Non-Profit Org. U.S. Postage PAID Permit No. 520 Scranton, PA
800 Linden Street U Scranton, PA 18510
Address Service Requested
Leahy Community Health and Family Center Serves Community and Provides Health Education
T
he Leahy Community Health and Family Center (LCHFC) at The University of Scranton is grounded in the Jesuit tradition of cura personalis, Latin for “care for the whole person,” seeking to promote personal development and holistic health through education. Named for the late Edward R. Leahy Jr., its mission is to mobilize the expertise and resources of The University of Scranton’s Panuska College of Professional Studies (PCPS) in response to compelling community needs. By interfacing with the Scranton and Lackawanna community, promoting civic engagement and service opportunities for students, faculty and professional staff, the LCHFC acts as a “learning laboratory” where faculty and professional staff can teach students, while providing less fortunate members of our community with health services to which they otherwise would not have access. The Leahy Community Health and Family Center (LCHFC) is a 4,000 square-foot facility located on the lower level of McGurrin Hall. Its Kressler Court entrance is just steps from Scranton’s Courthouse Square, with private access to the public. It is equipped with four examination and counseling rooms, an observation/play room/multi-media classroom and a technologically advanced seminar room. University of Scranton alumni Andrea Mantione, MSN, CRNP ’99 and Maria Lucia Vital ’11 serve as Director and Bilingual Assistant. Debra Pellegrino, Ed.D, Dean of the Panuska College of Professional Studies (PCPS), remarked that Ms. Mantione and Ms. Vital are the critical components that unite our faculty and students with the Lackawanna County community by promoting our Jesuit and Catholic mission while striving for academic excellence in the Center’s multi clinics of medicine, counseling, nutrition and physical therapy.
Under the leadership of Dr. Pellegrino and Ms. Mantione, the LCHFC offers students opportunities found on just a few University campuses. The Center currently administers the PeaceMakers Afterschool program, University of Success, Strong Bones exercise program, and clinics for Counseling, Physical Therapy and Nutrition. A hallmark project is The Edward R. Leahy, Jr. Center Clinic for the Uninsured, a collaborative project between The University of Scranton and the Lackawanna Medical Society. The Leahy Clinic provides basic diagnostics and treatment in an urgent care setting, conducts physical exams, administers vaccinations, and provides health education to Lackawanna County residents with no medical insurance. Dr. Gregory Borowski, M.D., serves as Medical Director and has been instrumental in the sustainability of the project. This free walk-in clinic is open to the public on Thursday evenings and is staffed by volunteer internal medicine and family practice physicians, nurse practitioners and nurses from the community, along with specialties who offer services in their offices to Leahy Clinic clients as pro-bono referrals. Many supporters are graduates of The University of Scranton. These volunteer providers and PCPS professional staff mentor premed, prehealth profession students and facilitate undergraduate and graduate level nursing students. In addition, undergraduate students from various majors have an opportunity to work alongside staff performing patient intakes, filing charts, assisting clients with follow up care, and serving as medical translators for Spanish and Portuguese speaking clients.
The Leahy Clinic extends its genuine gratitude to the volunteer and off-site referral physicians who are alumni of the University, as well as those who have contributed in other ways to the success of this clinic. If you are interested in learning about volunteer opportunities, call 570-941-6112.