The Wright Center for Community Health earns federal recognition for health quality measures The U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) recognized The Wright Center for Community Health for quality and access improvements that enhance patient care. HRSA annually reviews the performance data of health centers across the United States to highlight organizations that meet or exceed its goals in categories of special focus, including quality, access, and health information technology, using data from the Uniform Data System (UDS). During National Health Center Week, HRSA awarded Community Health Quality Recognition (CHQR) badges for excellence in clinical quality to more than 1,200 health centers across the country. HRSA first awarded CHQR badges in 2021. Since then, The Wright Center has earned more than a dozen badges. For 2026, HRSA awarded The Wright Center with the following badges: Improving Health Care Access, which recognizes health centers that have increased the total number of patients and the number of patients receiving comprehensive services – including mental health, substance use disorder, dental, and other services – by at least 5% between calendar year 2024 and 2025, the two most recent UDS reporting periods. National Quality Leader – Heart Health, which recognizes health centers that demonstrate outstanding performance in clinical quality measures related to heart health, including screening patients for tobacco use and offering help to quit, preventing heart disease, using the proper medications to improve heart health, and helping patients control high blood pressure. Advancing Health Information Technology, which recognizes health centers that use technology to improve healthcare and make it easier for patients to access care. This includes increasing access to telehealth, helping patients stay involved in their care, sharing information between health systems, and collecting data to better meet patients’ health needs. In January, HRSA awarded The Wright Center for Community Health a 2024 Operational Site Visit Badge, after a virtual Operational Site Visit that determined The Wright Center demonstrated full compliance with all Health Center Program requirements. The Wright Center has also maintained HRSA’s annual Patient Centered Medical Home (PCMH) badge since 2022, which recognizes health centers that prioritize a commitment to continuous quality improvement and a patient-centered approach to care. HRSA-funded health centers, which include The Wright Center, provide comprehensive, whole-person primary and preventive health services at more than 16,000 service sites nationwide to one in eight children, one in five rural residents, and one in 15 adults 65 and older. Information about badge recipients can be found on an online dashboard at hrsa.gov. 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 is a physician-led, community-owned nonprofit and a cornerstone of health care in the region. The enterprise employs nearly 680 professionals – including nearly 200 resident and fellow physicians – and trains more than 200 interprofessional health care 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 Look-Alike and safety-net provider, The Wright Center serves all patients, regardless of insurance status, ZIP code, or ability to pay. No patient is turned away due to an inability to pay.
Geisinger Community Medical Center begins neonatal intensive care unit renovation Geisinger Community Medical Center in Scranton is renovating its neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) to provide care for newborns. The $7.7 million project began in late May 2026. The hospital will add a Level II neonatal intensive care unit to its third floor. It’s expected to open in the last quarter of 2026. This unit will be capable of helping babies as young as 32 weeks of gestation and as small as about 3.3 pounds. “Our Level II NICU at Geisinger Community Medical Center will allow us to care for more babies and their families right here in the greater Scranton area and northeastern Pennsylvania community by enhancing our capability to care for premature and sick newborns,” said Ben Lee, M.D., director of the Division of Neonatology in Geisinger’s northeast region. “Whether your baby is born in good health or in need of intensive care, our network of NICUs in NEPA and in the Geisinger system will be with you to provide the care your baby needs.” The NICU will also have space for care teams and a lounge for families and visitors.
Geisinger Medical Centers Nationally Recognized for Quality Heart Attack Care Geisinger Community Medical Center in Scranton, Geisinger Medical Center in Danville and Geisinger Wyoming Valley Medical Center in Wilkes-Barre have received the American Heart Association’s Mission: Lifeline® STEMI Receiving Center Gold Plus recognition. The three Joint Commission/American Heart Association Comprehensive Heart Attack Centers and Mission: Lifeline Receiving Centers were recognized for delivering rapid, evidence-based care to people having the type of heart attack known as ST elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), which is known to be more severe and dangerous than other types of heart attacks. All three medical centers are perennial recipients of Mission: Lifeline honors, but this is Geisinger Community Medical Center’s first year achieving Gold Plus recognition. Each year, about 285,000 people in the U.S. experience a STEMI,caused by a complete blockage in a coronary artery. Like all heart attacks, this requires timely treatment to restore blood flow as quickly as possible. “When one of our patients is having a heart attack, it’s important that we move quickly, move together, and deliver treatment that gives them the best chance at survival and recovery,” said Cinde Bower-Stout, manager of cardiovascular quality at Geisinger. Mission: Lifeline is a national, community-based initiative improving systems of care for patients with STEMI, non-ST elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI), stroke and out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. Recognition as a Mission: Lifeline Receiving Center is designed to showcase hospitals that provide 24/7 support for STEMI. Accredited facilities coordinate with a network of referring hospitals and emergency medical services to provide guideline-directed STEMI and NSTEMI care. “We are dedicated to always improving coordination among our teams and always delivering the latest, evidence-based care to heart attack patients,” said Vishal Mehra, M.D., Ph.D., director of cardiovascular quality at Geisinger. “The Mission: Lifeline initiative helps us achieve our goals by offering guidelines to follow on a daily basis as we focus on making better health easier for our patients.”
