Through our organizational engagement as a Pennsylvania Opiate Misuse Center of Excellence and Coordinating Center for Medication Assisted Therapy, I have personally witnessed her demonstrated, unwavering commitment to being the change needed in the medical profession’s and governmental leadership by reliably doing what is right; making disciplined, evidence-based, and often painful sometimes unpopular decisions; and leading through or without consensus after generating crucial, inclusive, and transparent communication. My shared public health experience with and mentorship by Dr. Levine has inspired both my personal primary care career progression to board certify in and practice addiction medicine and also the focused efforts of The Wright Center for Community Health to become a recovery, whole person care oriented system.  Our collective work in Pennsylvania under the leadership of Dr. Levine notably and proudly reversed the direction of opioid overdose death rates. Countless lives have been saved, thousands of provider care teams have received robust training in addiction medicine, and stigma has begun to be dismantled as a result of her meaningful contributions and leadership. 

Compassion, optimism, and active listening are cornerstones of Dr. Levine’s leadership style. She began her tenure with the Pennsylvania Department of Health by traveling the Commonwealth to listen to clinicians, community health workers, patients and families about their experiences with substance use disorders and opioid overdoses. These proximal-to-the-problem experiences brilliantly informed her three-pronged, comprehensive prevention, rescue, and treatment strategy to address the opioid epidemic. This competent approach of a compassionate public health leader has poised Dr. Levine to scale her successful work in Pennsylvania to the complex health outcomes and access issues challenging our nation.

Pennsylvania has been deeply fortunate to have Dr. Levine as a calm, qualified clinician, leader and advocate throughout the past several years. Dr. Levine will be a powerful voice for all people in America. Although Pennsylvania will miss her direct leadership and guidance immensely, our nation will be in excellent hands as we craft the path out of the pandemic and through this new chapter of addressing our ongoing complex health challenges and the long view impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Linda Thomas-Hemak, MD
President & Chief Executive Officer

The Robert H. Spitz Foundation, a registered 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that supports initiatives and programs serving the residents of Northeastern Pennsylvania, is administered by the Scranton Area Community Foundation. Robert H. Spitz was born in Scranton and was a 1955 graduate of Scranton Central High School and the University of Miami. Before retirement, Mr. Spitz had been employed by the U.S. Department of Labor and owned several local restaurants. The Robert H. Spitz Foundation was established from his estate in 2015.

The Wright Center was one of 42 nonprofit organizations in Northeast Pennsylvania selected to receive grants during the Spitz Foundation’s 2020 funding cycle, which collectively distributed $771,000.

Pictured, from left, are staff members from The Wright Center for Community Health: Sydney Rentsch, Community Health Worker; Keri Macknosky, Certified Community Health Worker; Kari Machelli, R.N., Director of Case and Care Management Services; Kayla Kincel, Community Health Worker; and Whitney Cooper, Community Health Worker.

(Editor: Please note only Keri Macknosky’s title should be preceded by the word “certified.”)

This latest innovation in healthcare delivery will increase COVID-19 testing availability for hard-to-reach neighborhoods and those areas most affected by virus outbreaks. With support from over $112,000 in grant funding from the CDC Foundation, we’ll be deploying the mobile unit to the Greater Hazleton area, one of Northeast Pennsylvania’s hardest hit regions during the pandemic, to assist with COVID-19 testing, outreach and education.