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Mid Valley Practice expands, modernizes to better serve patients and shorten wait times
Joshua Braddell, DNP, CRNP, FNC-C, far left, medical director at The Wright Center for Community Health Mid Valley Practice, and Laura Sweeney, a certified medical assistant II ,enter an exam room in the newly-renovated wing at the primary care clinic.
The Wright Center adds exam rooms and behavioral and mental health wing
To better serve patients, The Wright Center for Community Health Mid Valley Practice, 5 S. Washington Ave., Jermyn, updated the footprint of the existing primary care clinic, adding five new clinical examination rooms and a dedicated wing for behavioral and mental health services.
The growing demand for services at the Mid Valley Practice, which opened in 2012, and the changing needs for clinical space prompted the renovations, according to Marianne Linko, LPN, practice manager. Work began in March and was completed without major interruptions to the integrated physical, behavioral, and mental health, dental, and other services the clinic provides 365 days a year.
“It was a feat,” said Dr. Jignesh Sheth, M.D., FACP, MPH, chief medical officer for The Wright Center for Community Health. “This is our busiest clinic, and we finished all construction without shutting down or affecting patient care or the quality of care they receive.”
The Wright Center for Community Health Mid Valley Practice in Jermyn added a new behavioral and mental health wing that is designed to evoke a peaceful atmosphere.
Renovations include new tile flooring in patient rooms and hallways in the wings of clinics A, B, C, and D. The tile replaced carpeting that was difficult to clean and maintain. Crews installed new carpeting in each provider room and refreshed the paint throughout the clinic, resulting in a clean, modern new look.
“It looks nice and neat,” said Jenna Dunn, a certified clinical medical assistant at The Mid Valley Practice. “Every single patient has commented on how much nicer it looks.”
Between 50 and 75 employees work at the clinic daily, seeing about 175 patients per day. In 2022, staff at the Mid Valley Practice handled about 26,000 patient visits, according to clinic data. In 2021, as the COVID-19 pandemic raged, the practice had more than 36,00 patient visits.
Since the section of the clinic that was used to treat patients with diagnosed or suspected COVID-19 was no longer needed, work began in early 2023 to repurpose the area into the clinic’s new behavioral and mental health wing. Crews worked for months on renovations to create a new, cohesive space for patients and staff.
“You want there to be a flow,” Linko said, explaining that patients with behavioral and mental health appointments can now bypass the main lobby and go directly to the new wing to check in and wait. “Now we have more space to offer those services.”
Dr. Sheth says the new space was designed to evoke a peaceful atmosphere. Instead of examination tables and sterile surroundings, the new rooms feature comfortable furniture and muted lighting to better facilitate the kind of care that happens at the Mid Valley Practice.
Renovations to The Wright Center for Community Health Mid Valley Practice include the creation of a new behavioral and mental health wing. Patients can bypass the main check-in desk and lobby and proceed directly to the new wing.
In addition to the four new examination rooms, the new wing features a large space where resident physicians can work and collaborate.
Once the behavioral and mental health space was completed, renovations created the five new clinical examination rooms to offer more room availability and lessen wait times. The clinic offers checkups, physicals, and screenings, treatment of common illnesses and injuries, as well as dental, behavioral health, and addiction and recovery services, including medication-assisted treatment.
The Wright Center for Community Health Mid Valley Practice is a full-service, family-friendly primary and pediatric care office in Jermyn. It is one of 10 primary and preventive care practices operated by The Wright Center for Community Health in Lackawanna, Luzerne, and Wayne counties in Northeast Pennsylvania. For more information or to schedule an appointment, visit TheWrightCenter.org or call 570.230.0019.