Award to Jignesh Y. Sheth, M.D., FACP, MPH, the senior vice president and chief medical and information officer at The Wright Centers for Community Health and Graduate Medical Education.

● Pioneering a telemedicine model that delivers health care directly to patients’ homes, particularly benefiting those in remote and rural areas. This innovative approach allows remote monitoring of vital health metrics such as heart rate, steps, blood pressure, and more. Dr. Sheth further enhanced this system by integrating Humhealth technology, ensuring smooth data transfer to patients’ electronic health records (EHRs). This integration empowers patients to take an active role in managing their health and facilitates personalized care interventions and better patient outcomes.
● Transforming The Wright Center’s EHR system into a robust database that enhances health care delivery, supports data-driven decision-making, and facilitates successful grant awards. This system empowers clinicians to use collected data for precise interventions and measurable enhancements, effectively bridging individual patient care with population health management.
● Implementing advanced business analytics that bolstered daily operations and long-term planning. This initiative not only ensured compliance with federal reporting requirements but also facilitated the acquisition of new grants and The Wright Center’s prestigious designation in 2019 as a Federally Qualified Health Center Look-Alike.
● Introducing state-of-the-art technology to enhance patient experiences. This includes Propio, an on-demand interpreting service available at The Wright Center’s community health centers that is capable of translating over 350 languages. He also implemented “Neo,” a patient-friendly, HIPAA-compliant interactive live agent chatbot on TheWrightCenter.org. Neo assists both new and existing patients by enabling them to schedule appointments, refill prescriptions, navigate the system effectively, learn about available vaccinations, testing, services, and more.
● Upgrading The Wright Center’s storage and dispensing system for vaccines and medications from traditional refrigerators/freezers to AccuVax. This state-of-the-art, fully HIPAA-compliant technology automates and secures vaccine and medication storage through an integrated vending machine system. AccuVax ensures precise inventory management, enhances patient safety, controls access levels, and tracks vaccines down to the dose level.
● Optimizing workflows across The Wright Center by integrating advanced, time-saving technologies. This includes Suki, an artificial intelligence-powered digital assistant system that supports clinicians with administrative tasks, and Azara and iDashboards, which offer detailed insights into patient care and operational efficiency, aiding in resource management and strategic planning. Furthermore, he implemented a robust grant inventory management system to enhance organizational efficiency and required grant outcomes compliance.

Dually board-certified in internal medicine and addiction medicine, Dr. Sheth sees adult patients at The Wright Center for Community Health – Mid Valley location in Jermyn. He received his Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery with honors in biochemistry, medicine, and public health in 2004 from Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College in Wardha, India. He earned his Master’s in Public Health with a specialization in health promotion in 2006 from Northern Illinois University in DeKalb.

He and his wife, Hetal Sheth, live in Clarks Summit with their children, Zian, 9, and Jiaa, 5.

Colleen Dougherty, vice president and chief clinical operating officer and director of certified registered nurse practitioner and physician assistant services at The Wright Center for Community Health, holds the certificate The Wright Center received for being named a 2024 Cardiovascular Health Hall of Fame Champion by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Cardiovascular Health Program.

The Wright Center for Community Health was named a 2024 Cardiovascular Health Hall of Fame Champion for making significant contributions to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) National Cardiovascular Health Program for 2023-24.

The Wright Center worked with Quality Insights, a group dedicated to improving health and care through data-driven solutions, to contribute to the CDC program.

As part of their involvement in the CDC program, Colleen Dougherty, vice president and chief clinical operating officer and director of certified registered nurse practitioner and physician assistant services at The Wright Center for Community Health; Kari Machelli, RN, associate vice president of Integrated Primary Health Services; and Nicole Sekelsky, outreach and enrollment coordinator, shared information during a “Lunch and Learn” session hosted by Quality Insights about the unique strategies The Wright Center utilized to improve the overall health and well-being of patients.

“Our team was honored to participate in this Q&A initiative to share our experience in managing high cholesterol and highlighting the importance of patient-centered care. We incorporated real stories where clinicians helped empower patients to take an active role in their health,” Dougherty said. “By adopting a team-based approach to primary care, we can identify and manage patients with high cholesterol and those at risk for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, which is commonly called ASCVD. Early intervention is crucial in preventing devastating health events and improving our patients’ overall well-being.”

During the 30-minute open panel discussion, The Wright Center’s presenters discussed how community health workers (CHWs) and nurses work together to support patients identified with high cholesterol and other chronic conditions. CHWs at The Wright Center connect patients to a variety of social services and community resources, including local food pantries, medication discount programs, transportation to and from doctor appointments, and more to help patients focus on improving their health.

“At The Wright Center, our community health workers serve as a link for the patient, clinician, and outside resources,” said Sekelsky, who has worked as a CHW for The Wright Center since 2022. “We have the ability to assist and educate patients to help them take control of their own health, no matter the diagnosis.”

The Wright Center for Community Health’s building in Wilkes-Barre.

The Wright Center for Community Health unveiled an expanded dental clinic and a new behavioral health wing at its community health center in Wilkes-Barre, part of ongoing renovations of the 34,460-square-foot former office building just blocks from downtown.

The third phase of renovations at 169 N. Pennsylvania Ave., adds about 7,700 square feet of space, including 10 dental operatories, a dental clinician room, and 15 new behavioral health and behavioral health clinician rooms. A second reception desk doubles the number of patients who can check in at one time.

Wilkes-Barre’s new dental wing is the largest in The Wright Center’s network and boasts cutting-edge technology, including an Orthopantomograph 3D LX that provides 3-D dental imaging. The machine can take a single panoramic X-ray of the teeth, mandible, and maxilla, giving clinicians more detail as they diagnose and treat patients.

Dr. Michael Regan will begin seeing patients in Wilkes-Barre on Tuesday, Aug. 6. Dental hygienists Jenna Topa and Samantha Solack will support Dr. Regan.

The new behavioral health wing offers comfortably furnished treatment and counseling rooms, meeting rooms, and office space, as well as space for case management, community-based substance use disorder treatment and recovery services, and medication-assisted treatment.

The community health center in Wilkes-Barre opened its doors to patients on Jan. 9, 2023. It is open Monday through Saturday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. To make an appointment, call 570-491-0126 or visit TheWrightCenter.org.