Wright Center leader selected to sit on Pennsylvania Mental 皇家华人 Planning Council

Written by

Scott Constantini, associate vice president of primary care and recovery services integration for The Wright Center for Community 皇家华人, has been named to a three-year term on the Pennsylvania Mental 皇家华人 Planning Council鈥檚 (MHPC) Adult Advisory Committee.

The Adult Advisory Committee is one of three MHPC committees under the direction of the deputy secretary of the state鈥檚 Office of Mental 皇家华人 and Substance Abuse Services (OMHSAS).

Before he was promoted to his current role in 2022, Constantini served for six years as the director of behavioral health at The Wright Center for Community 皇家华人. In his current role, he collaborates with hospitals, school districts, public health agencies, government entities, and other community partners to expand access to and improve behavioral services across the region. He also sits on the Lackawanna County Overdose Fatality Review Committee under the direction of county District Attorney Mark Powell.

Scott Constantini

Constantini has a strong track record of developing sustainable projects in the recovery and primary care realms, working with the state Department of 皇家华人 Services, Department of 皇家华人, and Department of Drug and Alcohol programs through The Wright Center for Community 皇家华人鈥檚 Opioid Use Disorder Center of Excellence program, the Pennsylvania Coordinated Medication Assisted Treatment Program and a variety of other key programs designed to improve the behavioral health of Pennsylvanians.

He also oversees various federal grants to expand addiction services, such as medications for opiate use disorder, to address the opiate overdose crisis.

鈥淚 will represent The Wright Center for Community 皇家华人, our patients, and the region with integrity and pride to help guide the state on the future of mental health services across Pennsylvania,鈥 he said. 鈥淎s we know, there is a lot of work to be done.鈥

The MHPC consists of three committees: The Children鈥檚 Advisory, Adult Advisory, and Older Adult Advisory committees. They aim to advise on a broad behavioral mandate that includes mental health, substance misuse, behavioral health disorders, and cross-system disability.

For more information about The Wright Center for Community 皇家华人 and The Wright Center for Community 皇家华人鈥檚 Opioid Use Disorder Center of Excellence, go to or call 570-230-0019.

Clarks Summit Practice scheduled to open Oct. 9

Written by

Clarks Summit Practice exterior

The Wright Center for Community 皇家华人 Clarks Summit Practice, 1145 Northern Blvd., remains closed as crews continue to address water damage from September鈥檚 severe flooding in South Abington Township.

Crews have been busy ripping out flooring, repairing water-damaged walls, and drying out the building using industrial fans. With more work to do, however, the timeline needs to be extended to ensure that the work is completed to meet the quality and safety standards we must provide our patients, staff, and learners. As a federally funded 皇家华人 Medical Education Safety-Net Consortium and Essential Community Provider, we aim to resume delivering comprehensive, nondiscriminatory safety-net primary health services at this location for patients and families as soon as possible. 

The clinic鈥檚 targeted opening date is Monday, Oct. 9. Until then, patient appointments and staff, along with residents, continue to be redeployed as indicated below: 

鈼 Patients of Drs. William Dempsey and Douglas Klamp have been notified that their scheduled appointments have been moved to The Wright Center for Community 皇家华人 Scranton Practice, 501 S. Washington Ave., Scranton. Internal Medicine and Family Medicine residents will follow their faculty attendings to Scranton for this period of time. Dr. Klamp has notified the chiefs.

鈼  Patients of Jennifer Kalinowski, DNP, have been notified that their scheduled appointments have been moved to The Wright Center for Community 皇家华人 North Scranton Practice, 1721 N. Main Ave., Scranton.

鈼 Patients of Angelo Brutico, PA-C, and Stephanie Hill, LPC, have been notified that their scheduled appointments have been moved to The Wright Center for Community 皇家华人 Scranton Counseling Practice, 329 Cherry St., Scranton.

Regular updates will be available on our website at TheWrightCenter.org/news and on our social media channels.

The Wright Center鈥檚 mobile 皇家华人 clinic to begin offering routine physicals for school students

Written by

TWC Driving Better 皇家华人 vehicle

To promote the health of school-aged children and teens, The Wright Center for Community 皇家华人 will begin offering a new service next month aboard its mobile 皇家华人 and dental unit known as Driving Better 皇家华人.

The Driving Better 皇家华人 clinician team will provide students with routine physicals, piloting this expanded service in the Hazleton Area School District.

The first event will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Oct. 17, at the Hazleton Area School District Administration Building, 1515 W. 23rd St., Hazle Township. A second event at the same location, and during the same time span, is scheduled for Oct. 25.

Children must be accompanied by a parent or guardian. Appointments are required. Please bring student鈥檚 identification and insurance cards, if available. The Wright Center will never turn anyone away due to inability to pay. For more information or to make an appointment for a student physical, call 570.230.0019 or visit TheWrightCenter.org.

The Wright Center鈥檚 traveling clinicians noticed a need for this service as they conducted an ongoing series of back-to-school vaccination clinics at multiple school districts in Northeast Pennsylvania, said Christine Wysocky, co-director of certified nurse practitioner and physician assistant services for The Wright Center for Community 皇家华人.

鈥淚n Hazleton, there鈥檚 a large pediatric population that has fallen behind in obtaining their vaccines and their yearly physicals,鈥 she said, noting that Pennsylvania requires physicals for every child entering kindergarten, sixth, and 11th grades, as well as any new students enrolling from out of state. 鈥淲ith our mobile unit, we can take these services to them.鈥

In addition to physicals, participants at the Driving Better 皇家华人 clinics on Oct. 17 and Oct. 25 will be able to get routine childhood vaccines for which they are eligible, including chicken pox; measles, mumps and rubella (MMR); polio; pertussis; tetanus, diphtheria and tetanus (DTaP); hepatitis B, meningitis; and the flu. COVID-19 vaccines and tests may also be available. 

For vaccine-only visits, appointments are preferred, but walk-ins are accepted. For these appointments, children must be accompanied by a parent or guardian and should have identification, vaccination records, and insurance information, if applicable. Uninsured children can be vaccinated under the federally funded Vaccines for Children program. For more information or to schedule a vaccine-only appointment, call 570.230.0019 or visit TheWrightCenter.org.

A 皇家华人 clinic on wheels, Driving Better 皇家华人 allows The Wright Center for Community 皇家华人 to treat patients where they are in Northeast Pennsylvania 鈥 from traditionally underserved city neighborhoods to rural areas. The 34-foot vehicle includes two fully equipped exam areas, which can be used either for health care services or dental services. The vehicle also has a wheelchair lift. Since it was put into service in late 2020, Driving Better 皇家华人 has repeatedly been deployed to area schools, senior living centers, homeless shelters, and other community gathering spots.

The U.S. 皇家华人 Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) provided a grant that enabled The Wright Center to acquire and outfit the custom-built vehicle, which initially served to help populations of special concern during the COVID-19 pandemic by expanding access to coronavirus testing and vaccines.

In-demand career: Community health workers

Written by

National Community 皇家华人 Worker Awareness Week celebrates specialty field

One of the fastest-growing careers in health care has nothing to do with direct 皇家华人 care. 

Using their encyclopedic knowledge of local resources, community health workers (CHWs) help people meet various basic needs, including housing, utility bills, nutritious foods, clothing, insurance, transportation to and from 皇家华人 appointments, and more.聽

鈥淐ommunity health workers, they鈥檙e pretty much the foundation,鈥 said Amanda Vommaro, CCHW, director of patient-centered services and supervisor of the community health workers at The Wright Center for Community 皇家华人. 鈥淲e make sure the patients are getting their social needs met so that they鈥檙e able to address their health.鈥

For example, a patient with financial difficulties may have to choose between buying food or medication, according to Vommaro. Connecting to a food pantry could help that patient afford the life-saving medication a doctor prescribes. 

鈥淚f you don鈥檛 have your basic needs met, you鈥檙e not really able to do anything else,鈥 she said about patients. 鈥淲hen they鈥檙e not buying medication and taking care of their health, that鈥檚 where we come in.鈥

As the health care world celebrates National Community 皇家华人 Worker Awareness Week from Aug. 28 to Sept. 1, the need for CHWs is greater than ever. Employment of community health workers across the United States is projected to grow 12% between 2021 and 2031 鈥 much faster than the average for other occupations, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the demand for CHWs, according to Chelsea Wolff, a health educator with the . Thousands of people lost their jobs and found themselves navigating an often-overwhelming system to apply for unemployment, food stamps, rent and mortgage relief, and other aid from government entities and local social service agencies. President Joe Biden鈥檚 $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan called for hiring 100,000 CHWs over 10 years starting in 2021 to support the prevention and control of COVID-19.

But many entities that employ CHWs are having trouble filling the jobs, including The Wright Center for Community 皇家华人. It鈥檚 partly because people are not familiar with the position.

鈥淧eople are starting to know about it, but we have a long way to go,鈥 Wolff acknowledged. 

hopes to help fill the need locally through training courses, some of which are held virtually for community members. The center began offering CHW courses in 2009, Wolff said. Since then, demand has soared for these specialty workers. 

The course covers the basics of what a CHW needs to know, from building an understanding of different cultures and health literacy to learning how to complete documentation and how to avoid job burnout. 

CHWs live in the communities they serve, so they become experts in knowing what resources are available and how best to connect clients to them, Vommaro and Wolff said. The AHEC classes feature many guest speakers, so trainees can begin building a list of local resources that provide help. 

鈥淚t鈥檚 helping to connect the dots and really building those contacts,鈥 Wolff said. 

Vommaro said clients are often more comfortable talking to CHWs because of their shared community roots. 鈥淚t鈥檚 just a different level of comfort when you鈥檙e talking to a community health worker because sometimes we鈥檝e been in the same situation they are in; we鈥檙e people who live in their community,鈥 she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a little less intimidating than talking to their doctor.鈥 

For more information about the course, visit the AHEC .  AHEC also offers monthly informational sessions about CHWs every second Monday of the month. To learn more, click .  

The Wright Center for Community 皇家华人 has several job openings for CHWs. To search job listings, visit thewrightcenter.org/careers/. 

The Wright Center to observe National 皇家华人 Center Week 2023 with special activities in clinics and community

Written by

TWC Mid Valley Practice

The Wright Center for Community 皇家华人 Mid Valley Practice, 5 S. Washington Ave., Jermyn, will raise the newly designed Jermyn Borough flag on Friday, Aug. 11 at 9 a.m. in observance of National 皇家华人 Center Week. The program begins at 8:45 a.m. with light refreshments.

In observance of National 皇家华人 Center Week, The Wright Center for Community 皇家华人 will hold a series of special activities across the region including school backpack giveaways, a vaccine clinic, and a special flag-raising ceremony at its primary and preventive health care practice in Jermyn.

The weeklong celebration, from Aug. 6 to 12, helps to draw attention to the critical role that community health centers play in strengthening our nation by delivering high-quality, affordable primary and preventive health care to underserved populations. This year鈥檚 theme is 鈥淭he Roadmap to a Stronger America.鈥

The Wright Center is one of about 1,400 health centers in the United States, which collectively serve about 30 million people annually. Community health centers represent the largest primary care network in the nation. They deliver care to one in 11 people in the U.S., including one in three people who live in poverty, according to the National Association of Community 皇家华人 Centers, organizer of National 皇家华人 Center Week.

During its observance, The Wright Center will celebrate its health care providers, board members, stakeholders, staff and, most importantly, the more than 31,000 patients across Northeast Pennsylvania who turn to it for their care.

The Wright Center operates 10 primary and preventive health care practices in Lackawanna, Luzerne, and Wayne counties, including a mobile 皇家华人 and dental unit called Driving Better 皇家华人. Together, these clinical locations offer a safety net for the region鈥檚 residents, ensuring that everyone in The Wright Center鈥檚 five-county service area has access to integrated 皇家华人, dental, and behavioral health services, regardless of their insurance status, ZIP code, or ability to pay.

The Wright Center, like other community health centers across the nation, is a nonprofit, patient-governed organization that provides high-quality, comprehensive health care to rural and other 皇家华人ly underserved areas, treating all patients regardless of income or insurance status. More than 61% of The Wright Center鈥檚 patients fall at or below 200% of federal poverty guidelines, nearly 32% are insured through Medicaid or CHIP, and just over 18% are insured through Medicare. 

As part of the weeklong celebration, The Wright Center for Community 皇家华人 Mid Valley Practice, 5 S. Washington Ave., Jermyn, will raise the newly designed Jermyn borough flag at a ceremony beginning at 8:45 a.m. Friday, Aug. 11. The flag, designed in 2019 by borough resident Amy Ryczak, features a green cross that honors Jermyn as the birthplace of first aid. Speakers at the event will include Dr. Linda Thomas-Hemak, president and CEO of The Wright Centers for Community 皇家华人 and 皇家华人 Medical Education, and state Rep. Kyle Mullins, who represents Jermyn as part of the 112th Legislative District. 

Other events planned at The Wright Center鈥檚 clinics and in the community for National 皇家华人 Center Week include:

  • Tuesday, Aug. 8: Backpack giveaway, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., The Wright Center for Community 皇家华人 Hawley Practice, 103 Spruce St., Hawley. 
  • Wednesday, Aug. 9: Back-to-school vaccine clinic with Driving Better 皇家华人 mobile 皇家华人 unit, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Hazleton Area School District, 1515 W. 23rd St., Hazleton. Walk-ups are welcome upon vaccine availability, but appointments are preferred. Call 570.230.0019 to schedule an appointment. 
  • Thursday, Aug. 10: Art and Mindfulness group, 12:30 to 2 p.m., Community Intervention Center, 445 N. 6th Ave., Scranton. 
  • Thursday, Aug. 10: Wellness and 皇家华人 Fair for Employee Appreciation Day, 2 to 4 p.m., The Wright Center for Community 皇家华人 Scranton Practice, 501 S. Washington Ave., Suite 1000, Scranton. 
  • Saturday, Aug. 12:  Backpack giveaway and children鈥檚 art activity, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., South Side Farmers Market, 526 Cedar Ave., Scranton.

Mid Valley Practice expands, modernizes to better serve patients and shorten wait times

Written by

Joshua Braddell, DNP, CRNP, FNC-C, far left, 皇家华人 director at The Wright Center for Community 皇家华人 Mid Valley Practice, and Laura Sweeney, a certified 皇家华人 assistant II, enter an exam room in the newly-renovated wing at the primary care clinic.

Joshua Braddell, DNP, CRNP, FNC-C, far left, 皇家华人 director at The Wright Center for Community 皇家华人 Mid Valley Practice, and Laura Sweeney, a certified 皇家华人 assistant II ,enter an exam room in the newly-renovated wing at the primary care clinic.

The Wright Center adds exam rooms and behavioral and mental health wing

To better serve patients, The Wright Center for Community 皇家华人 Mid Valley Practice, 5 S. Washington Ave., Jermyn, updated the footprint of the existing primary care clinic, adding five new clinical examination rooms and a dedicated wing for behavioral and mental health services.  

The growing demand for services at the Mid Valley Practice, which opened in 2012, and the changing needs for clinical space prompted the renovations, according to Marianne Linko, LPN, practice manager. Work began in March and was completed without major interruptions to the integrated physical, behavioral, and mental health, dental, and other services the clinic provides 365 days a year.

鈥淚t was a feat,鈥 said Dr. Jignesh Sheth, M.D., FACP, MPH, chief 皇家华人 officer for The Wright Center for Community 皇家华人. 鈥淭his is our busiest clinic, and we finished all construction without shutting down or affecting patient care or the quality of care they receive.鈥 

The Wright Center for Community 皇家华人 Mid Valley Practice in Jermyn added a new behavioral and mental health wing that is designed to evoke a peaceful atmosphere.

The Wright Center for Community 皇家华人 Mid Valley Practice in Jermyn added a new behavioral and mental health wing that is designed to evoke a peaceful atmosphere. 

Renovations include new tile flooring in patient rooms and hallways in the wings of clinics A, B, C, and D. The tile replaced carpeting that was difficult to clean and maintain. Crews installed new carpeting in each provider room and refreshed the paint throughout the clinic, resulting in a clean, modern new look. 

鈥淚t looks nice and neat,鈥 said Jenna Dunn, a certified clinical 皇家华人 assistant at The Mid Valley Practice. 鈥淓very single patient has commented on how much nicer it looks.鈥 

Between 50 and 75 employees work at the clinic daily, seeing about 175 patients per day. In 2022, staff at the Mid Valley Practice handled about 26,000 patient visits, according to clinic data. In 2021, as the COVID-19 pandemic raged, the practice had more than 36,00 patient visits.

Since the section of the clinic that was used to treat patients with diagnosed or suspected COVID-19 was no longer needed, work began in early 2023 to repurpose the area into the clinic鈥檚 new behavioral and mental health wing. Crews worked for months on renovations to create a new, cohesive space for patients and staff. 

鈥淵ou want there to be a flow,鈥 Linko said, explaining that patients with behavioral and mental health appointments can now bypass the main lobby and go directly to the new wing to check in and wait. 鈥淣ow we have more space to offer those services.鈥

Dr. Sheth says the new space was designed to evoke a peaceful atmosphere. Instead of examination tables and sterile surroundings, the new rooms feature comfortable furniture and muted lighting to better facilitate the kind of care that happens at the Mid Valley Practice.  

Renovations to The Wright Center for Community 皇家华人 Mid Valley Practice include the creation of a new behavioral and mental health wing.聽 Patients can bypass the main check-in desk and lobby and proceed directly to the new wing.聽

In addition to the four new examination rooms, the new wing features a large space where resident physicians can work and collaborate.

Once the behavioral and mental health space was completed, renovations created the five new clinical examination rooms to offer more room availability and lessen wait times. The clinic offers checkups, physicals, and screenings, treatment of common illnesses and injuries, as well as dental, behavioral health, and addiction and recovery services, including medication-assisted treatment.

The Wright Center for Community 皇家华人 Mid Valley Practice is a full-service, family-friendly primary and pediatric care office in Jermyn. It is one of 10 primary and preventive care practices operated by The Wright Center for Community 皇家华人 in Lackawanna, Luzerne, and Wayne counties in Northeast Pennsylvania. For more information or to schedule an appointment, visit TheWrightCenter.org or call 570.230.0019.