Cartwright announces $6.8 million in grants for medical training

U.S. Rep. Matt Cartwright announced July 12 that the Health Resources and Services Administration awarded three grants totaling $6,812,541 to The Wright Center for Graduate Medical Education, a non-profit consortium that trains regional medical professionals who go on to serve vulnerable populations.
Headquartered in Scranton, The Wright Center rains medical professionals in community-based centers in Luzerne, Lackawanna, Wayne and Pike counties. Through residencies and fellowships focused on getting more medical professionals to rural and underserved areas across the country, The center helps these professionals get hands-on experience and develop the necessary skills to treat vulnerable populations.
“I’m proud to support initiatives that use federal dollars to provide affordable, quality medical services in communities like ours,” said Cartwright, a member of the House Appropriations Committee. “I applaud The Wright Center for Graduate Medical Education in being recognized as a valuable source of physician workforce renewal in Northeastern Pennsylvania.”
“Since our inception more than 40 years ago, The Wright Center for Graduate Medical Education has been acutely mission focused on developing the physician workforce needed to care for patients and families within America's ever-changing healthcare system,” said Linda Thomas-Hemak, M.D., President of The Wright Center. “The Health Resources and Services Administration continues to recognize and respond to the great need for primary care doctors across America to serve the public better. HRSA’s continued federal investment in our future primary care physician workforce through the Teaching Health Center Graduate Medical Education Program enables The Wright Center for Graduate Medical Education to immerse our trainees in community-based venues where they are most needed. We are very grateful to HRSA and thank Congressman Cartwright for his past and future support of the Teaching Health Center legislation that brings these vital federal resources home to 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.
The HRSA provides grants to organizations like the Wright Center to fund residency training in community-based primary care settings. Physicians trained in Teaching Health Centers (THCs) are twice as likely to practice in underserved areas as compared to those not trained in THCs.