The Stronghold Group continued its support of regional health care workers who are on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic by donating 5,000 pieces of personal protection equipment (PPE) and a $5,000 check to The Wright Centers for Community Health and Patient & Community Engagement.

A veteran-owned business that specializes in medical equipment, the Stronghold Group donated 20 cases of disposable 3-ply surgical masks and 80 cases of medical gowns to protect clinicians at The Wright Center for Community Health’s eight primary care practices in Lackawanna, Luzerne and Wayne counties. 

Stronghold’s financial support will be used to purchase fresh produce and canned goods for the most marginalized in our community who need it most.

“Worrying about having enough to eat should be the last thing on someone’s mind when they’re already worried about their health and finances,” said Laurie LaMaster, associate vice president of development and Patient & Community Engagement at The Wright Center. “We know the winter months bring higher heating bills, which further strain household budgets. Too often people are forced to choose between heating their homes and feeding their families. That’s why we are incredibly grateful for the support of the Stronghold Group. Not only are they keeping our health care heroes safe on the frontlines, they’re putting food on the table of the most vulnerable in our community.”

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Two scholarly research teams at The Wright Center for Graduate Medical Education have had their abstracts accepted for presentation at the American Psychiatric Association Annual Meeting in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Drs. Angelina Singh and Erica Schmidt, resident physicians in the four-year psychiatry residency, and Dr. Sanjay Chandragiri, program director of the psychiatry residency and a psychiatrist at The Wright Center for Community Health’s Scranton Practice, co-authored the scholarly paper, “Catatonia Presenting as Major Depressive Disorder with Psychotic Features: The Case for Increasing the Use of the Lorazepam Challenge.”

The team’s case report demonstrates the importance and challenges of recognizing and treating catatonia, such as schizophrenia, in severely depressed patients with psychotic features, including delusions, hallucinations and paranoia.

Drs. Bilal Khan and Nathan Hoff , resident physicians in the psychiatry residency, co-authored the paper, “Serotonin Syndrome in a 50-Year-Old Female,” with Bretty Aziz, a fourth-year medical student at Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine and Chandragiri.

The case report illustrates the potential for severe side effects that may result from interactions between multiple serotonergic agents in patients with serotonin syndrome.

The American Psychiatric Association was founded in 1844. It is the oldest medical association in the United States and the largest psychiatric association in the world with more than 37,400 physician members specializing in the diagnosis, treatment, prevention and research of mental illnesses. The annual meeting in May, with the theme, “Social Determinants of Mental Health,” is the largest conference in the world for psychiatrists and mental health professionals. 

For more information about The Wright Center for Community Health, call 570.343.2383 or go to TheWrightCenter.org.

 The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) on Jan. 21 notified The Wright Center for Graduate Medical Education that its Sponsoring Institution was being placed on probationary accreditation status following a recent site visit.

All residency and fellowship programs at The Wright Center for Graduate Medical Education School remain accredited and a repeat ACGME site visit is already scheduled for August 2022. The probationary status will not impact incoming, current or graduating residents and fellows. 

“We take probationary accreditation status very seriously and are moving forward quickly so we can improve and remove probationary status as quickly as possible,” said Dr. Jumee Barooah, designated institutional official of The Wright Center for Graduate Medical Education. “We will be working hard not just to meet, but to exceed ACGME standards when it comes to re-attaining full accreditation status.” 

The Wright Center for Graduate Medical Education has not received the full report from the ACGME, which can take up to 60 days. The ACGME site visit was in response to The Wright Center’s lower-than-national average scores on annual resident surveys. Based on initial feedback from ACGME, The Wright Center anticipates corrective action plans for administrative issues that were reviewed and discussed with the ACGME site-visit team.

Some of the steps The Wright Center for Graduate Medical Education has taken or plans to take include:

1. Increasing resources, including hiring additional staff, to support the graduate medical education office and residency and fellowship programs;
2. Retaining an independent, national expert on ACGME accreditation to evaluate the operation, oversight and supervision of the graduate medical education program and to make recommendations for improvement;
3. Enhancing and bolstering the Resident & Fellow Wellness Resiliency program;
4. Furthering open communication efforts with residents and fellows through climate surveys, town halls and one-on-ones with executive management;
5. Launching Sanctuary Model training for all employees that will provide guiding principles and specific tools to address the ways trauma, adversity and chronic stress influence individuals as well as entire organizations.

“With the backing of The Wright Center’s powerful mission and tireless support of our amazing residents, fellows and staff, we are confident that we are well on our way to achieving total compliance with ACGME standards,” Dr. Barooah said. “We are grateful for everyone’s ongoing efforts in this regard.”

The Wright Center for Community Health is accepting appointments for 12- to-15-year-olds to receive the Pfizer-BioNTech third-dose booster shot at community practices in Lackawanna and Luzerne counties after U.S. health authorities gave emergency authorization for the third dose on Jan. 5.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have authorized anyone who is 12 or older to receive the Pfizer booster shot five months after receiving their primary two-dose series. The recent decision also reduced the time between Pfizer’s primary vaccine and booster from six to five months.

Vaccination appointments are being accepted at the following community clinics:

• Mid Valley Practice, 5 S. Washington Ave., Jermyn: 570.230.0019
• Children’s Service Center Practice, 335 S. Franklin St., Wilkes-Barre: 570.591.5283
• Scranton Practice, 501 S. Washington Ave., Scranton: 570.941.0630 

Patients can also visit TheWrightCenter.org to make an appointment online.

The Wright Center for Community Health is also administering booster doses of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines for all adults. The guidance has not changed for the Moderna or Johnson & Johnson vaccines. Anyone 18 and older who received their Moderna primary vaccine series at least six months ago or received a Johnson & Johnson dose at least two months ago is eligible. 

Appointments for the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines also are being accepted at select Wright Center community clinics. Please go to TheWrightCenter.org or call 570.343.2383 to schedule an appointment for the primary vaccine series or booster series.

The Wright Center for Graduate Medical Education’s Psychiatry Residency Program: Postgraduate Year 1 (PGY1) cohort recently placed in the top 10 nationally on the American College of Psychiatrists’ Psychiatry Resident in Training Examination.

The two-part exam, administered three to four times during the four-year residency, tests performance in comparison with other resident physicians at a similar level of training in the United States, Canada and elsewhere. It consists of 300 questions and addresses content areas, such as neurosciences, clinical psychiatry, epidemiology, behavioral and social sciences, and more.

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“I am incredibly proud of our resident physicians,” said Dr. Sanjay Chandragiri, director of The Wright Center for Graduate Medical Education’s Psychiatry Residency. “They embody the ideals of The Wright Center. They have worked extremely hard under trying circumstances during the pandemic to master the field of psychiatry and provide patient-centered care to the patients who have entrusted their care to us.” 

The cohort of Drs. Salman Alam, Nathan Hoff, Christine Lu, Rosa Peverini and Ashley Zhan scored in the 97^th percentile among the 230 psychiatry residencies in the nation, which places The Wright Center’s test-takers among the top 10 PGY1 cohorts. In addition, Lu’s individual test score placed her in the 98^th percentile for all PGY1 residents in the country and 93^rd for all psychiatry residents in the nation. 

The Wright Center for Graduate Medical Education’s Psychiatry Residency was approved recently for three more resident physicians. The additional residents will join the residency in July, bringing a total of 25 psychiatry resident physicians to serve Northeast Pennsylvania.

For more information about The Wright Center for Graduate Medical Education, go to TheWrightCenter.org or call 570.343.2383.

The Wright Center for Community Health will distribute free at-home COVID-19 test kits to the public on a first-come, first-served basis at its Mid Valley Practice, 5 S. Washington Ave., Jermyn, on Sunday, Jan. 9, beginning at 5 p.m. and continuing until supplies are exhausted. 

To minimize potential exposure to COVID-19 and to expedite the distribution process of the test kits, The Wright Center is asking those who need at-home test kits to pre-register by completing the form available here. Please print and provide the form to volunteers at the distribution event. The pre-registration process does not guarantee the availability of a test kit. 

The Wright Center is also reminding participants to abide by COVID-19 mitigation standards by wearing masks and remaining in their vehicles at all times.

“The Wright Center is honored and grateful to be a steward of the Health Resources and Services Administration’s (HRSA) COVID-19 Testing Supply Program,” said Dr. Linda Thomas-Hemak, president and CEO of The Wright Centers for Community Health and Graduate Medical Education. “We humbly ask for everyone to exhibit patience and understanding as our volunteers perform their duties for this important initiative under very stressful circumstances.” 

The Wright Center for Community Health’s supplies will be replenished periodically as it receives additional shipments of COVID-19 at-home rapid test kits from HRSA. The shipments will be used to stock The Wright Center’s primary care practices, future community distribution events and Driving Better Health, its mobile medical unit that delivers primary health care services to rural communities and underserved populations in the region.

“By working together, we will be able to defeat COVID-19 and protect our family, friends, neighbors and colleagues,” Thomas-Hemak added. “The Wright Center remains committed and true to its mission of improving the health and welfare of our community.”

Future community distribution programs will be scheduled during nonclinical hours in the region as inventory warrants distribution to the public. Separately, due to high demand for primary care services, a limited number of test kits will be distributed during clinical hours only to patients and community partners with appointments at The Wright Center’s eight primary care practices in Lackawanna, Luzerne and Wayne counties. 

For complete and up-to-date information about The Wright Center’s community distributions of at-home COVID-19 test kits, please follow the organization’s social media on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram or go to TheWrightCenter.org, where updates will be posted at the top of the homepage.

The Wright Center is respectfully asking the public to refrain from calling and going to clinical locations during normal business hours to ask about at-home test kits. Call volume and clinician capacity are reserved to address primary health services.