The Wright Center for Community Health launches ‘Neo,’ an online smart bot to assist patients with direct scheduling, medication refills and more

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Scranton, Pa. (Oct. 19, 2021) – The Wright Center for Community Health recently launched “Neo,” a secure patient-friendly smart bot on its website to help new and existing patients directly schedule appointments, refill prescriptions, learn about available COVID-19 services and more.

By clicking on the easily identifiable icon, located at the bottom right-hand corner of the website (TheWrightCenter.org), consumers can start a convenient chat session with a live agent. “Neo” can find the nearest primary care location, help schedule an appointment, refill prescriptions, share the latest COVID-19 information, address billing questions and more.

“Neo” begins the online interaction with the user by asking for a first name. It then offers a suite of options. The consumer can select, for example, assistance with making an office appointment with their primary care provider for themselves or a family member.

“The Wright Center for Community Health strives to be on the cutting edge of technology when it comes to providing and delivering the best health care and information possible in Northeast Pennsylvania,” said Jignesh Y. Sheth, M.D., chief medical officer and senior vice president at The Wright Center. “The new technology is all about making it more convenient for patients to take care of their health needs while empowering them to schedule appointments directly online without having to go through a call center.”

Users of the technology can also navigate the system to address their COVID-19 needs. The smart bot allows them to go through a menu of options that will help them effortlessly address vaccination, testing or monoclonal antibody infusion therapy appointments or ask general questions about the pandemic.

In addition, “Neo” has learning capabilities that will streamline and personalize future interactions with the smart technology. HIPAA compliant, the friendly chatbot is safe and secure when it comes to protecting patient privacy. The bot also will be phased into Facebook Messenger and eventually allow for direct SMS texting capabilities.

The Wright Center for Community Health’s Driving Better Health bringing flu, COVID-19 vaccinations to South Side Farmers Market

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Scranton, Pa. (Oct. 13, 2021) – The Wright Center for Community Health is partnering with United Neighborhood Centers of Northeastern Pennsylvania to provide onsite flu and Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccinations, including third doses of Pfizer, on Saturday, Oct. 23 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the South Side Farmers Market, 601 Cedar Ave., Scranton.

The regional health care provider will utilize its 34-foot mobile medical clinic, Driving Better Health, to provide services in conjunction with its community partners. The 500-block of Cedar Avenue will be closed to vehicular traffic to ensure safe, easy access to the mobile clinic and free information about health care services available at The Wright Center for Community Health.

The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for ages 16 and older. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends Pfizer third-dose boosters be given six months after the second dose in these categories: Older adults (ages 65 and above) and those living in long-term care facilities; adults ages 50-64 at high risk of severe COVID-19 due to underlying medical conditions; adults ages 18-49 with underlying medical conditions should consider a booster, and adults 18-64 who work in health care and institutional settings, such as teachers, health care workers, daycare staff, grocery works and people in shelters or prisons.

The CDC also recommended that people with compromised immune systems who had previously received two doses of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine get a third shot of the same type to boost their protection from COVID-19. The third shot should be administered at least 28 days after the second dose.

People interested in receiving a vaccine are encouraged to pre-register online at TheWrightCenter.org or by calling 570-343-2382. Walk-up appointments also are welcome throughout the day. People seeking vaccination services are asked to bring a photo ID and insurance cards. For those who are uninsured, The Wright Center will never deny health care services based on a patient’s inability to pay. 

“The Wright Center for Community Health works collaboratively with community agencies to make outreach to underserved communities in Northeast Pennsylvania,” said Robin Rosencrans, practice manager for Driving Better Health. “Our mobile clinic makes vaccinations more accessible for people who otherwise might not have necessary transportation for appointments with their primary care providers.”

Driving Better Health features two fully equipped examination operatories and a medical staff aboard the mobile medical unit. It is a way to bring health care to the region’s most vulnerable, underserved populations. It is staffed by a multidisciplinary, bilingual primary care team of clinicians who will deliver primary health care to those most in need.

GME’s National Family Medicine Residency Program Offers ‘Innovations in Community Care’

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A Virtual Series that Addresses Innovative Health Care for Underserved Populations

Scranton, Pa. (Oct. 8, 2021) – The Wright Center for Graduate Medical Education is offering the nine-week video series, “Innovations in Community Care: A Virtual Series,” on The Wright Center for Community Health’s YouTube channel. 

The informative series includes brief talks about topics in community medicine and how faculty and residents in a family medicine residency program provide innovative, high-quality care to underserved populations in communities they serve. The series’ playlist can be found here.

The series was produced under the guidance of Lawrence LeBeau, D.O., national family medicine residency program director at The Wright Center for Graduate Medical Education. The presentation and discussion series was organized by faculty in The Wright Center for Graduate Medical Education’s National Family Medicine Residency Program’s affiliated community health center partners: El Rio Health, Tucson, Arizona; Unity Health Care, Washington, D.C.; HealthSource of Ohio, Hillsboro, Ohio, and HealthPoint, Auburn, Washington.

The topics include: 

  • “Value of POCUS in Low-Resource Settings,” with Andrew Will Dixon, M.D., and James Huang, M.D.;
  • “Innovative Approaches to Refugee Health Care in the FQHC Setting,” presented by Dr. Shoshana Aleinikoff, M.D.;
  • “FQHC-Hospital Partnership,” with Tara Simpson, M.D.; 
  • “Lifestyle Management through Group Visits,” presented by Darlene Lawrence, M.D.: 
  • “Asylum Evaluations,” with Andrew Will Dixon, M.D., and Catherine Njiru-Sewer, D.O.;
  • “Low Barrier Care Model for People with Substance Use Disorders,” presented by Nathan Kittle, M.D., and Cara Dalbey, Psy.D.;
  • “Medicine for the Incarcerated,” with Eleni O’Donovan, M.D., and Khalid Ebrahim, M.D.;
  • “Medicine for the Unhoused,” presented by Andrew Will Dixon, M.D., and Anam Whyne, D.O.;
  • “Osteopathic Practice in the FQHC Setting,” with Gayatri Menon, D.O.

The Wright Center Receives Grant to Support Mothers Enrolled in Healthy MOMS Program

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Scranton, Pa. (Oct. 8, 2021) – The Wright Center for Community Health was recently awarded nearly $600,000 in federal grant funding to combat the ongoing opioid crisis by supplying addiction treatment and related services to pregnant women and new mothers who cope with substance use disorder.

The grant will support women living in recovery in Northeast Pennsylvania who are active in the region’s Healthy Maternal Opiate Medical Support program (Healthy MOMS), which The Wright Center for Community Health co-founded with its community partners nearly three years ago.

More than 115 mothers and their children are currently helped by the collaborative Healthy MOMS program, which relies on dozens of health care organizations, government agencies and nonprofit groups to extend services across a multicounty territory.

Maria Kolcharno, director of Addiction Services at The Wright Center for Community Health

The Pennsylvania Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs will administer the grant funding that was made available to states by the federal government, specifically through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). It is intended “to improve outcomes for individuals in recovery from substance use disorder,” according to Gov. Tom Wolf’s office.

The Wright Center is one of 12 organizations in Pennsylvania to receive funding during the grant distribution process to expand access to pregnancy support services. Those services include postpartum health care, mental health care, nutrition education, employment readiness, childcare, life skills training and linkages to appropriate treatment programs, including medication-assisted treatment. One aim of the grant-funded project will be to extend supportive services to more women in southern Luzerne and Schuylkill counties.

“We’re extremely grateful to be the recipient of funding that will enable us to help additional mothers and their families across our region,” said Maria Kolcharno, director of Addiction Services at The Wright Center for Community Health. “These moms essentially face a triple challenge today: caring for babies, maintaining sobriety and emotionally pushing through the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s a lot to ask of anyone, especially women who because of their past substance use might be alienated from a support network of family and friends.”

Among public health officials, pregnant women who use substances are deemed a priority population to receive recovery services, because both they and their unborn babies are especially vulnerable. The COVID-19 pandemic seemingly has made the situation even more fragile for certain people living in recovery and triggered a spike in substance misuse, as reflected in increased rates of relapse and drug overdose. Pennsylvania, for example, experienced a 14-percent increase in drug overdose deaths in 2020 compared to the prior year, according to preliminary data released this summer by the state Department of Health.

The latest grants are part of $55 million in federal funding awarded to Pennsylvania through the SAMHSA Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment Block Grant Program COVID-19 Supplemental Awards.

Announced in early October, the $598,644 award made to The Wright Center will allow the Healthy MOMS program to further serve women and their children in Lackawanna, Luzerne, Monroe, Pike, Schuylkill, Susquehanna, Wayne and Wyoming counties.A collaborative venture from the start, the Healthy MOMS program would not be an effective project without the substantial and sustained contributions of its dozens of community partners. Information about the project and its partners is available at this website: healthymoms.org. Learn more about the Healthy MOMS program by calling 570-995-7821 or texting healthymoms to 555888.

The Wright Center for Community Health at Carbondale Farmers Market to Share Seasonal Fun and Information About Health Care Services

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Scranton, Pa. (Oct. 7, 2021) – The Wright Center for Community Health will present a series of children’s activities for the fall season and offer important information about the services offered by the regional health care provider on Thursday, Oct. 21 from 2-5:30 p.m. at the Carbondale Farmers Market, 185 Fallbrook St.

The Wright Center for Community Health will set up its information and activities table in the Fallbrook Healthy Aging Center. A pumpkin painting activity will be provided to all children that attend the market. Market shoppers will also receive free merchandise and information about health care services.

“The Carbondale Farmers Market is a perfect opportunity for The Wright Center to engage with community members of all ages and reinforce the health care services we provide at eight regional clinics,” said Allision LaRussa, the director of health humanities at The Wright Center. “We will be creative with our pumpkins and other crafts, while highlighting the important role art can play in our daily lives.”

The Wright Center for Community Health also participated in the grand opening of the farmers market in September. The market is open year-round on Thursdays.

Allision LaRussa, director of health humanities at The Wright Center

The Wright Center for Community Health Welcomes New Certified Registered Nurse Practitioners

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Two certified registered nurse practitioners with experience in general nursing and acute patient care have joined The Wright Center for Community Health to provide primary and preventive care to people of all ages.

Greentown resident Allison Miller, M.S.N., C.R.N.P., F.N.P.-C., joins The Wright Center’s primary care practice in Wayne County at 103 Spruce St., Hawley. She earned her master’s, bachelor’s and associate degrees in nursing from The Pennsylvania State University. Miller is a board-certified registered family nurse practitioner and a member of the Emergency Nurses Association. Prior to joining The Wright Center, she worked as an education liaison for Regional Hospital of Scranton and as an emergency department nurse for Moses Taylor Hospital.

At The Wright Center, Miller will see infant, adolescent, adult and geriatric patients. To schedule an appointment with Miller at the Hawley Practice, please call 570-576-8081.

Dunmore resident Kayla Gatto, M.S.N., C.R.N.P., F.N.P.-B.C., joins The Wright Center’s Mid Valley Practice, 5 S. Washington Ave., Jermyn. She earned her master’s degree in nursing from The University of Scranton and her bachelor’s degree in nursing from Wilkes University. Gatto is a board-certified registered family nurse practitioner. She most recently served as a registered nurse in the medical surgical intensive care unit at Geisinger Wyoming Valley, Wilkes-Barre.

At The Wright Center, Gatto will provide family practice care to patients of all ages. To schedule an appointment with Gatto at the Mid Valley Practice, please call 570-230-0019.