Press Releases

Today, U.S. Rep. Matt Cartwright announced that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) awarded two grants worth $4,949,213 combined to the Wright Center for Graduate Medical Education.  The grants will help cover the costs of student residents at the Center for both the end of the 2016-2017 academic year and the beginning of 2017-2018 year.  This level is a 5% increase from the last round of HHS grants.

The Wright Center provides medical residency training for primary care physicians in northeastern Pennsylvania and across the country through the Health Resources and Services Administration’s Teaching Health Center (THC) initiative.  The THC initiative addresses physician workforce shortages, particularly in rural and inner-city areas; misdistribution of resources; and escalating health care disparities in the U.S.

“Many residents in northeastern Pennsylvania still need better access to quality health care,” said Rep. Cartwright. “These grants will help the Wright Center get well-trained doctor’s into medically underserved areas.”

The Wright Center operates two community health centers, Wright Center for Primary Care in Scranton and Wright Center for Primary Care in the Mid-Valley.  The Wright Center’s mission is to provide excellence in graduate medical education in an innovative and collaborative spirit in order to enhance the quality of health care for the people of northeastern Pennsylvania.

The Wright Center is a non-profit organization recognized by the federal Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) as the largest Teaching Health Center Graduate Medical Education consortium in the country.  Physicians trained in THCs are twice as likely to practice in underserved areas, as compared to those not trained in THCs.