The Journal - Summer 2016

Journal The

SUMMER 2016

Communities Coming Together TCMC’S BEHAVIORAL HEALTH INITIATIVE SERVES AS CATALYST FOR COLLABORATION

A Residency Story:

WHERE ARE THEY NOW? C

harter class alumna Rivkah

came from Sondra and Atty. Morey Myers, benefactors

Darabaner, M.D. ’13, graduated

with whom she remains close.

from residency and is staying

with her program for another year to serve as a chief resident, teaching and

When asked how TCMC prepared her for residency, Rivkah said, “First of all, I had a lot of experience with

mentoring physicians in training.

patients in community settings while at TCMC, so I made

Rivkah says, “I always wanted to be

setting. Secondly, TCMC’s focus on team-based learning

a doctor. Of course, medical school

and development of critical thinking skills helped me

was a tough but necessary step in

adapt to new situations quickly. Finally, my residency

this journey. I never imagined that

program partnered with another new medical school

I would have the privilege to study

(Hofstra), and I

at a place like The Commonwealth

related to the new

Medical College (TCMC). TCMC

medical students

is a community of dedicated staff

at once because

Rivkah Darabaner, M.D. ’13, with her husband, Jacob Samuels-Kalow.

members, doctors, and visionaries

they went

who came together to create a special

through similar

Rivkah Darabaner, M.D. ’13

home, into which they invited my 64

experiences.”

RESIDENCY: Hofstra Northwell Internal

a doctor; it is the family that taught

Medicine, Manhasset, New York

me my values, goals, and reasons for

SPECIALTY: Internal Medicine HOMETOWN: Queens, New York

classmates and me. TCMC wasn’t a pit-stop on the way to becoming

a smooth transition to working in the ambulatory clinic

Rivkah’s advice for graduating medical students:

practicing the art of medicine.”

“Embrace

Rivkah said she benefitted from

it is: a challenging

other dreams cherished by TCMC’s

experience where

founders. As a member of the

people rely on

college’s charter class, she and each

you during some

of her classmates were “adopted”

of the worst times

residency for what

TCMC wasn’t a pit-stop on the way to becoming a doctor; it is the family that taught me my values, goals, and reasons for practicing the art of medicine.”

by a founder, who paid 50 percent of their assigned

in their lives. It

student’s tuition throughout the student’s four years

will change you, but you have to remember to live your

at TCMC. In Rivkah’s case, her Founders Scholarship

own life while all this is happening.”

tcmc.edu/alumnispotlight

A Message from the President & Dean In November, I delivered a State of the College address that acknowledged a turning point for TCMC and a step into a new phase of our life cycle.

Every institution matures through a series of phases, roughly

THE JOURNAL

following the standard business model: startup, rapidly growing,

Managing Editor: Heather M. Davis, M.F.A.

established, mature. My address acknowledged TCMC’s movement beyond startup and into the growth and even the established phases. Embracing what we’ve come to call “TCMC

Contributors: Chris Carroll Heather M. Davis, M.F.A. Elizabeth Zygmunt

2.0” means a sharper focus on community engagement and on improving the health and wellbeing of the people of northeastern and north central Pennsylvania.

I am happy to report that TCMC has already made great strides toward realizing the vision of TCMC 2.0. I offer two notable examples: our Behavioral Health

BOARD OF TRUSTEES

Initiative (BHI) and our expanding master’s degree offerings.

BHI exemplifies the qualities we hope will animate TCMC 2.0. The initiative casts TCMC in the role of both convener and catalyst. Early BHI planning efforts brought together an astounding number of behavioral health providers, service agencies and philanthropists. For example, BHI’s Advisory Committee now boasts a membership of more than 100 physicians, community stakeholders, human service agency leaders and educators. Our success in bringing together these previously informally connected community members to work toward a common goal has not gone unnoticed. This spring BHI received $1.2 million from the Moses Taylor Foundation, as well as a significant award from the AllOne Foundation. These funds will be used to establish BHI firmly as a resource to meet our community’s substantial needs in mental health, substance abuse, and suicide prevention. The funds will support hiring of a full-time director for the BHI, and the resources to allow us to offer a certificate training program in behavioral health at no charge to primary care physicians.

In January, we launched “MBS-D,” our partnership with the Baruch S. Blumberg Institute (BSBI)

Louis DeNaples, Chair Thomas Karam, Vice Chair John Graham, Treasurer John Moses, Esq., Secretary David Hawk John J. Menapace Edith P. Mitchell, M.D., F.A.C.P. Robert W. Naismith, Ph.D. Susan F. Sordoni, M.D. Gregory A. Threatte, M.D. Robert Wright, M.D. Steven J. Scheinman, M.D., ex officio Patrick Boyd, Ph.D., ex officio

to deliver our master of biomedical sciences curriculum at the Pennsylvania Biotechnology Center of Bucks County, in Doylestown, home to more than 40 biotech start-up firms. The initial goal was to admit between 12 and 15 students; the program admitted its first class of 23 students on April 2.

Both examples demonstrate the unique blend of innovation and care for community that will be the hallmarks of TCMC 2.0. I am energized and excited to enter this new phase and honored to be a part of TCMC 2.0.

Sincerely,

Steven J. Scheinman, M.D.

ON THE COVER: TCMC and community partners will collaborate on solutions for the behavioral health needs of northeastern and north central Pennsylvania through services, educational programs and transdisciplinary research designed to improve the capacity and quality of clinical competencies of our healthcare workforce and enhance the wellbeing of the communities we serve.

President and Dean

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The Journal: COVER STORY

COMMUNITIES COMING

TOGETHER TCMC’S BEHAVIORAL HEALTH INITIATIVE SERVES AS CATALYST FOR COLLABORATION If, as Seneca said, luck is where preparation meets opportunity, TCMC’s Behavioral Health Initiative (BHI) was lucky in the extreme when it submitted a proposal to the Moses Taylor Foundation in January.

The foundation’s new president, LaTida Smith, was intent on making the foundation’s first grants investments that would make “lasting change” in NEPA. She was looking for projects that emphasized community collaboration and took a broad, holistic view of health. Most of all, she wanted foundation awards to go toward ameliorating one of four needs she and her team deemed “most pressing” in NEPA: primary healthcare for the economically disadvantaged, behavioral health, oral health, and NEPA’s healthcare workforce.

As luck (or preparation) would have it, the Behavioral Health Initiative fit virtually all of the foundation’s priorities and was awarded $1.2 million—the foundation’s largest gift. BHI was born of collaboration and is dedicated to expanding behavioral health (mental health and substance use disorder) services, partially by training the existing healthcare workforce. Most of all, the BHI serves as a gravitational center, pulling in efforts throughout NEPA to integrate and coordinate behavioral healthcare on a large, region-wide scale.

Fortunately, two other foundations recognized similar qualities in BHI. The work began with an initial grant from The Luzerne Foundation to support a gap analysis study. “We were delighted to fund the important work that ultimately led to BHI’s creation,” said Charles Barber, the foundation’s president and CEO. In addition, the AllOne Foundation, Wilkes-Barre, awarded a significant grant to TCMC for BHI in May. John Cosgrove, AllOne’s executive director, said, “We saw TCMC’s BHI proposal as a request for partnership as much as a request for funding. Our foundation’s focus is on programs that have a high impact on northeastern and Local organizations and programs that currently address behavioral health include: Pocono Alliance: The “Healthy Start Early Childhood Screening” program in Monroe County detects developmental, vision, and hearing issues in children ages birth-to-5 years, from economically at-risk families.

north central Pennsylvania. BHI, to us, does everything we care about: it has impact, it’s collaborative and it creatively addresses unmet needs. But what most impressed us was the depth and reach of its partnerships.”

TCMC undertook the Behavioral Health Initiative (BHI) to address the mental health disparities of the College’s 17-county region in northeastern and north central Pennsylvania.

To me, the most important thing BHI did was pull together the committed—those delivering behavioral health services and those with the lived experience of illness.”

Christine Wydeen, Ph.D. Regional Director of Community Care Behavioral Health, Acting Director of BHI

working and where there are opportunities for improvement.”

Integration of services is not a new idea and there is plenty of evidence that shows integration improves patient experiences and outcomes and saves money. But knowing something works is not the same as making it work. While The Wright Center successfully “reverse integrated” primary care into the behavioral health services offered at Scranton Counseling Center (SCC), more widespread collaboration was still missing. That changed when TCMC’s dean, Steven Scheinman, M.D., made the Behavioral Health Initiative one

40

%

To meet current regional needs, the number of psychiatrists would have to increase by 40%.*

This regional “coming together” also inspires Christine Wydeen, Ph.D.,

of his signature projects and convened

regional director of Community Care Behavioral Health and acting

an Advisory Committee composed of the

director of the BHI. “To me, the most important thing BHI did was pull

region’s preeminent behavioral health

together the committed—those delivering behavioral health services

leaders and advocates. As Edward

and those with the lived experience of illness,” she said. “BHI clarified

Heffron, Ed.D., president and CEO of SCC

for us how to move forward together. Through the process of forming

said, “People had been talking about integration before, but TCMC

work groups and identifying priorities, it helped us to see what’s

was really the catalyst to bring us all together.”

*According to the findings of a gap analysis conducted across seven counties by Open Minds, 126 psychiatrists are needed compared to 89 available. Assuming there is no growth, it may not be resolved for approximately nine years.

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Local organizations and programs that currently address behavioral health include: From top to bottom: Weller Health Education Center: The “Stress Less and Adolescent Depression Awareness” programs reach public middle and high school students with critically-needed mental health education in Monroe and Carbon counties.

United Neighborhood Centers of Northeastern PA: The “Community Health Department” program provides individualized care coordination, services and awareness/educational programming, generalized resource/referral assistance, and screenings targeted to groups of at-risk individuals in Lackawanna County and Luzerne County.

17 COUNTIES TCMC serves 17 counties in northeastern and north central Pennsylvania.

NORTH CAMPUS Susquehanna County Wyoming County Lackawanna County Wayne County Pike County Monroe County SOUTH CAMPUS Montour County Columbia County Luzerne County Carbon County Schuylkill County WEST CAMPUS Clinton County Union County Lycoming County GUTHRIE CAMPUS Tioga County Bradford County Sullivan County

BHI’s effects as a catalyst encourage Mike Hopkins, president and CEO of Children’s Service Center of Wyoming Valley (CSC). “Prior to BHI, several service providers were talking about trying to offer integrated services. There was some movement in this direction, but we didn’t have an organizing body to help us move the process,” he said. “When TCMC took on the role of organizer, it got us to a better place in terms of focus and funding a lot quicker.”

The word “catalyst” also resonates with Ms. Smith. “The role of philanthropy is to be a catalyst,” she said.

“That’s why our foundation focuses on nonprofits that work collaboratively on finding innovative solutions.

Of course, there are times when we will make grants to nonprofits who just need to keep the lights on, but we are really looking for an opportunity to invest in transformative projects. What impressed me most (about BHI) was the breadth and depth of collaboration.”

BHI’s collaborative efforts have already borne fruit for CSC, Scranton Counseling Center and other BHI participants. For example, CSC is now undergoing an expansion and renovation of its Wilkes-Barre facility with the goal of housing pediatricians, behavioral health providers, and a pharmacy all in one place. “This kind of integration is important for the families we serve,” Mr. Hopkins said. At present, these families, a large majority of whom are in poverty, have a primary care provider in one place, their pharmacy in another and then have to get to CSC in yet a third location. Timing appointments and then getting around to all of them is very difficult.

In fact, logistical barriers are often a key reason for non-compliance.

“Having a one-stop shop will be a tremendous benefit to these kids and their families,” Mr. Hopkins said.

Scranton Counseling Center has expanded services to Susquehanna County and is now the “24/7” crisis provider there. In light of recent reports of a suicide spike in that county, it is hoped that SCC’s growing presence there will drive those numbers down.

SCC is also six months into a “reverse integration” pilot program with The Wright Center (TWC) and the collaborators credit BHI with assistance in bringing “all of the partners to the table.” Terri Lacey, R.N., senior vice president, quality and safety at TWC, explained “reverse integration.” “We put primary care into the mental-health setting, rather than the other way around,” she said. TWC now has a clinic on the lower level of SCC’s Scranton facility. “Many of SCC’s patients have been coming to SCC for years for behavioral health care, but many did not have a primary care physician, primarily utilizing hospital emergency rooms. Putting primary care where these patients felt most comfortable has already paid dividends,” Ms. Lacey said as she sifted through data. The data show more than 360 patients enrolled. Their top diagnoses are hypertension, diabetes, obesity, and smoking and participants previously had a mean of 2.8 visits per month to hospital emergency rooms for physical health-related issues. Six months later, the mean had dropped to .98—a finding not only statistically significant, but also financially

It’s created expectations and momentum, so I am very grateful to the Moses Taylor Foundation and the AllOne Foundation for providing the resources to keep us moving.”

important. The reduced ER visits yielded an estimated $816,000 in savings for Medicare.

The findings come as no surprise to Dean Scheinman. “Nothing we’ve done at TCMC has generated as much excitement as BHI,” he said. “It’s created

From top to bottom: The Wright Center: Dr. Mladen Jecmenica, associate program director, internal medicine, oversees Dr. Olivia Molnar, second-year internal medicine resident, examining a patient at The Wright Center’s “reverse-integrated” clinic at the Scranton Counseling Center.

expectations and momentum, so I am very grateful to the Moses Taylor Foundation and the AllOne Foundation for providing the resources to keep us moving.”

The Commonwealth Medical College: TCMC’s Behavioral Health Initiative seeks to develop a psychiatric residency program in collaboration with The Wright Center for Graduate Medical Education, to integrate physical and behavioral health through innovative models of care, to expand telemedicine within primary care to increase access in rural regions, and to implement a curriculum leading to a certificate in behavioral health to train regional healthcare providers in behavioral health issues.

tcmc.edu/bhi

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The Journal: FEATURE

POPULATION HEALTH IF ALL OF NORTHEASTERN PENNSYLVANIA WERE A SINGLE PATIENT,

WHAT WOULD WE SEE?

BY WILLIAM F. IOBST, M.D., F.A.C.P. Vice President for Academic and Clinical Affairs and Vice Dean

First of all, the patient would be a smoker and would tend toward obesity and physical inactivity.

varied as law enforcement, media, local government, and

Moreover, the patient would engage in binge drinking

ordinances to taxation to public-service announcements.

healthcare. The anti-smoking campaign, for example, has been successful because it has used a variety of measures spanning every community sector, from local

more frequently than neighbors in other regions of Pennsylvania and, most alarmingly, would be more likely

How can we apply these lessons learned to our patient,

to commit suicide. You don’t need to be a healthcare

“NEPA,” whose many ailments stem from lifestyle

professional to understand that this patient is on a

choices only the individual can modify? Can stakeholders

path to dying younger and to experiencing more ill

in the community take effective steps to address the

health along the way than other people. As a native of

innumerable decisions made

northeastern Pennsylvania and as a doctor, I care deeply

by millions of different people—

about this patient and want to help provide the guidance

albeit who compose a single

and support necessary to change my patient’s habits—

population—every day?

but when a patient is a composite, not an individual, At TCMC, we believe the answer

what can be done?

is yes, which is why preparing Thinking of “northeastern Pennsylvania” as a single

our graduates to achieve the

patient demonstrates how physicians can look at

outcomes of the IHI Triple Aim

population health, a concept so central to improving

framework is an explicit goal of

outcomes for everyone that the Institute for Healthcare

our curriculum. For example,

Improvement (IHI) has designated it one of the three

our students are required to

precepts of its “Triple Aim,” a framework meant to

complete Community Health

optimize the performance of health systems. The other “sides” of the Triple Aim triangle are improving the patient experience of care and reducing the per capita cost of healthcare.

Research Projects (CHRPs), not only to understand and apply what they have been taught in the classroom, but to develop first-

To understand why population health is so important, you need only think of some of its major victories. Population health efforts have encouraged everything from mass immunization to public awareness campaigns that

hand experience with community health issues.

While we are proud of these population-based learning opportunities, improving population health requires more— it needs a multi-disciplinary,

…in addition to educating physicians of the future, TCMC has also been a driving force behind initiatives in behavioral health and preventive medicine, which we hope will engage the entire community in transforming our population’s health.”

have drastically reduced

community-wide, and community-

smoking rates and have

engaged approach if it is to be

helped prevent HIV

effective. That is why, in addition

infection. These efforts

to educating physicians of the future, TCMC has also

show improving population

been a driving force behind initiatives in behavioral

health must involve

health and preventive medicine, which we hope will

multiple segments of the

engage the entire community in transforming our

community—groups as

population’s health.

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What roles can our various stakeholders play? Let’s look at a few examples.

In regard to obesity, a healthcare provider can counsel a patient to lose weight, but that’s not enough when barriers arise the minute the patient leaves the office. Many people work eight to nine hours per day at a sedentary job. There is no time, let alone facilities, to walk or to engage in any other type of exercise during those hours. Oftentimes, the only convenient lunch option is fast food. Even if people have the desire to exercise after working hours, how many free and easily accessible facilities exist? Employers, restauranteurs, insurers—even municipalities—can all be engaged in addressing the problem of obesity. What if the patient/employee was encouraged with financial incentives to walk at lunch? What if every neighborhood had safe and well-lit walking and biking trails?

What if neighborhood restaurants provided healthy food options?

In regard to binge drinking, the Centers for Disease Control documents that increased law enforcement, zoning, and land-use permitting and simple screening and intervention methods put into daily use in primary-care practices have all worked to decrease alcohol consumption.

One promising approach to suicide prevention comes from the U.S. Air Force, where the CDC says a “significant and

Improving overall community mental health can reduce the events of suicide more effectively than extensive efforts to identify the imminently suicidal individual.”

sustained drop in suicide rates” was observed following adoption of a comprehensive program, the key components of which were “ongoing commitment from leadership, consistent and regular communication around the topic of suicide prevention, destigmatization of seeking help for a mental health problem, improved collaboration among community prevention agencies, and the identification and training of everyday gatekeepers.” The CDC concluded, “Improving overall community mental health can reduce the events of suicide more effectively than extensive efforts to identify the imminently suicidal individual.”

When the many disparate parts of a community come together aligned in support of a common goal, great things can happen.

We can and must improve the health and wellness of our patient (NEPA). This is the hope for the recently launched communitybased Behavioral Health Initiative, which TCMC facilitates. It is also the thinking behind our Preventive Medicine Program. By providing the public with the knowledge and tools necessary to

make informed choices—and by bringing together key stakeholders in the community—we can begin to impact our population’s wellbeing, one healthy decision at a time.

tcmc.edu/bhi | tcmc.edu/preventivemed

EMPLOYERS, RESTAURANTEURS, INSURERS— EVEN MUNICIPALITIES—CAN ALL BE ENGAGED IN ADDRESSING THE PROBLEM OF OBESITY.”

The Journal: RESEARCH

A GENE THERAPY FOR

BONE LOSS IF

scientific research is like searching for a needle in a dark room while wearing both a blindfold and oven mitts, why do it? According to John Arnott, Ph.D., associate professor of cell biology, he does

it for the “eureka!” moments. When, despite all of the obstacles, a scientist manages to pluck a needle from the void, the triumph is a thrill like nothing else. “For a brief moment—maybe an hour or a day—you are the only person who knows this,” Dr. Arnott said. “It’s pretty incredible.”

Members of the MD class of 2019, Holly Corkill (left) and Antonio Adiletta (right), get hands-on research experience while assisting John Arnott, Ph.D., and Youngjin Cho, Ph.D., in TCMC’s laboratories.

Left: John Arnott, Ph.D., and Youngjin Cho, Ph.D., with students who have assisted with their research, Holly Corkill ’19, Evan Frigoletto, M.B.S. ’15, and Antonio Adiletta ’19.

Dr. Arnott and his colleague, Youngjin Cho, Ph.D., also an assistant professor of cell biology at TCMC, experienced such a moment together when they discovered the gene named AFAP-1 and how it stimulates bones to grow faster and stronger.

The search for AFAP-1 began, as all scientific quests do, with a question. Dr. Arnott said his question is one that has been puzzling science for years: How do bones grow, and, as a corollary, how can we MAKE them grow? This query grew increasingly urgent as life spans lengthened, emphasizing medical problems that come with aging—problems like

OSTEOPOROSIS

osteoporosis.

Associated with aging

“People think of bones as fixed, dead things, like rocks; but bones are very much alive,” Dr.

Most patients aged 50 or older

Arnott said. “It’s helpful to think of bones being built up and taken down like a brick wall.

There are builders that add bricks, to grow and strengthen the wall. These are the osteoblasts.

More frequently found in women, but men affected too

Then there are destroyers that come and remove bricks and weaken the wall. These are osteoclasts. Until about age 35, there are more osteoblasts than osteoclasts. You are building a reservoir of calcium that your body dips into to deliver the mineral to other parts of your body that need it. After 35, your body is using up the reservoir faster than it’s being fed.”

People think of bones as fixed, dead things, like rocks; but bones are very much alive.”

Dr. Arnott said that, initially, science approached the problem by trying to diminish or slow down the osteoclasts (the takers). Bisphosphonates (Fosamax, Boniva) work by interfering with osteoclasts. There’s just one problem: bisphosphonates can’t be taken long-term due to some alarming side effects. Research then turned to searching for methods to “turn on”

IMPACT Responsible for 2 million fractures annually Mortality following hip fracture a major consequence of osteoporosis By 2025, costs expected to reach $25.3 billion Regional demographics: People 65 and older compose 19% of Pennsylvania’s population as opposed to 13% nationwide.

the builders, osteoblasts. At present, there is only one therapy aimed at encouraging “the builders,” parathyroid hormone (PTH). Like bisphosphonates, side effects also limit the use of PTH. What Drs. Arnott and Cho have found is that AFAP-1 can be manipulated to

Sources: American Journal of Managed Care, Osteoporosis International, Bone Mineral Research, and the U.S. Census Bureau

make more osteoblasts, and hence, more bone. Specifically, they found was that when they “erased” AFAP-1 from a cell and grew a bone sheet in vitro, the bone was weak and impaired.

However, a bone sheet grown with cells “re-programmed” with AFAP-1 “turned on” was stronger and did not show the lacy, tell-tale pattern of osteoporosis.

tcmc.edu/research THE JOURNAL /

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The Journal: FEATURE

Weaving a Forward-Thinking Curriculum with the

�

GENOME Every shopper knows the problems with buying off-the-rack clothing. Manufacturers can approximate your size, but usually the sleeves are too short or the pants too long.

Just as your DNA prompts arms too long for a standard size, it may cause you to metabolize drugs differently, predispose you to diseases at a younger age or even protect you from getting them altogether.

Kandamurugu Manickam, M.D., a clinical geneticist, divides his time between TCMC and Geisinger Health System’s Precision Health Center.

Today we prescribe drugs for the standard size first, then adjust for individual quirks. That’s changing because of genomics. The more scientists learn about DNA, the more tailor-made treatments become. Genomics is indeed the future of medicine and Kandamurugu Manickam, M.D. stands at the center of some of the field’s most promising research.

Dr. Manickam, a clinical geneticist, divides his time between TCMC and Geisinger Health System’s Precision Health Center, where he is working with the MyCode Community Health Initiative. The MyCode project is a genetic researcher’s dream for three reasons. First, the Geisinger Health System has electronic health records (EHR) going back nearly 20 years—much longer than typical medical offices. Second, these records refer to a population with very little migration, either into or out of the geographical area around northeastern and north central Pennsylvania. Third, there are records for multiple generations of families. “This means we have long-term information with very

THREAD little variation in environment—very few other variables—for

curriculum.” One touch point, for example, will be to include

many generations,” he said. When genetic information meets

genomics as part of normal cases presented to students. To

this mountain of data, discoveries abound.

illustrate, students might be asked to develop a differential

“The main goal of our research is to find things that help patients right now,” Dr. Manickam said. “We’ve deemed 76 genes important (the “Geisinger 76”). These are genes that predispose people to cancer, or to having very high cholesterol, arrhythmias,

diagnosis for a patient who had a heart attack, has a family history of high cholesterol, and who developed muscle cramping after taking a statin (some people are genetically predisposed to having this complication).

and heart failure.” A cheek swab, followed later by a blood sample, provides researchers with the necessary genetic material.

If one of the “Geisinger 76” pops up, the individual will know he or she is at greater risk and early interventions are possible. This beats staying in the “standard risk pool,” waiting to hit a birthday that sets off a flurry of age-appropriate screenings.

TCMC will be significantly ahead of the curve when it comes to genomics instruction.”

Despite these advances, Dr. Manickam said the science is still far ahead of the marketplace—especially the health insurance

Dr. Manickam wants students to envision the future, when an

arena. Moreover, having information is one thing, knowing how

EHR system like EPIC would “know” patients’ predilections and

to discuss it effectively with patients is another. Consequently,

warn doctors when certain drugs are contraindicated for them.

he believes that while the future will hold a sequenced genome

“This year we are threading genomics instruction into the third

in every medical chart, that’s still 10 to 15 years away. That’s

year, the following year we’ll weave it into all four. This is very

why Dr. Manickam says TCMC students are far ahead of their

forward-thinking and I am impressed that the TCMC faculty is so

peers when it comes to genomics instruction. Dr. Manickam

willing to do it,” Dr. Manickam said. “There isn’t another school

said, “We are placing genomics at various touch points in the

doing it the same way as TCMC.”

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The Journal: STUDENT NEWS

The Future of Biomedical Education TCMC and the Baruch S. Blumberg Institute (BSBI) recently celebrated the successful launch of their joint Master of Biomedical Sciences (MBS) program being delivered at the Pennsylvania Biotechnology Center of Bucks County in Doylestown. The program, announced in January, admitted its first class of 23 students who attended their orientation session on April 2. The initial goal for the first class was to admit between 12 and 15 students.

“The response to our new MBS degree has been astounding,” said Scott Koerwer, Ed.D., TCMC’s vice president for strategic initiatives and planning. “The chance to learn in a radically different arena—a biotech park populated by both entrepreneurs and scientists—certainly resonated with students who desire careers in biotechnology, pharmaceutical, and life science companies or who want to burnish their Top: Jennifer Boardman, Ph.D., associate professor of microbiology and immunology at TCMC, and John Kulp, Ph.D., director of academic affairs and assistant professor of computational chemistry, at the BSBI, stand as the first class of MBS-Doylestown degree students line the steps behind them. The first class of 23 students—a number that far exceeded initial projections—began their studies in the program in April.

applications to medical school. We are also delighted with the caliber of our students.

They will be a credit to both TCMC and BSBI.” “We are gratified but not surprised at the excellent response to the program. BSBI is an ideal environment for graduate students to focus their career interests while gaining access to what may be an unprecedented learning ecosystem in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania,” Timothy M. Block, Ph.D., president and founder of the Baruch S. Blumberg Institute. “We have long envisioned delivering post-graduate life science education at the Biotechnology Center and we knew when we met with the scientists and educators

The new MBS degree to be delivered by TCMC in partnership with the BSBI was announced on January 14, at the Pennsylvania Biotechnology Center of Bucks County. Seen at the announcement were Timothy M. Block, Ph.D., president and co-founder of Hepatitis B Foundation and its BSBI and Pennsylvania Biotechnology Center, and Steven J. Scheinman, M.D., president and dean of TCMC.

at TCMC that we found the perfect partner. Since its inception, TCMC has been at the forefront of innovative medical education. Now we are forging new paths together.”

The next MBS cohort in Doylestown will start in January 2017.

tcmc.edu/mbsbiotech THE JOURNAL / SUMMER 2016

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Lt. Commander Kathryn Butler-Hodge, from the U.S. Public Health Service Physician Professional Advisory Committee, presents Oakland Walters, a member of TCMC’s MD class of 2017, with his 2016 Excellence in Public Health Award.

The Journal: STUDENT NEWS

Servant Leader Oakland Walters has for years felt a strong calling to serve marginalized populations and—whether working with low-income cancer patients or nonprofit primary care—he has always answered.

Oakland, a member of TCMC’s MD class of 2017, has received a 2016 Excellence in Public Health Award from the U.S. Public Health Service. The award was created by the United States Public Health Service (USPHS) to inspire medical students to commit themselves to public health and to become leaders in the field.

“The concept of service was instilled in me since childhood,” Oakland said, noting he has always been particularly drawn to mental health services.

Once Oakland enrolled at TCMC, he was happy to find the school’s emphasis on community was not just a sentiment in a brochure, but a driving force in the curriculum. With a year of this patient-centered

In collaboration with United Neighborhood Centers, Oakland co-led

instruction under his belt, Oakland began to envision the project for

a year-long project funded by a “Helping Hands” grant from the

which he earned his award. “After my first year at medical school,

American Psychiatric Foundation, awarded to only three medical

I spent the summer with the Penn Center for Women’s Behavioral

schools nationwide. Oakland and his fellow TCMC students de-

Health at the University of Pennsylvania, where I worked on clinical

signed and implemented an outreach program to improve mental

research studies that provided mental

health screenings and access to treatment services for the home-

health services in urban Phila-

less population of Lackawanna County. This work so impressed

delphia, to an at-risk popu-

TCMC faculty and staff, Oakland was chosen to represent the Col-

lation,” he said. “Following

lege in competition for the U.S. Public Health Service’s award.

that experience, I wanted to put the privilege of be-

Being named an award winner has both honored Oakland and

ing a medical student to

inspired him to continue seeking ways to be a servant leader. Of

work in a way that could

the May 7 awards ceremony, Oakland said, “I was blown away by

create a sense of social

the build-up to the award given by Lt. Commander Kathryn Butler-

agency within my com-

Hodge (from the U.S. Public Health Service Physician Professional

munity in Scranton.”

SAVE THE DATE: MD Class of 2020 White Coat Ceremony Friday, August 12, 2016

Advisory Committee). It was truly an honor.”

Match Day MARCH 18

TCMC’s Medical Sciences Building, Scranton • 55% of students matched into a primary care specialty • 26 students doing residencies in Pennsylvania

Watch our Match Day video and see where the MD Class of 2016 matched to residencies: tcmc.edu/2016matchday

Commencement MAY 8

The F.M. Kirby Center for the Performing Arts, Wilkes-Barre • 64 M.D. graduates • 68 M.B.S. graduates • Commencement speaker and honorary degree recipient: Thomas J. Nasca, M.D., M.A.C.P, chief executive officer, Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME)

Class Notes

Have a life event you’d like to share? tcmc.edu/alumniupdate

Anjani Amladi, M.D. ’15, has recently been published in the book

John Kotula, M.D. ’13, received the David S. Smith Housestaff

in-Training: Stories from Tomorrow’s Physicians, supported by The

Teaching Award from St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children in

Arnold P. Gold Foundation.

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Dr. Kotula was also chosen to serve a

Scott Clarke, M.D. ’15, married Kristi Juskiewicz on June 20, 2015, in Plains, Pennsylvania.

Antonietta D’Urso, ’17, was the co-author of a paper published in Nutrients in collaboration with researchers at the University of

fourth year at St. Christopher’s as one of three chief residents.

David Kugelman, ’17, was chosen for a prestigious orthopedic surgery research fellowship at New York University’s Langone’s Hospital for Joint Diseases.

Maryland School of Medicine and Johns Hopkins University School

Cara Lyle, M.D. ’14, earned Intern of the Year for 2015 at West

of Medicine.

Virginia University School of Medicine. The award is presented

Alison Duncan, M.D. ’13, was recently elected executive vice president for the Committee for Interns and Residents, part of the Service Employees International Union. Her position is a leadership

annually to the first-year resident who best exemplifies the attributes of a surgeon in patient care, teaching, and investigative spirit. She is specializing in general surgery.

role in the national office. Alison will begin a fellowship in child

Ryan Sugarman, M.D. ’13, was selected as “Resident of the Year”

and adolescent psychiatry at Brown University/Bradley Hospital in

at North Shore University Hospital, New York. He will remain at

Providence, Rhode Island, in July 2016.

North Shore for a fellowship in oncology and hematology.

Mike Faretta, M.D. ’14, presented “Residencies in Emergency

Jessica Webber, M.B.S. ’15, married Jeffrey Nelson in May 2016,

Medicine: How to Prepare for Residency & Interviews” at TCMC

at Lake Wallenpaupack in Hawley, Pennsylvania.

in Scranton on January 20, 2016, to students in the Emergency Medicine Interest Group.

Ryan Wilson, M.D. ’13, and Mary Ellen Lisman, M.D. ’13, were married in May 2016.

Michele Holman, ’17, was elected to national vice president of the Student National Medical Association (SNMA) and appointed co-chair the SNMA National Membership Committee.

Adam Klein, M.D. ’13, was inducted into the Richard Sarkin/ Emeritus Faculty Chapter of the Gold Humanism Honor Society at the University at Buffalo School of Medicine on April 20, 2016. Adam is the first urology resident to win this award for the program.

LEFT: Ashley Blanco, M.D. ’15, and Joseph Marchese, M.D. ’13, are engaged to be married in August 2017, in Doylestown, Pennsylvania.

RIGHT: Keri Ann Stevenson, M.D., and Matthew Kongkatong, M.D., both class of 2014, were married on October 31, 2015, in Charlottesville, Virginia, at Christ Episcopal Church followed by a reception at the Jefferson Theater.

THE JOURNAL /

SUMMER 2016

17

The Journal: DEVELOPMENT

UPDATES GOAL 87.5%

$415,349 ENDOWMENTOTHER

$1,512,686 RESTRICTED

$2,175,839 UNRESTRICTED

$1,439,206 SCHOLARSHIPENDOWMENT

$1,480,144 EVENTS

of the goal was raised! $13,127,225 of $15,000,000 as of May 1

$6,104,001 SCHOLARSHIPCURRENT

EMPLOYEES WHO GAVE: $100k

BUILDING NAMED GIFTS:

$91,011*

80k $75,160 60k 40k

PNC Video Teleconferencing Room

David and Ann Hawk/ Gertrude Hawk Chocolates Student Lounge

Steven J. Scheinman, M.D. & Kelly Scheinman Teaching/ Team Room

20k 0

FY15

FY16 *SO FAR THIS YEAR

ANNUAL (CURRENT) SCHOLARSHIPS:

The Commonwealth Health Future Physician Scholarship: Commonwealth Health committed $250,000 to provide scholarships for students residing in Columbia, Lackawanna, Luzerne, and Wyoming counties.

The AARP Scranton Area Chapter 3731 Annual Scholarship The Fidelity Deposit and Discount Bank Scholarship The InterMountain Medical Group Scholarship

The Wayne Memorial Health System Annual Scholarship: Wayne Memorial Health System committed $125,000 for a need-based scholarship available exclusively to students who reside in Wayne or Pike counties or the greater Carbondale area of Lackawanna and Susquehanna counties.

Susquehanna Health Annual Scholarship: Susquehanna Health committed $400,000, which will be used for scholarships awarded to students who reside in Lycoming, Tioga, Clinton, Sullivan, Union, Northumberland, and Bradford counties. Physicians, employees of Susquehanna Health, and members of the community have also contributed to this fund.

The Jennifer A. Sidari, M.D., Memorial Scholarship

The John J. Menapace Annual Scholarship

The Sarah Wright Memorial Annual Scholarship

The Lehigh Valley Health Network Medical Staff Scholarship in Memory of Paul I. Roda, M.D.

The Sondra and Morey Myers, Esq., Scholarship

TCMC Alumni Scholarship

The Dr. Thomas J. Martin and Rev. Dr. Lois D. Martin Annual Scholarship

The Northeastern Pennsylvania Health Care Foundation Scholarship

ENDOWED FUNDS:

The Wilkes-Barre General Hospital Auxiliary Fund of The Luzerne Foundation Scholarship

TCMC Scholarship (funded by employees) The Taylor Nursing and Rehabilitation Center Fund of The Luzerne Foundation Scholarship

To support the Campaign, visit: campaign.tcmc.edu

The Stanley J. Dudrick, M.D., Endowed Chair in Innovative Medical Education The Stanley J. Dudrick, M.D., and Alan G. Goldstein Endowed Fund Endowment for Preventive Medicine Lectureship Endowment for The Dr. Lester Saidman Memorial Lecture and The Dr. Lester Saidman Annual Excellence in Emergency Medicine Award

ENDOWED STUDENT SCHOLARSHIPS: The Dr. Gino and Mrs. Jean Cavalieri Mori Endowed Scholarship The Fidelity Deposit and Discount Bank Endowed Scholarship The InterMountain Medical Group Endowed Scholarship

BLACK TIES FOR WHITE COATS Saturday, October 15, 5:30 p.m.

Mohegan Sun Pocono, Wilkes-Barre

The Sarah Wright Memorial Endowed Scholarship The Jennifer A. Sidari, M.D. ’13 Endowed Scholarship TCMC Endowed Scholarship

INNOVATIVE PROGRAMMING: Preventive Medicine Lecture Series

HONOREES COMMUNITY: Patrick J. Solano • WELLBEING: Sanofi Pasteur INNOVATION: Gentex Corporation, L. Peter Frieder Jr., and L. P. Frieder III SUPPORTS TCMC STUDENT SCHOLARSHIPS. TCMC.EDU/GALA

Behavioral Health Initiative (BHI)

THE JOURNAL /

SUMMER 2016

19

The Journal: FACULTY/STAFF NEWS

David W. Greenwald, M.D. chats with Eric Drago, a medical student in TCMC’s class of 2017.

Spotlight on David W. Greenwald, M.D. Academy of Clinical Educators (ACE) Faculty Fellow The Wisdom of Wellbeing is a public health education and awareness campaign aimed at improving the health and wellness of the communities TCMC serves.

Get involved! With the input, support, and cooperation of our volunteer clinical faculty, we hope to make The Commonwealth Medical College synonymous with community wellbeing in northeastern and north central Pennsylvania.

60-second vignettes featuring our president and dean, Dr. Steven J. Scheinman, air during WNEP-TV newscasts Monthly newspaper columns appear in The Times-Tribune Inserts in local newspapers and regionally-placed billboards feature our volunteer clinical faculty and students Website content and topic archive Social media campaign tcmc.edu/wisdomofwellbeing

When David W. Greenwald, M.D. entered the field of medical oncology in 1975, he said there was “no med-onc chapter in Harrison’s (Principles of Internal Medicine). Sloan Kettering and M.D. Anderson were surgery centers and one of the few fellowships in the infant subspecialty wasn’t in Boston, it was at Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester, New York.”

From Temple University School of Medicine, Dr. Greenwald went to Strong Memorial, attracted by the chance to offer the one thing cancer patients needed most—both then and now—caring. “Cancer patients need care, compassion and reassurance,” he said. “Back then that was pretty much all we could offer. Now, of course, there’s been an explosion in understanding cell biology. We have many therapies, but the basic requirement is still caring.”

Dr. Greenwald believes a medical oncology office is the ideal place for students to learn that. “Students have to learn to care and to see their patients as people. People don’t get sick in a

...there’s been an explosion in understanding cell biology.

We have many therapies, but the basic requirement is still caring.”

vacuum. I can see 10 lung cancer patients in a day and each one has a different background, as well as different values and fears.” In addition to empathy Dr. Greenwald said exceptional clinical skills—especially the physical exam—are key to being a great doctor. Dr. Greenwald even makes house calls, often with TCMC students in tow.

One such student, Eric Drago of Wilkes-Barre, said, “I am interested in going into medical oncology, so I sometimes ask Dr. Greenwald about particular chemotherapy regimens. He’ll say, ‘That will come in time. Right now, learn the medicine.’ He’s taught me to really listen to patients and how to talk to families.”

“Students are focused on gaining knowledge, but that gets to be the easy part,” Dr. Greenwald said. “The real focus should be on caring. If I have a legacy, I would want it to be that I was able to leave an imprint on students that ‘caring is what counts.’”

FOUNDERS SOCIETY

In the early days of The Commonwealth Medical College, a group of individuals, organizations, corporations and foundations stepped forward to ensure the success of the Commonwealth’s new medical college through generous contributions for student scholarships and operations. We are sincerely grateful for their support and recognize them as members of our Founders Society.

Myer M. Alperin

InterMountain Medical Group

The Quandel Group Inc.

Michael J. & Louise D. Altier

Eugene Joseph Kane

Anonymous

Thomas F. & Flora K. Karam

Radiation Medicine Associates of Scranton

Pat & John Atkins

Lackawanna County

Radiological Consultants Inc. & Advanced Imaging Specialists

Dr. & Mrs. Charles J. Bannon

Charlotte T. Schroeder Mack

Mr. & Mrs. Harold Rosenn

Benco Dental Company

Margaret Briggs Foundation

Blue Cross of Northeastern Pennsylvania

Richard C. & Sally W. Marquardt Family Foundation

Drs. David Rutta, Bharat Patel, Christopher Barbarevech, Alexander Lalos & Edward Sherwin

Dr. Harmar D. & Leslie W. Brereton

The Medical Staff of Mercy Hospital

Sanofi Pasteur

Alice Bulger, Dr. Weimin Chen & Louis Shapiro

Cliff & Ruth Melberger

Gov. & Mrs. William W. Scranton

Mercy Health Partners

Scranton Area Foundation Inc.

Kim & Rob Mericle

Scranton Orthopaedic Specialists PC

Community Medical Center Community Medical Center Medical Staff Drs. Louis DeGennaro, Anthony Brutico, Mark Frattali, Keith Pritchyk Delta Medix PC Dempsey Uniform & Linen Supply Inc. Fidelity Deposit & Discount Bank First Liberty Bank & Trust

Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs Barbara Monick Moses Taylor Health Care System

Taylor Nursing Center Fund of the Luzerne Foundation

Morey & Sondra Myers

Dr. & Mrs. Gerald P. Tracy

Dr. Robert W. & Claudia B. Naismith

Wayne Memorial Health System

Northeastern Eye Institute

The Gentile Family David & Carol Greenwald and Bruce & Melissa Saidman

The Oppenheim Family

Beatrice T. Heveran, Esq. & Robert M. D’Alessandri, M.D. Martin Hyzinski, M.D.

Susquehanna Health

Moses Taylor Hospital Medical Staff

Northeastern Rehabilitation Associates PC

David & Ann Hawk, Gertrude Hawk Chocolates

Mr. Andrew & Dr. Susan Sordoni

Penn Security Bank & Trust Company The Roy W. Piper Charitable Trust

Wilkes-Barre General Hospital Steve & Libby Wojdak Dr. & Mrs. Robert E. Wright The Wright Center for Graduate Medical Education The Wright Center Medical Group

PNC Pocono Health System PrimeMed PC

THE JOURNAL /

SUMMER 2016

IV

PHOTO CREDIT: GUY CALI ASSOCIATES INC.

525 Pine Street, Scranton, PA 18509 www.tcmc.edu

Scholarship Feature:

THE MENAPACE SCHOLARSHIP In 2014, Dan Loughran was an engineer working on watertreatment projects in Luzerne County. “While potable water

John Menapace (center), with medical students, Amanda Radisic and Dan Loughran, both members of the class of 2018.

impacts everyone, it’s in an indirect way,” he said. “I found myself wanting to be less removed. I missed having personal relationships with the

It is my hope that we educate doctors who are going to stay and practice in the region.”

honor of its esteemed long-term board member, John Menapace.

people I was helping.” After contemplation

Amanda Radisic is Dan’s fellow Menapace Scholarship recipient and

with his wife, Jessica, Dan decided to walk

also a member of the class of 2018. She already faces substantial

away from a lucrative engineering career to

student-loan debt, and still has an arduous road ahead. “I want to do

take on the academic rigor... and debt... of a

a residency in emergency medicine and then a fellowship in critical

medical student.

care (ICU),” she said, noting these demands make the Menapace

Dan, in TCMC’s class of 2018, was one of

Scholarship particularly meaningful.

the first two students to receive the John

Mr. Menapace, a member of the TCMC board of trustees, said he

J. Menapace Scholarship, which provides

hopes to help students fulfill the original mission of the College. “It is

financial assistance to academically qualified

my hope that we educate doctors who are going to stay and practice

students for all four years of medical school education. The John J.

in the region. I know the sacrifices Dan and Amanda make. I’m happy

Menapace Scholarship was established by The Sordoni Foundation in

this helps,” he said.

To make a donation or for more information, please contact the Office of Annual Giving at 570.504.9619 or visit tcmc.edu/donate .

The Commonwealth Medical College is committed to non-discrimination in all employment and educational opportunities.