WYOMING COUNTY, Pa. — The Wyoming County Healthcare Center's grand opening was held at the old Tyler Memorial Hospital near Tunkhannock. About two years ago, most of the hospital services stopped.
"It was the worst news. Worst possible news that I could hear, and I know I could say many people here in the community because we relied on our ER. I came here for any kind of tests, anything I needed,” said Gloria Pasternak of Lake Carey.
Gloria shared one sentiment at the grand opening.
“This is a glimmer of hope, a light of hope because now they're trying to get more services in the area,” said Pasternak.
Now, in the very same building where Tyler Memorial once was, there is a center that aims to unite multiple healthcare providers.
"We said let's buy the hospital. Let's see if we can get some good healthcare back in here, and so far so good, we're working hard at it,” said Bill Ruark, owner of Wyoming County Healthcare Center. “I kind of call it a health mall, and our goal is to bring services back to the people of this county.”
“What we're trying to do here is to fulfill a vacuum that was created with the closure of the healthcare system that was here previously, so I think at this point we're actually ecstatic to be able to provide that service," said Henry Novroski, a family practice doctor at the Wright Center.
Although the healthcare center currently has 13 different businesses, the two major providers are the Guthrie Clinic and the Wright Center.
"We not only have the primary care services with our four providers, we also started walk-in services,” said Christopher Andres, the regional lead physician at the Guthrie Clinic. “So we have providers who are doing walk-in services, so on any given day, someone can walk in; you don't have to be a patient of ours."
“We provide a wide range of services from primary care to behavioral health to dental services,” said Jignesh Sheth, Wright Center's Chief Information Officer. “We take care of patients regardless of their ability to pay, we take all insurances, we also take care of uninsured, underinsured patients."
Although the Wyoming County Healthcare Center has multiple clinics that can provide primary care, it still does not have an ER. If someone has a serious injury, they would have to go to the nearest emergency room, which would be in Scranton.