The Wright Center Launches Lifestyle Smartwatch Program with AllOne Charities’ Giving Tuesday The Wright Center for Patient & Community Engagement is launching a new high-tech program with the support of AllOne Charities’ annual Giving Tuesday on Tuesday, Nov. 30 that will provide long-term benefits for patients with chronic health conditions. Held annually on the Tuesday following Thanksgiving, AllOne Charities is sponsoring Giving Tuesday to incentivize supporters of regional nonprofit organizations and agencies to support their favorite charities through this special fundraising effort. AllOne Charities boosts fundraising efforts by matching the first $1,000 raised by each participating charitable organization and also offering an additional incentive of $1,000 each for the organization that raises the most money and secures the most unique donors. Donations can be made in support of Giving Tuesday beginning Thanksgiving Day. All donations made from Nov. 30 until 4 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 1 will be eligible for the bonuses from AllOne Charities. The Wright Center for Patient & Community Engagement is purchasing the Fitpolo H709 smartwatch for patients who could not otherwise afford them. The smartwatch uses built-in features to track and monitor key aspects of the user’s life for a personalized health care data experience. The mobile technology features full touch screen capabilities that can also be accessed via a smart mobile app. The smartwatch’s life assistant monitors in real-time the user’s heart rate, steps, blood pressure and more. The watch collects data and transfers it to the patient’s electronic health records with the assistance of Humhealth technology that features 4G, Bluetooth integration. The overall goal of the smartwatch program is to improve patient education, understanding, engagement and implementation of a healthy lifestyle. With remote patient monitoring, primary care providers are able to see how their suggestions have had a positive impact on their patients’ overall health, according to Dr. Jignesh Y. Sheth, The Wright Center for Community Health’s chief medical officer and senior vice president. “Gathering data in real time and compiling it is beneficial for our providers and residents as the entire empanelment team will have access to their medical data in between visits instead of just monitoring them at their office visits,” Sheth explained. “With the help of technology, we, as care providers, will be able to remotely monitor patients’ activity level, calorie intake and other vital data necessary for effective lifestyle change.” The Wright Center for Patient & Community Engagement serves patients in a five-county region through The Wright Center for Community Health’s eight primary care practices in Lackawanna, Luzerne and Wayne counties. The fundraising effort for Giving Tuesday will benefit the new Lifestyle Medicine program’s initiative to provide select patients who have chronic illnesses with healthy lifestyle smartwatches. To support the new initiative on Giving Tuesday, go to allonefoundations.org, scroll down and click on the Wright Center for Patient & Community Engagement logo. “By donating to The Wright Center for Patient & Community Engagement, and contributing to our smartwatch campaign, you’ll be helping some of our patients to manage chronic diseases, like diabetes and high blood pressure,” said Laurie LaMaster, associate vice president of The Wright Center for Patient & Community Engagement, “and provide our care teams with the data they need to serve our patients more effectively.” The smartwatches program is part of The Wright Center for Community Health’s Lifestyle Medicine program that was introduced in 2020. The initiative works to prevent and reverse chronic debilitating diseases, such as cancer, diabetes and hypertension, by focusing on healthy lifestyles based on the six pillars of health: nutrition, exercise, sleep, stress management, relationships and the avoidance of risky substances. For more information about The Wright Center for Community Health’s Lifestyle Medicine Program, call the Scranton Practice at 570-941-0630 or go to thewrightcenter.org/services.
The Wright Center Offering Holiday Pictures with Santa Claus and COVID-19 Vaccinations The Wright Center for Community Health is combining holiday tradition and spirit with an important public health initiative in December to ensure every family member in Northeast Pennsylvania can safely celebrate the joyous holiday season. “Pictures with Santa,” will enable children of all ages to carefully recite their wish list to the jolly old elf, as parents snap pictures of the treasured moment and participate in one of the vaccine clinics. The Wright Center will be offering the pediatric Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for children, ages 5-11, with their parent’s permission, and vaccines for adults. The holiday-themed events will be available free to the public at The Wright Center for Community Health’s Scranton Practice, 501 S. Washington Ave., Scranton, on Friday Dec. 3 from 2-5:30 p.m., and Mid Valley Practice, 5 S. Washington Ave., Jermyn, on Sunday, Dec. 5 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. The pediatric Pfizer vaccine will be available at both vaccination clinics. The Moderna vaccine will be administered at the Scranton Practice and the Mid Valley Practice will have the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines for people who are 12 and older. To schedule a vaccine appointment at the Scranton or Mid Valley practices, please go to TheWrightCenter.org and click on the “make an appointment” link at the top, center of the page and follow the directions. The vaccine clinic will be available simultaneously at both locations during “Pictures with Santa.” Parents can choose to have their children vaccinated before visiting Santa or after the annual tradition. The special event enables children and their families to participate in the holiday festivities in a safe and socially-distanced manner and meet Santa for a picture. Guests are invited to capture the special moments with their personal cameras. COVID-19 masking will be required for everyone who participates in the event. “Vaccination is the best tool to keep ourselves and our children safe from COVID-19,” said Geraldine McAndrew, the director of Patient & Community Engagement “We carry our mission directly into the communities we serve, and hope to take the opportunity to encourage children and families to get vaccinated.” To reserve a time for a photo with Santa, please call McAndrew at 570-267-4199 or email her at McAndrewG@TheWrightCenter.org.
The Wright Center Receives $50,000 Federal Grant to Provide COVID-19 Testing to Underserved Populations The Wright Center for Community Health announces it has been selected as a recipient of $50,000 in grant funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to improve access to COVID-19 testing for the region’s underserved and vulnerable populations, including rural residents. The NIH made the funding available through its Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics-Underserved Populations (RADx-UP) initiative. Organizers of the federally supported project aim to ensure that all Americans, especially populations most affected by the pandemic, have access to COVID-19 testing. The Wright Center plans to use the funding to deploy its mobile medical unit, called Driving Better Health, to expand testing availability in rural areas of Susquehanna and Wayne counties. The mobile unit also will build upon its current COVID-19 outreach in southern Luzerne County, serving residents of Greater Hazleton including its significant Spanish-speaking population. Since March 2020, The Wright Center’s practices have conducted about 29,000 COVID-19 tests. The Wright Center’s proposed grant-funded activities in Northeast Pennsylvania will be overseen by the RADx-UP Coordination and Data Collection Center (CDCC), led by the Duke Clinical Research Institute and the University of North Carolina School of Medicine’s Center for Health Equity Research. The data – and the lessons – compiled during this RADx-UP CDCC Community Collaboration Mini-Grant Program will assist in bringing an end to the pandemic, addressing the nation’s long-standing health disparities and preparing for future public health challenges. “The COVID-19 crisis is far from over,” according to information on the RADx-UP website. “Although vaccines are available for most people, testing remains a life-saving tool for many communities as the percentage of people who are vaccinated varies from place to place. Beyond the pandemic, the strategies public health leaders use to address testing (and vaccine) equity may inform how we address the larger structural inequalities and consequently improve health and save lives in the long term.”
Wright Center Student Physicians Present Scholarly Work at Regional Conference Dr. Omar SyedDr. Peter IskanderDr. Brihant SharmaDr. Mohammed Musa NajmuddinDr. Viren Raheja Resident physicians at The Wright Center for Graduate Medical Education recently presented their scholarly research abstracts at the Society of Hospital Medicine’s Central Pennsylvania Virtual Conference. The Society of Hospital Medicine’s regional conferences enable global hospitalists to present their research in the scientific abstract competition. Overall, the state conference accepted five abstracts for presentation from Wright Center of Graduate Medical Education student physicians in the internal medicine program. The abstracts are: Dr. Brihant Sharma presented, “Lemierre’s Syndrome: The Forgotten Disease.” “A Case of COVID-19 Pneumonia Superimposed by Stubborn Burkholderia” was presented by Dr. Viren Raheja. Dr. Mohammed Musa Najmuddin offered his work, “Recurrent Venous Thromboembolism Following Paper Wasp Bite in an Adult Male.” Dr. Omar Syed presented, “Internal Jugular Vein Thrombus in the Setting of Prothrombin Deficiency.” “Myasthenia Gravis Masquerading Cranial Nerve Deficits: A Diagnostic Challenge” was presented by Dr. Peter Iskander. Overall, resident physicians in The Wright Center for Graduate Medical Education have had 71 scholarly abstracts, written on a wide array of topics in medicine, accepted for presentation at professional conferences since the beginning of the 2021-22 academic year.
The Wright Center for Community’s Health’s Medical Homes in Scranton and Kingston Nationally Recognized The National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) recently announced The Wright Center for Community Health’s Kingston and Scranton practices have received NCQA Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH) Recognition for using evidence-based, patient-centered processes that focus on highly coordinated, team-based care within a network with long-term, participative relationships. The Kingston and Scranton practices join The Wright Center for Community Health’s Mid Valley, 5 S. Washington St., Jermyn, and Clarks Summit, 1145 Northern Blvd., South Abington Township practices, in earning the recognition seal. The Mid Valley and Clarks Summit practices received the NCQA PCMH honor three years ago and continue with annual formal review to meet the highest standards of the designation. The NCQA’s PCMH is a model of primary health care that combines teamwork and information technology to improve delivery and coordination of care; experience of care by patients, families and care teams, and enhances affordability with reduced cost of care and waste. The program was developed in 2008 to identify medical practices that have invested in a care model that empowers patients at the forefront, while nurturing a culture of continuous improvement. The NCQA’s recognition program is the most widely adopted PCMH evaluation program in the country. In order to be considered for PCMH recognition, health care practices must meet key standards in six important areas: Team based care and practice organization, care management and support, know and manage patients, care coordination and care transitions, patient-centered access and continuity, and continued performance measurement and quality improvement. Since its inception, more than 10,000 practice sites and 50,000 clinicians have earned the NCQA PCMH recognition seal. “We are extremely proud that a national organization has affirmed The Wright Center for Community Health’s commitment to improving the health and welfare of the communities we serve through a patient-centered medical home model approach,” said Dr. Linda Thomas-Hemak, president and chief executive officer of The Wright Centers for Community Health and Graduate Medical Education. “This model of care allows us to honor and keep patients at the forefront of everything we do and makes continuous quality improvement our priority.” The Wright Center for Community Health’s Kingston Practice at 2 Sharpe St., is located in First Hospital. A full-service primary and pediatric care office, family doctors, pediatricians and advanced practitioners provide checkups, physicals, screenings, treatment of common illnesses and injuries, as well as behavioral health, addiction and recovery services, sports medicine and hepatitis C and infectious disease services. Please go to TheWrightCenter.org or call 570-491-0126 to make an appointment. The Wright Center for Community Health’s Scranton Practice at 501 S. Washington Ave., is a full-service primary and pediatric care office that also offers dental services as well as rheumatology, sports medicine and infectious disease specialists, including the Ryan White HIV Clinic. Family doctors and advanced practitioners provide checkups, physicals, screenings, treatment of common illnesses and injuries as well as behavioral health and recovery services. To make an appointment, go to TheWrightCenter.org or call 570-941-0630.
Director of Addiction Services at The Wright Center for Community Health Participates in PA Panel Discussion Maria Kolcharno, L.S.W., director of addiction services for The Wright Center for Community Health, recently participated in a panel discussion at the Pennsylvania Perinatal Quality Collaborative Learning Session that addressed working relationships between Opioid Use Disorder Centers of Excellence and maternity care providers in the commonwealth. Kolcharno addressed numerous collaborative relationships The Wright Center for Community Health’s Healthy Maternal Opiate Medical Support program (Healthy MOMS) has formed with regional Children & Youth Service agencies, OB-GYN providers and hospital maternity units since it was founded in 2018 to better deliver services. During the program’s breakout sessions, she outlined workflow charts to assist others in replicating the collaborative relationships and processes the Healthy MOMS program has established with Centers of Excellence and maternity care teams. Topics discussed included best practices in connecting patients with opiate use disorder to local Centers of Excellence. Established in 2016, The Wright Center for Community Health’s Opioid Use Disorder Center of Excellence is one of 50 in the state. The program helps individuals in recovery reshape their lifestyles from the comfort of their own communities. Patients visit any of The Wright Center’s primary care practices in Lackawanna, Luzerne or Wayne counties to connect with supportive certified recovery specialists, case managers, social workers, and medical providers who collectively help them break the cycle of addiction through outpatient care. Linked to The Wright Center’s Opioid Use Disorder Center of Excellence, the Healthy MOMS program was co-founded with multiple agencies to assist women who are pregnant and have a substance use disorder. Healthy MOMS provides prenatal, perinatal and postpartum care, including medication-assisted treatment to women coping with a substance use disorder, and strives to break the stigma associated with it while building their self-esteem during and after their pregnancies, ideally engaging them in recovery support services. The Pennsylvania Perinatal Quality Collaborative includes 61 birthing hospitals and newborn intensive care units and 14 health plans in the state. Overall, the organization works to reduce maternal mortality and improve care for pregnant and postpartum women and newborns affected by opioids. For more information about the Healthy MOMS program, call 570-995-7821 or text healthymoms to 555888. Information about the program and its partners is also available online at healthymoms.org. Go to thewrightcenter.org/services for information about the Opioid Use Disorder Center of Excellence.
Chief Fellow of Wright Center’s Gastroenterology Fellowship Program Presents at Conference The Wright Center for Graduate Medical Education’s chief fellow of the Gastroenterology Fellowship Program had 18 research abstracts presented recently at the American College of Gastroenterology (ACG) 2021 Annual Scientific Meeting & Postgraduate Course in Las Vegas, Nevada. Hemant Goyal, M.D., wrote and presented five abstracts at the international conference. He presented: “Continued Aspirin Use and Bleeding Risk After Endoscopic Submucosal Dissection of Gastric Neoplasms: A Meta-Analysis,” “Don’t Blame the Duodenoscope Elevator, the Channels are Contaminated as Well: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis,” “How ‘Dirty’ are the Endoscope Channels: A Systematic Review and Mata-Analysis of Reprocessed Endoscopes,” “1-Day vs. 3-Day Low Residue Diet for Colonoscopy Bowel Cleansing: A Systematic Review,” and “Peptic Ulcer with Adherent Clot – Treat it or Leave It: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Trials.” Dr. Goyal also co-authored 13 other scholarly posters with national and international co-authors that were presented at the conference. The abstracts that were presented are based upon findings from The Wright Center for Graduate Medical Education’s Institutional Review Board-approved research studies, systematic reviews and meta-analyses. They will also appear in future editions of the American Journal of Gastroenterology. ACG, a professional organization that champions the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of digestive disorders, features one of the largest annual gastroenterology conferences in the United States.
The Wright Center Receives Two Awards for Scholarly Research Dr. Mark MadhokDr. Hemant Goyal Two faculty colleagues in The Wright Center for Graduate Medical Education collaborated on two award-winning scholarly research posters at the American College of Gastroenterology (ACG) 2021 Annual Scientific Meeting in Las Vegas, Nevada, in October. Mark Madhok, M.D., Ph.D., a board-certified internal medicine faculty physician and associate program director for the internal medicine residency program, presented, “National Trends in the Sporadic Malignant Colorectal Polyps in Young Patients: An 18-Year Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program (SEER) Database Analysis,” which was co-authored with Hemant Goyal, M.D. The scholarly presentation outlined their collaborative research based off national data about cancerous colorectal polyps in people 20-49 years of age. The research highlighted polyp growth that preceded full-blown cancer, a new and preventable problem in the age group. The poster received an ACG Presidential Award in the category of colorectal cancer screening. Dr. Goyal, the chief fellow of the Gastroenterology Fellowship Program, presented the research poster, “Peptic Ulcer with Adherent Clot – Treat It or Leave It: A Systematic Review and Metanalysis of Randomized Trials,” which was co-authored with Dr. Madhok. The scholarly work analyzed best practices to treat peptic ulcers with adherent clot found during endoscopy. Their work showed that treating these high-risk clots discovered during endoscopy reduces the risk of rebleeding. The poster received an ACG Presidential Poster Award in the category of GI bleeding. The Wright Center for Graduate Medical Education is the nation’s largest Health Resources and Services Administration-funded Teaching Health Center Graduate Medical Education Consortium. It trains highly skilled physicians in community-immersed, clinical-learning networks that strive to address the nation’s physician shortage and related health care access disparities. Resident doctors can choose from programs in internal medicine, family medicine, national family medicine and psychiatry. Fellowships also are available in cardiovascular disease, gastroenterology and geriatrics.
The Wright Center for Community Health Launches Online Smart Bot “Neo” The Wright Center for Community Health recently launched “Neo,” a secure patient-friendly smart bot on its website to help new and existing patients directly schedule appointments, refill prescriptions, learn about available COVID-19 services and more. By clicking on the easily identifiable icon, located at the bottom right-hand corner of the website (TheWrightCenter.org), consumers can start a convenient chat session with a live agent. “Neo” can find the nearest primary care location, help schedule an appointment, refill prescriptions, share the latest COVID-19 information, address billing questions and more. “Neo” begins the online interaction with the user by asking for a first name. It then offers a suite of options. The consumer can select, for example, assistance with making an office appointment with their primary care provider for themselves or a family member. “The Wright Center for Community Health strives to be on the cutting edge of technology when it comes to providing and delivering the best health care and information possible in Northeast Pennsylvania,” said Jignesh Y. Sheth, M.D., chief medical officer and senior vice president at The Wright Center. “The new technology is all about making it more convenient for patients to take care of their health needs while empowering them to schedule appointments directly online without having to go through a call center.” Users of the technology can also navigate the system to address their COVID-19 needs. The smart bot allows them to go through a menu of options that will help them effortlessly address vaccination, testing or monoclonal antibody infusion therapy appointments or ask general questions about the pandemic. In addition, “Neo” has learning capabilities that will streamline and personalize future interactions with the smart technology. HIPAA compliant, the friendly chatbot is safe and secure when it comes to protecting patient privacy. The bot also will be phased into Facebook Messenger and eventually allow for direct SMS texting capabilities.
Licensed Clinical Social Worker Joins The Wright Center A licensed clinical social worker with experience as a psychiatric therapist and clinical supervisor has joined The Wright Center for Community Health’s Mid Valley Practice at 5 S. Washington St., Jermyn. Danielle D. Sholcosky, M.S.W., L.C.S.W., C.P.R.P., of Dickson City holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in liberal studies with a minor in human development and family studies from The Pennsylvania State University. She earned her Master in Social Work degree with a behavioral health specialization from Marywood University. A licensed clinical social worker and licensed social worker, Sholcosky previously worked as a psychiatric therapist at NEPA Community Health Care and as a clinical supervisor and psychiatric therapist at NHS Human Services Agency of NEPA. Sholcosky also served as a support specialist at Step-by-Step, Inc. At the Wright Center, Sholcosky will provide outpatient individual, group and family therapy services to mental health and substance use disorder patients. To schedule an appointment with Sholcosky at the Mid Valley Practice, please call 570-230-0019
