Northeast Regional Cancer Institute Receives Grant

The Northeast Regional Cancer Institute received a $1,000 grant from the Luzerne County Bar Association Charitable Foundation at their annual summer outing at Fox Hill Country Club in Exeter.

The event featured an evening of dinner, presentations featuring two student scholarships and honoring Attorney William F. Anzalone. Additionally, grants were presented to several nonprofit organizations in the region including the Northeast Regional Cancer Institute. This $1,000 grant will help to support the Community-Based Cancer Screening Navigation Program. This program helps low income, uninsured, and underinsured individuals who are not up to date with breast, cervical, colon and lung cancer screenings.

Scranton Tomorrow Dedication Ceremony & Meet the Artist Reception

Scranton Tomorrow and Members of the Mural Arts Program Committee cordially invite you to a Dedication Ceremony for the Danseur de Corde (Rope Dancer) Mural by Joel Carson Jones.

Friday, September 3 at Danseur de Corde Mural
328 Penn Avenue

5:15 to 7:30 p.m.
Music by the Marko Marcinko Swing Band

6 to 6:15 p.m.
Dedication Ceremony

6:15 p.m.
Meet and Greet & Poster Signing with Artist Joel Carson Jones

Autographed Posters
Purchase a commemorative edition Danseur de Corde poster. Designed by Tara Tomasetti-Smith, these lovely keepsakes feature the work of Julie Jordan Photography. Be sure to request an autograph from Joel Carson Jones, the artist who brought our Rope Dancer to life!

Video Tours
Guests will also have the opportunity to be among the first to embark on a brief video tour of the project, produced by KP Productions, simply by scanning the QR posted at the mural site with their smartphones.

Masks Encouraged
As an added precaution for the health and safety of our community, and our children, we encourage all guests to wear a mask while enjoying this special event. Thank you in advance for your understanding and cooperation.

Gunn-Mowery, LLC Named Simply the Best Insurance Agency 2021

For the seventh time, the readers of Harrisburg Magazine and the community voted Gunn-Mowery, LLC as “Simply the Best Insurance Agency”. The winners of each category were officially published in the August issue of Harrisburg Magazine.

The entire team at Gunn-Mowery, LLC is honored and thankful for the support from our clients, business partners and community. This award gives us a vote of confidence that we are providing the very best customer service, living our pledge of loyalty every day and staying ahead of the curve with our technical knowledge.

Dr. Karen Arscott Joins the Wright Center

Karen E. Arscott, D.O., a primary care physician and addiction medicine specialist, has joined The Wright Center for Community Health. Providing primary and preventive care as well as addiction and recovery services, Dr. Arscott is accepting new adult patients at The Wright Center’s Mid Valley and Hawley primary care practices.

Dr. Arscott is Board Certified by the American Osteopathic Board of Physicians in Neuromuscular Medicine and is fellowship-trained and board-eligible by the American Society of Addiction Medicine. A founding director of PA Lung and the Northeast/Central Pennsylvania Interprofessional Education Coalition, she is also an Associate Professor of medicine at Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine and serves on Lackawanna County’s Recovery Coalition.

Dr. Arscott is a member of the American Osteopathic Association, the Pennsylvania Medical Society, and the American Academy of Osteopathy. She is a board member and  President-elect for the Lackawanna County Medical Society, and serves on the board of trustees of the Pennsylvania Osteopathic Medical Association.

A Waverly Township resident, Dr. Arscott graduated from the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, where she completed her neuromuscular/osteopathic manipulative medicine residency training. Dr. Arscott also completed an addiction medicine fellowship with Geisinger Marworth Treatment Center. She has been treating patients for more than 25 years in private practice, hospital, clinical and urgent care settings. 

To schedule an appointment with Dr. Arscott, visit TheWrightCenter.org or call 570-230-0019.

The Recovery Bank Recovery Walk

On Sunday, September 12, 2021 at noon the local recovering community will observe National Recovery Month by participating in the Scranton Recovery Walk.

The Walk begins at noon at “The Hall,” 415 N. 8th Avenue, near the new Sheetz in Scranton, and ends with a brief outdoor program at The Recovery Bank, 120 Wyoming Avenue, Scranton. Registration is not required for this free, family-friendly event.

The Recovery Bank and the Clearbrook Foundation in collaboration with members of the recovering community and Geisinger-Marworth, Brookdale and the Lackawanna/Susquehanna Office of Drug and Alcohol Programs will celebrate the power of recovery in our local community.

Scranton Recovery Walk coordinator Frank Bolock announced the theme of this year’s recovery month: Recovery Month is for Everyone, Every Person, Every Family, Every Community.

“The power of recovery is evident in the Scranton community. No one is alone in the journey through recovery; we are all in this together,” Bolock emphasized. “All of us in the Scranton community, our neighbors, friends and family members, throughout our lives have experienced peaks and valleys, both big and small. But with strength, support and hope from the people we love, we are resilient, and recovery in our community is strong and powerful.”

Start: “The Hall” 415 N. Eighth Ave. Scranton, PA 18503
Finish: The Recovery Bank – 120 Wyoming Ave. Scranton, PA 18503

Lackawanna College Grows Medical Assistant Program with $150K Grant

Lackawanna College has received a $150,000 grant from Moses Taylor Foundation to launch a certified clinical medical assistant (CCMA) certificate program at the main campus in Scranton and the Lake Region Center in Hawley. Funds from the grant will be used for the purchase of equipment and supplies for hands-on teaching laboratories and to upgrade lab equipment at the College’s Towanda Center. 

“This grant will provide state-of-the-art equipment to students, giving them the hands-on experience, they need to enter the workforce as skilled medical assistants,” said Christine Martin, Program Director. “Thanks to the generosity of the Moses Taylor Foundation, Lackawanna College can meet Northeastern and Central Pennsylvania’s need for certified medical professionals.”  

Lackawanna College’s program is matching the growing demand for medical assistants which stems from several factors including an aging population, rising chronic disease rates, and advancements in healthcare. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment opportunities in this field are expected to grow 19% by 2029.

The certified clinical medical assistant (CCMA) certificate program at Lackawanna College is one of only a few of its kind available in Northeastern and Central Pa. For more information on the Lackawanna College medical assistant program, visit lackawanna.edu/certificates/.

Light the Night Walk

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Scranton volunteer hosted Light the Night Walk will be held on September 25 at Nay Aug Park. Register now to bring light to the darkness. Scan the QR code below or go to www.lightthenight.org to register.

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Light The Night Walk funds treatments that are saving the lives of patients today. LLS is making cures happen by providing patient support services, advocating for lifesaving treatments and pioneering the most promising cancer research anywhere.

Geisinger, Medacta Partner to Guarantee Outcomes for Knee Hip and Shoulder Replacement Surgeries

Going for a joint replacement surgery is a major decision made by patients and it often goes through various stages of deliberation. Geisinger, one of the nation’s most innovative health systems, Geisinger Health Plan and Medacta, a high-growth, pure play orthopaedics company, announced today that they will offer a two-year guarantee for total hip, knee and shoulder replacement surgeries. The guarantee applies to all patients who are a member of a qualifying Geisinger Health Plan and remain in the care of a Geisinger provider.

Geisinger, through its partnership with Medacta, also offers a lifetime guarantee for total hip, knee and revision knee replacement surgeries for qualifying patients.

Joint replacement surgeries are very common and safe for the treatment of severe osteoarthritis. However, this guarantee provides much-needed peace-of-mind for patients who need surgery to relieve their joint pain. Patients with comorbidities are also included in the guarantee. Comorbidity is a major factor in determining the outcomes of various orthopaedic conditions. Patients with comorbidities have higher revision rates than patients without comorbidities.

“We understand that the decision to have surgery is not made lightly. This guarantee offers patients a sense of security while making that crucial decision,” said Michael Suk, M.D., J.D., chair of the Geisinger Musculoskeletal Institute. “Geisinger is centered around making health easier. We offer world-class joint replacement expertise to our patients and we’re willing to stand behind our surgeries for a lifetime. We are proud of this ground-breaking offering because of the many benefits it brings our patients, both physically and mentally.”

A global leader in orthopaedic medical devices, Medacta provides uncommon resources to train surgeons–including those at Geisinger–in surgical techniques and the use of their specially-designed hip, knee and shoulder implants for minimally-invasive surgeries. Medacta innovative Solutions, among which its patient-matched technologies (MyKnee®, MyShoulder®, MyHip®) to facilitate accurate implant positioning and OR efficiency through advanced 3D pre-operative planning and patient specific instruments, and its Anterior Minimally Invasive Surgery (AMIS®) technique for hip replacements, are designed to enable a healthy and active lifestyle for every patient, reducing postoperative pain and shortening the rehabilitation time.

“The promotion of patient well-being by advancing surgical approaches, implants and instruments through responsible innovation, is a cornerstone of Medacta’s mission,” said Francesco Siccardi, Chief Executive Officer at Medacta International. “This expansion of our successful value-based initiatives with Geisinger, initiated in 2018 launching the hip replacement program with positive responses, demonstrates how Medacta brings our patient focused mission to life.”   

In 2014, Geisinger launched ProvenCare Hip Fracture, Total Hip, Total Knee and Lumbar Spine in yet another chapter of the health system’s transformative care. In 2018, in association with Medacta, Geisinger became the first health system to offer a lifetime guarantee for eligible total hip replacements. In 2019, Geisinger extended the same lifetime guarantee to eligible new knee replacement surgeries.

Patients are encouraged to find out more from their doctors on both the two-year and lifetime guarantees. For more information, please visit www.geisinger.org/ortho.

Keystone Mission Real Talk

REAL TALK was started to educate and bring awareness to the ever-growing pandemic of homelessness in Northeast PA. Keystone Mission is determined to be the “Catalyst for the Community…” and hosting the event REAL TALK where Justin Behrens, CEO & Executive Director, sits outside for 24-hours straight and engages with community members, local business owners, local, state, and federal officials on the topics around homelessness. 

This year, Justin will be stationed at the Public Square in Wilkes-Barre starting at 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 13. Justin will be sharing about our new 15-bed Transformation Center and how Keystone Mission will use its programming to bring about REAL change in the lives of men across NEPA. 

Last year Justin engaged in conversations with local pastors, local officials like Mayor Paige Cognetti (Scranton), former Luzerne County Manage, Dave Pedri, State Representatives, State Senators, local community members, and former guests of Keystone Mission on topics of government programs, the barrier to receive help, Keystone Mission programming, and more. 

WRC Golf Tournament

The Women’s Resource Center is pleased to announce its Annual Golf Outing by teaming up with Industry partners Erie Materials and Simplex Homes to help assist the Women’s Resource Center (www.wrcnepa.org) tournament at Pine Hills Country Club on September 24, 2021.


WNEP Golf Committee: Pictured left to right (Top Row) Tony Spinozza, Simplex Homes; Sherry Porpiglia, Simplex Homes; Ellen Fricchione, Committee Volunteer; Elaine Shepard, Women’s Resource Center (WRC) Board Member; Kurt Aaron, WNEP-TV 16; Peg Ruddy, WRC; Carol Chisdak, WRC Board Member; Dave Boniello, Simplex Homes; Amy Everetts, WRC; and Pat Fricchione. Simplex Homes. Bottom Row: Ranger, WNEP-TV 16.

The honorary chair this year will be Kurt Aaron of WNEP-TV 16 and his dog Ranger. Hit a hole in one and have a chance to win a car from Burne Honda!

WRC provides comprehensive services for victims of domestic violence and sexual assault in Lackawanna and Susquehanna counties. The tournament is sponsored by Seven D Wholesale & Windows.

To sign-up, donate, or have any questions visit www.wrcnepa.org, email peggyg@wrcnepa.org or call (570) 346-4460 ext. 143.

Golf Committee: Pictured left to right: Bob Crandle, Erie Materials; Dave Boniello, Simplex Homes; Peggy Gutowski, Women’s Resource Center (WRC); Elaine Shepard, Women’s Resource Center Board Member, Ellen Fricchione, Committee Member; Pat Fricchione, Simplex Homes; Peg Ruddy, WRC; Dick Frusciante, Seven D Wholesale; Brian Walsh, Matt Burne Honda; Paul Caruso, Simplex Homes, Tony Spinozza, Simplex Homes, and Pat Dietz, People’s Security Bank and Trust.