‘Everyone there knows us:’ Scranton family finds medical home in school-based community health center

Chelsea Hafner, a certified registered nurse practitioner with a doctor of nursing practice degree at The Wright Center for Community Health’s School-Based Health Center, located inside West Scranton Intermediate School, examines Robert Crist, 12, during the school day. While Robert is a West Scranton Intermediate School student, anyone can receive treatment at the clinic, even if they are not affiliated with Scranton School District.
For weeks, Hailey Pinto didn’t feel like herself.
“I was tired all the time, and my throat hurt,” she said. “I kept going to the school nurse, and they would check me for a fever, and when I didn’t have one, they would send me back to class.”
Her mother, Dawn Crist, noticed that Hailey, an eighth grader at West Scranton Intermediate School at the time, seemed unusually listless and sluggish. Concerned, she took her daughter to a pediatrician, but the symptoms lingered. In September 2017, when The Wright Center for Community Health opened a health center inside West Scranton Intermediate, a provider there noticed Pinto appeared unwell. After a quick call to Crist for consent, the health center’s staff conducted some tests on Pinto.
“I remember they called the next day and said I had mono,” said Pinto, now 20. “I remember crying because that meant I couldn’t play in my upcoming basketball game.”
Impressed at the level of care her daughter received, Crist decided to schedule checkups for herself and her son, Robert, who was then 7. The family has been patients at the clinic ever since.
The family is one of thousands of success stories at The Wright Center for Community Health’s School-Based Health Center, which offers primary and preventive care services to students, faculty, staff, and community members. The Wright Center is exploring similar partnerships with school districts throughout Northeast Pennsylvania to improve access to affordable, high-quality, nondiscriminatory whole-person primary health services.
Led by Chelsea Hafner, a certified registered nurse practitioner with a doctor of nursing practice degree, the health center at West Scranton Intermediate School has seen nearly 6,300 unique patients since opening seven years ago, more than half of whom are covered by Medicaid or Medicare.
“There’s a lack of pediatric health care resources in our region,” Hafner said. “Our school-based health center is filling a deep need for school-age children. We can help them avoid hospital visits for illnesses, and we can address health issues before they turn into chronic diseases.”
It’s also filling a need for local families. Before Crist started visiting providers at West Scranton Intermediate School, she didn’t have regular appointments with a primary care doctor.

Chelsea Hafner, a certified registered nurse practitioner with a doctor of nursing practice degree at The Wright Center for Community Health’s School-Based Health Center, located inside West Scranton Intermediate School, talks with Dawn Crist at a recent appointment. Hafner said she strives to treat all patients as she would want her family to be treated and especially enjoys treating families.
“There was just no time between working and raising the kids,” she said. “I liked the convenience of the whole family going to the same place, just down the street from where we live.”
Offering a medical home for the entire family is one of the main goals of school-based health programs, Hafner said.
“Building relationships with the whole family enhances the care we provide,” she said, adding that she and her team offer a wide range of resources through The Wright Center, including behavioral health, dental services, and more, tailored to meet each family’s needs.
Eight years later, Crist and her children still receive care at the school-based health center because the staff feels like family.
“From the time we walk in until the time the appointment is over, everyone there knows us and our medical history,” Crist said. “They don’t bombard us with information, but they’ll remember something I’ve said and, at the next appointment, they’ll follow up and offer solutions.”
For instance, when it became clear that Robert, now 13 and attending West Scranton Intermediate School, needed additional services, Hafner suggested he seek treatment at the same school-based location. Now, his Wright Center clinician sees him regularly during the school day and informs Crist after each appointment.
“It’s all worked out, and I don’t have to worry about picking him up and taking him to another location,” Crist said. “It’s convenient for him and me.”

Chelsea Hafner, at left, a certified registered nurse practitioner with a doctor of nursing practice degree at The Wright Center for Community Health’s School-Based Health Center, with Dawn Crist and her son, Robert, outside the clinic. The family has received whole-person primary care services at the clinic inside the West Scranton Intermediate School for several years.