GCSOM Journal - Winter 2019

Journal The

Winter 2019

For alumni, community and friends

Sneak peek

Being there for URM students: Health Equity Group forms at Geisinger Commonwealth

From emulation to education Family and faculty kept this physician close

Alumni feature Tom Churilla, MD '13

When he was applying to medical schools, Tom Churilla, MD, had an important person to consider: his dad, Thomas. “My dad was my role model,” Dr. Churilla said. An auto mechanic who raised his son alone after his wife Joan passed, Thomas Churilla provided an example of hard work, devotion and integrity that young Tom was eager to emulate. So when the senior Churilla was diagnosed with metastatic colon cancer during the time that the junior Churilla was still an undergraduate at The University of Scranton, staying closer to home to study medicine became an attractive option.

“I was a senior in college when my dad was diagnosed,” Dr. Churilla said. “It was his dream that I would attend medical school.

He was thrilled to see me receive my lab coat during the white coat ceremony at TCMC [now Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine] as a member of its first class, the Class of 2013.”

Although Dr. Churilla had other admissions offers, the combination of remaining near family and having the chance to help create something new in his hometown proved hard to resist. In addition, Dr. Churilla said there were other unique features about the school that appealed to him. “I had excellent classmates and friends at TCMC,” he said. “I also knew just how much the community valued building the school — there was so much excitement around it. Plus, I knew the first class would receive a lot of individualized attention.”

Dr. Churilla said he was not disappointed, especially with the one-on-one attention he received from faculty. There was one thing, however, that surprised him: the support he received from physicians in the community, especially Harmar Brereton, MD, Madhava Baikadi, MD, and Christopher Peters, MD, of Northeast Radiation Oncology Centers (NROC). Dr. Peters is now a colleague, but when Dr. Churilla was a medical student, he provided much-needed guidance.

“Drs. Brereton and Peters were my first professional mentors,” Dr. Churilla said. “They were so welcoming. I still recall many of my first valuable lessons in medicine that occurred in their office.

Additionally, I was fortunate to have the opportunity to work on

an interesting research project with Dr. Peters, which taught me the nuts and bolts of clinical research. I saw how busy they were, but Dr. Peters sat down every week to discuss our project and gave me his time. I have only later come to realize how rare and unique that is.”

Dr. Peters, along with Meghan Haggerty, MD, an NROC doctor who was in her residency at the time, filled an important void — one that was a problem unique to the Class of 2013. “Being in the first class was a really special position to be in,” Dr. Churilla said.

“We were able to leave our mark in a small way. But one thing we lacked were upperclassmen. We were the upperclassmen from day one. So that meant that we did not have classmates who knew about residency matching to share their insights. But I received plenty of advice from Drs. Peters and Haggerty about what to look for in a program, and [registrar] Ed Lahart kept us all on top of necessary paperwork. Ed made sure all the I’s were dotted and the T’s crossed. I was amazed as to how smoothly the whole application and match process went for the first time through.”

So aided, Dr. Churilla enjoyed a very successful Match Day in 2013.

Just this year, he completed his residency in radiation oncology at Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia. He said he is delighted to return to where it all began — to Scranton; to Geisinger Commonwealth, where he will serve as clinical faculty; and to NROC, where he joins his former mentors as a new colleague. And he didn’t come home alone. Dr. Churilla returned with his wife, Tara Churilla, DO, a pediatrician who is also a Scranton native and a recent graduate of the pediatric residency program at the Bristol-Myers Squibb Children’s Hospital at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital. She has signed on to practice at Pediatric Associates of Kingston.

“It was our dream to come back to the area and practice medicine,” Dr. Churilla said. “But I worried a bit about my academic interests — would I be able to pursue them? Now, with NROC and the School of Medicine, the answer is a resounding yes. I hope to use this opportunity to give back to our patients in northeast Pennsylvania and to the students at Geisinger Commonwealth.”

geisinger.edu/AlumniSpotlight

A message from

the president and dean Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine’s commitment to serving our communities has no better expression than in the myriad ways we work to educate the healthcare teams of the future. One indispensable component of that work is to expand the pool of qualified future leaders by nurturing the talents of the region’s disadvantaged and diverse populations. That’s why I am proud of our Center for Excellence (COE) for Diversity and Inclusion, spearheaded by Chief Diversity Officer Ida Castro, JD, and its newest initiative, the Health Equity Group.

The Health Equity Group, or HEG, is composed of underrepresented-in-medicine (URM) Geisinger physicians who have agreed to serve as mentors. I was honored to take part in its first meeting this past fall and to watch our students interacting with the role models whose example they will follow and whose counsel they will seek. I am particularly grateful for the support we received that evening from Jaewon Ryu, MD, JD, who is now our new interim CEO. The HEG will be instrumental in attaining our goal for healthier communities by diversifying our healthcare workforce — and that begins with our students. I commend our admissions team for placing that mission at the center of its holistic review process.

The proof of their dedication is in the numbers: URM students compose 15 percent of our MD Class of 2022, and 25 percent of that class are first-generation-to-college students. These numbers matter because research shows how crucial a diverse physician workforce is to population health.

A February 2018 report from the Pennsylvania Department of Health states the grim facts. Minority Health Disparities in Pennsylvania reveals hospital discharge rates are significantly higher among black and Hispanic residents compared to whites for chronic conditions like asthma and heart failure — conditions that require long-term, trusting relationships with a healthcare provider if patients wish to remain out of the hospital.

These facts were supplemented in June 2018 by a study from the National Bureau of Economic Research. The authors note that their findings underscore how vital effective doctor-patient communication is to improved outcomes. The researchers said, “Our findings suggest black doctors could help reduce cardiovascular mortality by 16 deaths per 100,000 per year for black men — leading to a 19 percent reduction in the blackwhite male gap in cardiovascular mortality.” In short, health disparities can be reduced by diversity in providers.

The work that the school’s COE is doing to reduce health disparities is enhanced by other school initiatives like our family-centered experience program for first- and second-year students and by the intentional way education at Geisinger is expanding residency programs — programs designed to educate the healthcare teams of the future. That may sound sophisticated and certainly some of our work is quite complex, but what drives it is actually quite simple: caring for neighbors. As our students go out into the world and do this, I am confident they will leave happier, healthier communities in their wake.

The Journal A publication by the Department of Marketing and Communications: Venard Scott Koerwer, EdD Vice President for Strategy & Planning Vice Dean for Graduate Studies Professor of Organizational Systems & Innovation Elizabeth Zygmunt Director of Media and Public Relations Heather M. Davis, MFA Director of Marketing and Communications Jessica Hine Graphic Designer Jessica Martin Editor Board of Directors Robert Dietz, Chair Virginia McGregor, Vice Chair Pedro J. Greer Jr., MD V. Chris Holcombe, PE David H. Ledbetter, PhD, FACMG David B. Nash, MD, MBA Deborah E. Powell, MD Steven J. Scheinman, MD Office of Institutional Advancement Phone: 570-955-1310 Email: development@som.geisinger.edu Marise Garofalo Vice President for Institutional Advancement Andrea Mulrine Senior Director of Advancement Operations/ Campaign Manager Jane A. Kanyock, MBA Director of Corporate and Foundation Relations Kara L. Badyrka Director of Special Events and Special Projects Karen A. Stine Administrative Assistant to the Vice President for Institutional Advancement On the cover: Christine Noble, MD, and other Geisinger physicians join the School of Medicine’s Health Equity Group.

Read more on page 2.

Sincerely,

Steven J. Scheinman, MD President and Dean, Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine Executive Vice President and Chief Academic Officer, Geisinger The Journal

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Incredibly, Christine Noble, MD, laughs at the memory: Once when a patient was being wheeled to the operating room, the Geisinger anesthesiologist said she could sense her nurse anesthetist was seething. The air of agitation didn’t dissipate as the procedure began, so Dr. Noble asked her what was wrong. The nurse replied that the patient’s family had just taken her aside and told her to “keep an eye on Dr. Noble” during the surgery so “she didn’t kill their loved one.”

Health Equity Group brings physicians together to guide A graduate of Columbia University’s College of Physicians and Surgeons and a board-certified anesthesiologist, Dr. Noble tells the story in an amused tone, but strikes a serious note when she adds, “For all the minority doctors in training, I want them to know that on the day they have that experience, I want to be there for them.”

Being there for students is the core function of Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine’s Health Equity Group (HEG), which Dr. Noble has joined. In addition to providing mentoring by physicians like Dr. Noble, the HEG will encourage doctors who are underrepresented in medicine (URM) to adopt the role of navigator to steer students through the myriad challenges of medical school and residency training. “HEG will provide intentional guidance from mentors to students and residents with similar challenges,” said Ida Castro, JD. As Geisinger Commonwealth’s vice president of Community Engagement and chief diversity officer, she leads the Center of Excellence (COE) and all its programs, including HEG. “Our unique charge is to help first-generation-to-college, economically disadvantaged and URM students effectively negotiate a complex career path like medicine,” she said. “These students don’t have access to all of the information necessary to succeed — no role models, no mentors. It’s critical that they have the guidance many of their peers take for granted.”

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Providing such guidance will result in better patient care for every patient — every time. That’s why another physician mentor, Geisinger neuro-oncologist Na Tosha Gatson, MD, PhD, is involved with HEG. She said, “I believe that learning medicine is not the difficult part. Being able to communicate and connect with human beings who are ill — that’s the hard part. If the medical community wants to get the connection and compassion part of the patient experience right,” she said, “it must be populated by professionals from a wide array of backgrounds, cultures and socioeconomic perspectives.” Dr. Gatson has been involved with high-school-to-medicine bridge programs similar to GCSOM’s REACH-HEI* program through her work at The Ohio State University and strongly believes that this approach to early identification of diverse talent is the future of medicine. “Diversity in medicine should include diversity in race/ethnicity, social/ socioeconomic perspective, sex/gender, age, sexual orientation and physical handicap status to ensure that our physician and clinical scientist population is representative of the public we intend to treat and educate.”

It’s an outlook shared by many physicians who have agreed to serve on HEG. *Regional Education Academy for Careers in Health – Higher Education Initiative

For example, Eduardo Tron, MD, an Argentina-born Geisinger pediatric gastroenterologist, wants to serve as a mentor to share with his potential “mentees” his experiences and insights as an immigrant.

“When you enter a different country, it’s not a melting pot — it’s a salad,” he said. “Your goal is to participate with the rest of the country, but to try to keep your own culture. That’s why sometimes immigrant populations are so misunderstood. If we help immigrant physicians, we can help them to serve immigrant populations. It’s a win-win.”

Eduardo Tron, MD, addresses a meeting of the Health Equity Group in September.

In addition to the end goal of creating a physician pool well equipped to “connect with human beings who are ill,” Dr. Castro says. HEG also has a specific research function. “HEG will expand research to gain a better understanding of the medically underserved communities in our own neighborhoods,” she said. “We want to know what the needs are and what initiatives are most effective.”

Dr. Gatson praises this particular goal of HEG because it seeks to address “disparities in healthcare that are not created by ‘the system,’ but are instead sometimes related to specific genetic or geographic predispositions that we cannot control. However, we can work hard to recognize these differences.” She added, “For example, certain gynecologic cancers are more aggressive in black and Latina women due to genetic predispositions. However, if the clinical trials are completed in a largely European population, the outcomes and therapies might be reflective of much-needed equity within the full impacted population.... [W]e need to encourage well-designed research trials that are inclusive and mindful of factors that influence disparities in healthcare.” Dr. Gatson has been very active around this issue related to her role as NRG Oncology Brain Tumor Core Committee liaison to the Health Disparities Committee, an international organization that emphasizes increased clinical trials in cancer care.

In the research arena, HEG has already laid the groundwork for a longitudinal health needs assessment of Scranton’s Latino community — a population often missing from the community health needs assessments that area health systems regularly conduct. Over the summer, teams of medical students and the college students they were mentoring as part of COE’s REACH-HEI program fanned out across the city’s south side to interview members of this “hidden population” and record initial data that will be used as the foundation of a comprehensive research project with measurable impact and outcomes.

Ida Castro, JD, Geisinger Commonwealth’s vice president of Community Engagement and chief diversity officer, embraces Kaiya Flemons, a member of the MD Class of 2022.

This emphasis on outcomes illustrates the final and perhaps most important piece of HEG’s work: results that can be replicated in communities across the nation. “The outcomes we expect are that HEG will expand faculty, it will expand mentoring capacity, it will expand clinical opportunities for diverse students and it will expand scholarly work focused on populations that require that attention,” Dr. Castro said. “These are high expectations, but they are achievable.”

Jaewon Ryu, MD, Geisinger’s interim president and CEO, said Geisinger is committed to helping HEG succeed. “As an employer, Geisinger is about caring, and that means creating a welcoming environment for everyone,” he said. “That doesn’t happen without intention. We need to foster leaders across all backgrounds for better caring in regard to patients and in regard to employees. Building this infrastructure cannot be accidental and it won’t be ad hoc, so I am happy to be a part of HEG.” This project is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under grant number D34HP31025, “Centers of Excellence.” This information or content and conclusions are

Jaewon Ryu, MD, JD, interim president and CEO of Geisinger, speaks to the gathering.

those of the author and should not be construed as the official position or policy of, nor should any endorsements be inferred by HRSA, HHS or the U.S. Government.

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Filling the need When she was a medical student at the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Tucson, Anne Ivie, MD, traveled the world. She spent time on mission trips to Africa, India and the Philippines — experiences that hooked her on the intellectual stimulation offered by exposure to different cultures and the joy she found in forging deep connections with patients who truly needed her.

About Anne Ivie, MD Dr. Ivie, 42, was a nontraditional medical student. She was born and raised in Utah, where she earned her undergraduate degree from Brigham Young University in 2000 and worked as an athletic trainer for various colleges and universities in Arizona. While still raising a young family, Dr. Ivie decided she wanted to study medicine. She juggled preparing for her MCATs and taking prerequisite courses like organic chemistry with shuttling her kids to soccer practice and helping them with their homework. In 2013, she was accepted to University of Arizona College of Medicine – Tucson, and in 2018 she began her rural family medicine residency at Geisinger Lewistown Hospital.

Dr. Ivie and her husband Joel have four children: Indiana, 18 (now on the drum line with Arizona State University’s marching band); Calvin, 16 (who came to Lewistown with his mother in July 2018 so he could spend his entire junior year in high school in one place); Chelsea, 14; and Dallas, 12. The two youngest joined their mom when she was reunited with her husband in Lewistown in December 2018. The family dog is Zosyn.

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“Access to care is a big issue in the communities I served in — for example, the Philippines,” she said.

“And I loved the fact that the primary care physician did everything: procedures, minor surgery, women’s health. It also struck me that with mission trips, you come to help for a few weeks, but then you leave. I wanted to be where I was really needed all the time.”

Dr. Ivie said this simple insight led to another. “I realized there are communities here at home that have similar issues. Places where I could practice a wide range of medicine and really connect with people. Places where I could be a trusted member of the community and bump into my patients in the grocery store or at my kids’ soccer games — and most such places are rural.” That was Dr. Ivie’s vision when, in July 2018, she joined the first group of residents in the Lewistown Rural Family Medicine Residency, a collaboration between Geisinger and Family Practice Center. She said she has not been disappointed.

“I love Lewistown. The thing that really stands out about it is how nice everyone is — though it’s a big change, climate-wise, from southern Arizona,” she said, noting that the cold and snow are a novelty for her family, who joined her in central Pennsylvania in December. “The Lewistown area has large populations of Amish and Mennonites, so I get exposure to very different cultures, and I enjoy my continuity clinic in Mifflintown. It just feels like home. I love having the time to care. I see patients ranging from 7 days old to some who are 92 [years old]. And we do lots of procedures, which appeals to me. Serving these communities makes me feel like an important part of them. I like knowing that people rely on me, and when such a close-knit community accepts me as one of their own, it’s so rewarding. It’s a thrill that’s hard to describe.”

A day in the life

Inpatient Medicine rotation 6:15 a.m. I look in on patients who have been in the hospital overnight and check to see if any new patients have been added to my service.

7 a.m. Class with my three fellow residents and an attending physician. The residents take turns teaching the class by going over a case we had, discussing it and seeing what we could have done differently or better.

8 a.m. I go to the floor and see all of my patients and talk to the nurses about any changes they’ve observed overnight.

9 a.m. Interdisciplinary Team (IDT) meeting with case managers, nurses, attendings and pharmacists. As a medical student, I was exposed to other IDTs, but none who do it as well as Geisinger. We talk about every single patient, and it’s nice to have the input of people who are focused on a single thing — the case managers share insights about the patient’s home life, the pharmacist is looking at all the meds. It’s a big help to a primary care physician who has to think about everything.

10 a.m. Meeting with attending physician.

Noon conference. On “continuity clinic” day, I go to the Mifflintown clinic after noon conference. Otherwise, the afternoon is devoted to new admissions.

5 p.m. (and beyond) Follow up on consults and tests and place new orders. Afterward, in the evening, I work on patient notes and report on each of my patients to my attending. One big thing about the GLH residency is that I have direct access — all the time — to my attending. So there’s a wealth of knowledge available to me whenever I need it.

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When "pain" isn't enough Perceptions of pain mean clinicians need a new language In the team setting, pain is regarded as something unique to each patient, not a monolith to be flayed with a single set of tools.

“We are flipping the curriculum to impress on students the physical and the psychosocial causes of pain.”

– Leighton Huey, MD

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nglish speakers are fond of pointing out that the Inuit people have 50 different words for snow. It’s an endlessly fascinating concept because it underscores a dramatic point. Reducing something vastly complex to a single word destroys its nuances and iterations. Winter precipitation can be powdery, wet or icy, yet all we can call it is snow. So it is with pain. Pain has a thousand different presentations. It can be sharp, dull or throbbing.

It can come from muscles, nerves — or even the mind.

Yet for years, medicine responded to it uniformly. A pain complaint prompted a fairly predictable cascade of medicines, beginning with ibuprofen or acetaminophen and ending with an opioid. In part, the opioid crisis befell us because doctors and patients needed new ways to talk about pain.

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That’s the story Mike Evans, RPh, Geisinger’s chief pharmacy officer, tells when he describes how Geisinger achieved a 50 percent reduction in opioid prescribing since 2014. Mr. Evans describes the effort, begun in 2012, as a “a true collaborative approach that leverages data analytics, clinical experts, system leadership, education programs, electronic health record optimization and a regionalized drug take-back program.” It’s an approach that is now interacting with changes to the curriculum at Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine and influencing a new generation of prescribers.

“In 2012 we noticed that Geisinger’s patient satisfaction scores around pain management were not where they should be,” Mr. Evans said. “That launched a multifaceted root-cause analysis where more than 25 system leaders dug in to find out why.”

Geisinger Commonwealth medical students Alfred Hamilton III and Kelly Ca receive instruction from Geisinger clinical pharmacist Christina Brady (center) at the Geisinger Mt. Pleasant clinic in Scranton.

Mr. Evans, a self-described “data guy,” dove into Geisinger’s vast trove of electronic health records and found “we were prescribing a lot of opioids.” Years before the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released its 2016 landmark Guideline for Prescribing Opioids for Chronic Pain, the team realized there were no “best practices surrounding pain management.” And when they asked clinicians to describe how they treated pain, the replies centered around how they managed steps in a chain of prescribing — from Tylenol® to nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs to opioids — rather than the kinds of pain patients were experiencing. From his background in pharmacy, Mr. Evans knows opioids are powerless against certain kinds of pain and may actually exacerbate others.

That’s why getting to know the particular nuances of a patient’s pain is critical.

“Clinicians want to do the right thing,” he said. “When shown the data, they were astonished at the amount of opioids they were prescribing. It wasn’t their fault. It’s what they learned in residency training.”

Leighton Y. Huey, MD, Geisinger Commonwealth’s associate dean for Behavioral Health Integration and Community Care Transformation, agrees. “The real issue lies in the fact that more than 50 percent of U.S. medical students say they graduate with an incomplete sense of how to approach pain management. Yet it’s among the top reasons people go to see a doctor. Students just don’t spend much time on pain education. In fact, many

veterinary schools offer substantially more hours in their pain education curricula. We’ve not been doing a good job educating our doctors on the management of chronic noncancer pain.”

Dr. Huey said the School of Medicine plans to triple the number of hours devoted to pain education, and it will be delivered as a thread through all four years of education.

“In medical school, students are typically taught to see pain as receptors — [but] that takes out the suffering and it makes it seem that all you need to know are mechanisms. We are flipping the curriculum to impress on students the physical and the psychosocial causes of pain.”

Mr. Evans said Geisinger launched a physician education program and formed multidisciplinary teams — teams that include a clinical pharmacist — at all care sites. “The complexities of prescribing have increased exponentially,” he said. “There can be 9, 15, 20 new medicines approved by the FDA every week. The day we think we can know it all, it’s over. That’s why a multidisciplinary approach is imperative.”

In the team setting, pain is regarded as something unique to each patient, not a monolith to be flayed with a single set of tools. During third- and fourth-year rotations, Geisinger Commonwealth students learn in these multidisciplinary teams and gain firsthand experience in appreciating pain’s complexity. Though it’s still a single word, healthcare teams educated at Geisinger learn to discern pain’s multitude of meanings.

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A new world for Nova Connections with patients go beyond hearing When Nova Romanaskas was 3 months old, her parents, Kassandra Kordish and Ryan Romanaskas, were told she had hearing loss. “At first it was like the end of the world,” Ryan said.

“It seemed so overwhelming.” Now, Nova has celebrated her second birthday and is adjusting to life with cochlear implants.

Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine medical students have accompanied the family on every step of Nova’s journey — from what seemed like devastating news right up to her first tentative steps into the hearing world, thanks to a unique community partnership between GCSOM and The Scranton School for Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Children. The partnership, inspired by the School of Medicine’s signature Family-Centered Experience Program, brings families and students together every Wednesday evening for American Sign Language (ASL) classes.

Nova and her family take part in the Wednesday evening familycentered classes. There, families dealing with hearing loss learn to sign alongside medical students. Members of the community who have an interest in learning ASL also take part. Classes are taught by Mary Ann Stefko, an early intervention therapist with The Scranton School.

“You can’t see deafness. That’s why it’s so misunderstood,” Mary Ann said. “Families I work with commonly have experiences with healthcare providers who say things like, ‘I’m sorry your child is deaf.’ By bringing these families and students together, I want future doctors to realize that a child who is deaf has nothing to apologize for.”

Robin Tanner, a second-year medical student, is co-president of GCSOM’s ASL Club. “I’ve met so many families and heard so many stories,” she said. “The kids just want to be treated the same as anyone else. And the families we interact with are phenomenal. They’re so happy to bring us in and teach us.”

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The focus of Mary Ann’s lessons is on basic conversational signs, as well as words and phrases that deal with medicine. The ASL club’s other co-president, second-year medical student Matthew Busch, said, “It’s important for me, as a future doctor, to be able to communicate and connect with patients. Having basic medical sign language allows me to at least introduce myself and ask where it hurts before we have to call in an interpreter.”

For Nova’s mom, Kassandra, that simple act of trying to connect means everything. “We are human and a family. For future doctors to think about that — [to] understand our family and

Community-based research addresses perceptions of deafness Geisinger Commonwealth students and Geisinger pediatrician Jacob Troutman, DO, have teamed up to conduct community-based research to assess the experiences of the deaf and hard-of-hearing with the medical community. The study will include surveying primary care physicians, as well as three other populations: • Adults who are deaf • Adults who are deaf with children who are deaf • Adults who are hearing with children who are deaf The physician survey will measure clinicians’ education and comfort level with the deaf community. The community survey will measure patient perceptions. Any gaps revealed in the data will be shared with healthcare providers in order to enhance the patient experience. Geisinger Commonwealth student Robin Tanner, who is helping to lead the study, said Institutional Review Board approval is imminent and that a second phase of the study — which would involve medical students — is already being planned.

Jacob Troutman, DO

treat us accordingly — is what we hope will happen.

Once doctors can see past a diagnosis and relate to the people, the connection between the doctor and patient is taken to another level. It becomes so much more meaningful and productive. That's what this class is all about,” she said. Mary Ann observes that something very human is indeed happening as students form close bonds with the families.

“I got to know Nova before she got her cochlear implants,” Matthew said. “Now when I see her, I can see the changes. She is so much more attentive to everything that comes out of my mouth. She is speaking more and much more focused on speech.” Mary Ann agrees.

“It was deeply satisfying for me to see it,” she said.

“Suddenly, cochlear implants aren’t a medical procedure to these students — it’s Nova and her parents. That’s what this procedure means.”

“It’s important for me, as a future doctor, to be able to communicate and connect with patients.

– Second-year medical student Matthew Busch

GCSOM students don’t limit their family interactions to Wednesday nights. The Scranton School recently held a Family Learning Day and, as an obviously moved Mary Ann said, “All of my GCSOM students showed up. Who does that?” Robin said she enjoyed the experience. “I love these kids. They are so funny. It’s nice when they get to just be kids. We were playing with a group of 10- to 12-year-olds and trying our best to communicate during kickball and they told us, ‘You all sign like kindergarteners.’ They laughed, but they’re thrilled that we’re trying. They just want you to talk to them.”

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Ninth annual Turkey Trot raises record amount for Friends of the Poor First row, from left: Michelle Stefanelli, Madison Strony and Lauren Skudalski, GCSOM medical students; Sister Ann Walsh, Friends of the Poor; Mary Carroll Donahoe, AllOne Foundation; Meghan Loftus, Friends of the Poor; Alayna Craig-Lucas, Brandon Bombar and Jenna Marinock, GCSOM medical students; Second row, from left: Joshua Pettengill, Wojciech Losos, Joseph Brutico and Neil Patel, GCSOM medical students

Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine (GCSOM) medical students hosted their ninth annual Turkey Trot 5K/10K run in downtown Scranton on Nov. 4. The event also featured a Tiny Trot, including crafts, games, face painting and relay races, for children 13 and younger. Proceeds benefited the Friends of the Poor’s holiday food giveaways. Student organizers reported that 261 runners and walkers participated. Also, a series of fundraisers at local restaurants, a penny war and a Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders event augmented monies raised from race registrations to make the 2018 Turkey Trot the most successful to date, with close to $17,000 raised.

GCSOM introduces scholars program for medical students Purpose-driven program encourages caring students to practice in region Geisinger has taken another step toward ensuring its communities will be well cared for in the future. In November, Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine (GCSOM) introduced the Abigail Geisinger Scholars Program. The program awards 10 first- or second-year GCSOM medical students 1 year of loan forgiveness for each year they work at Geisinger after finishing residency training, targeting debt related to tuition and fees.

“The Abigail Geisinger Scholars Program is purpose-driven,” said David T. Feinberg, MD, Geisinger’s former president and CEO. “Everything we do is about caring, and there is no better way to care for our communities than by growing our own physician workforce and cultivating talent right here in our backyard.”

Dr. Feinberg noted that the Abigail Geisinger Scholars Program will focus on students most likely to stay and practice medicine in the regions Geisinger serves — which means recipients will most likely be students who grew up in northeast and central Pennsylvania or one of the other Geisinger service areas.

Steven J. Scheinman, MD, president and dean of GCSOM and executive vice president at Geisinger, said the Abigail Geisinger Scholars Program is one more way the School of

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Medicine is focused on bringing its alumni home.

“GCSOM already does a tremendous job focusing on local students,” he said. “Through our holistic admissions process, in a typical year, more than one-third of our incoming MD class is composed of local students. Also, through programs like REACH-HEI and our Center of Excellence, GCSOM has built a pipeline for talented local students from disadvantaged backgrounds to access careers in science and medicine. Some of these students have even been accepted at GCSOM. This loan forgiveness program is one more way we can encourage our best and brightest to stay in the region.”

Students chosen to receive an Abigail Geisinger Scholars Program award can look forward to a rewarding career at Geisinger — during which every year of service results in one year of forgiveness of tuition debt. Since medical student tuition debt can exceed $250,000 by the time commencement arrives, many future doctors find that the need to repay student loans dictates their career decisions.

The Abigail Geisinger Scholars Program is designed to remove debt from career considerations. The program provides caring students with the financial freedom to choose to stay in our region and to choose the medical specialty that most inspires them.

4 institutions + 220 students =

10,000 meals

Service coming from the heart can touch a life for an hour or a day — but when caring is powered by data and analytics, it can transform entire communities. That’s the thinking behind a multi-partner initiative that engages the academic prowess of four institutions of higher learning with partner agencies already engaged in service from the heart.

The program, dubbed Colleges Building Community, brings Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine (GCSOM) Master of Biomedical Sciences students together with Keystone College, Lackawanna College and University of the Sciences in Philadelphia (USciences) to design “living case studies” that place students at the center of data-driven service projects.

The first such project took place on Aug. 23 at GCSOM. On that day, more than 220 students from the 4 institutions assembled 10,000 meals on behalf of Scranton nonprofit Here For A Reason. The meals were then delivered to students at 3 Scranton School District elementary schools, where as many as 85 percent of the students live at or near poverty level.

“Every year at this time, the Scranton area experiences a huge

influx of young people pursuing higher education — that’s also a huge influx of intellectual curiosity, idealism and energy. Our idea is to seize the great opportunity teaching provides us to apply science and academic rigor to things that might be considered ‘service projects’ in a way that will transform our communities,” said Scott Koerwer, EdD, GCSOM vice dean for Graduate Studies and vice president of Strategy, Planning and Communication. “In effect, our projects become living laboratories to test and measure the impact of things we do to address issues like food insecurity that are harming the health and well-being of our neighbors.”

Brian Ebersole, senior director of Geisinger’s Springboard Health, said it is important to get the community active and involved in addressing issues like food insecurity that affect everyone, regardless of socioeconomic status. “When all children are well-fed and able to focus on academics, the entire community is better off — everyone wins,” he said. “That’s why an engaged community is so important. College and university students are an important part of that engagement. Mobilizing them to learn about and help solve pressing problems in our neighborhoods is a welcome development.”

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Class notes

Tell us your latest news! geisinger.edu/AlumniUpdate

Doctor of Medicine (MD) alumni Pete Allen, MD '13 received the Golden Scalpel Award upon graduating from residency. This annual award for the best resident teacher is voted on by the residents. In a partnership with the University of Pittsburgh, Dr. Allen also patented his invention, a surgical retractor, and founded a business to develop, market and manufacture the device.

Ron Bogdasarian, MD '15 is completing a surgery residency at Rutgers in New Jersey. Recently he, Allen Cheng, MD '16, and Nick Calder, MD '15, gathered in Florida for a mini GCSOM class reunion.

Drs. Scott and Linda Dalane, MD '13 both have new positions. Scott Dalane, MD, is a radiology attending at Womack Army Medical Center in Fort Bragg, N.C. Linda Dalane, MD, is an OBGYN attending at Southeastern Regional Medical Center in Lumberton, N.C. They also have a new baby: Madeline Leigh Dalane was born July 27.

Michael Farrell, MD '14 recently matched for a two-year fellowship in surgical critical care/trauma/emergency surgery from the University of California San Francisco. Dr. Farrell has presented at multiple national conferences recently and just won the Delaware state resident paper competition.

Robert Gessman, MD '13 finished his pain management fellowship at Cooper University and accepted a position in Colorado, where he continues to enjoy exploring — including places such as the 14,000-foot summit of Torrey's Peak.

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All dates are from 2018 unless otherwise specified.

Drs. Vince and Rachel Giannotti, MD '16 are the proud parents of Briella, born June 25. She is a bundle of joy and the Giannottis feel so blessed with her in their lives.

Gregory Jones, MD '16 completed two years of a general surgery residency at Weill Cornell and is now taking two years to do research. He recently coauthored two articles, “Sentinel lymph node mapping in lung cancer: A step forward?” published in Journal of Thoracic Disease and “Parathyroidectomy versus Cinacalcet in the Management of Tertiary Hyperparathyroidism: Surgery Improves Renal Transplant Allograft Survival” in the journal Surgery.

Cara Lyle, MD '14 was named the administrative chief resident of the West Virginia University General Surgery Residency this year.

Linda Sanders, MD '13 was married to Maj. Mario Soto on Dec. 28. The couple had a small wedding at their home in Colorado Springs.

Patrick Schofield, MD '14 recently had a paper accepted by the Journal of Cardiothoracic and Vascular Anesthesia: “Agreement Between Transesophageal Echocardiographic Tricuspid Annular Plane Systolic Excursion Measurement Methods in Cardiac Surgery Patients.” He also gave an oral presentation at the 37th Annual International Symposium: Clinical Update in Anesthesiology, Surgery and Perioperative Medicine, on the topic of pediatric vallecular cysts. Along with being recently board certified in basic perioperative transesophageal echocardiography, Dr. Schofield also received the Robert Schneider, MD, Cardiac Anesthesia Award and Pennathur Sundaram Award for Excellence in Neuroanesthesiology. He is practicing anesthesiology per diem at Ascension Providence Hospital, Novi Campus, while doing his anesthesia critical care fellowship at the University of Michigan.

Nermin Sihly, MD '17 was married to Ahmed Shokry, MD, on Oct. 29.

Master of Biomedical Sciences (MBS) alumni Andy Kyeadea-Amponsah, MBS '18 is working as an admissions counselor for the University of Delaware during his gap year.

Jared M. Nicholoff, MBS '18 is working as an assistant in the Anatomical Laboratory at Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine.

Drs. Justin and Julie (Mercadante) Tondt, MD '17 were married on April 7.

Sean Wallace, MD '14 is now in his fifth year of a plastic and reconstructive surgery residency at Lehigh Valley Hospital. He will serve as chief resident this year and will apply for entrance into a microsurgery fellowship. Last year, Dr. Wallace presented oral and poster presentations at national and regional conferences in the fields of plastic surgery and hand surgery, had a manuscript accepted for publication and authored a textbook chapter.

Doug Zaruta, MD '15 and his wife Brittany are thrilled to share the news that they welcomed son Jake into the world on May 31.

Save the date • April 18 – Preventive Medicine Lecture • April 27 – Campaign Close Celebration • May 5 – Commencement • June 10 – Golf Classic

David J. Verespy, MBS '13 is working at Sanofi Pasteur in the Clinical Testing Platform of the Global Clinical Immunology Department. The assays he is performing include Zika blockade-of-binding and C. diff/dengue NS1 ELISA testing.

Kimberly Watanabe, MBS '17 started medical school at St. George's University School of Medicine (SGU) in Grenada. She is joined by another Geisinger Commonwealth alumnus, Rebhi Rabah, MBS '17.

Kimberly was elected as a class representative on SGU's Student Government Association.

Calling first-generation alumni: First-gen students need you!

Vicki T. Sapp, PhD, director of Student Engagement, Diversity and Inclusion, invites all MBS and MD alumni who are first-generation graduates to serve on GCSOM’s First Generation and Ally Student Support Committee and/or serve as a mentor. Committee meetings, which may be attended via conference call, are held at two- to three-month intervals. Subcommittees gather only when working on initiatives. The mentor role is informal. First-generation students are provided with a list of faculty, staff, alumni and allies and their phone numbers, and encouraged to contact mentors when needed.

The next full committee meeting is scheduled to take place on Feb. 14. If interested, contact Dr. Sapp (vsapp@som.geisinger.edu) for details.

• Oct. 19 – Gala

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Class of 2018

Match Day On March 16, 97 students at Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine, the largest graduating class in the school’s history, learned their residency placements during the National Resident Matching Program’s “Match Day.”

“We are proud of the success of our Class of 2018,” said Steven J. Scheinman, MD, president and dean of Geisinger Commonwealth.

“Our students matched into excellent local residency programs, as well as some of the most competitive and prestigious programs and specialties in the nation. I am also glad that, once again, our students chose primary care in large numbers.”

Dr. Scheinman noted that 35 members of the Class of 2018 matched into a Pennsylvania-based program, including 13 local students. Moreover, four Geisinger Commonwealth students will train at a Geisinger residency program. “Matching into a Pennsylvania-based residency is an encouraging indicator, because physicians tend to end up practicing in areas close to where they trained,” Dr. Scheinman said, adding that Pennsylvaniabased residencies comprised more than one-third of Geisinger Commonwealth’s total match. “The fact that seven students matched into residencies in northeastern Pennsylvania is an even more promising indicator,” he said.

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Geisinger Commonwealth applicants matched into some of the most competitive specialties in American medicine, including dermatology, radiation oncology, plastic surgery, urology, ophthalmology and orthopaedic surgery. In addition to the large number of students who will train at leading communitybased programs, several students will go to residencies at highly competitive teaching hospitals, including those associated with Dartmouth, New York University, the University of Rochester, UCLA and the University of Chicago, as well programs at Jefferson, Temple and Drexel.

According to the National Resident Matching Program, the 2018 Match was the largest in history, with 37,103 total registrants competing for 33,167 positions. Among them were 18,818 fourthyear MD students who submitted their program preference lists, including the 97 from Geisinger Commonwealth.

To see the Match listing from 2018 or previous years, visit geisinger.edu/MatchDay.

Together again The MD Charter Class of 2013 celebrated its five-year reunion over the weekend of Oct. 5 through 7. The festivities included a golf tournament and a picnic. Of the 57 alumni from Geisinger Commonwealth’s Class of 2013, 28 brought their spouses and children to this first-ever School of Medicine reunion. A weekend filled with reminiscing and reconnecting started with “Dr. Jen’s Hope” (the 2018 Dr. Jennifer A. Sidari, MD, Memorial Golf Tournament) at Fox Hill Country Club on Friday morning and concluded Sunday morning with a networking brunch that allowed current medical students at the School of Medicine to mix and mingle with alumni.

Nanticoke High School dedicates Dudrick Library On Sept. 25, the Nanticoke High School library was named in honor of GCSOM professor of surgery Stanley Dudrick, MD. Dr. Dudrick, a native of Nanticoke, is widely recognized throughout the scientific and academic community for his innovative and pioneering research in the development of the specialized central venous feeding technique known as total parenteral nutrition, or TPN. Hailed as a “living legend” and named one of Medscape’s 50 most influential physicians in history, Dr. Dudrick teaches and mentors GCSOM students and is a staunch supporter of the School of Medicine.

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Black Ties For White Coats Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine hosts

10th annual Black Ties for White Coats gala Cochairs included Ariane Conaboy, DO, Kevin Conaboy, Esq., Nicole Ferentino, DC, and Jarrett Ferentino, Esq. Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine hosted its 10th annual Black Ties for White Coats gala on Saturday, Oct. 20, at Mohegan Sun Pocono in Wilkes-Barre.

Each year, Geisinger Commonwealth honors prominent members of the community who embody important aspects of the school of medicine’s founding principles: community, wellbeing and innovation.

The community honoree was Peter Danchak, regional president of the Northeast Pennsylvania Market of PNC Bank. Mr. Danchak serves in leadership roles for several community organizations, most notably those dedicated to education. In addition to his energetic support of local medical education, he is cochair of the Pennsylvania Early Learning Investment Commission, to which he was appointed in 2008, and is a member of the Executive Leadership Council of Pre-K Counts in Pennsylvania. He was recently awarded the Voice for Children Award by The Pennsylvania Association for the Education of Young Children.

The 2018 wellbeing honorees were members of the Saidman family. Bruce Saidman, MD, and David Greenwald, MD, are partners at Medical Oncology Associates (MOA) in Kingston. Long before the concept of “comprehensive cancer care” was mainstream, MOA dedicated itself to caring as much about the emotional and spiritual effects of cancer as it did about the medical aspects. Through a variety of initiatives designed to support cancer patients and their loved ones, MOA has created an atmosphere permeated with a family — rather than a clinical — feel. Steven Kafrissen, MD, Distinguished Life Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association, is a psychiatrist who has been a longtime advocate of people coping with mental illness. He is founding medical director of Behavioral Health Services (First Hospital, CHOICES and Community Counseling Services).

The 2018 innovation awardee was Robert Wright, MD. Dr. Wright elevated the standard of care in the region by bringing medical expertise closer to home. He founded the Scranton Temple Residency Program in internal medicine — now The Wright Center for Graduate Medical Education. Then, acting on his dream to see a medical college established in Scranton, he became founding chair of the Medical Education Development Consortium, then founding chair and member of The Commonwealth Medical College (TCMC, now Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine) board of trustees. Dr. Wright served as interim president and dean of TCMC and continues to guide Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine’s development as a member of its community advisory board.

Geisinger Commonwealth’s annual gala raises money exclusively for student scholarships.

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Medical student Kathy Snyder, ’21, speaks at the Oct. 20 gala.

Gala 2018 cochairs, from left: Atty. Kevin Conaboy, Ariane Conaboy, DO, Nicole Ferentino, DC, Atty. Jarrett Ferentino

To watch honoree videos and to see more photos from the gala, visit geisinger.edu/gala.

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Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine golf tournament funds MD student scholarships Golf-ball drop from helicopter was highlight of 10th annual event On Monday, June 11, Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine hosted its 10th annual golf classic at Glenmaura National Golf Club in Moosic. Peter Danchak served as the tournament chairman. PNC Bank was the tournament’s presenting sponsor. All proceeds benefited the school’s student scholarship fund that helps defray the cost of medical school tuition.

This year, organizers added a new event to celebrate the 10th anniversary and add elements of fun and celebration.

Thanks to support from sponsor Blaise Alexander, the day concluded with a helicopter golf-ball drop. The helicopter hovered over the course and dropped 500 golf balls on the 18th fairway. Golfers, attendees or anyone who wanted to play purchased a ball for $20 with a chance to win a $5,000 cash prize.

Since 2009, Geisinger Commonwealth’s annual golf tournaments have raised more than $353,000 for scholarships.

Geisinger Commonwealth holds White Coat Ceremony for Class of 2022

Shubhra Shetty, MD, delivers The Dr. Lester Saidman Memorial Lecture at annual ceremony A U.S. Army combat medic, a Fulbright scholar and Peace Corps and AmeriCorps volunteers; 28 students with graduate degrees and 28 students who are the first member of their family to go to college.

These and other accomplished future doctors received the first symbol of their new profession as Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine held its 10th annual White Coat Ceremony for the Class of 2022 on Aug. 3 at the St. Robert Bellarmine Theater at Scranton Preparatory School.

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The Class of 2022’s 113 future doctors participated in a ceremony, held in common with virtually every other medical school in the nation, designed to welcome new medical students into the profession.

Students recited an oath acknowledging their responsibilities as future physicians and their obligations to future patients. Then they were cloaked with the white coat — the mantle of the medical profession — by Michael Ferraro, MD, and Janet Townsend, MD, both regional associate deans and members of Geisinger Commonwealth’s faculty. White coats were provided by The Stanley J. Dudrick, MD, and Alan G. Goldstein Endowed Fund. A reception immediately followed in the Medical Sciences Building’s lobby.

Geisinger Commonwealth Class of 2022 by the numbers Number Percent Total students enrolled

113 100%

Students from Pennsylvania

80 70.7%

From regionally preferred counties

37 32.7%

Women 54 47.7% Underrepresented minorities

17 15%

First generation to attend college

29 25.6%

Rural 8 7% Disadvantaged

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12.4%

Geisinger Commonwealth graduates sixth MD class, ninth MBS class Commencement held May 6 Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine conferred 99 Doctor of Medicine (MD) and 93 Master of Biomedical Sciences (MBS) degrees upon students who composed Geisinger Commonwealth’s graduating Class of 2018. Commencement ceremonies were held Sunday, May 6 at the F.M. Kirby Center in Wilkes-Barre.

Steven J. Scheinman, MD, president and dean of Geisinger Commonwealth, welcomed guests and graduates. In his remarks, Dr. Scheinman warned the graduates that in the coming decades both the technology and the delivery of healthcare will change radically, challenging the way things are done currently and dramatically strengthening our armamentarium. He added, however, that “with these changes, what will remain constant will be the centrality of the relationship between the

patient and physician. In fact, the more technology advances, the more central this relationship will become.”

William F. Iobst, MD, vice president for Academic and Clinical Affairs and vice dean, together with Dr. Scheinman, presented the commencement speaker, David Nash, MD, with an honorary Doctor of Medical Arts degree. Dr. Nash is internationally recognized for his work in public accountability for outcomes, physician leadership development and quality-of-care improvement. He is founding dean of the Jefferson College of Population Health and serves on Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine’s board.

Jason Dinko, MD, a member of the Class of 2014, offered greetings from Geisinger Commonwealth’s growing Alumni Society.

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Peer mentoring program offers support

Katie Nealon and Harrison Winters

Jesse Clayton got married just before he started medical school at Geisinger Commonwealth. He worried about how to balance such a rigorous academic undertaking with the demands of a new marriage. It would be nice, he thought, if there were someone he could turn to for advice when things got hectic. He didn’t expect that person to be a fellow student — one year ahead — who shared his life situation.

Through Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine’s (GCSOM’s) peer mentoring program, Jesse (a member of the MD Class of 2019) was paired with Charles Procter, a member of the school’s MD Class of 2018. “He was married and already had one child,” Jesse said. “That was helpful, since my wife and I found out one month into medical school that we were expecting.

I had the random words of wisdom from Charlie who told me that I had to make time for family and a little voice in my head that said, ‘Don’t panic. This is doable.’”

Although Jesse’s experience with the peer mentoring program might seem uncanny in how perfectly mentor and mentee were aligned, it’s anything but uncommon. There aren’t medical students at a more different place in life from Jesse Clayton than Harrison Winters and Katie Nealon. Yet their mentor/mentee relationship has been just as rewarding.

Harrison, Class of 2020, was paired with Katie, a member of the Class of 2019, because both of them said their education at liberal arts colleges had a great deal of influence on their thinking and outlook. Harrison, a graduate of Bucknell University, and

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Katie, a graduate of Colgate, hit it off almost immediately. “The matching is so good at GCSOM, we even later found out that we are both lactose-intolerant,” Katie quipped.

“Katie has been so welcoming,” Harrison said. “Three weeks before school started, we had lunch together and she told me to come to her if I had any issues. Every milestone I passed — each new test, each new professor — she was there. She went above and beyond with anatomy lab!”

Katie, who has cooked meals for Harrison and once (mistakenly) ended up taking her charge to a “dive bar for chicken wings,” said she approached her role seriously because she thought, “Why not make things easier for someone else? I was in a sorority at Colgate and had a wonderful ‘big sister’ who gave me little gifts and made things fun. That experience stayed with me.”

As for Jesse, he has gone on to mentor Karl Andersen, a member of the Class of 2020, who is also married and has a son. “Charlie told me to set aside time for family and I did,” Jesse said. “It was good for my mental health, so when I met Karl, I told him, ‘You will be certain you can’t afford that time, but you’ll be wrong.’”

For his part, Karl said Jesse’s support has proven invaluable.

“We’re close friends now,” Karl said. “If he sees me studying, he always checks on me and asks how school is going, as well as how my family is. It means a lot to me. School can be allconsuming. It’s nice to have that connection — to have someone who shows sincere interest in you.”

Updates Launched in October 2015, the Campaign for Scholarships and Innovation (CSI) closed shortly after the Black Ties for White Coats Gala 2018. It was an incredibly successful campaign that closed at $25 million — a figure far exceeding the campaign’s original goal of $15 million.

The campaign may be concluded, but there will still be many opportunities to boost scholarships and help our bright and talented students achieve their dreams.

Put another way, our students are the embodiment of CSI’s themes, which were community, wellbeing and innovation.

• Our students are learning to solve problems unique to our community using the tools of population health. From the opioid crisis to problems that accompany aging, our students work on research projects designed to provide measurable impact.

• Wellbeing means caring for people’s physical and emotional needs. Whether it’s through school efforts like the Behavioral Health Initiative, which is focused on improving access to mental health services, or through helping to plan programs devoted to prevention and wellness, our students are trained to focus on the whole person.

• Healthcare is confronting new realities that demand more experiential learning and more personalized medicine. Fortunately, our School of Medicine is leading innovation on both fronts. Our curriculum was built wholly within the 21st century and is continually renewed. It is one of the nation’s most innovative curricula, focused on professional identity formation, longitudinal relationships with patients and self-directed active learning.

The Campaign for Scholarships and Innovation, by the numbers •

25,292,080 raised

$

•

2,652 unique donors

•

42 scholarships created

•

Then: In 2015, Robert Griffith of Stroudsburg, a second-year student, expressed thanks for a scholarship that helped him shoulder the burdens of helping to support his family after his mother had a stroke.

593,362 raised from

Now: Dr. Griffith is in year two of his diagnostic radiology residency, which he will complete in Indianapolis. His intention is to return to Monroe County.

$

last 6 golf tournaments •

3,603 people attending gala last 6 years

•

Now: Dr. Arthur is married to fellow GCSOM alumnus Robert DeGrazia, MD, and in her second year of neurology residency at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore. The couple plans to return to northeastern Pennsylvania when they conclude their residencies.

2,611,525 raised from

$

last 6 galas

•

Then: In the 2015 Campaign book, then–third-year student Karissa Arthur of Carbondale said summer research at GCSOM in 2013 sparked her interest in neurology.

1,048 participants in our

Regional Education Academy for Careers in Health – Higher Education Initiative (REACH-HEI) pipeline programs

•

117 campaign volunteers recruited

•

6 successful Preventive Medicine lectures delivered since series inauguration in 2016

Then: The first recipients of a new scholarship — the Northeastern Pennsylvania Health Care Foundation (NEPA HCF) — scholarships were announced in the 2015 Campaign book.

Now: Jacob Parrick of Duryea and Laura Barna of Mountain Top are preparing for Match Day and Commencement 2019, and there are six additional NEPA HCF scholars. All have indicated a desire to practice in our region.

Then: Abbigail Woll, a member of GCSOM’s Class of 2018, received the first Dr. Thomas J. Martin and Rev. Dr. Lois D. Martin Annual Scholarship.

Now: Dr. Woll, who is open to returning to our area, has just begun her residency in obstetrics/gynecology at the Medical University of South Carolina.

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525 Pine St., Scranton, PA 18509 geisinger.edu/GCSOM

Scholarship feature “Look at where people start”: Perspectives from a new medical student Terrence Habiyaremye knew he found a second home at Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine (GCSOM) when he heard Chief Diversity Officer Ida Castro, JD, talk about the Regional Education Academy for Careers in Health – Higher Education Initiative (REACH-HEI) program. “It was before the admissions interviews even started,” he said. “Hearing her describe how GCSOM makes such a difference in children’s lives struck a chord with me, given my background.”

Terrence Habiyaremye

Terrence was born in Columbus, Ohio, and entered foster care with his younger sister when he was about 4 years old. “In second grade, I went to at least three different schools,” he said. Then, in what he considers a life-changing moment of good fortune, he and his sister were adopted by the Habiyaremye family from Harrisburg, Pa. — Rwandan refugees who felt the need to “pay forward” the second chance they’d been given in the United States. Terrence gained a stable home and three older siblings. “I don’t know what would have happened to me if I didn’t have my family,” he said. “That’s why REACH-HEI moved me so much: It gives hope to children.”

In Harrisburg area schools, Terrence discovered he was good at math but truly loved science. “Geography and history are too finite,” he said.

“The life sciences are for me. I am a visual learner, and Central Dauphin East High School had a lot of amazing technology that displayed structures and helped me see connections. Knowing what goes on inside a human body is like knowing a secret.”

In addition to academics, Terrence excelled in track and field and in cross country. Interestingly, when medical school gets tough for him, it’s the lessons he learned on the track — not in the classroom — that sustain him. “With running, there’s no luck involved. You can’t run faster than you can run. It’s about preparation. When I ran for Lebanon Valley College, I never wanted to feel like I could have won if only I trained harder. So I always trained hard. It’s the same with medical school. I find that if I put in the energy, I get the results.” Terrence said he even keeps his old track competition numbers on a wall in his room to inspire him.

Now in his first year at GCSOM, Terrence finds that the care for community and the person-centered focus he first intuited at his admissions interview are a central theme of his education. “I went to a liberal arts college where we talked about how political, socioeconomic and even religious backgrounds impact us. Our experiences shape our outcomes. As a scribe at various Harrisburg hospitals during my gap year, that lesson became even more clear. There were three hospitals with varying demographics and very different approaches and outcomes. I learned to appreciate that you have to look at where people start. So now I make it part of every interaction with my standardized patients to ask them when they last saw a primary care provider. Are you on top of your medications? Do you understand why the instructions you are being given are important?”

Ultimately, Terrence hopes to return to Harrisburg as an emergency medicine physician. “Rural or urban — it doesn’t matter,” he said. “I think I can adapt anywhere there are people in need.”

To make a donation or for more information, contact the Office of Annual Giving at 570-955-1310 or visit geisinger.edu/GCSOMdonate.

Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine is committed to non-discrimination in all employment and educational opportunities.