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.

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. 

Scranton, Pa. (Oct. 22, 2021) – Resident physicians in The Wright Center for Graduate Medical Education’s internal medicine program presented scholarly research posters at the American College of Physicians Pennsylvania Eastern Region Virtual Poster Day and Doctor’s Dilemma Competition in October.

Resident physicians in training who presented at the conference are:

• Mohammad Asim Amjad, M.D., presented the case report poster, “Candida Empyema Thoracis: A Fungal Mystery.” Zamara Hamid, M.D., and Yamini Patel, M.D. co-authored the scholarly work.
• Shams Tasnim, M.D., was the primary author of the scholarly case report poster, “Pulmonary Benign Metastasizing Leiomyoma from Uterine Leiomyoma a Decade after Hysterectomy,” with co-authors Nishant Sharma, M.D., and Pius Ochieng, M.D.
• Viren Raheja, M.D., offered the case report presentation, “ECMO to the Rescue.” Co-authors included Andalib Hossain, M.D., and Dr. Patel.
• Hamza Hanif, M.D., offered the case report, “Left Ventricular Apical Aneurysm in Absence of Coronary Artery Disease: A Case Report,” with co-authors Raza Naseer, M.D., Abdul Ahad Ehsan Sheikh, M.D., Muhammad Siddique Pir, M.D., and Dr. Amjad.
• Sanskriti Shrivastava, M.D., presented the case report, “Recurrent Venous Thromboembolism Following Paper Wasp Bite in an Adult Male.” The reports co-authors included Hunain Aslam, M.D., and Anil K. Singh, M.D.
• Chaitanya Rojulpote, M.D., was the primary author of the research poster, “Socioeconomic Status and Trends in Hospitalization and All-Cause In-Hospital Mortality Amongst Patients Admitted with Atrial Fibrillation in the United States,” with co-authors Shivaraj Patil, Abdul Sheik, Anshul Patel, Kristina Tanovic, Erin McFadden, Nevena Barjaktarovic and Ivan Cvorovic.
• Tripti Chopade, M.D., offered the scholarly case report, “An Interesting Case of Refractory Thrombotic Thrombocytopenic Purpura in an HIV Patient with Relapse: Failure to Triumph!”
• Ali Akram, M.D., presented the case report poster, “Ovarian Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma Masquerading as an Ovarian Cyst Following a Primary CNS Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma: A Diagnostic Dilemma,” with co-authors Sreekant Avula, M.D., Navharsh Sekhon, M.D., Qasim Zafar Iqbal, M.D., Numan Fateh, M.D., and Dr. Chopade.
• Raza Naseer, M.D., presented the case report, “Amiodarone Induced Pulmonary Toxicity Versus COVID-19 Pneumonia: A Diagnostic Dilemma.” Usman Manzoor, M.D., and Sanya Badar, M.D., and Drs. Sheikh, Amjad and Hanif co-authored the scholarly work.

Overall, student 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 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.  

Scranton, Pa. (Oct 22, 2021) – The Wright Center for Community Health will begin scheduling and administering third-dose boosters of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine on Saturday, Oct. 23 at regional community clinics in Lackawanna, Luzerne and Wayne counties after the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommend third doses of the vaccine for additional groups of people, beyond those who are immunocompromised. 

The CDC recommended a half-dose of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine as a third-dose booster at its Oct. 21 meeting. The booster is intended for anyone over the age of 65, those with underlying health conditions that place them at high risk and front-line workers who could be exposed to coronavirus at work. Those who meet the criteria are eligible for the third dose six months or more after receiving the two-dose regimen of Moderna.

The CDC’s latest recommendation follows the same guidelines from the Food and Drug Administration earlier in the month, and previous endorsements by the CDC in September for third-dose boosters of Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines for moderately to severely immunocompromised people at least 28 days after their second dose. The Wright Center for Community Health has been administering the Pfizer and Moderna booster vaccinations since the CDC’s decision last month.

The CDC’s latest recommendation for the Moderna third-dose booster shot includes:

•  65 years and older.
• Age 18+ who live in long-term care settings.
• Age 18+ who have underlying medical conditions.
•  Age 18+ who work in high-risk settings, such as health care workers, teachers, day care staff, grocery works and corrections staff.
• Age 18+ who live in high-risk settings, such as shelters, correctional institutions and long-term care facilities.

Appointments to receive the third-dose booster of the Moderna vaccine may be made at the following Wright Center for Community Health practices: Scranton, 501 S. Washington Ave.; Mid Valley, 5 S. Washington Ave.; Clarks Summit, 1145 Northern Blvd.; Kingston, 2 Sharpe St.; Hawley, 103 Spruce St.; Wilkes-Barre, 335 S. Franklin St., and school-based health location, 1401 Fellows St., Scranton (West Scranton Intermediate School). To make an appointment, call 570-230-0019 or visit TheWrightCenter.org. 

Although the CDC approved mixing and matching of Johnson & Johnson, Moderna and Pfizer COVID-19 vaccinations, The Wright Center for Community Health is NOT mixing vaccines. 

COVID-19 vaccinations for children 5-11 years of age have not been approved by the CDC. A decision is expected in early November. Please check The Wright Center for Community Health’s website for the most current information.

People should talk to their health care provider about their medical condition and whether or not getting an additional dose is appropriate for them.

“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.

The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for ages 16 and older. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends Pfizer third-dose boosters be given six months after the second dose in these categories: Older adults (ages 65 and above) and those living in long-term care facilities; adults ages 50-64 at high risk of severe COVID-19 due to underlying medical conditions; adults ages 18-49 with underlying medical conditions should consider a booster, and adults 18-64 who work in health care and institutional settings, such as teachers, health care workers, daycare staff, grocery works and people in shelters or prisons.

The CDC also recommended that people with compromised immune systems who had previously received two doses of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine get a third shot of the same type to boost their protection from COVID-19. The third shot should be administered at least 28 days after the second dose.

People interested in receiving a vaccine are encouraged to pre-register online at TheWrightCenter.org or by calling 570-343-2382. Walk-up appointments also are welcome throughout the day. People seeking vaccination services are asked to bring a photo ID and insurance cards. For those who are uninsured, The Wright Center will never deny health care services based on a patient’s inability to pay. 

“The Wright Center for Community Health works collaboratively with community agencies to make outreach to underserved communities in Northeast Pennsylvania,” said Robin Rosencrans, practice manager for Driving Better Health. “Our mobile clinic makes vaccinations more accessible for people who otherwise might not have necessary transportation for appointments with their primary care providers.”

Driving Better Health features two fully equipped examination operatories and a medical staff aboard the mobile medical unit. It is a way to bring health care to the region’s most vulnerable, underserved populations. It is staffed by a multidisciplinary, bilingual primary care team of clinicians who will deliver primary health care to those most in need.