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The Wright Center achieves Gold Advocacy Center of Excellence
The National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC) again recognized The Wright Center for Community Health as a Gold Advocacy Center of Excellence (ACE).
To earn the national designation, community health centers must demonstrate advocacy at all levels of government to champion investment in the affordable, innovative care that strengthens communities. In 2022, The Wright Center became the first community health center in Pennsylvania to earn the gold standard. NACHC awards three levels of ACEs: bronze, silver, and gold.
NACHC’s ACE designation is valid for two years and recognizes organizations that demonstrate sustained engagement, measurable success, and an ongoing commitment to making advocacy a strategic priority. ACEs actively participate in NACHC initiatives and federal policy forums, collaborate closely with their state primary care associations, and engage in platforms that address critical state and local policy issues affecting community health centers and the patients they serve.
“Achieving Gold Advocacy Center of Excellence status reflects our team’s unwavering commitment to the patients and communities we serve,” said Brian Ebersole, senior vice president of strategic enterprise and ecosystem development at The Wright Centers for Community Health and Graduate Medical Education. “At The Wright Center, we believe high-quality care goes hand in hand with advocacy at the local, state, and national levels to ensure care is accessible and affordable for all. This recognition affirms our role as a leading voice for health, health care, and medical education in Northeast Pennsylvania and beyond.”
To earn ACE status, a community health center must complete a checklist of activities and accomplishments as outlined by NACHC. The Wright Center regularly hosts elected officials at its community health centers, including a recent visit by Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz and U.S. Representative Robert Bresnahan Jr.
Additionally, The Wright Center’s employees develop and write guest editorials that raise awareness and address important public health issues that affect community health centers and patients. An in-house advocacy committee offers training for staff and learners. The executive leadership team participates in important meetings at the local, state, and national levels to advance responsive solutions to health care delivery issues and health outcomes.
In fiscal year 2024-25, The Wright Center served about 38,300 unique patients at its growing network of community health centers in Lackawanna, Luzerne, Wayne, and Wyoming counties, including a mobile medical and dental unit called Driving Better Health. As a nonprofit Federally Qualified Health Center Look-Alike and safety-net provider, it serves everyone, regardless of insurance status, ZIP code, or ability to pay. No patient is turned away due to an inability to pay. The Wright Center accepts all insurance plans and offers a sliding-fee discount program to ensure whole-person primary and preventive health services are affordable for everyone. For more information, visit TheWrightCenter.org or call 570-230-0019.
