The Wright Center Names VP of Population Health The Wright Center for Community Health created a new position that will focus on improving patients’ health and well-being by ensuring they have access to integrated, whole-person primary health services, inclusive of medical, dental, and behavioral health services. Kelli Zimmerman, the new vice president of population health and practice transformation, has more than 16 years of experience as a health care professional, focusing on operations management, strategic planning, value-based care, and staff development. She earned a bachelor’s degree in business and health care administration and a master of health leadership degree from Western Governors University in Salt Lake City, Utah. She is also a licensed practical nurse. In the new role, Zimmerman will serve as a key leader for The Wright Center’s population health strategy. As part of The Wright Center’s mission to improve the health and welfare of our communities through inclusive and responsive health services, she will work to implement and monitor a continuity of care structure to ensure patients receive the treatment they need – from annual well-visits and preventive care to chronic care management and integrated, specialized health services. She will also assure and monitor the completion of population health screenings and social determinants of health assessments and, based on findings, ensure patients’ timely access to primary care, behavioral health, dental, addiction and recovery services, and basic needs, including food, clothing, and transportation to and from medical appointments. In addition, Zimmerman will focus on improving physician efficiency and satisfaction and utilize information technology and data analytics to drive The Wright Center’s strategies and tactical plans. Before joining The Wright Center, Zimmerman was the director of operations for primary and urgent care at Evangelical Community Hospital in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. She also served as the regional manager for health and wellness at Geisinger Health System in Danville, Pennsylvania. The Wright Center, headquartered in Scranton, operates 10 health centers in Northeast Pennsylvania, including a mobile medical and dental unit called Driving Better Health. The locations offer affordable, high-quality, nondiscriminatory, whole-person primary health services to people of all ages regardless of their insurance status, ZIP Code, or ability to pay. For more information, visit TheWrightCenter.org or call 570-230-0019.
Wright Center Establishes New Post, Director of Health Humanities The Wright Centers for Community Health and Graduate Medical Education have appointed Allison LaRussa, Scranton, as Director of Health Humanities. In this newly introduced position, LaRussa will promote emotional wellness by engaging the organizations’ physician trainees, employees, patients and community members in artistic activities. For patients and the general public, there will be art therapy initiatives addressing trauma and addiction as well as community art projects to help alleviate social isolation and foster connections. For health professionals, activities also will be designed to support their professional identity development and growth by providing opportunities for shared experiences, awareness, reflection and expression. “As a valued member of our team, Allison will nurture positivity and resiliency within individuals and at the organizational level, which is particularly relevant as we collectively emerge from the pandemic experience,” said Dr. Linda Thomas-Hemak, President and CEO of The Wright Centers for Community Health and Graduate Medical Education. A special focus of LaRussa’s work will be The Wright Center for Graduate Medical Education’s resident physicians and fellows. These trainees, like their counterparts in programs across the country, deal with the dual pressures of delivering top-notch care to patients and simultaneously completing rigorous graduate medical education requirements. “Our art activities at The Wright Center will be designed to decrease a lot of stress and burnout,” said LaRussa. “The projects will allow people to be more mindful, to process more, so that they are better able to handle their work.” A 2010 Marywood University graduate, LaRussa, 34, has long been active in the region’s arts scene, including First Friday Scranton.
