Geisinger welcomes primary care providers to northeast region In September, five new primary care providers began seeing new patients at Geisinger facilities across northeastern Pennsylvania. Geisinger primary care clinics in Dallas, Moosic (Geisinger Montage), Nanticoke and Pittston welcomed the new physicians to expand access to preventive and chronic disease management in the region. The following primary care providers are seeing new patients this fall: Geisinger Dallas: Soniya Koirala M.D. Geisinger Montage: Jordan Wolfheimer, M.D. Kara Romanowski, M.D. Geisinger Nanticoke: Thomas Timmerman, M.D. Geisinger Pittston Shannon Coyne, D.O. The region welcomed eight new primary care providers earlier this year. “Strong primary care is the foundation of a healthy community,” said Roger Scott, chief of the Division of Community Medicine in Geisinger’s northeast region. “By continuing to grow access to primary care services, we’re helping patients build lasting relationships with providers who support their health at every stage of life.” Primary care physicians focus on routine care like physicals, ongoing care for chronic health conditions like diabetes or asthma, and if needed, referrals to nearby specialists. Patients can schedule same-day, evening or weekend in-person or telehealth appointments through MyChart or by calling 800-275-6401. To find more information on all Geisinger’s primary care physicians, visit geisinger.org/primarycare.
Former Chamber President Austin Burke’s paintings on display at Everhart Museum Former Chamber President Austin Burke’s paintings are on display at the Everhart Museum in Scranton through November 1. The museum exhibit features renderings of well-known Scranton and northeastern Pennsylvania landmarks. There will also be a celebration of this first exhibition of the museum’s Local Artists Gallery on October 22. Burke will be present to discuss his work, and light refreshments will be available. This event is included with general museum admission and registration is not required. Burke’s paintings celebrate the richness of life throughout northeastern Pennsylvania, where he has resided his entire life. Burke served as president of The Greater Scranton Chamber of Commerce for 40 years, and returned to his art full-time after retiring. Burke also took further classes at his alma mater Keystone College, where he was awarded an honorary Doctorate in Human Letters.
Geisinger College of Health Sciences to host Neal Barnard for its 13th Preventive Medicine Lecture Geisinger College of Health Sciences will welcome Neal Barnard, MD, FACC, a nationally recognized expert in nutrition and preventive medicine, as the featured speaker for its 13th Preventive Medicine Lecture on Nov. 5 at 5:30 p.m. Barnard, adjunct professor at the George Washington University School of Medicine and president of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine and Barnard Medical Center, will present “Power Foods for Weight Loss and Diabetes.” The lecture will highlight research on how specific food choices can support sustainable weight loss and improve Type 2 diabetes outcomes. Barnard will discuss evidence showing that certain foods can help reduce appetite, limit calorie absorption and increase calorie burning after meals. He will also examine the role of fat accumulation in liver and muscle cells in the development of insulin resistance and Type 2 diabetes.
President/CEO at The Wright Center receives inaugural national award for graduate medical education leadership Dr. Linda Thomas-Hemak, president and CEO of The Wright Centers for Community Health and Graduate Medical Education, received the inaugural 2026 Program Leader of the Year Award from the Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research’s ShepsGME (Graduate Medical Education) Technical Assistance Center, which runs two federal technical assistance centers supporting the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Rural Residency Planning and Development and Teaching Health Center programs. Dr. Thomas-Hemak accepted the award during the 2026 Rural and Health Center National GME Conference, held Aug. 31-Sept. 2, 2026, at Bethesda North Marriott Hotel and Conference Center in Rockville, Maryland. The award recognizes an exemplary leader in graduate medical education who demonstrates exceptional leadership, advances innovation and continuous improvement, and shows an unwavering commitment to developing the physician workforce and expanding training opportunities. Dr. Thomas-Hemak is a quintuple board-certified primary care physician in internal medicine, pediatrics, addiction medicine, obesity medicine, and nutrition. Alongside her executive leadership, she continues to care for generations of patients and families at The Wright Center for Community Health Mid Valley in Jermyn, which is her hometown and the Birthplace of First Aid in America. A proud graduate of Scranton Preparatory School and the University of Scranton, Dr. Thomas-Hemak went on to earn her medical degree as a Michael DeBakey Scholar at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, followed by completing Harvard’s Combined Internal Medicine/Pediatrics Residency Program in Boston. Guided by a profound sense of service to her community roots, she returned to Northeast Pennsylvania to practice primary care. She joined The Wright Center in 2001, became its president in 2007, and assumed the role of CEO in 2012. Dr. Thomas-Hemak has transformed The Wright Center’s approach to graduate medical education while advancing community-based physician training nationally. Under her leadership, The Wright Center for Graduate Medical Education has grown from the Scranton-Temple Residency Program, a single Internal Medicine residency established by Dr. Robert Wright and others in 1976 through a $1 million federal Bureau of Health Manpower grant, into an Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME)-accredited Sponsoring Institution with seven residency and fellowship programs and a foundational partner in one of the nation’s largest Teaching Health Center Graduate Medical Education Safety-Net Consortiums. Today, The Wright Center trains nearly 200 resident and fellow physicians annually, along with more than 200 interprofessional learners, who help deliver comprehensive, affordable, compassionate, whole-person primary and preventive health services to more than 39,000 patients annually across The Wright Center for Community Health’s 15 Teaching Health Centers in Lackawanna, Luzerne, Wayne, and Wyoming counties and through its mobile medical and dental unit, Driving Better Health. Under Dr. Thomas-Hemak’s leadership, The Wright Center for Community Health earned full Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) designation in August 2026, which unlocks significant federal resources for the region and vastly improves access to high-quality, whole-person primary and preventive health services for patients and families. Central to Dr. Thomas-Hemak’s work has been the development of The Wright Center’s Graduate Medical Education Safety-Net Consortium, a proven, scalable, and replicable community-owned and community-governed model that integrates physician and interprofessional healthcare workforce development with the delivery of healthcare services in underserved communities. The model is built on the principle that communities should be empowered to develop and sustain the healthcare workforce they need while strengthening the systems of care in which those professionals train and ultimately serve. “Dr. Thomas-Hemak has spent her career challenging us to think differently about what graduate medical education can and should accomplish,” said Scott E. Schermerhorn, Esq., chair of The Wright Center for Graduate Medical Education Board of Directors. “Her legacy is not simply measured by the programs she has built or the physicians she has trained. It is measured by the capacity she has created in communities to build, sustain, and steward their own healthcare workforce. She has demonstrated that graduate medical education can be more than a system for training physicians. It can be an instrument for strengthening communities, expanding access to care, and changing the trajectory of health for generations.” One of the clearest examples of that approach was The Wright Center’s National Family Medicine Residency, a pioneering multistate residency program launched in 2013 in collaboration with A.T. Still University School of Osteopathic Medicine in Arizona and Federally Qualified Health Centers: El Rio Health in Arizona, HealthPoint in Washington State, HealthSource of Ohio, and Unity Health Care in Washington, D.C. The program connected geographically dispersed community health centers through shared educational standards, resources, and a commitment to training family physicians in underserved communities. The National Family Medicine Residency concluded in June 2026 after producing 167 family physicians, 74% of whom practice in medically underserved communities, and expanding primary care access for more than 392,000 patients nationwide. Its legacy continues through FQHC partners that have developed or are developing their own graduate medical education capacity, demonstrating the scalability and sustainability of community-based physician training. HealthPoint and El Rio Health became independent ACGME-accredited Sponsoring Institutions with their own Family Medicine Residency Programs; HealthSource achieved accreditation for a new Family Medicine Residency under The Wright Center’s Sponsoring Institution; and Unity Health Care continues developing similar capacity. Dr. Thomas-Hemak has also helped advance the Teaching Health Center movement nationally through her leadership, advocacy, federal service, scholarly work, and presentations focused on physician workforce development and the social mission of graduate medical education. She is a founding board member of the American Association of Teaching Health Centers, which represents community-based teaching health centers that train primary care physicians, and serves as governor for the Eastern Region of the Pennsylvania Chapter of the American College of Physicians (PA-ACP), the nation’s largest medical-specialty organization. In March 2026, she was appointed to serve a two-year term on the 18-member Healthcare Advisory Committee, convened by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, to help guide national health policy and program innovation to strengthen care delivery and financing, improve quality, reduce administrative burden, and focus healthcare on patients. She was also appointed in 2026 to serve on the Pennsylvania Association of Community Health Centers (PACHC) Board of Directors. She serves on numerous local, regional, and national healthcare and medical education nonprofit governing boards, cross-sector committees, and workgroups, including the federally funded Partnership for Quality Measurement’s Endorsement & Maintenance Committee Advisory Group on Cost and Efficiency, which brings together healthcare experts to evaluate and endorse performance measures. She is a founding member of the consortium that established the Scranton-based Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine, the immediate past chair and executive committee member of the Northeast Pennsylvania Area Health Education Center (NEPA AHEC), co-chair of the Community Health Hub, and an advisory board member of The Institute. She and her husband, Mark, have three children, Mason, Maya, and Antoinette. She is the daughter of the late William and Johanna Cavalieri Thomas. For more information about The Wright Centers for Community Health and Graduate Medical Education, visit TheWrightCenter.org or call 570-230-0019.
SWB to Announce New Team Name at PNC Field Fall Festival on November 7 Join the celebration on Saturday, November 7, at PNC Field as Scranton/Wilkes-Barre announces its new identity! The Adventure Begins Fall Festival will begin at 1 P.M., and the team will unveil its new moniker at approximately 5 P.M. “We are excited to host The Adventure Begins Fall Festival, brought to you by the Pennsylvania Army National Guard, as we introduce the new brand,” said Shawn Reilly, Team President & General Manager. “The day will be filled with fun for the whole family, food, and so much more. We know the whole area wants to know that new name, and this is the day we make the big reveal to tell the world!” The Adventure Begins Fall Festival will feature food trucks, craft & domestic brews, live music, a petting zoo, activities for kids, and guest appearances. Admission is free, and all ages are welcome! At 5 P.M., Scranton/Wilkes-Barre will take its baseball team down its new path as the brand is announced. After the name, uniforms, and more are unveiled, a drone show will light the sky above PNC Field. “Coming off an amazing 2026 season,” Reilly continued, “we are ready to take the future to another level. Wesaw an incredible team filled with Yankees’ top prospects and top MLB rehabs, tremendous events and momentsthroughout the year like Banana Ball and Cosmic Baseball, plus key ballpark and entertainment upgrades. TheAdventure Begins Fall Festival is an opportunity to come celebrate the region in all its glory and be a part of ourhistory as it happens.” More details regarding The Adventure Begins Fall Festival, presented by the Pennsylvania Army NationalGuard will be announced in the weeks leading up to November 7. Learn more about the rebrand or purchase 2027 season tickets at swbrailriders.com.
Community members invited to annual Red Kettle Campaign Kick-Off Breakfast Chamber members and community leaders are invited to kick off the holiday season at The Salvation Army Scranton Citadel Corps’ 3rd Annual Red Kettle Campaign Kick-Off Breakfast on Thursday, November 12 at 8:30 a.m. The theme of this year’s campaign is “Give with JOY.” The kickoff event is meant to celebrate the start of the holiday giving season. The Red Kettle Campaign helps provide food, shelter, utility assistance, holiday meals, Christmas gifts and year-round support to individuals and families throughout our community.
John Cleese Coming to the Scranton Cultural Center on April 10 Comedy legend John Cleese, is coming to the Scranton Cultural Center at the Masonic Temple on April 10 for “John Cleese: Still Not Dead (Yet) – Celebrating ‘The Holy Grail’ at 50.” The event will begin at 7 p.m., with doors opening at 6 p.m. and the theater opening at 6:30 p.m. The evening will feature a theatrical screening of the immortal classic Monty Python and the Holy Grail, followed by a live question-and-answer session with Cleese. Tickets start at $65.20, including fees, with a limited number of post-show VIP packages also available for purchase. Tickets go on sale October 9 at 10 a.m. and can be purchased in person at the Fidelity Bank Box Office, by calling 570-344-1111, or through Ticketmaster.
Electric City Studios offering Christmas mini sessions Electric City Studios is offering mini photography sessions during the month of November as we head into the holiday season. The photography sessions will take place from November 1-13 and November 22-30. Weekday shoots will be from 5:00-8:00 p.m. while weekend shoots ar from 12:00-6:00 p.m. There are three ways to book a 15-minute photo slot for the company’s Christmas-themed set up: Electric City Studios take the photos: $150, and includes 5-10 edited images Photographers bring their clients to the set/clients bring their own photographer: $40 Clients bring their own phone/camera: $50 You can book a spot on Electric City Studios’ booking calendar by clicking here.
Coffee Inclusive opens new Scranton location Coffee Inclusive, a nonprofit coffee shop and bakery operated by PA Inclusive, has officially opened its second location at 526 Cedar Avenue in Scranton. Building on the success of its Pittston location, Coffee Inclusive creates meaningful employment and training opportunities for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, including people with Down syndrome and autism. Coffee Inclusive’s Scranton location serves specialty coffee, breakfast, lunch, fresh-baked goods and Inclusive Grounds coffee. Staff members invite the community to stop in, meet the team, and experience its mission of inclusion in action.
Wright Center vice president of primary care and public health policy recognized as healthcare trailblazer in City & State PA list Laura Spadaro, vice president of primary care and public health policy for The Wright Centers for Community Health and Graduate Medical Education, has been named as one of Pennsylvania’s Trailblazers in Healthcare by City & State Pennsylvania, a multimedia news organization dedicated to covering the state’s politics and policy. The list recognizes public officials, hospital and healthcare executives, nonprofit leaders, union leaders, academics and others making a difference by framing, influencing and changing the healthcare industry. At The Wright Center, Spadaro leads federal and state regulatory strategy, health policy and government relations initiatives that expand access to high-quality primary and preventive health services and strengthen the healthcare safety net. Since 2021, she has directed more than 110 responses to proposed regulations and requests for information, helping shape Medicare, Medicaid and public health policy while amplifying the voices of patients and frontline clinicians. Through collaboration with national partners and policymakers, she contributed to advocacy efforts supporting multi-year reauthorization and increased federal investment in the Teaching Health Center Graduate Medical Education program, growing annual funding from approximately $175 million to $225 million. Previously, Spadaro served as executive advisor to the Pennsylvania secretary of health, focusing on strategic initiatives and cross-agency priorities. “Laura’s deep understanding of health policy combined with her ability to build meaningful relationships with policymakers and partners makes her an invaluable advocate for our patients, clinicians, and communities,” said Jennifer Walsh, Esq., senior vice president of enterprise integrity, chief legal and governance officer at The Wright Centers for Community Health and Graduate Medical Education. “She brings a thoughtful, informed and persistent voice to some of the most important healthcare policy discussions facing our nation, always keeping in focus the real-world impact on access to care and the people we are privileged to serve. This recognition is a well-deserved acknowledgment of Laura’s leadership and the difference she continues to make.” The Wright Center is celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2026. Founded in 1976, The Wright Centers for Community Health, Graduate Medical Education and Patient & Community Engagement are a physician-led, community-owned nonprofit and a cornerstone of healthcare in the region. The enterprise employs nearly 680 professionals, including nearly 200 resident and fellow physicians, and trains more than 200 interprofessional healthcare learners each year. In fiscal year 2025-26, The Wright Center served more than 39,000 unique patients across all care settings in Lackawanna, Luzerne, Wayne and Wyoming counties. As a nonprofit Federally Qualified Health Center and safety-net provider, The Wright Center serves all patients, from pediatrics to geriatrics. Learn more at TheWrightCenter.org or call 570-230-0019.
