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The Wright Center for Graduate Medical Education Board of Directors Welcomes Prominent New Members


The Board of Directors of The Wright Center for Graduate Medical Education (TWCGME) conducted its annual meeting at the new integrated clinical, educational and administrative hub at 501 S. Washington Ave. in Scranton on Jan. 31, 2020. During the meeting, new board members were welcomed, officers were elected and the board celebrated its recent momentous expansion to reflect its national presence.

“It is so remarkable that, right here in Scranton, The Wright Center is spearheading nationally significant innovations in primary care physician training that have been deployed across the country with the goal of increasing the number of primary care physicians in underserved areas. The next logical step for our high-performing, nonprofit governance model was to include the important voices of our valued, nationally-spread community health center partners on our Board of Directors to ensure cross-organizational learning and engagement without geographic boundaries,” said Jennifer Walsh, Senior Vice President and General Counsel for TWCGME.     

Of particular note regionally, a pair of prominent area physician leaders and a local expert in healthcare finance joined the board as directors, bringing decades of experience in innovation, technology, health care and education: Patrick D. Conaboy, M.D., Michael J. Paglia, M.D., Ph.D., and Thomas Bisignani.

Dr. Conaboy, an Archbald resident,is the Chief Medical Officer for Commonwealth Health’s Regional Hospital of Scranton and Moses Taylor Hospital. A graduate of Scranton Preparatory School, the University of Scranton and Georgetown University School of Medicine, he served a decade in the U.S. Army before returning to Scranton where he opened a family practice that would become Cognetti and Conaboy Family Practice.

Dr. Paglia, a Shavertown resident, is Associate Designated Institutional Official for Geisinger Health System and a Clinical Associate Professor at Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine. Dually board-certified in obstetrics/gynecology and maternal-fetal medicine, he currently serves on Geisinger’s Systemwide Hospital Lab Formulary Committee and the Board of Directors for the local branch of the March of Dimes.

Mr. Bisignani, an Olyphant resident, is the Market Chief Financial Officer for Commonwealth Health System – the largest network of hospitals in Northeastern Pennsylvania – overseeing Moses Taylor Hospital, Regional Hospital of Scranton, Physician’s Health Alliance, Commonwealth Health Emergency Medical Services and Great Valley Cardiology. He is a graduate of the University of Scranton with a bachelor’s degree in accounting.

The Wright Center for Graduate Medical Education Board also welcomed the following new board directors:

  • Robert Naismith, Ph.D., Chairman of Mentor Insight; Jujuama Inc.; and Jujama Solutions Pvt. Ltd.; Professor of Clinical Sciences at Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine (who was appointed Secretary of this board)
  • Carol W. Rubel, Adjunct Professor of Education at University of Scranton
  • Jumee Barooah, M.D., Designated Institutional Official of The Wright Center for Graduate Medical Education
  • Judy Featherstone, M.D., Chief Health Officer at HealthPoint in Auburn, Washington
  • Vincent Keane, President and Chief Executive Officer of Unity Health Care in Washington, D.C.
  • Kim Patton, President and Chief Executive Officer of HealthSource in Ohio
  • Douglas Spegman, M.D., Chief Clinical Officer of El Rio Health in Arizona
  • Sharon Obadia, D.O., FNAOME, Associate Dean for Clinical Education and Services and an Associate Professor of Internal Medicine at A.T. Still University School of Osteopathic Medicine in Arizona

Led by President Linda Thomas-Hemak, M.D., these recently appointed board members joined valued existing directors: Harold Baillie, Ph.D. (Chair); James Gavin (Vice Chair); John Kearney (Treasurer); Carlon Preate; Gerard Geoffroy; Mary Marrara; Sister Maryalice Jacquinot; and Lia Richards-Palmiter, Ph.D.

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The Wright Center for Graduate Medical Education has trained physicians for more than 40 years and aims to develop primary care doctors who will continue to practice in underserved regions after graduation. The Wright Center for Graduate Medical Education is a non-profit organization recognized by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) as the largest Teaching Health Center Graduate Medical Education Safety-Net Consortium (GME-SNC) in the country. The Teaching Health Center initiative addresses physician workforce shortages (particularly in rural and inner-city areas), mal-distribution and escalating healthcare disparities in the United States.

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