The Wright Center President Named Governor-Elect for the Eastern Region of the PA-ACP

Dr. Linda Thomas-Hemak, president and CEO of The Wright Centers for Community Health and Graduate Medical Education, has been elected governor-elect for the eastern region of the American College of Physicians’ Pennsylvania Chapter (PA-ACP).

Beginning in April, she will serve one year as governor-elect concurrently with Dr. Lawrence H. Jones, governor of the eastern region whose term expires in 2023. Her four-year term as governor begins April 2023.

Founded in 1915, the American College of Physicians is a national organization of internists, who specialize in the diagnosis, treatment and care of adults. It is the nation’s largest medical-specialty organization, with more than 161,000 members, of which more than 7,800 are members of the PA-ACP chapter. The PA-ACP chapter has three regional governors that represent the eastern, western and southeastern regions of the commonwealth.

“I am humbled and proud to represent and advocate on behalf of my physician colleagues we represent, the profession of medicine we embody and the patients, families and communities we serve through the American College of Physicians’ Pennsylvania Chapter,” said Thomas-Hemak, who previously received the prestigious Dr. Ann Preston Women in Medicine and Laureate awards from PA-ACP in 2020 and 2014 respectively. “Our collective mission to improve health care and access has certainly been challenged by the pandemic, but we remain resolute in exceeding the high standards we strive for every day to improve the health and welfare of our local, state and national communities.

“I am grateful for and inspired by the incredible honor and leadership opportunity,” she added.

Overall, the American College of Physicians works to enhance the quality and effectiveness of health care by fostering excellence and professionalism in the practice of medicine and promotes quality patient care, advocacy, education and career fulfillment in internal medicine and its subspecialties.

The 87-member board of governors is an advisory board, featuring representatives from Alabama to Alberta, Bangladesh to Brazil and Ontario to Pennsylvania. Collectively, the elected board members act as an advisory board to the college’s policy-making body, the board of regents. The board of governors implements national projects and initiatives at the chapter level and represents member concerns at the national level.

Born and raised in Northeast Pennsylvania, Thomas-Hemak received her undergraduate degree from The University of Scranton. After graduating as a Michael DeBakey Scholar from Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, and completing Harvard’s Combined Internal Medicine/Pediatrics Residency in Boston, Massachusetts, she returned to the region to practice and teach primary care. She joined The Wright Center in 2000 and became president of The Wright Center for Community Health in 2007. In 2012, she was named president and CEO of both The Wright Centers for Community Health and Graduate Medical Education.

Concurrent with her responsibilities as an executive, Thomas-Hemak is also board certified in internal, pediatrics, addiction, and most recently, obesity medicine. Her favorite professional responsibilities are to teach and provide comprehensive primary health services to multigenerational families served by The Wright Center for Community Health’s Mid Valley Practice in Archbald and Jermyn, her hometown community where she was born, raised and currently resides with her husband and three children.

For more information about The Wright Centers for Community Health and Graduate Medical Education, go to TheWrightCenter.org or call 570-343-2383.

Wright Center’s Associate Director Elected a Fellow of the American College of Physicians

Dr. Mark Madhok, associate program director of the Internal Medicine Residency Program at The Wright Center for Graduate Medical Education, has been elected a fellow of the American College of Physicians (ACP).

ACP fellows are a distinguished group of doctors dedicated to continuing education in medical practice, teaching and research. More than 31,000 physicians have earned this mark of distinction since 1975. It represents the pinnacle of integrity, professionalism and scholarship for those who aspire to pursue careers in internal medicine, according to the college.

“The Wright Center is extremely proud of Dr. Madhok’s accomplishments and dedication to the advancement of his resident physicians and patients in Northeast Pennsylvania,” said Dr. Jumee Barooah, designated institutional official of The Wright Center for Graduate Medical Education. “His contributions to the field of medicine extends to his noted scholarly research and broader community involvement.”

A board-certified internal medicine physician, Madhok also is a primary care and internal medicine physician at the Scranton and Scranton Counseling Center practices. In addition, he is a clinical associate professor of medicine at Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine and an adjunct clinical associate professor of medicine at the School of Osteopathic Medicine in Arizona, A.T. Still University.

“The FACP status that you now hold reflects your commitment and accomplishments within the internal medicine community,” Dr. Saba A. Hasan, chair of the ACP Credentials Committee, wrote to Madhok.

For more information about The Wright Centers for Community Health and Graduate Medical Education, call 570.343.2383 or go to TheWrightCenter.org.