Lackawanna County Sheriff’s Department Toy Drive Benefits The Wright Center Lackawanna County Sheriff’s deputies will ensure local children have a great holiday season by hosting a toy drive benefiting The Wright Center for Patient & Community Engagement (PCE). Deputies are asking the public to help fill the department’s transport van with new, unwrapped toys on Dec. 2-4 during the Lackawanna Winter Market on Courthouse Square, 200 N. Washington Ave., Scranton. The outdoor market will feature craft vendors, live music, food, and the lighting of the county’s Christmas tree. The drive benefits PCE, a subsidiary of The Wright Center for Community Health, that focuses on improving the health and well-being of residents across Northeast Pennsylvania. Throughout the year, PCE hosts food giveaways at their clinics and provides transportation vouchers to patients who have trouble getting to and from doctors’ appointments. Additionally, PCE distributes backpacks filled with school supplies and hosts school uniform giveaways and clothing closets for needy residents. Last year, sheriff’s deputies held a food drive for PCE, according to Cpl. Joe George. They collected and donated more than 12 cases of nonperishable food. They hope to build on that success with the upcoming toy drive. The Lackawanna County Sheriff’s Association and Sheriff Mark McAndrew have donated $250 each to purchase toys for the drive. “There are a lot of people in Lackawanna County who need a helping hand, and we want to ensure families – especially their children – have a happy holiday season,” he said. Gerri McAndrew, co-director of PCE, also mentioned the deep need in the community, especially during the holidays. “Last year, we helped 60 families at our clinics with toys and clothes, plus we adopt families through the Salvation Army,” she said, adding that PCE serves about 900 children annually. “This drive will enable us to help more families.” While collecting toys for children might not seem as urgent as some other PCE initiatives, McAndrew thinks about her own kids and how they feel at Christmas. “I don’t want any child’s heart to break on Christmas morning,” she said. “They should get at least one present.” Donations of new, unwrapped toys will be accepted by deputies throughout the county’s Winter Market on Friday, Dec. 1, from 5 to 9 p.m.; Saturday, Dec. 2, from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.; and Sunday, Dec. 3, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Look for sheriff’s deputies and their transport van near the main entrance to the Lackawanna County Courthouse. For more information on how to donate, contact Deputy Morgan Holmes at holmesm@lackawannacounty.org or 570.963-6719 x 4857. For more information, visit TheWrightCenter.org.
The Wright Center Receives Donation from Dunkin Franchisee Group To help area children and families in need, The Wright Center for Patient & Community Engagement (PCE) was recently presented with a $2,500 donation from a regional Dunkin’ franchisee group and a matching gift from the Dunkin’ Joy in Childhood Foundation. The $5,000 contribution will be reinvested in the community through PCE’s activities, such as school backpack giveaways, winter clothing and blanket giveaways, free food distributions, and other special mission-driven projects. The Lufrankton Network, a franchisee group that operates stores in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, chose PCE to receive charitable funding made available during its recent “Renovation Celebration” to highlight the makeover of its Dunkin’ location in Eynon. The foundation generously doubled the gift because its mission – “to provide the simple joys of childhood to kids battling hunger or illness” – is reflected in many of PCE’s initiatives to assist children in Lackawanna, Luzerne, and nearby counties. “We are grateful for this amazing support from Dunkin’,” said PCE Director Holly Przasnyski. “For its ongoing operation, the nonprofit PCE relies on external funding such as donations and fundraising. So, if it wasn’t for the kindness of civic-minded businesses like Dunkin’, we would not be able to conduct our events that help feed, clothe, and otherwise support the under-resourced children and their families in the communities we serve.” PCE is a subsidiary of The Wright Center for Community Health. Employees of the health center volunteer to conduct its activities, which are intended to improve people’s access to health care and empower them to be co-managers of their health and wellness plans. In particular, PCE strives to help Wright Center patients and others in the community overcome food insecurity and other non-medical issues that can affect their ability to focus on achieving and maintaining their maximum wellness. Those issues commonly include transportation barriers, lack of access to educational opportunities, homelessness, and poverty. For more information about The Wright Center and its primary and preventive care services, visit TheWrightCenter.org or call 570-230-0019.
The Wright Center Provides Whole-Person HIV/AIDS Care As she trained for her career as an infectious disease specialist, Dr. Mary Louise Decker, medical director of The Wright Center for Community Health’s Ryan White HIV/AIDS Clinic, worked with people dying of AIDS at the Gift of Peace AIDS Hospice in Washington, D.C. More than 20 years later, half of the patients she treats at the Ryan White Clinic are over 55 and living healthy, everyday lives, thanks to decades of medical advances and the comprehensive care she and her team of dedicated and compassionate healers provide. “The advances in treatment have been remarkable,” she said about the virus, which was once a death sentence. “Now, HIV is a chronic disease, similar to diabetes or hypertension.” Dr. Decker and other staff members reflected on the advances made since the first World AIDS Day was observed on Dec. 1, 1988. Today, more than 70 million people have been infected with HIV, and about 35 million have died from AIDS since the pandemic’s start, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). The Ryan White clinic, based at The Wright Center for Community Health Scranton Practice, 501 S. Washington Ave., treats more than 450 patients aged 18 to 84 from 14 counties across Northeast and Central Pennsylvania annually. It offers comprehensive services for people living with or at risk of acquiring HIV/AIDS, including prevention, testing, and treatment. The Ryan White Clinic offers a whole-person approach to patient care, allowing patients to visit a single site for a full spectrum of health services. In addition to medical care management, staff at the clinic offer behavioral health, dental care, and addiction and recovery services. Ancillary services include housing assistance, medical nutrition therapy, emergency financial assistance, and more. “A patient might come for a general medical visit, but during that time, they will have their immunizations updated and their labs drawn and have the opportunity to talk to their case manager or with a behavioral health counselor. They’ll often meet with our nutritionist and maybe visit our food pantry,” said Dr. Decker. “We refer patients to specialists when appropriate. Many of these patients have not had access to these services before. It’s satisfying to see our patients looking and feeling well and caring for their health.” Dr. Decker said the most significant change in HIV and AIDS treatment since the late 1980s has been the advances in medication. Azidothymidine, commonly called AZT, became available in 1987 to help people with HIV live longer. But it was expensive, and because the virus continued to mutate, it often stopped working. As scientists learned more about the virus, better drugs were developed during the 1990s. It meant, however, that people living with HIV had to take “a handful of pills” every day, according to Dr. Decker. Today, people can take just one pill to lower the amount of HIV in their blood to undetectable levels, ensuring they will not develop AIDS. There’s also an injectable medication available to patients at the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Clinic and medication to reduce the risk of the patients’ partners becoming infected with HIV. Because of the effectiveness of new medications and the staff’s focus on making sure patients can obtain medication and take it as prescribed, most of the clinic’s HIV patients have virtually undetectable viral rates. That ensures the patient will not develop AIDS, allowing them to live long, healthy lives. It also means they cannot pass HIV to anyone else. “The overall goal of the Centers for Disease Control is at least 95% of the people diagnosed with HIV have virtually undetectable viral rates by 2025,” said Melissa Bonnerwith, grants administrator for the Ryan White Clinic. “Our viral load suppression at the Ryan White Clinic sits at 96.31%, so we’re already at the national goal.” Despite the advances, the stigma surrounding HIV and AIDS remains, according to clinic leaders. Sister Ruth Neely, CRNP, a Religious Sister of Mercy, began offering HIV outreach services in 1997, three years before The Wright Center’s Ryan White HIV/AIDS Clinic was formally established. She said many patients she works with still struggle with acceptance from family, friends, and society. “I talked to one of my patients; he’s 80 years old,” she said. “And he said the stigma is still out there. It’s something he’s always dealt with.” Dr. Decker said HIV and AIDS are discussed more freely than in the past. “We’re doing a better job of getting the message out there,” she said. “The more we can normalize getting tested, the less stigma will exist.” WHO IS RYAN WHITE? Ryan White was 13 when he was diagnosed with AIDS after a blood transfusion in December 1984. When the Kokomo, Indiana, teen tried to return to school, he faced AIDS-related discrimination in his community. Along with his mother, Jeanne White Ginder, he rallied for his right to attend school and became the face of public education about the disease. On Aug. 18, 1990, Congress enacted the Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency (CARE) Act — the legislation that created the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program — to improve the quality and availability of HIV care and treatment for low-income people with HIV. Today, the Health Resources and Services Administration’s Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program provides HIV care and treatment services to more than half a million people with HIV. The Wright Center received its federal Ryan White designation in 2003. Since then, the clinic has provided comprehensive HIV primary medical care, essential support services, and medications for those living with HIV, including the uninsured and underserved, throughout 14 counties in Northeast and Central Pennsylvania, including Lackawanna, Luzerne, Wyoming, Wayne, Pike, Monroe, and Susquehanna counties.
The Wright Center Earns Multiple Recognition Badges The Wright Center for Community Health recently received recognition from the federal Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) for quality work last year in three performance categories, including its use of health information technology to better serve patients and their families. The Wright Center also made notable achievements during 2022 in these two categories: providing services to combat the COVID-19 public health emergency and screening patients for social risk factors that can impact their health, such as lack of adequate housing and food insecurity. HRSA annually reviews the performance data of health centers across the United States and then highlights the organizations that meet or exceed its goals in categories of special focus, such as improving health equity, access, and other quality measures. It bestows the top performers with its Community Health Quality Recognition badges. HRSA first awarded badges in 2021, using data from the prior year’s reporting period. Since then, The Wright Center has earned 10 badges. This year, the three badges awarded to The Wright Center are “Advancing Health Information Technology for Quality,” “COVID-19 Public Health Champion,” and “Addressing Social Risk Factors to Health.” HRSA displays information about all of its badge recipients – which include many of the country’s 1,370 Federally Qualified Health Centers and 117 Federally Qualified Health Center Look-Alikes, including The Wright Center – on an online dashboard accessible via its website, hrsa.gov. The Wright Center was among fewer than 12 percent of Look-Alikes nationwide to receive this year’s “Addressing Social Risk Factors to Health,” according to the dashboard. The Wright Center operates 10 primary and preventive care practices in Northeast Pennsylvania, including a mobile medical and dental vehicle called Driving Better Health. Its practices offer integrated whole-person care, meaning patients typically have the convenience of going to a single location to access medical, dental, and behavioral health care, as well as community-based addiction treatment and recovery services. It accepts most major health insurance plans, including Medical Assistance (Medicaid), Medicare, and CHIP. No patient is turned away due to an inability to pay. To learn more about The Wright Center for Community Health’s many services, call 570-230-0019 or visit TheWrightCenter.org.
The Wright Center to Host Alzheimer’s and Dementia Family Support Group Meetings The Wright Center for Community Health announces that its Alzheimer’s and Dementia Family Support Group will resume monthly meetings at its Mid Valley Practice in Jermyn, beginning Monday, Nov. 20. Meetings will be held regularly, from 2-3 p.m. on the third Monday of each month, at the primary care practice, 5 S. Washington Ave., Jermyn. The professionally-led group is for individuals living with Alzheimer’s disease or dementia, family caregivers, loved ones, and others personally affected by the disease. “Support groups are a good source of practical advice, camaraderie, and emotional support for everyone involved, including those living with the disease and their family caregivers,” said Nicole Lipinski, RN, MS, ADC-MC, CDP, director of The Wright Center for Community Health’s Geriatric Service Line. To register for the support group, a collaborative program with the Alzheimer’s Association Greater Pennsylvania Chapter, send an email to Lipinski, at lipinskin@thewrightcenter.org, or call 570-230-0019. The support group falls under the umbrella of The Wright Center for Community Health’s Alzheimer’s and Dementia Care Program. The program, which is based on an award-winning model of care that was developed at UCLA, helps patients and their families with the complex medical, behavioral, and social needs of Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia. The Wright Center’s advanced practice clinicians and dementia care specialists collaborate with the patient’s primary care physician to create a personalized care plan that considers each patient’s medical needs and unique cultural traditions while also offering solutions for caregiver stress. For more information about The Wright Center’s many services, call 570-230-0019 or visit TheWrightCenter.org.
The Wright Center Honors American Diabetes Month Chances are, you know someone who has diabetes, whether it’s a family member or a close friend. The disease remains deadly serious, but thankfully, many medical advances have been made in recent years. And people are getting more proactive about their diabetes care than ever before. But there’s still work to be done, which makes causes like American Diabetes Month all the more integral to the battle. Observed during November and sponsored by the American Diabetes Association (ADA), American Diabetes Month is used to spread timely and relevant diabetes-related information. Among other things, it provides programs and education aimed at helping people prevent and manage diabetes through healthy living; advocates for the equitable treatment of those living with diabetes; funds research to advance treatment and ultimately find a cure for the disease; and makes an impact in local communities through donations and direct action. According to the ADA, about 37 million Americans currently live with diabetes, while nearly one in two people have diabetes or prediabetes – staggering and alarming statistics, no question. Genetics play a role in the disease’s prevalence, but so do poor lifestyle choices. With that in mind, we at The Wright Center for Community Health are doing our part to combat diabetes locally through our Lifestyle Medicine initiative, which can now be found at all of our primary and preventive care practices throughout Northeast Pennsylvania. No doubt, medications and cutting-edge treatments play an essential role in our long-term health, but we should all be doing as much as we can to take a more proactive, rather than reactive, approach to our health. Lifestyle Medicine adheres to this philosophy by helping individuals and families improve their health and quality of life by adopting and sustaining lifestyle behaviors, including eliminating tobacco use, improving diet, practicing stress relief techniques, increasing physical activity, strengthening personal relationships and connections, and adjusting sleep habits for better, more restorative rest. It’s not alternative medicine but rather an evidence-based approach that very well could revolutionize health care in America. The Lifestyle Medicine concept is increasingly gaining traction in the medical community precisely because the data shows it can prevent, treat, or even reverse diseases like diabetes, as well as cancer and hypertension. It’s really all about making those conscious choices to alter our behaviors for the better, and our team, trained in both conventional medicine and Lifestyle Medicine, works with patients to create a personalized lifestyle self-care plan that you can implement and sustain. Many people with diabetes struggle with their weight, which inevitably puts them at risk of developing heart disease, kidney disease, and stroke. And that makes them prime candidates not only for Lifestyle Medicine but also for our Obesity Medicine services. For anyone suffering from a weight-related illness, The Wright Center offers non-surgical approaches to manage better, care for, and overcome obesity. Our board-certified obesity medicine physicians consider all the relevant factors – environmental, genetic, behavioral, and nutritional – that lead to excessive weight gain and, from there, offer evidence-based approaches to provide patients with the safest, most effective weight loss solutions available. By getting to an ideal weight, you can significantly decrease the likelihood of developing chronic conditions while markedly improving the overall quality of your life. Diabetes remains a very serious disease, but prevention and treatment are well within reach thanks to modern medicine and an overall healthier approach to living. It can be done – trust the process. Douglas Klamp, M.D., a board-certified internal medicine physician, see patients ages 18 and over at The Wright Center for Community Health Clarks Summit Practice. He also serves as the senior vice president and chief medical education officer of The Wright Center for Graduate Medical Education, as well as associate program director of the Internal Medicine Residency Program.
The Wright Center and Great American Smokeout Continue Promoting Virtues of Tobacco-free Life We all have friends or family members who can attest to how difficult it is to kick the habit and quit smoking. Often, people need multiple attempts before they successfully kick their addiction to nicotine for good. The effort, though, is entirely worth it, considering the grave health effects of tobacco use. High-profile events like the Great American Smokeout further promote and raise awareness about the national cause. Held on the third Thursday of November for nearly 50 years, the Great American Smokeout encourages people nationwide to take that crucial first step toward a smoke-free life while providing information on the resources the American Cancer Society (ACS) has to support those looking to quit. Its mission has helped spur the smoke-free laws of the past few decades that have significantly curtailed smoking-related deaths in the United States. The Great American Smokeout’s origins go back to 1970, when an event in Randolph, Massachusetts, encouraged people to give up cigarettes for a day and donate the money they would have spent on them to a high school scholarship fund. That was followed in 1974 by the state of Minnesota’s first D-Day, or Don’t Smoke Day. Then, on Nov. 18, 1976, the California Division of the American Cancer Society got nearly 1 million people to quit smoking for the day, marking the first official Smokeout, which the ACS took nationwide in 1977. Since then, we’ve come a long way in decreasing the smoking population in the U.S., from about 42% in 1965 to 14% in 2019. Even with these efforts, about 34 million American adults currently smoke, and smoking remains the single most significant preventable cause of death and illness in the world, with an estimated 480,000 deaths annually, according to the ACS. Meanwhile, certain populations smoke more than others, including people from lower socioeconomic backgrounds, those without college degrees, Native Americans, African Americans, members of the LGBTQ+ community, military personnel, and people with behavioral health conditions. So, we need to continue working hard to promote the virtues of quitting smoking, which improves your health immediately and, over the long term, diminishes your chances of cancer, cardiovascular and lung disease. The path to quitting comes with proven cessation methods, among them prescription medications and counseling. And, of course, lots of support. Here at The Wright Center for Community Health, we’re doing our best to decrease Northeast Pennsylvania’s smoking population by promoting the American Lung Association’s Freedom from Smoking program. The program focuses on FDA-approved medications that can help people quit, lifestyle changes that can make quitting easier, coping strategies to manage stress and avoid weight gain, and methods to stay tobacco-free permanently. The number of participants determines individual and/or group sessions. If you are reading this column and are interested in learning more, please get in touch with me at brockc@TheWrightCenter.org or 570-290-2100. In addition, our Lifestyle Medicine program takes an evidence-based approach to helping individuals and families improve their health and quality of life by adopting and sustaining lifestyle behaviors, including eliminating tobacco use. Our team is trained in both conventional and lifestyle medicine, and we work with patients to create sustainable, personalized lifestyle self-care plans that can help manage or prevent many chronic diseases. Smoking is a hard habit to break. But there are clinically proven ways to free yourself from its clutches, and we’re here to help you along that path.
Wright Center Resident Earns 2023 PA-ACP Eastern Regional Professionalism Award Dr. Richard Bronnenkant, a resident physician in The Wright Center for Graduate Medical Education’s Internal Medicine Residency Program, was honored with the 2023 Pennsylvania American College of Physicians (PA-ACP) Eastern Regional Professionalism Award at a ceremony in Allentown, Pennsylvania, on Oct. 21. Dr. Ivan Cvorvic, a faculty member in The Wright Center for Graduate Medical Education’s Internal Medicine Residency Program and a primary care provider for The Wright Center for Community Health, presented Dr. Bronnenkant with the award. Dr. Bronnenkant, a Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine graduate, was selected for the honor because of his exemplary professionalism and compassion, as well as his commitment to teamwork and passion for whole-person care. “Richard has been an exemplary resident physician who is kind, caring, compassionate, and patient-centered,” said Dr. Timothy Burke, program director for the Internal Medicine Residency Program. “The ACP Professionalism Award recognizes a resident or fellow member of the American College of Physicians who has demonstrated qualities that exemplify the college’s mission to enhance the quality and effectiveness of health care by fostering excellence and professionalism in the practice of medicine.” Among his peers, Dr. Bronnenkant is known as a leader at The Wright Center, according to Dr. Burke. In June 2023, Dr. Bronnenkant received the Sandy Furey, M.D., FACP, Golden Stethoscope Award after his fellow medical residents selected him as the graduating medical resident who made the most significant contribution to their training. In addition, he joined several other resident and fellow physicians at The Wright Center in interacting with local legislators to advocate for various health care topics at the PA-ACP’s Advocacy Day in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and at the American College of Physicians Leadership Day in Washington, D.C. He’s also led or participated in several research projects as a resident physician, including a review of outpatients with heart failure and Type 2 diabetes mellitus at The Wright Center for Community Health and the contribution of energy drinks to myocarditis/Takotsubo cardiomyopathy in a young, healthy male. Dr. Bronnenkant completed his Internal Medicine residency in October and then began a Cardiovascular Disease fellowship at The Wright Center for Graduate Medical Education. The PA-ACP has identified the importance of recognizing the hard work of residents in not only their research endeavors but also in their outstanding commitment to professionalism on a daily basis. Each year, one resident from each internal medicine training program is selected for the PA-ACP Resident Professionalism Award. ACP is the nation’s largest medical specialty organization, with 159,000 internal medicine physicians and medical students as members. Dr. Linda Thomas-Hemak, president and CEO of The Wright Centers for Community Health and Graduate Medical Education, is the governor for PA-ACP’s Eastern Region. For more information about The Wright Centers for Community Health and Graduate Medical Education, go to TheWrightCenter.org or call 570-230-0019.
The Wright Center Becomes Training Site for Life Support The Wright Center for Community Health: Longtime paramedic Carmen Passaniti knows that saving the life of a person in cardiac arrest often depends on what happens even before emergency responders arrive on the scene. “If someone doesn’t start CPR,” he says, “the chance of a successful outcome is very, very small. Without that early intervention – without basic life support – nothing really matters.” Passaniti recently joined The Wright Center for Community Health, where he is leading an effort to provide various levels of life support training to anyone in the region who wants or needs it, ranging from hospital and health center employees to people with no connection to the medical field. The Wright Center recently became an American Heart Association (AHA) training site, allowing it to begin delivering important services to the communities it serves in Northeast Pennsylvania. For professionals who are required to get certifications and recertifications, it will provide affordable trainings in Basic Life Support, Heartsaver CPR, Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support (ACLS), Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS), and Pediatric Emergency Assessment, Recognition and Stabilization (PEARS). For beginners, Passaniti will cover topics such as how to identify the signs of sudden cardiac arrest and how to use an automated external defibrillator, the device used to jolt a heart back into rhythm. All trainings will adhere to the AHA’s training site guidelines, which are widely considered the gold standard. By establishing the new training site, The Wright Center will be able to efficiently certify and recertify its own employees, including physicians, nurses, and other clinicians, while addressing broader community needs. A well-established AHA training center in Lackawanna County recently ended operations, leaving emergency responders, college students enrolled in health care programs, daycare workers, pharmacists, and others searching for options. The debut of The Wright Center’s training site also coincides with a surge in public interest in CPR certification programs. A high-profile incident involving NFL player Damar Hamlin, who was resuscitated on the football field during a nationally televised game in January, brought the reality of cardiac arrest into people’s living rooms. “When it happens in a very public venue such as a Monday Night Football game with millions of people watching, it kind of brings more people to the classroom,” says Passaniti. “They say, ‘Maybe I should learn how to do that.’ Because it can truly make a difference.” Hamlin, who survived the incident and has since resumed playing, has partnered with the AHA to issue a social media challenge, the “Damar Hamlin #3forHeart CPR Challenge.” The campaign urges participants to do three things: learn “hands-only” CPR, donate to AHA in support of CPR education and training, and encourage three friends to do the same. Any first-timers who attend Passaniti’s basic-level training courses are coached in not only the skills they need but also the confidence. Many novices are understandably concerned that if they help a stranger in an emergency, they might do more harm than good. Others worry they might expose themselves to legal liability. Passaniti explains there are Good Samaritan laws in each state to protect helpers, and intervention is crucial for these life-and-death situations. “Anything you do is a positive,” he says. “People may be worried about doing the technique wrong, they’re worried about causing injury. But it’s better to try. Some CPR is better than no CPR.” More than 350,000 cardiac arrests occur outside of hospital settings each year in the United States, according to the AHA. Yet in only about 40 percent of those cases do the victims get the immediate help they need before the arrival of emergency responders. CPR, if administered immediately, can double or triple a person’s chance of survival, according to the AHA. That’s why people like Passaniti are eager to spread training throughout the community, increasing the odds that life-saving help might be close at hand when needed at homes, houses of worship, workplaces, sports fields, and other social spaces. ‘Chain of survival’ Passaniti, 65, seems perfectly suited for his new role at The Wright Center, where he works among many familiar faces. “I’ve known Carmen for years,” says Sheila Ford, vice president of quality, safety, and enterprise policy compliance and integrity. “All of our doctors know him. For decades our physicians and residents, as well as clinical staff, have received BLS, ACLS and PALS training with Carmen.” “Carmen, has just been a pillar of the community” she adds, “Our clinicians value his expertise with the American Heart Association’s gold standard for life support certifications. Creating a clinical community gold standard is important for the patients and the communities we serve.” In 1972, at age 14, he became a junior firefighter for the Dalton Fire Company, where he continues to serve to this day as ambulance captain. In both volunteer and paid capacities, he has devoted decades to protecting lives and property. He served as a paramedic in Lackawanna County during the pioneering days of the profession. In addition to responding to calls, he then became active in managing training programs to properly prepare others who work in the emergency response field throughout Northeast Pennsylvania. Passaniti now holds the title of director of employee health and continuing medical education coordinator at The Wright Center. His duties include overseeing the health aspects of the new employees’ onboarding requirements and ensuring employees remain up to date on health mandates such as vaccinations. He will also spearhead a two-year effort to have The Wright Center’s new training site designated as an AHA training center, a distinction earned by training a certain number of people annually and meeting other standards. “Carmen is so passionate and committed to it,” adds Ford. “And he’s done this before. This is not a road he hasn’t traveled.” Passaniti was deeply involved in managing the former Community Life Support ambulance company and the recently closed Commonwealth Health EMS (CHEMS) training center, where he had been clinical manager. Even as he reaches an age at which many people opt to retire, the West Abington Township resident feels compelled to continue to conduct trainings, so he can teach and inspire younger generations. “It’s something I truly enjoy doing,” Passaniti says. He also knows that, for some of the people he trains, there will be more at stake than a feeling of accomplishment or a certification. A life will hang in the balance. A fast-acting family member or bystander will step in, use their training, and forge the first link in a so-called “chain of survival” that begins with basic life support and connects to skilled emergency responders and, finally, to hospital professionals. The outcome, while never certain, can be spectacular. “Someone is going to see their family again,” says Passaniti. “They’ll leave the hospital neurologically intact and go home with the same quality of life.”
The Wright Center Becomes Training Site for Life Support Longtime paramedic Carmen Passaniti knows that saving the life of a person in cardiac arrest often depends on what happens even before emergency responders arrive on the scene. “If someone doesn’t start CPR,” he says, “the chance of a successful outcome is very, very small. Without that early intervention – without basic life support – nothing really matters.” Passaniti recently joined The Wright Center for Community Health, where he is leading an effort to provide various levels of life support training to anyone in the region who wants or needs it, ranging from hospital and health center employees to people with no connection to the medical field. The Wright Center recently became an American Heart Association (AHA) training site, allowing it to begin delivering important services to the communities it serves in Northeast Pennsylvania. For professionals who are required to get certifications and recertifications, it will provide affordable trainings in Basic Life Support, Heartsaver CPR, Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support (ACLS), Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS), and Pediatric Emergency Assessment, Recognition and Stabilization (PEARS). For beginners, Passaniti will cover topics such as how to identify the signs of sudden cardiac arrest and how to use an automated external defibrillator, the device used to jolt a heart back into rhythm. All trainings will adhere to the AHA’s training site guidelines, which are widely considered the gold standard. By establishing the new training site, The Wright Center will be able to efficiently certify and recertify its own employees, including physicians, nurses, and other clinicians, while addressing broader community needs. A well-established AHA training center in Lackawanna County recently ended operations, leaving emergency responders, college students enrolled in health care programs, daycare workers, pharmacists, and others searching for options. The debut of The Wright Center’s training site also coincides with a surge in public interest in CPR certification programs. A high-profile incident involving NFL player Damar Hamlin, who was resuscitated on the football field during a nationally televised game in January, brought the reality of cardiac arrest into people’s living rooms. “When it happens in a very public venue such as a Monday Night Football game with millions of people watching, it kind of brings more people to the classroom,” says Passaniti. “They say, ‘Maybe I should learn how to do that.’ Because it can truly make a difference.” Hamlin, who survived the incident and has since resumed playing, has partnered with the AHA to issue a social media challenge, the “Damar Hamlin #3forHeart CPR Challenge.” The campaign urges participants to do three things: learn “hands-only” CPR, donate to AHA in support of CPR education and training, and encourage three friends to do the same. Any first-timers who attend Passaniti’s basic-level training courses are coached in not only the skills they need but also the confidence. Many novices are understandably concerned that if they help a stranger in an emergency, they might do more harm than good. Others worry they might expose themselves to legal liability. Passaniti explains there are Good Samaritan laws in each state to protect helpers, and intervention is crucial for these life-and-death situations. “Anything you do is a positive,” he says. “People may be worried about doing the technique wrong, they’re worried about causing injury. But it’s better to try. Some CPR is better than no CPR.” More than 350,000 cardiac arrests occur outside of hospital settings each year in the United States, according to the AHA. Yet in only about 40 percent of those cases do the victims get the immediate help they need before the arrival of emergency responders. CPR, if administered immediately, can double or triple a person’s chance of survival, according to the AHA. That’s why people like Passaniti are eager to spread training throughout the community, increasing the odds that life-saving help might be close at hand when needed at homes, houses of worship, workplaces, sports fields, and other social spaces. ‘Chain of survival’ Passaniti, 65, seems perfectly suited for his new role at The Wright Center, where he works among many familiar faces. “I’ve known Carmen for years,” says Sheila Ford, vice president of quality, safety, and enterprise policy compliance and integrity. “All of our doctors know him. For decades our physicians and residents, as well as clinical staff, have received BLS, ACLS and PALS training with Carmen.” “Carmen, has just been a pillar of the community” she adds, “Our clinicians value his expertise with the American Heart Association’s gold standard for life support certifications. Creating a clinical community gold standard is important for the patients and the communities we serve.” In 1972, at age 14, he became a junior firefighter for the Dalton Fire Company, where he continues to serve to this day as ambulance captain. In both volunteer and paid capacities, he has devoted decades to protecting lives and property. He served as a paramedic in Lackawanna County during the pioneering days of the profession. In addition to responding to calls, he then became active in managing training programs to properly prepare others who work in the emergency response field throughout Northeast Pennsylvania. Passaniti now holds the title of director of employee health and continuing medical education coordinator at The Wright Center. His duties include overseeing the health aspects of the new employees’ onboarding requirements and ensuring employees remain up to date on health mandates such as vaccinations. He will also spearhead a two-year effort to have The Wright Center’s new training site designated as an AHA training center, a distinction earned by training a certain number of people annually and meeting other standards. “Carmen is so passionate and committed to it,” adds Ford. “And he’s done this before. This is not a road he hasn’t traveled.” Passaniti was deeply involved in managing the former Community Life Support ambulance company and the recently closed Commonwealth Health EMS (CHEMS) training center, where he had been clinical manager. Even as he reaches an age at which many people opt to retire, the West Abington Township resident feels compelled to continue to conduct trainings, so he can teach and inspire younger generations. “It’s something I truly enjoy doing,” Passaniti says. He also knows that, for some of the people he trains, there will be more at stake than a feeling of accomplishment or a certification. A life will hang in the balance. A fast-acting family member or bystander will step in, use their training, and forge the first link in a so-called “chain of survival” that begins with basic life support and connects to skilled emergency responders and, finally, to hospital professionals. The outcome, while never certain, can be spectacular. “Someone is going to see their family again,” says Passaniti. “They’ll leave the hospital neurologically intact and go home with the same quality of life.”
