The Volunteer Voice
E-Newsletter
January, 2022
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Volunteers in Medicine Annual Luncheon
Wednesday, March 16, 2022
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VIM will host its annual Appreciation Luncheon on March 16, 2022 at the Westmoreland Club located at 59 South Franklin Street, Wilkes-Barre, PA from 11:30am to 2:00pm.
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Volunteers in Medicine (VIM) is a community-based nonprofit organization established to provide primary & preventative medical, dental and behavioral health services to the working uninsured and underinsured populations in Northeastern Pennsylvania. Individuals receiving services, work with an income at or below 200% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines and have no access to affordable health insurance or medical care. All services are FREE and provided by an interprofessional team of staff and volunteers.
The uninsured rate is volatile in Luzerne County equating to a minimum of 25,000 residents without health insurance. It is estimated that almost three times that amount have no dental insurance. VIM in Wilkes-Barre is experiencing an increase in new patients. Many have lost their full time job and health insurance due to the pandemic and now have two or three part-time jobs.
It is a critical time for the health of our community. We thank you for your support and understanding the VIM mission of keeping our low income neighbors healthy, well and working.
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VIM Board of Directors Welcome New Members |
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Dr. Lynne M. Coslett-Charlton is an obstetrician-gynecologist in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. She specializes in gynecology, with an emphasis on minimally invasive surgery and da Vinci Robotics. Dr. Coslett-Charlton is affiliated with multiple hospitals in the area, including Wilkes-Barre General Hospital and Geisinger Wyoming Valley Medical Center. She received her medical degree from Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University, performed her residency at the University of Pennsylvania in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, and has been in practice for more than 20 years. Dr. Coslett has been volunteering her time and expertise at VIM for over 11 years.
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Diana Easton, MPAS, PA-C is the Director of the King's College Physician Assistant Program. She herself is a graduate of the Program and she received her Master's Degree in PA Studies from the University of Nebraska Medical Center. She has been certified as a Physician Assistant for more than 30 years, working clinically in family practice prior to her employment at King's College.
During her time as a dedicated full-time employee in the Department of Physician Assistant Studies, she has acted as didactic faculty, clinical faculty, Clinical Director, and most recently, Program Director. Mrs. Easton has taught various courses within the program including Ophthalmology/ENT, Physical Diagnosis Laboratory, Medical Interviewing, Geriatrics, various seminars/workshops and clinical examinations. She is closely involved with the evaluation and monitoring of students and clinical sites during the clinical portion of the program.
Mrs. Easton has published and has worked with her students on original research. Currently, she is involved with the NECPA IPEC and is at the forefront of improving interprofessional education among health care providers in the local community. VIM is proud to have a 13 year relationship with the Kings PA program as host to their students.
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Sordoni Foundation and AllOne Charities
Support Staff Funding
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Thanks to the generous funding from the Sordoni Foundation and AllOne Charities, VIM now has support staff in the dental clinic.
The newest addition to the VIM staff is Austin Wood who will serve as the first paid Dental Assistant. Austin is a PSU graduate who aims to go to dental school and become a dentist. Austin volunteered for a year in the VIM dental clinic, which allowed extensive training on dental assisting.
Michelle Witek is a new dental hygienist at the VIM Dental clinic. She lives in Duryea, PA and graduated from the Luzerne County Community College registered hygienist program. Michelle did a rotation at VIM as a dental hygiene student and is excited to be part of the VIM Team. She is extremely grateful to have the opportunity to help patients and educate them about proper oral hygiene.
Pictured from left to right- Michelle Witek, Austin Wood, Darcie Schaffer and
Dr. George Puhak.
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VIM Dental Clinic Awarded
2021 Oral Health Award
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The Pennsylvania Coalition for Oral Health was formed in 2011 and achieved 501(c)3 non-profit status in 2017. The coalition works to improve oral health for all Pennsylvanians by uniting stakeholders to advance advocacy, policy, education and innovative approaches. The coalition holds a biennial summit, the PA Oral Health Summit, which was held on November 12, 2021. The Pennsylvania Coalition for Oral Health presented three awards for organizations and individuals who served as oral health champions in PA. The 2021 Innovative Oral Health Champion-Organization Award was presented to Darcie Shaffer, representing Volunteers in Medicine.
VIM opened 13 years ago as the only full-time, full-service free clinic in all of northeastern Pennsylvania and remains today. The Dental Clinic opened in 2011 and quickly became a high demand community resource for those needing dental care.
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Highmark Grant
to assist with Interpretation Program
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Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield has recently awarded Volunteers in Medicine a contribution of $15,000.00 to support the language translation program. At VIM, a frequently occurring challenge involves the English-Spanish language barrier between staff and patients. Language Line provides our staff the ability to communicate efficiently and effectively with all our patients, no matter their preferred language. Highmark has been a supporter of VIM since it's inception in 2008.
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Geisinger Medical Students Tour VIM |
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John Grabusky, Senior Director of Community Relations at the Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine, along with medical students visited the VIM clinic to learn about services available to the low income underserved populations. Kelly Ranieli, Executive Director of VIM , spent time sharing the journey over the last 13 years which includes challenges and worth while experiences. The students all share the same passion of helping those that can't afford medical insurance but are in need healthcare services .
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VIM was a proud recipient of Navient's 'Day of Giving' donation. Navient is a student loan management service who has aided millions of people in managing their student loans. "We are grateful to have been recognized by the Navient employees as an organization deserving of this donation", said Kelly Ranieli. She visited Navient and was presented a check by Eileen Halesey.
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The City of Wilkes-Barre Rescue Plan
Provides Funding
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On behalf of the city of Wilkes-Barre, the United Way of Wyoming Valley has offered a one-time grant of $33,240.88 to VIM. This grant comes from the city's American Rescue Plan and was awarded in recognition of the healthcare services that Volunteers in Medicine provides to the underserved.
The city of Wilkes-Barre allocated $1.1 million to support human service agencies within the city that provide direct support to vulnerable populations. Twenty-four applications met the intent and requirements of the program and were awarded grants through the program. To ensure fairness, consistency, and transparency, the actual amount of the award was based on an objective, mathematical formula involving several factors related to the size of the organizations applying and the number of Wilkes-Barre based employees. VIM is grateful for the city's recognition and will use the funds to continue serving the medical, dental and behavioral health needs of the community.
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VIM Awarded "NEPA Best Places to Work" |
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The Times Leader Media Group recently awarded VIM the 2021 NEPA Best Places to Work Gold Award winner. The decision process took place over a four-week period with hundreds of votes for all local companies, big or small. This year marks the 5th annual Best Places to Work contest offered by the Times Leader.
VIM is pleased to accept the distinction and will continue to pride itself as one of the best places to work in Luzerne County.
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Social Care Coordinator, Tamara Panowicz, paid a visit to the Heritage Point Apartment complex. She presented pamphlets and educated the residents about the services offered at VIM, which include medical, dental and behavioral health services. The residents were thrilled to learn about VIM as an important resource to those that can't afford health insurance.
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Volunteer and Student Corner |
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Maya Lichtenstein, MD, is a board certified neurologist, who specializes in diagnosing and treating people who have Alzheimer's disease, various forms of dementia, primary progressive aphasias (language disorders) and other brain conditions that cause memory or other cognitive changes. She is a 2010 graduate of the Sackler School of Medicine in Tel Aviv. After graduating medical school, she attended The Milton S. Hershey Medical Center where she completed her Internal Medicine Residency in 2014. She went on to the University of British Columbia where she completed her neurology fellowship in 2016.
She currently works at Geisinger Wyoming Valley and recently began volunteering at VIM. The clinic provides comprehensive health care and has been challenged for many years with ensuring that our patients had neurology follow-up. Dr. Lichtenstein's expertise is a tremendous help to Dr. Feudale and the primary care providers when caring for patients with possible neurology issues.
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Mary Boylan is a new volunteer at VIM. A retired social worker, she now lives in Kingston and volunteers at a variety of nonprofits. Mary chose VIM because she feels it is a great organization with caring professionals that go the extra mile for the people they serve.
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Bryanna Achey is a graduating student at the Wilkes-Barre Area CTC School of Practical Nursing (WBACTC). She plans on continuing her education to achieve her BSN following her graduation from WBACTC. Currently, Bryanna is undecided on the type of setting she plans to work in, but would love a fast paced setting or the chance to work with children.
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Loreen Guidon is a new volunteer at VIM, helping with intake of patients. Originally from Baltimore, MD, she is currently living in Wilkes-Barre after earning her masters degree from Geisinger School of Medicine. Loreen hopes to one day work as a PCP in the area to help underserved communities. She wanted to volunteer at VIM to gain an educational and professional experience in the medical field, but more importantly to become more familiar with the community she wants to serve as a physician. Loreen says that volunteering at VIM allows her to understand the needs of the medical community and witness the benefit medical advances can have on patients. |
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Sarah Little from West Deptford, NJ is a new PA student at VIM. She is currently in her 5th year of the King's College PA program and chose VIM for one of her rotations. Sarah hopes to practice pediatrics somewhere in South Jersey or the Philadelphia area. Her reason for coming to VIM was that she always enjoyed volunteering throughout her life. In high school, Sarah even tutored students who were refugees or recent immigrants to the United States. |
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Julia Kiss is a new pharmacy student from Bangor, PA. She is in her P4 year at Wilkes University Pharmacy School and hopes to continue onto a residency program for pharmacy. She chose VIM because she loves to work with patients and learn from other health care professionals. Fun fact, Julia has 3 dogs she loves, Rigby, Chesney, and Leia.
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Pavel Svintozelskiy is a resident of Mountain Top and a new pharmacy student at VIM. Currently in his P4 year at Wilkes University, Pavel hopes to practice either emergency medicine or cardiology after having experiences with both. He chooses to come to VIM to serve the local community. Having been born in the Ukraine, Pavel can speak three different languages.
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"I loved making relationships with the staff and patients at VIM. I learned a lot about dentistry and I am so happy! This internship made me even more certain that I want to be a dentist."
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"I learned a lot and saw a wide variety of people and diseases. I loved the freedom and guidance I was offered by Dr. Feudale and the other practitioners." |
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"I enjoyed everything about VIM! The staff is extremely friendly and welcomes new students with open arms as if you've been a part of their team for years. The knowledge they are willing to teach students is exceptional. VIM is a great place to learn." |
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Patient Success with Diabetes |
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A 58-year-old male came to VIM with complaints of frequent urination and increased thirst. His blood sugar was unreadable using the clinic glucometer, and he was sent to have blood work drawn. The lab results revealed a critically high blood sugar of 952 mg/dL and a HbA1c of 14.6%. To provide a frame of reference, a normal fasting blood sugar is ≤99 mg/dL, and a normal HbA1c is <5.7%. He was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, and set a goal of getting to a HbA1c of <7%. He began working with Dr. Manning for nutrition counseling and Dr. Nguyen and her pharmacy students for diabetes education and counseling. He made changes to his diet and began an exercise program. He was able to achieve a HbA1c of 6.8% in just four months.
A 42-year-old male presented for an initial diabetes evaluation with the Clinical Pharmacy team in September, 2021 with a HbA1c of 11.6% and a goal of reaching <7%. The patient did not speak English so the pharmacy team used VIM's translation program and took extra time to provide education and counseling on diabetes. They made sure all his questions were addressed and he understood the explanations. Working with Dr. Nguyen and her pharmacy students, he was able to get his HbA1c to 6.6.% in three short months.
These stories highlight the positive impact of patient-centered care offered at the VIM Clinic. Making sure the patient is part of the healthcare team means that we work together to create a plan that works.
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Volunteers in Medicine
Volunteers in Medicine
190 North Pennsylvania Avenue
Wilkes-Barre, PA 18702
570-970-2864 phone
kranieli@vimwb.org email
www.vimwb.org
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