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Robert H. Spitz Foundation grant supports The Wright Center for Patient & Community Engagement programs
Participating in the ceremonial check passing, from left, are Laura Ducceschi, president and CEO, Scranton Area Community Foundation; Mary Marrara, co-chairperson, TWCPCE Board; Holly Przasnyski, TWPCE director; and Cathy Fitzpatrick, grants and scholarship manager, Scranton Area Community Foundation.
The Wright Center for Patient & Community Engagement (PCE) was recently awarded an $8,000 grant from the Robert H. Spitz Foundation to help patients and community members alleviate financial pressures, which can help improve the overall health and well-being of regional communities.
The grant will support a food donation program and transportation assistance to and from doctor appointments. Requests for help have increased sharply over the past few years. In 2021, The Wright Center for Community Health received 201 requests for help with food from community members in Luzerne, Lackawanna, and Wayne counties. In 2022, those appeals rose to 743. Through May 2023, the organization has received 426 requests for food.
The Wright Center received 2,156 requests for transportation help in 2022. Through May 2023, 1,351 community members have asked PCE for assistance.
“Food and transportation insecurities make it hard for the patients to address their medical needs,” said Holly Przasnyski, director, The Wright Center for Patient & Community Engagement. “This grant provides us with the ability to address transportation and food needs for our patients, which allows them the ability to address their medical needs.”
The Robert H. Spitz Foundation awards grants to registered nonprofit organizations that support initiatives and programs serving Lackawanna County and Northeast Pennsylvania. Among the foundation’s five priority areas are programs that break the cycle of poverty, veterans’ affairs and veteran-oriented programs, animal welfare, Jewish culture and cemeteries, and environmental projects. To date, the Robert H. Spitz Foundation has provided over $3.7 million in funding to the community.
For more information about PCE, call 570-343-2383, Ext. 1444 or visit TheWrightCenter.org/patient-and-community-engagement.
