2015 KICKOFF
the A NEWSLETTER FOR EMPLOYEES,
RESPONSIVE
RESIDENTS & FRIENDS OF THE WRIGHT CENTER
The Wright Center and The Commonwealth Medical College sign a Memorandum of Understanding formalizing the relationship and commitment to address physician shortages in Northeastern Pennsylvania
I N S I D E : PAG E 4
As human beings, we aren’t built to do work without any gain or mental reward. All employees should and hopefully do recognize the higher purpose of their daily work that contributes to delivering The Wright Center’s mission to continuously improve education and patient care in a collaborative spirit to enhance outcomes, access and affordability. We have the privilege and an obligation to support the health of our community and our nation by developing competent, compassionate primary care doctors and cardiologists, while we deliver high quality and innovative comprehensive healthcare to the patients we serve. Our actions at work should always demonstrate and support our critical mission and promote a respectful, responsive and learning culture in pursuit of excellence. I challenge each of you to recognize and deliver your individual gifts so you can see the relevance and impact you can bring each day within either your personal or professional life. Essentially, find your “meaning” and decide how you can be more responsive to those you serve. If you’re having a tough day, instead of getting frustrated, pause and change your frame of reference to look at each situation through a more resourceful lens. You may be surprised at the abundance around you or the needs of the person in front of you, especially the one who drives you particularly crazy or expresses frustration towards you. Significant personal development can come in one’s most challenging dynamics through better understanding and responding to the needs of others.
“If you find what you do each day seems to have no link to any higher purpose, you probably want to rethink what you’re doing.” — Ronald A. Heifetz, Founding Director, Center for Public Leadership, Harvard Kennedy School of Government
Our organizational core value of “responsiveness” must be differentiated from “reactionary.” Whether at work or in our personal lives, it’s quite easy to get caught up in distracting noise or swept up in unnecessary chaos and drama. We all need to recognize when we personally are igniting or fueling that distracting energy. Mindlessly expending our life energy on nonsense and negativity can be depleting and exhausting. Staying mindful and intentional in our actions to remain motivated, focused and responsive to the needs of each other and the people we serve is crucial to ensure love and joy in our lives and at work.
We must stay constantly aware of our service obligations at The Wright Center to promote the welfare of our patients and our learners. This requires we promote the welfare of each other and a culture of mutual respect that mandates individual accountability for our contributions. We all have differences in personal strengths and talents. Together, we can augment each other’s strengths and cover each other’s blind spots. We can each bring unique power through our daily work to passionately deliver our organizational mission. As organizational teams, we can create collective genius and impact.
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Cover Photo Credit: Mike Mullen, Scranton Times-Tribune. Row 1: Dr. Scheinman, Dr. Thomas-Hemak; Row 2: John Moses, Esq., Dr. Max Tolan, Dr. Kevin Musto, Dr. Daniel Shust, Mark Perry, Esq.
Message from the President
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A sacred patient story shared by Sheila Ford, RN, Manager of The Wright Center for Primary Care Mid-Valley At the highest organizational level, we continue to make strides ensuring our operations are responsive to the needs of our patients, learners and our community. As committed non-profit community assets with shared missions, The Wright Center and The Commonwealth Medical College (TCMC), have proudly, in a recent public testimonial, signed a formal Memorandum of Understanding to intentionally augment our responsive collaboration to promote the health and welfare of our region. You can read more about the partnership later in this Wright Loop. This formal declaration with TCMC has already generated notable, fruitful alignment in a recently submitted application to develop an ACGME accredited, Wright Center Psychiatric Residency program. Responsive to our regional community health needs assessment highlighting a need for enhanced mental health workforce and services, this program will strive to train, develop and hopefully retain psychiatrists with 21st century skillsets in our regional community. Responsiveness to the diverse needs of our patients and learners also continues to fuel and expand several successful partnerships. Our Tobacco-Free Northeast partnership offers free smoking cessation services to our patients, employees and community members and so far has helped over 150 patients eliminate smoking from their life. Our partnerships with United Neighborhood Centers and Friends of the Poor have tremendously enhanced our sensitivity to patients’ socioeconomic determinants of health leading to increased recognition and interventions for challenges with health literacy, poverty, food security, transportation, domestic violence, mental health and substance abuse. This enlightenment has inspired strategic plans to develop and integrate an intensified curriculum in these domains for all training programs, as well as implement universal patient screening for socioeconomic determinants of health and responsive help desk functionality for those with positive screens in academic year 2015. Think about how you can be more responsive and mission mindful in your day to day activities at work. Through authentic and deliberate responses and actions, we can all use our talents to better serve those around and in front of us. In closing, please take a moment to read and reflect on the sacred patient story (right) recently shared by Sheila Ford, RN, Manager of The Wright Center for Primary Care Mid-Valley. Perhaps a patient with this life story will call for a headache from stress or abusive trauma. Perhaps she may seem short, difficult, demanding or adversarial on the phone. Will we be kind? Will we engage her to come for a visit or just refill her meds? If she comes, will the front desk update her demographics and contact information? During the visit, will we screen her for domestic violence and get the real story behind her headache? Perhaps she may agree to be seen but no-show for this visit or a childcare visit. Will we call and look for her? Perhaps she may come late or on the wrong day. Will we turn her away and risk that she may not live to return? Will each of us do our part to genuinely help her? Will each of us react or respond? Will we serve her well or miss an opportunity we don’t recognize?
Our Mission: To continuously improve education and patient care in a collaborative spirit to enhance outcomes, access and affordability.
I wanted to reach out to let you know that Sarah Diccicco, our Social Work leader, whose services are contracted from United Neighborhood Centers, is making a real difference in the lives of our patients. Recently, she has been helping a former patient’s mom who reached out to her for help. This former patient is a child Sarah previously engaged Children and Youth Services to assess because of social concerns shared by the referring pediatrician. Sarah was in the process of helping this mom engage personally as a patient into the practice so she could formally work with her. As a result, the child’s father reactively removed the patient from practice and ended the mom’s access to help during childcare visits. The mom reached out to Sarah through an email in desperation and fear in the only way she knew how to get help to reconnect. Her number one motivating reason to work with Sarah was she was desperate to get a phone for emergency help if needed, one her husband did not know she had. She had past and current thoughts of suicide and confided in Sarah she is a victim of domestic violence while living with the father of her child and his mother. He physically abused her and has kept her sheltered in her home and away from society, without even access to a phone. Who knows what else this woman has had to endure. His mother was reportedly aware and supported his behavior. Sarah, in her patient centered way, did all she could and successfully got this woman safely out of the home with her child. She effectively managed to deliver probably the best gift this woman will ever receive in her lifetime; to be free from physical and mental abuse and to be able to go where she pleases with her child whom she adores and wonderfully cares for. This world needs more people like Sarah, who is certainly a valuable asset to The Wright Center.
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More Photos Online
Dr. Linda Thomas-Hemak explains the evolution of the partnership.
Making It Official The Wright Center and The Commonwealth Medical College Sign Memorandum of Understanding to Formalize Relationship The Wright Center and The Commonwealth Medical College (TCMC) have been working collaboratively for years to enhance medical education and innovative clinical training throughout the region. On the morning of April 7, Linda Thomas-Hemak, M.D., President and CEO of The Wright Center and Steven J. Scheinman, M.D., President and Dean of The Commonwealth Medical College signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) formalizing the relationship between the two institutions.
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knowing I would someday come back to serve the community in which I was raised. This area is where I grew up and where I want be. Getting into TCMC and then The Wright Center allowed me to train in the communities where I wanted to become established as a physician,” stated Dr. Musto. As a result of the most recent residency match, two members of TCMC’s 2015 graduating class will train within The Wright Center’s Family Medicine residency program starting this June.
In recognition of their shared communityfocused missions to educate physicians using an evidence-based, patient-centered approach, the MOU provides a meaningful platform for the two institutions to collaborate on a broad array of mutually beneficial endeavors, such as strategic planning, education and training, and clinical initiatives.
“This is the most positive, concrete development between the two institutions thus far,” said Dr. Scheinman.
Dr. Kevin Musto, a 2014 graduate of TCMC is currently training in Internal Medicine at The Wright Center. “My ultimate goal was to go to medical school
Dr. Scheinman, Dr. Thomas-Hemak, Mark Perry, Esq., John Moses, Esq. and Dr. Kevin Musto spoke at the signing ceremony.
Dr. Kevin Musto, TCMC graduate and resident at The Wright Center and Dr. Linda Thomas-Hemak, President and CEO, The Wright Center, pose for a photo at the event.
“The signing of our MOU solidifies our mutual commitment to collaborative efforts focused on recruiting and retaining top physician talent in Northeastern Pennsylvania,” said Dr. Thomas-Hemak.
Dr. Steven Scheinman addresses the audience as Dr. Max Tolan, Dr. Kevin Musto and Dr. Dan Shust join him at the podium. 10
Scranton School Based Health Centers Now Operational In follow up to the initial capital construction projects awarded by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) to improve the nursing suites in each of the intermediate schools in the Scranton School District, The Weinberg Foundation recently granted $300,000 to The Wright Center to fund a two-year pilot program to operationalize “Together in Health” School Based Health Centers. The initiative (which opened in March 2015) provides onsite medical services to students within three intermediate schools. The “Together in Health” team, well supported by the union, school board, administration, staff and parents, has been actively engaging students, parents, administrators, teachers, nurses and other community partners to promote the initiative as an additional resource within the district. Collaborative efforts between Sandra Federo, D-NP, school nurses and the students’ primary care physicians have begun to bridge gaps in healthcare. Numerous unattached students and their families have been reached and linked to The Wright Center’s primary care services. University of Scranton Masters in Health Administration Candidates, Conor Craig and Sean Green, interned with The Wright Center to complete their Capstone Projects focused on developing a sustainability plan for the “Together in Health” initiative. This project explored the importance of the three pillars of sustainability: Strong Partnerships, A Sound Business Model and High Quality Practice. Strategic planning with the schools has been ongoing to ensure optimal enrollment in the program to maximize impact on the health and wellness of students and our larger community. Early conversations for expanded staff and family access, as well as full year school based operational services, have begun.
Kinesthetic pedal desks were installed in several classrooms to promote healthy behaviors. Photo supplied by the Lakeland School District.
Dr. Samuel Ganz, Dr. Yelen Yang (pictured) and Dr. Qi Shi presented at the Society of Hospital Medicine’s 2015 Annual Meeting in Maryland. Dr. Dinesh Keerty, Dr. Sahana Dongerkery, Dr. Louis Crevecoeur, Dr. Qasim Malik, Dr. Pavitra Thiruveethy, Dr. Edward Dzielak, Dr. Mariano Giordano, Dr. Sindu Chandra and Dr. Dipti Pancholy also presented at the conference.
Dr. Svetlana Hanson and Dr. Qi Shi (pictured), along with Dr. Sukrut Nanavaty, Dr. Nishith Vayada, Dr. Mariano Giordano, Dr. Justin Denise and Dr. Ghanshyam Ghelani submitted their poster, “Acute Heart Failure with Iron or Co-Vitamin B12 Deficiency Anemia: Case Series Reports from Geisinger Community Medical Center and Literatures Review” at Geisinger Health System’s “Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Strategies” Conference on March 20 in Scranton. Additional Wright Center participants included: Dr. Rani Lakshmi Gollamudi, John Janosky, Dr. Sukrut Nanavaty, Edison Tsui, Dr. Milan Patel, Dr. Jignesh Sheth, Dr. Linda Thomas-Hemak, Dr. Julie Nardella and Marah Letteri. 10 5
Promotions: Melissa Murray Accounting Manager Christina Lynady Data Supervisor
New Hires: Christine Jackson Data Entry Clerk Sheila O’Brien GME Specialist Evaluation & Competency Jennifer Morris Director of Communications Sarah Bunting Clinic Administrative Assistant Colleen Washko Medical Scribe Tracy Wilcom Billing Specialist
Annual International Summit on Improving Patient Care in the Office Practice and Community Some of The Wright Center’s up and coming leaders attended the 16th Annual International Summit on Improving Patient Care in the Office Practice and Community hosted by The Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) in Dallas, TX. Courtney Dempsey participated by sharing her vision for the future of healthcare in a six word sentence: “empowering self-management to promote resiliency.” The conference brought together more than 1,000 thought leaders from around the globe in an intimate and dynamic conference setting, to examine new ways to improve care delivery and coordination. This conference allowed for several opportunities to highlight the good work going on at The Wright Center and for our staff to gain exposure to new and innovative ideas and inspirational leaders in healthcare.
Courtney Dempsey, Angela Liford and Alycia Coar at the Conference.
Dr. Nina Poliak Faculty Linda Motts Financial Counselor-Navigator Valerie Rudolph Medical Assistant Doreen Troutman Custodian
Save The Date The Fall Into Health Fair & 5K Walk/Run at Mid Valley SATURDAY
OCT.
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Join us for a morning of health and wellness, prizes, games and activities.
More details to come! 6
Dr. Jignesh Sheth, Dr. Samir Pancholy, Dr. Linda Thomas-Hemak and Courtney Dempsey traveled to Arlington, VA to present at the American Medical Association-convened Physician Consortium for Performance Improvement® (PCPI®). The presentation focused on Closing the Referral Loop (CRL), an 18-month, pilot collaborative between The Wright Center and the American Medical Association aimed at improving timeliness and quality of physician-to-specialist referrals by establishing accountability and improving transfer of information. The CRL presentation went incredibly well and the project was universally well received. All participants should be extremely proud of all of the work that was put into this project, as it is the first of its kind. The final learning session will be held in June.
Did You Know? Sarah Stavisky, Community Health Assistant from Geisinger, is available at the Mid Valley Practice every Tuesday for referrals. Sarah can assist patients with medication, insurance and healthcare questions, and can can also connect patients to community services. Referrals can be sent at any time by calling 1-844-813-5897. Talk to your doctor today if you or someone you know can benefit from Sarah’s services.
Achievements: Dr. Linda Thomas-Hemak has been appointed to Pennsylvania’s PatientCentered Medical Home (PCMH) Advisory Council for a two-year term. The Council was established by statute to assist the Department of Human Services in ensuring comprehensive review and development of a PCMH model for Pennsylvania. Specifically, the Council will be advising on ways to contain Pennsylvania’s Medicaid costs and increase quality of care.
More Photos Online
Bill Davis, Director of Parks & Recreation, Lackawanna County, Anthony Pero and Brian Ebersole kick off the Fit ‘N’ Fun Days event.
Announcing The 2015 Leadership Institute Class and Community Project Plans Established in 2014, The Leadership Institute is an internal development program created to identify leaders throughout the organization, in various roles, who regularly go above and beyond and demonstrate the mission, vision and core values of The Wright Center.
In coordination with the PA Department of Health and Tobacco Free Northeast, The Wright Center provides free tobacco cessation services to residents in Lackawanna, Pike, Wayne, Wyoming, Susquehanna and Luzerne counties. So far this year the team has helped over 150 people quit smoking! If you or someone you know can benefit from this free program, contact Kris Novak at (570) 507-1607.
Participants are nominated by their managers or peers and invited to submit an application to be considered for the program. The class’s first leadership training session kicked off in March. This year’s class includes Sara Kohut, MEDENT Applications Specialist; Karen Novak, Medical Assistant; Anthony Pero, IT Development and Project Management Specialist; Mary Georgetti, Clinical Administrative Assistant; Francesca Goldsack, Case Manager; and Kris Novak, Coordinator of Student Health Services. Increasing the use of local parks to promote fitness and encourage overall wellness of the community is the main focus of this year’s leadership class project. Through the initiative, The Wright Center will provide resources such as kayaks, paddle boats and rentable bikes that will be available so park-goers can use and enjoy at no cost. Kudos to Anthony Pero who has been instrumental in developing a partnership with the Lackawanna County Commissioners and Geisinger Health System. The team will also be working on Fit ‘N’ Fun Days at area parks this summer to promote wellness and physical activity. The first Fit ‘N’ Fun Day is scheduled for June 27 at McDade Park, Scranton. Visit thewrightcenter.org for exciting updates and find out how you can help support the Leadership Class’s efforts!
SATURDAY
JUNE
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The Wright Center’s Dr. Qasim Malik (pictured, above), Dr. Jignesh Sheth, Dr. Julio Ramos, Dr. Jennifer Zangardi and Dr. William Dempsey recently participated on the WVIA (Public Television) “Call the Doctor” live show. Diabetes, obesity, arthritis and healthy outdoor activities were discussed. View the episodes online anytime at on-demand.wvia.org. 7
Row 1 (Front): Sheila Ford, Dr. Jignesh Sheth and Dr. Jeanie Pavlovich Row 2 (Back): Tiffany Jaskulski, Kari Machelli and Dr. Gregg Novak
The Wright Center Joins Two Initiatives to Improve Patient Care A Health Information Exchange (HIE) is comprised of partnerships with hundreds of participating providers and offers patient-consented access to over 10 million electronic health records through a single online login. The Wright Center recently joined the Keystone Health Information Exchange (KeyHIE), an innovative technology infrastructure revolutionizing the coordination of care between providers, health plans and patients in Pennsylvania. KeyHIE is one of the oldest and largest health information exchanges in the U.S., backed by 100 years of healthcare innovation and serving nearly 4 million patients in 53 of the 69 counties in Pennsylvania. KeyHIE is empowering entire communities to stay healthy by helping them own their healthcare experience. The Wright Center also joined the Keystone Accountable Care Organization (ACO), a network of doctors, nurses, hospitals and other healthcare providers. ACOs pose an opportunity for financially strong, independent healthcare facilities to work together and re-invest cost savings into care programs that create more benefits for their patients. Any savings generated from lowering the growth in healthcare costs, while meeting standards for quality of care are shared with Medicare. Members of an ACO must ensure savings are achieved through improving coordination and providing care that is appropriate, safe and timely. 8
“Continuously improving patient care and education in a collaborative spirit is the heart of The Wright Center’s mission. Our partnership with both of these organizations represents another means of improving efficiency and align completely with The Wright Center’s commitment to provide patient centered care.” — Dr. Linda Thomas-Hemak
Employees Raise Funds for Colon Cancer Awareness
Recognitions:
Employees showed their support for The Northeast Regional Cancer Institute on March 26 by participating in the C.A.S.U.A.L. (Colon Cancer Awareness Saves Unlimited Adult Lives) fundraiser. The team raised more than $900 through a dress down day.
The Wright Center for Primary Care Clarks Summit recently received NCQA Level 3 Patient-Centered Medical Home Certification. This is a testament to the leadership of Lori Carlin, Dr. Susan Baroody, Dr. Prathiba Katta, Rose Coupland and all the fabulous staff and continuity residents. Participation in an NCQA Recognition Program demonstrates the practice values quality healthcare delivery to ensure patients receive the best care at the right time. Level 3 is the highest level of certification.
Community Outreach: Neighborhood Food Pantry Our Food Pantry has been quite successful over the past few months and is free for Lackawanna County residents with photo ID/proof of address. Special thanks to the Weinberg Food Bank and our dedicated volunteers.
Upcoming Dates and Locations: Mid Valley Practice: 5 S. Washington Avenue, Jermyn June 10 / July 8 / August 12 9:30 am – 11:30 am
Board Member, James Gavin (pictured left), was recently recognized by the Children’s Service Center, receiving the Commitment to Children Award. Michael P. Hopkins,President/CEO of Children’s Service Center (pictured, right) presented Mr. Gavin with his award.
The Scranton Clinic: 640 Madison Ave, Scranton June 18 / July 16 / August 20 10:00 am – 4:00 pm
More Photos Online
Congratulations to Mary Marrara, Community Health Hub Board Member, on her selection to join the Gallery of Hope as an inspirational survivor. The Gallery of Hope is a breast cancer awareness and education program created by Blue Cross of NEPA. 9
Asian Medical Home Thriving in Scranton Dr. Qi Shi has made tremendous impact through the Asian Medical Home operating at 640 Madison Avenue. She sees patients and communicates in their native languages, helping to deliver care so her patients are most comfortable. Dr. Shi also led the charge at Marywood University’s Bhutanese Health Fair, pictured, right. Dr. Shi, along with Wright Center residents Dr. Jonathan Lee and Dr. Suraj Thangada met with Bhutanese refugees who are making Scranton their home. The team offered blood pressure screenings, answered general health questions and even detected cases of immediate medical need, for which they were able to make urgent referrals. By actively engaging with other cultures we can see ourselves more clearly and become more mindful and sensitive to everyone in our community.
Dr. Jonathan Li, Dr. Qi Shi and Dr. Suraj Thangada at the Bhutanese Health Fair.
Special thanks to Dr. Qi Shi, Dr. Jonathan Lee, Dr. Suraj Thangada and Pavitra Thiruveethy for volunteering their time at the event. Kudos to Kris Novak who went the extra mile to ensure all materials were translated into the attendees’ native language for optimized patient care and cultural sensitivity.
Now Accepting New Patients In Our Asian Medical Home
640 Madison Avenue, Scranton Thursdays 10:00 am - 4:00 pm (570) 941-0630
Dr. Qi Shi speaks English, Chinese and Japanese. Also a Nepali language interpreter is available.
After hours coverage by on call doctor.
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Dr. Li performs a preliminary check on a patient.
Marywood University’s School of Social Work, Nursing Department, Physicians Assistant Program, Nutrition and Dietetics Department; The Wright Center and Catholic Social Services of Lackawanna County partnered to present the Bhutanese Health Fair.
Dr. Thangada consults with a patient.
Approved Funding will Infuse Resources into U.S. Residency Programs Brian Ebersole, Senior Vice President of Mission Delivery A historic decision was made in early April, by a vote of 92-8 in the U.S. Senate, to solidify the recent Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) package enabling physicians to provide quality and affordable services to seniors enrolled in Medicaid. As you may know, the government has been making SGR “patches” to an unsustainable and unpredictable platform for providers and seniors alike since 2003. Notably, the most recently approved SGR bill finally delivers a mindful solution for today. Of importance to The Wright Center, the section titled the “Community Health Centers” includes Residency programs, recognizing they’re absolutely vital to the health of our people and our economy. Government funds have been confirmed for the continued growth and operation of Residency programs just like ours. In partnership with the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), Teaching Health Centers (THCs) are funded for two years. We plan to use this opportunity to deliver value-driven care to as many people as possible.
Of course, we are focused on the Teaching Health Center piece of the SGR, but in the bigger picture, this is an inspiring example of Republicans and Democrats alike recognizing the unsustainability of our current healthcare system and working in alignment to do something transformational.
In March, The Wright Center participated in the National Resident Matching Program®, known as The MATCH, a non-profit organization seeking to standardize the residency selection process and establish a uniform date of appointment to positions in Graduate Medical Education (GME) training programs. This is the first time The Wright Center has participated in the “All In” Match, and filled 100% of the Allopathic Internal Medicine and Family Medicine Programs. Two TCMC students, Max Tolan and Daniel Shust, will be joining the Family Medicine Residency program in June, having matched to The Wright Center.
Sen. Robert Casey and Rep. Matthew Cartwright should be recognized and applauded, as they tirelessly supported including Community Health Centers, specifically THCs, in the SGR. This funding infuses resources directly into our community and encourages physicians to learn here and plant their roots here in Northeast PA and at our partner sites across the country. This news is so exciting and inspiring, but we haven’t yet reached the end of this extensive journey. Our team continues to lobby for further legislative action to patch the gaps and achieve funding certainty, not only for The Wright Center, but for all THCs. Every day, our residents, staff and faculty contribute individually and organizationally to this effort. We are so proud to be one of the driving forces behind improving America’s health.
In Memoriam
With heavy hearts, we remember Dr. Denise Elder, who passed away in April of this year. Dr. Elder was a second year resident in our Family Medicine program, having transitioned to Scranton from our site in Arizona as part of the National Network. This was an enormous loss to her friends, family, The Wright Center and the profession of medicine.
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About the Author Dr. Ghanshyam Shantha is a 3rd year Internal Medicine Resident at The Wright Center. He completed medical school at Sri Ramachandra University, India then completed his Masters of
January 22, 2015
Public Health (MPH) and a research fellowship at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. His research interests include cardiovascular disease prevention, risk factor modification and medical education. Dr. Shantha plans to be a clinician scientist and clinical cardiologist in the future.
11:30 am:
I just completed the checkout document for a patient in the VA clinic. It was a usual day: patients, morning report and awaiting noon conference.
11:31 am:
My cell phone ‘dinged.’ I fished the phone out of my pocket and swiped my finger on the screen. I saw the preview of that one email I had been so anxiously waiting for—the email from the journal PeerJ titled “Manuscript PeerJ D 1215: Nurturing 21st century physician knowledge, skills and attitudes with medical home innovations: The Wright Center for Graduate Medical Education teaching health center curriculum experience.” My heart began to pound with fear, excitement and anticipation. My fingers trembled as I touched the screen to open the email...
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Patient Centered Medical Home (PCMH) Clinician Assessment Paper Published An Example of Collective Hard Work and Excellence
By Ghanshyam Shantha, M.D.
I read the first line, written by the editor, David Solomon, M.D., that said “I am favorably impressed by the quality of revisions and the rebuttal to the reviewer comments, and I am delighted to accept the paper for publication in PeerJ.” I am not sure how James Cameron felt on the day of release of the ‘Titanic.’ I imagine he felt euphoric, just like I did at that moment, as if I were standing with outstretched arms, declaring to the world this milestone achievement of The Wright Center family. It is not an exaggeration when I tell you 3,000 hours of work have gone into having the manuscript published.
First to be appreciated is the genius and mastermind of our President and Program Director, Dr. Linda Thomas-Hemak. She conceived the project, predicted the outcome, advised on the analysis and revised the paper extensively. Calling her a perfectionist is appropriate; her attention to detail is amazing! Every comma, full stop, space – the entire presentation – was important to her. I really learned so much about creating work that is flawless and the satisfaction that comes along with creating such a perfect work. The commitment she shows to perfection is unparalleled.
Yes, the PCMH clinician assessment survey has finally become science; it is published online and indexed to PubMed.
For nearly 15 days we sat and communicated via email at midnight (while she was home after a busy day full of professional and personal commitments) awake and revising the manuscript for precision. We met on Sundays to get the work completed and proofs corrected. Hats off to you, Dr. Thomas. I learned a lot of English and wordsmithing from her writing and I have to admit, I secretively used some of it for my personal statement for my cardiology fellowship! Dr. Jignesh Sheth also played such a vital role in the publication. Dr. Sheth was the mind and soul behind formulating the survey questions, importing the surveys into Survey Monkey, making sure the software worked, ensuring the surveys were delivered correctly to each and every resident and the data collected was safe and accurate. Dr. Sheth made sure the surveys were collected consistently, every six months for the last three years. Brian Ebersole deserves a great appreciation, for every version of the draft was meticulously reviewed by him and edited to reflect The Wright Center’s mission and focus. I still remember him going on his vacation and working on the paper while he was supposed to be relaxing. I doubt he got even one day of vacation! Statistical analysis looks cool and graphs and fancy charts look amazing. But in reality, doing analysis or producing profound diagrams and figures is not rocket science. The statistical software does all this magic, so what is really intense and deserves the due appreciation is the data collection. Great papers come from good data collection. This was possible in our paper only because of Dr. Lakshmi Rani Gollamudi and Katlyn Gardner. They toiled day after day to abstract accurate data, clean it and
organize it in a way suitable for analysis. They never fatigued, even when we had to go back again and again as newer analysis queries came up along the way. Dr. Lauren Meade, Dr. Julie Nardella and Dr. Meghan Ruddy critically revised the paper and provided technical expertise. Most importantly, I sincerely thank each and every resident who participated in the survey and completed it on time in spite of being very busy. Their accuracy and honest replies to the survey questions is what made the results valid and publishable. Last but never the least, we thank the Graduate Medical Education office at The Wright Center, the IRB office and IT technical staff for continued support along the way.
National Poster Awards
Dr. Sukrut Nanavaty (pictured) presented posters on empanelment at two national conferences: Association of Program Directors in Internal Medicine (APDIM) in Houston, Texas and American College of Physicians (ACP) National Conference in Boston, Mass.
Our special thanks to Dr. Perry Dickinson from the University of Colorado for sharing this survey tool which was his brainchild. You can read the paper online at https://peerj.com/articles/766. Our collective effort and excellence has become science and will be a model for the future of Graduate Medical Education in the United States. This publication will be a perpetual property to the literary world and has immortalized the name of The Wright Center forever. In the year 2215, if the ACGME or a similar organization plans changes to Graduate Medical Education, a literature search will provide this paper from PeerJ, the success story from The Wright Center family, a story that will reflect the efforts of our great organization many years from now, even after we are long gone!
Dr. Milan Patel (pictured) attended the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) 26th Annual National Forum in Orlando, Florida and presented his poster titled “System-Based Approach to Timely Faculty Evaluation Completion on Residents to Ensure Patient Safety.” Dr. Qi Shi (not pictured) presented a poster, “Catalyzing a Culture of Learner Driven System Improvements with an Interactive Practice-based Learning and Quality Improvement Management System (PBLI/QIMS)” at IHI. 13
Teaching Health Center
Dr. Keyur Mavani Dr. Nimesh Patel Future Plans: Future Plans: Invasive Cardiologist Heart Failure & Transplant Fellow Virginia Commonwealth University University of Florida Richmond, VA Gainsville, FL
Dr. Toralben Patel Future Plans: Non-Invasive Cardiologist Mayo Clinic Jacksonville, FL
Dr. Hrushik Amin Future Plans: VA-based Chief Resident The Wright Center Scranton, PA
Teaching Health Center
Allopathic Family Medicine Graduates
Dr. Yaroslav Dvorskyy Future Plans: Urgent Care Eastern PA
Dr. Shaista Hussain Future Plans: Family Medicine Hospitalist Sound Physicians Hospitalist Group Macon, GA
Dr. Dinesh Keerty Future Plans: USF Faculty and Hospitalist Moffitt Cancer Center Tampa, FL
Dr. Neha Janakiraman Future Plans: Family Medicine Hospitalist Advanced Inpatient Medicine Wilkes-Barre, PA
Dr. Kalyanchakravarthi Mallela Future Plans: Undecided
Dr. Ahamad Shamsedeen Future Plans: Family Practitioner InterMountain Medical Group Wilkes-Barre, PA
Dr. Mehul Patel Future Plans: Hospitalist Locum Tenens TX, AZ or FL
Teaching Health Center
Dr. Kwaku Boakye Future Plans: Urgent Care Med Express Wilkes-Barre, PA
Osteopathic Internal Medicine Graduates
Teaching Health Center
CONGRATULATIONS CLASS OF 2015
Allopathic Cardiovascular Disease Graduates
Dr. Justin Devotta Future Plans: Hospitalist Christiana Hospital Wilmington, DE
Dr. Christopher Minello Future Plans: Primary Care Physician The Wright Center Clarks Summit, PA
Dr. Sherine Tadros Future Plans: Primary Care Physician The Wright Center Scranton, PA
Teaching Health Center
Teaching Health Center
Dr. Satish Vangala Future Plans: Hospitalist
Dr. Zin Win Future Plans: Primary Care Physician Kaiser Permanente Panorama City, CA
Teaching Health Center
Teaching Health Center
Teaching Health Center
Teaching Health Center Teaching Health Center
Teaching Health Center
Dr. Michael Saleeb Future Plans: Hospitalist Geisinger Wyoming Valley Wilkes-Barre, PA
Dr. Nayanjyoti Kaushik Future Plans: Cardiology Fellow The Wright Center Scranton, PA
Dr. Sukrut Nanavaty Future Plans: Cardiology Fellow The Wright Center Scranton, PA
Dr. Jaya Nair Future Plans: Undecided
Dr. Ghanshyam Shantha Future Plans: Cardiology Fellow Iowa University Iowa City, IA
Teaching Health Center
Dr. Chandra Reddy Future Plans: Hospitalist Trinity Mother Frances Hospital Tyler, TX
Dr. Suraj Thangada Future Plans: Hospitalist, then Rheumatology Fellowship
Dr. Deobrat Mallick Future Plans: Hospitalist Shoreline Hospital Corpus Christi, TX
Teaching Health Center
Dr. Milan Patel Future Plans: Pulmonary/Critical Care Fellow SUNY Upstate Syracuse, NY
Dr. Bo Jiang Future Plans: Cardiology Fellow University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, NC
Teaching Health Center
Teaching Health Center
Dr. Manoj Das Future Plans: Nephrology Fellow Virginia State University Richmond, VA
Dr. Qasim Malik Future Plans: Associate Program Director and Primary Care Physician The Wright Center Scranton, PA
Teaching Health Center
Dr. David Knorek Future Plans: Cardiology Fellow Geisinger Health System Danville, PA
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Teaching Health Center
Dr. Louis Crevecoeur Future Plans: Infectious Diseases Fellow Drexel University Philadelphia, PA
Teaching Health Center
Dr. Sindu Chandran Future Plans: Cardiology Fellow The Wright Center Scranton, PA
Teaching Health Center
Teaching Health Center
Allopathic Internal Medicine Graduates
Dr. Kumar Yellappa Future Plans: Primary Care Physician Columbus, OH
The Wright Center’s 2015 graduation ceremony will honor 33 physicians who have completed their residency training in Northeastern Pennsylvania. This ceremony marks the second graduating class of Teaching Health Center residents. Physicians trained in Teaching Health Centers are twice as likely to practice in underserved areas, as compared to those not trained at Teaching Health Centers. The Teaching Health Center initiative addresses physician workforce shortages (particularly in rural and inner-city areas), mal-distribution and escalating healthcare disparities in the United States.
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The Wright Center Medical Group, P.C. (WCMG) Board of Directors Linda Thomas-Hemak, M.D., President Susan Baroody, D.O., Secretary Timothy Burke, D.O. William Dempsey, M.D. Gregg Novak, D.O. Sandhya Samavedam, M.D. Jignesh Sheth, M.D. Community Health Hub (CHH) Board of Directors Linda Thomas-Hemak, M.D., President Rick Marquardt Nancy DePrimo Ray Angeli Louise Blake Rich Bradshaw Carol Chaykosky Nadia Dailey Cindy Edwards Diane Featherall Gerard Geoffrey Charles Hemak Michael Kushner Lloyd Lyter Mary Marrara Kayur Mavani, M.D. Ken Powell Bette Saxton Cara Sherman Kathy Wallace Dan West Robert Wright, M.D.
Thank You to our Board Members who Unselfishly Dedicate their Time to The Wright Center’s Mission and Vision
The Wright Center for Graduate Medical Education (WCGME) Board of Directors Randall Brundage, D.O.,Chair Mark Perry, Esq., Vice Chair Linda Thomas-Hemak, M.D., President Marlene Karam, Secretary Cornelio Catena Ed Chabalowski Edward Dzielak, D.O. Linda Famiglio, M.D. Joseph Ferrario James Gavin Michael Hanley John Kearney Michael Kondash, D.O. Douglas Lawrence, Ph.D. Carlon Preate Brooks Turkel Michael Washo Robert Weil, M.D. Robert Wright, M.D.
2014 Graduation
Every New Beginning Comes From Some Other Beginning’s End Orientation for new residents will begin on June 17 and continue through the following
Graduation will be held on June 20 at The Hilton Scranton & Conference Center.
week. Welcome, incoming Residents!
Congratulations to all our graduates
We look forward to your inspiring service
and thank you for your contributions
to patients and the profession of medicine.
to The Wright Center and its patients.
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The Wright Loop is published 4 times per year for employees, residents and friends of The Wright Center. If you have a suggestion for an article or would like to submit photos, please email news@thewrightcenter.org.