Bryan Boyle started at The Wright Center in 2019.
Now he returns to his hometown as medical director of the organization’s new Carbondale location.
“It was a full-circle moment coming here. Having that opportunity to kind of give back to the community that I felt honestly helped raise me was honestly very rewarding," Boyle said. "Especially coming in to see all these familiar faces, it always helps. I say that I try to treat my patients like they're my friends."
The Wright Center celebrated several wins this month, with the opening of The Wright Center for Community Health Friendship House and an updated status as a Federally Qualified Health Center, or FQHC.
A new federal designation
Earlier this month, the federal government upgraded The Wright Center from a federally-qualified health center look-alike to a fully recognized federally-qualified health center, of FQHC.
According to the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, FQHCs are “health centers or clinics that serve medically underserved areas and populations. Federally qualified health centers provide primary care services regardless of your ability to pay. Services are provided on a sliding scale fee based on your ability to pay.”
“The designation itself gives The Wright Center an increased opportunity for federal grants to provide care to our underserved populations, regardless of the patient's ability to pay,” said U.S. Rep. Rob Bresnahan (R-Luzerne).
Providers need to meet guidelines from the federal Health Resources Service Administration to become an FQHC, including scope of services and accessibility.
Bresnahan said the new designation gives The Wright Center eligibility for grant money from Section 330, which provides funding for primary care services to underserved communities.
As an FQHC look-alike, The Wright Center did not previously qualify for this funding.
“The new status is unlocking a whole new pool of funding opportunities for The Wright Center,” Bresnahan said.
The access to that funding assists vulnerable populations, regardless of their ability to pay.
“We have seen a large increase in our town unfortunately in the homeless population," said April Savage-Mushow, the site coordinator and clinical administrative assistant at the Carbondale location.
"By us being here, the resources that being an FQHC has given us allows us to provide them the assistance they need," Savage-Mushow said, such as addiction treatment or career resources.
Accessible care
The Wright Center’s Carbondale location provides primary care for pediatric and adult patients, addiction services, behavioral and mental health services through partnership with Friendship House, a health provider in Northeast Pennsylvania, as well as walk-in services.
Since the center’s opening last week, Boyle has already heard positive feedback from new patients.
“They said that it was so nice to be able to walk to somebody that they're familiar with and not have to drive almost an hour to just get to their healthcare provider,” Boyle said.
There are other primary care providers in Carbondale. But The Wright Center says it offers flexibility to patients of all insurance types.
“It's more about options. People want to have their options,” Savage-Mushow said.
Savage-Mushow, also a Carbondale native, said transportation is a barrier to care for many of the city’s residents.
“You have three high rises for adults that are low income or are older. We also have an adult living area behind one of the high rises with the Carbondale Housing Authority, and then the one high rise that is a little bit out of the way," she said. All of those are still within walking distance, but many of the residents who may need transportation don't have it.
"They have to ask somebody to take them. They have to take a bus, take an Uber, or have a caregiver take them," Savage-Mushow said.
Boyle welcomes patients to come to the center.
“There was always a limited amount of primary care providers in the area,” he said. “There are a few in this area, but not all take uninsured or don't take any insurance at all, or like state insurance and things like that."
"A lot of our patients have that ability now to walk to the clinic and not have to worry about being overbilled or not being able to be seen because they can't afford it,” he added.
