Pediatrician Melissa Jones, DO, Returns to NEPA

HONESDALE, PA — After 13 years away, living in multiple states and working with people of all demographics, board-certified pediatrician Melissa Jones, DO, has returned to northeastern PA to  practice with Wayne Memorial Community Health Centers (WMCHC). 

Jones, a native of Jessup, sees patients—newborn to age 18—at the Honesdale Pediatric Center, which is located at 1837 Fair Ave.

“I love our area and the people who live here,” Dr. Jones said. “My intention was always to come back at some point.” 

She said she feels the knowledge she gained while practicing in Connecticut and New York will prove to be an asset to her current patients. “Now I can bring that entire experience home. I feel honored to be of service to the community that helped raise me into the person I am today.”

Dr. Jones graduated from Wilkes University, Wilkes-Barre, with a bachelor’s degree in biology.  She then attended Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine in Erie, earning a Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine degree. 

Following an internship at Arnot Ogden Hospital in Elmira, NY, Dr. Jones completed her pediatric residency at Golisano Children’s Hospital at SUNY Upstate Medical Center, Syracuse, NY.

A pediatrician since 2017, Dr. Jones held positions with two Connecticut-based pediatric practices—Child and Adolescent Healthcare Associates in Waterbury and Valley Pediatrics of Greenwich—before joining WMCHC.

In addition to well- and sick-child visits, immunizations and evaluation/treatment of chronic conditions, Dr. Jones hopes to incorporate osteopathic manipulative medicine/treatment (OMT) into her Honesdale practice. 

She specifically noted success treating plagiocephaly (misshapen head) and torticollis (tight neck muscles) in babies using osteopathic techniques. 

“OMT can also be used for colic and feeding problems in newborns, headaches, muscle aches/strains, mild musculoskeletal injuries/pain, sinus problems and a host of other conditions,” she added.

Parents wishing to establish with Dr. Jones as their child’s primary care provider can call the Honesdale Pediatric Center at 570/253-5838.

WMCHC is a federally qualified health center clinically affiliated with Wayne Memorial Health System, Inc. For information on all of WMCHC’s services, visit www.wmchc.net.

Contributed by Wayne Memorial Community Health Centers.

Nurse practitioner Stephanie Wolloff joins Highland Physicians 

HONESDALE, PA — Board-certified family nurse practitioner Stephanie Wolloff, R.N., has joined the staff of the Wayne Memorial Community Health Centers (WMCHC).

Wolloff offers primary care to patients aged two through adult at the Highland Physicians Family Health Center, which is located at 1839 Fair Ave.

Wolloff, then Stephanie Kwortnik, began her 35-year healthcare career at Wayne Memorial. She said she is grateful to come back to her roots.

“Returning to Pennsylvania and Wayne County was the best fit for my values and family life,” she said. 

Her parents retired in Wayne County when she left to join the military over three decades ago, she added. “I started at Wayne Memorial Hospital as a nurse aide during my formative years.” Wolloff recalled encounters with the legendary Dr. Harry Propst, longtime chief of staff, while she attended nursing school. “Now I’d like to use the experience the military provided me to give back to the community.”

Wolloff’s military service spans 32 years, including 15 spent in active duty with the U.S. Army and 17 in the U.S. Army Reserves. 

She retired as a colonel. 

In addition to military experience, she holds multiple academic degrees, including in part a master of arts in strategic leadership from the Army War College in Carlisle; a doctorate in nursing science from Sage College in Albany, NY; and a post-doctorate research fellowship at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, MA.

Wolloff has held various RN positions, including leadership roles, over the past 30 years in the areas of emergency medicine, ICU, critical care and medical /surgical units.

Before her work at Highland Physicians, she most recently served as an RN at Wayne Memorial Hospital’s Emergency Department. 

To make an appointment with Wolloff, call 570/251-6500. Most private insurance, managed care plans, Medicare and medical assistance are accepted. A sliding-fee scale is also offered for those who qualify. WMCHC is a federally qualified health center clinically affiliated with Wayne Memorial Health System. For more information about WMCHC and its services, visit www.wmchc.net or call 570/253-8390.

Center for Discovery nets $620k from Schumer

ROCK HILL, NY — New York Sen. Charles Schumer recently announced a $622,954 grant for The Center for Discovery’s Children (CFD)’s Specialty Hospital project.

The grant comes from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Office of Rural Development’s Community Facilities Program, and will support the design and construction of the facility.

The funding will boost ongoing efforts to build New York’s first short-term inpatient assessment program for children with complex conditions. It could create over 400 healthcare jobs and provide access to critical care for children and their families in the Hudson Valley and across New York State. 

“The Center for Discovery is a pillar of the Sullivan County economy, and now, thanks to this major federal investment I helped secure, we are boosting it as a beacon of hope for our most vulnerable people with complex disabilities,” said Schumer.

In early 2020, USDA’s New York State Director of Rural Development, Richard Mayfield, visited the site at Schumer’s request to discuss the USDA program. A few days after the visit, COVID-19 cases surged in Sullivan County, creating unprecedented challenges for the CFD and its employees and those they serve. 

The pandemic’s disruptive health and economic impacts resulted in roughly $5 million in lost revenue for the center, on top of millions in additional costs so it could continue safely caring for 360 medically and highly vulnerable patients. These added costs included compensation, benefits, emergency childcare and more. 

Schumer helped secure a critical $35 million USDA loan to keep the Children’s Specialty Hospital project on track. The project broke ground later that year.

The project

The new funding will boost construction of an educational wing with classrooms, a wellness therapy gym, a test kitchen, a rural health extension health clinic and a learning center. 

The renovation affects approximately 78,950 square feet of combined renovation on the first floor and lower level, with a 6,300 square foot addition on the first floor. Other areas will be used to create a state of the art facility for research and development as well as areas to recruit and train new staff. 

The center plans to use these facilities to develop individualized treatment plans and ensure the personal needs of patients and students are met. The first hospital patients are expected by early winter. 

Once the hospital portion of the building is up and running, 18 beds will be made available for students making short-term stays, 12 beds for people with autism and six beds for those with medical frailties. 

The CFD currently has 1,700 doctors, nurses, direct care workers, occupational therapists, speech pathologists, physical therapists, adaptive recreation experts, therapists, special educators, farmers, orchardists, nutritionists, chefs, researchers and other support staff.

Contributed by the office of Sen. Charles Schumer.

Backpack giveaway for National Health Center Week 

HAWLEY, PA — The Wright Center for Community Health will mark National Health Center Week locally with a backpack giveaway, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Wright Center for Community Health Hawley Practice, 103 Spruce St.

The center is holding a series of other activities across the region, including a vaccine clinic and a special flag-raising ceremony at its primary health care practice in Jermyn.

 The weeklong celebration, from August 6 to August 12, helps to draw attention to the critical role that community health centers play in strengthening our nation’s health and well-being by delivering high-quality, affordable primary health care to underserved populations. 

This year’s theme is “The Roadmap to a Stronger America.”

 The Wright Center is one of about 1,400 community health centers in the United States, which collectively serve about 30 million people annually. Community health centers represent the largest primary health care network in the nation. They deliver care to one in 11 people in the U.S., including one in three people who live in poverty, according to the National Association of Community Health Centers, organizer of National Health Center Week.

The Wright Center, like other community health centers across the nation, is a nonprofit, patient-governed organization that provides comprehensive health care to rural and other medically underserved areas, treating all patients regardless of income or insurance status. 

More than 61 percent of the Wright Center’s patients fall at or below 200 percent of federal poverty guidelines; nearly 32 percent are insured through Medicaid or CHIP, and just over 18 percent are insured through Medicare.  

For more information about the Wright Center for Community Health, visit www.TheWrightCenter.org or call 570/230-0019.