SCRANTON, PA — Two employees of the Wright Center for Community Health’s Ryan White Clinic will join an advisory group collaborating with the University of Pittsburgh as well as the PA State Department of Health Division of HIV Health and Bureau of Communicable Diseases.

Sharon Whitebread, manager of medical case management at the Ryan White Clinic, and Deanna DiGiampaolo, the clinic’s outreach and prevention education coordinator, have been appointed to three-year terms on the HIV Planning Group. The advisory group panel brings together stakeholders from across the state to coordinate efforts in HIV care and prevention planning. 

“The HIV Planning Group envisions a future where everyone living with HIV, as well as those most vulnerable to the disease, have access to the latest prevention methods, treatment, care, support and services,” Whitebread said. “We will offer guidance to the Pennsylvania Department of Health on HIV-related care, prevention, testing and the state’s progress in achieving the goals of the National HIV/AIDS Strategy.” 

The Wright Center has been a federally designated Ryan White provider since 2003. It delivers comprehensive HIV primary medical care, essential support services and medications to individuals living with HIV, including the uninsured and underserved, across seven counties in Northeast Pennsylvania.

Currently, the Wright Center serves nearly 500 patients through its Ryan White clinical program, provides specialty health care, and has about 300 clients through its medical case management program. Some individuals are enrolled in both services. 

More information is available at www.TheWrightCenter.org/services/ryan-white-hiv-clinic or by calling 570/941-0630.