Health and Health Care
Mission
To improve the quality of life and standard of living for the residents of northeastern Pennsylvania through examination of health status, health care delivery, healthcare costs and insurance.
Purpose
The task force is comprised of diverse groups of professionals to convene and participate in creating policy solutions based on evidence and best practices that have the potential to impact legislation and beyond. With Institute support, the task force will examine a variety of issues related to provider reimbursement, access, and other issues included in the health care reform act.Key data and trends concerning reimbursement, competition, and uncompensated care will be examined and policy statements will be developed as appropriate.Research may include both primary and secondary work.
The task force will provide insight into the health and healthcare indicators as appropriate to ensure a comprehensive, high quality set of benchmarks of health and healthcare status. The task force will work with staff to generate funding for a market study of patients and their appraisal of health care and providers in northeastern Pennsylvania to assess why millions of dollars are spent o n accessing healthcare outside the region on an annual basis.
Health and Health Care Research
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Institute Research
Task Force Members
- Dr. Julie Byerley, Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine – Chair
- Karen Baker, Senior Advancement Director, Johnson College
- William Conaboy, President & CEO, Allied Services
- Laura Ducceschi, President & CEO, Scranton Area Foundation
- Maria Montoro Edwards, President & CEO, Maternal & Family Health Services
- Brian Ebersole, Senior Director, Health Innovations, Geisinger
- Joe Grilli, Community Member
- Joseph Hollander, Executive Director, Scranton Primary Health Care Center
- Tiffany Jaskulski, Chief Operating Officer, The Wright Center
- Barbara Norton, Director, Corporate and Foundation Research, Allied Services
- Ben Payavis, Chief Content Officer, WVIA
- Raymond E. Petren, Ph.D., Assistant Professor Human Development & Family Studies, Penn State Scranton
- Brian Rinker, Senior Vice President, Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield
- Paul Rushton, Esq., Partner, Rosenn Jenkins & Greenwald LLP
- Bette Saxton, Community Member
- Jignesh Y. Sheth, MD, Chief Medical Officer, The Wright Center
- Susan Sordoni, MD, Founder Volunteers in Medicine
- Laura Toole, Executive Vice President, Northeast Regional Cancer Institute
Sarah, a former Institute intern, joined The Institute in April 2021 as a Research Assistant. She started her new role as a Research Analyst in January 2024. 
Dr. Jolene Carey-Pace joined The Institute Team in 2021 as a Research Analyst. In 2023, she was named Senior Research & Policy Analyst. 
Jill Avery-Stoss joined The Institute in June 2018 to fill the newly-created role of Research, Data, Intern & Administrative Coordinator. She assists with the collection and management of data for purposes of ethical and efficient analysis. She visits partner campuses to market The Institute’s internship opportunities, and participates in event-planning logistical activities as well. In 2021, Jill was promoted to Director of Operations to reflect the diversity in her job description and the additional marketing and communication functions she successfully mastered in 2020. In 2022, Jill was named Chief Operating Officer after expanding into both research and administrative management functions. Jill is taking on project management, fundraising, and other executive leadership functions of the organization.
Research Analyst in 2022.
Ooms is responsible for all facets of research, organizational strategy, and management. Ooms is an active principal investigator in all Institute research. Ooms has been nationally recognized as a leader in regional economic development. She turned that skill into a research institute to help other regions develop and prosper. Her strategic skills have allowed The Institute to expand its services to the private and non-profit sectors for research and analysis in community health needs assessments, strategic planning, market and feasibility studies, and economic impact analysis.