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The Wright Center for Community Health partners with NE PA AHEC to offer free lupus educational session
Nevena Barjaktarovic, M.D., a dually board-certified physician in internal medicine and rheumatology at The Wright Centers for Community Health and Graduate Medical Education, will present a free educational session on lupus for Northeast Pennsylvania primary care and emergency room doctors, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants.
The Northeast Pennsylvania Area Health Education Center (NE PA AHEC) is sponsoring the internal medicine didactic session, which will be held from 8-10 a.m., Wednesday, July 31, in The Wright Center for Community Health – Scranton Auditorium, 501 S. Washington Ave.
Participation is limited and registration is required by Friday, July 19. To register, visit bit.ly/3QRJqTf. Participants may join in person or virtually through Webex video conferencing. The video conferencing link will be provided after registration.
The session is a part of the American College of Rheumatology Rural Health Outreach Project, aimed at improving lupus referral, diagnosis, and treatment in underserved communities. It also will help raise awareness among health care providers of lupus signs and symptoms, what to do if lupus is suspected, and when to consider lupus in the differential diagnosis for individuals at high risk.
About 1.5 million Americans have a form of lupus, 90% of whom are women, with about 16,000 new cases annually, according to the Lupus Foundation of America. Lupus is two to three times more prevalent among Black, Hispanic/Latina, Asian American, Native American, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, and other Pacific Islander women than white women.
The Wright Center’s Nevena Barjaktarovic, M.D., to speak at NE PA Area Health Education Center’s free lupus education session.
Those with lupus can experience significant symptoms, including pain, extreme fatigue, hair loss, cognitive issues, and physical impairments that affect every facet of their lives. Many suffer from cardiovascular disease, strokes, disfiguring rashes, and painful joints. For others, there may be no visible symptoms.
Dr. Barjaktarovic specializes in diagnosing and treating a broad spectrum of rheumatic and inflammatory conditions, such as arthritis, back pain, connective tissue disease, fibromyalgia, gout, joint pain, osteoporosis, psoriasis, and lupus. She also serves as a physician-faculty member at The Wright Center for Graduate Medical Education, where she mentors residents and fellows.
A Clarks Summit resident, Dr. Barjaktarovic joined The Wright Centers in 2020 and earned her medical degree from the Medical School of Belgrade University, Serbia. She completed her residency in internal medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at James J. Peters VA Medical Center, affiliated with Mount Sinai School of Medicine in the Bronx, New York, and her rheumatology fellowship training at Albert Einstein College of Medicine-Montefiore Medical Center, also in the Bronx.
The Wright Center for Community Health operates 10 primary and preventive care practices in Northeast Pennsylvania, including a mobile medical and dental unit called Driving Better Health. Its locations offer whole-person primary health services, meaning 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. For more information about The Wright Center for Community Health’s primary and preventive care services or for the nearest location, visit TheWrightCenter.org or call 570-230-0019.
The Archbald-based Northeast Pennsylvania Area Health Education Center offers a variety of programs, services, and benefits to people exploring and pursuing health careers, including students, educators, health care professionals, and others. Its mission is to provide education, recruitment, and retention programs that build, broaden, diversify, and support the health care workforce in Northeast Pennsylvania, with a goal to improve health care delivery to rural and underserved populations. For more information about its programs and services, visit nepa-ahec.org or call 570-209-9644.
