A dentist who completed an internship at The Wright Center for Community Health Mid Valley eight years ago is returning to the community health center to care for patients.

A graduate of the Dunmore School District, Emily Pavlowski was awarded a National Health Service Corps Scholarship while pursuing her Doctor of Dental Medicine degree at the University of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine. While there, she served as a dental ambassador and mentored students through the school’s Women in Dentistry and Healthcare Leadership programs. At graduation, she received the American Academy of Implant Dentistry Award.

To ensure high-quality oral care is affordable for everyone, The Wright Center for Community Health offers a sliding-fee discount program for individuals who qualify based on Federal Poverty Guidelines, which take into account family size and income. No patient is turned away due to an inability to pay.

The Wright Center for Community Health Scranton hosted the new regional representative of the Pennsylvania Association of Community Health Centers (PACHC) during The Wright Way to Wellness: Kids Edition event on Aug. 6.

The event, which attracted hundreds of children and their families, was part of The Wright Center’s celebration of National Health Center Week, an annual observance recognizing the essential role community health centers play in improving access to high-quality, comprehensive, whole-person primary health services.

Participating in the program, from left, are Melissa Germano, director of lifestyle modification and preventive medicine at The Wright Center, who coordinated the wellness fair; Nicole Peterson, regional representative at Pennsylvania Association of Community Health Centers; and Kara Seitzinger, executive director of public affairs and advisor to the president and CEO at The Wright Center

The U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) recognized The Wright Center for Community Health for quality and access improvements that enhance patient care.

HRSA annually reviews the performance data of health centers across the United States to highlight organizations that meet or exceed its goals in categories of special focus, including quality, access, and health information technology, using data from the Uniform Data System (UDS). During National Health Center Week, HRSA awarded Community Health Quality Recognition (CHQR) badges for excellence in clinical quality to more than 1,200 health centers across the country.  HRSA first awarded CHQR badges in 2021. Since then, The Wright Center has earned more than a dozen badges. For 2026, HRSA awarded The Wright Center with the following badges:

• Improving Health Care Access, which recognizes health centers that have increased the total number of patients and the number of patients receiving comprehensive services – including mental health, substance use disorder, dental, and other services – by at least 5% between calendar year 2024 and 2025, the two most recent UDS reporting periods.

• National Quality Leader – Heart Health, which recognizes health centers that demonstrate outstanding performance in clinical quality measures related to heart health, including screening patients for tobacco use and offering help to quit, preventing heart disease, using the proper medications to improve heart health, and helping patients control high blood pressure.

• Advancing Health Information Technology, which recognizes health centers that use technology to improve healthcare and make it easier for patients to access care. This includes increasing access to telehealth, helping patients stay involved in their care, sharing information between health systems, and collecting data to better meet patients’ health needs.

In January, HRSA awarded The Wright Center for Community Health a 2024 Operational Site Visit Badge, after a virtual Operational Site Visit that determined The Wright Center demonstrated full compliance with all Health Center Program requirements. The Wright Center has also maintained HRSA’s annual Patient Centered Medical Home (PCMH) badge since 2022, which recognizes health centers that prioritize a commitment to continuous quality improvement and a patient-centered approach to care.

HRSA-funded health centers, which include The Wright Center, provide comprehensive, whole-person primary and preventive health services at more than 16,000 service sites nationwide to one in eight children, one in five rural residents, and one in 15 adults 65 and older. Information about badge recipients can be found on an online dashboard at hrsa.gov.

For the second year in a row, The Wright Center for Community Health has earned national recognition for its continued commitment to improving diabetes care and prevention.

Quality Insights, a West Virginia-based leader in healthcare quality improvement, recognized The Wright Center for its annual review of diabetes and prediabetes care. The National Diabetes Prevention Program is a nationally recognized, evidence-based lifestyle change program designed to prevent or delay the onset of type 2 diabetes in high-risk patients.

The Wright Center’s consistent focus on this metric underscores its dedication to evidence-based, data-informed care. Quality Insights’ recognition reinforces The Wright Center’s commitment to advancing health access, enhancing chronic disease management, and improving the lives of patients across Northeast Pennsylvania.

In addition, The Wright Center is also working to educate patients about type 2 diabetes, including hosting the National Diabetes Prevention Program at its community health centers in Jermyn and Scranton. The 26-session, evidence-based program helps individuals with prediabetes lower their risk of developing Type 2 diabetes.

“We are grateful to Quality Insights for this recognition and for its ongoing collaboration in our shared mission to improve chronic disease outcomes,” said Melissa Germano-Ryczak, M.S., RD, LDN, a registered dietitian and director of Lifestyle Modification and Preventive Medicine at The Wright Center. “The recognition reflects our ongoing efforts to expand access to high-quality care, strengthen chronic disease management, and empower patients to take charge of their health.”

The Wright Center for Community Health will begin offering whole-person primary and preventive health services inside Friendship House’s new Whole Person Care Center at 30 N. Main Street, Suite 100, Carbondale. To make an appointment, call 570-591-5298.

Building on their longstanding partnership, The Wright Center for Community Health and Friendship House are working together once again to increase access to affordable, high-quality, whole-person primary and preventive health services, particularly for individuals with complex mental health and substance use disorder needs.

On Thursday, Aug. 13, The Wright Center will begin offering whole-person primary and preventive health services at Friendship House’s new Whole Person Care Center at 30 N. Main Street, Suite 100, Carbondale. The new 15,000-square-foot health center will be open Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., providing a range of services, including checkups, physicals, screenings, and treatment for common illnesses and injuries. To make an appointment, call 570-591-5298.

The Wright Center for Community Health Friendship House – Carbondale’s services will be available to individuals of all ages, regardless of their insurance status, ZIP code, or ability to pay. Patients do not need to be clients of Friendship House to receive care at The Wright Center’s newest location.

The Wright Center will celebrate its continued partnership with Friendship House by hosting a grand opening on Wednesday, Aug. 12, from 4-5 p.m. at the Whole Person Care Center. The public event will feature remarks from leaders of The Wright Center and Friendship House, as well as community leaders.

This marks The Wright Center’s second partnership with Friendship House, an organization that serves children, adolescents, and adults with developmental disabilities, emotional or behavioral challenges, and the effects of trauma related to loss, abuse, or neglect. Since November 2024, The Wright Center has provided primary care services at Friendship House’s Whole Person Care Center, located at 200 Wyoming Ave., Suite 250, in Scranton. Since opening, the clinical team has provided care during more than 3,500 patient visits.

“Building on the success of our partnership at Friendship House – Scranton, we are excited to expand our collaboration and bring whole-person primary health services to Carbondale,” said Dr. Jignesh Y. Sheth, senior vice president and enterprise chief operations and strategy officer at The Wright Center for Community Health. “By co-locating primary care with Friendship House’s behavioral health services, we can help ensure individuals and families have greater access to the comprehensive care they need, when and where they need it. This partnership is another important step in our mission to improve the health and welfare of our communities through responsive, whole-person health services for all and the sustainable renewal of an inspired, competent workforce that is privileged to serve.”

Friendship House’s services in Carbondale will include outpatient mental health therapy for children, adolescents, and adults; psychiatric evaluations and medication management; on-site psychiatric rehabilitation programs; and additional behavioral health services.

“Our partnership with The Wright Center reflects our shared commitment to improving access to comprehensive, whole-person care, which includes behavioral and primary care,” said Alex J. Hazzouri, president and CEO of Friendship House. “As we expand services in Carbondale and the surrounding areas, we’re creating greater opportunities for individuals and families to receive the behavioral and primary care services they need, close to home.

“Together, we’re breaking down barriers to care and strengthening the health of the communities we serve.”

The Wright center for Community Health Tunkhannock hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Friday, July 24, at the Wyoming County Healthcare Center for its new dental service line.

The Wright Center for Community Health celebrated the launch of a new dental service line at its community health center in Tunkhannock on Friday, July 24, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the Wyoming County Healthcare Center, 5950 U.S. Route 6, Suite 401.

The event, which was open to the public, featured remarks from leaders at The Wright Center and Wyoming County Healthcare Center, tours of the four new dental operatories, and a meet-and-greet with the Tunkhannock dental team, led by veteran dentist Dr. Frank Pagano.

“We are taking another meaningful step forward as we celebrate the upcoming opening of our new, state-of-the-art dental services center inside our Federally Qualified Health Center Look Alike Center on the fourth floor of the Wyoming County Healthcare Center,” said Dr. Linda Thomas-Hemak, president and CEO of The Wright Center. “Oral healthcare is an essential part of whole-person health and our whole-person care model.

“A healthy smile is more than healthy teeth. It is about dignity and confidence – for the child who can concentrate in school instead of living with oral pain, the parent who no longer has to choose between paying a bill and seeing a dentist, and the older adult who can eat nutritious food, speak comfortably, and enjoy life’s simple pleasures.”

Starting Monday, Aug. 3, The Wright Center for Community Health Tunkhannock will begin offering affordable, high-quality oral care services, including routine exams, cleanings, fluoride treatments, fillings, extractions, restorations, dentures, and other procedures for adults and children. Appointments can be made by calling 570-591-5299.