Linda J Thomas-Hemak MD FACP, FAAP
Addiction Medicine, Health and Culture, Obesity Medicine and Nutrition
President and CEO of The Wright Centers for Community Health and Graduate Medical Education
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501 S. Washington Ave.Suite 1000Scranton, PA 18505
Phone+1 570-343-2383
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Summary
- Dr. Linda Thomas-Hemak is a dedicated healthcare professional based in Scranton, PA, specializing in Medicine and Pediatrics with subspecialties in Addiction Medicine, Health and Culture, and Obesity Medicine and Nutrition. She completed her residency in Internal Medicine/Pediatrics at Mass General Brigham/Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School and holds a medical degree from Baylor College of Medicine. Dr. Thomas-Hemak serves as a Primary Care Physician, President, and CEO at The Wright Center for Community Health and Graduate Medical Education. She has extensive experience in addiction medicine, nutrition, obesity, pediatrics, and teaching. Her work has been recognized with numerous awards, including the Athena Award and Lifetime Achievement Award from the NACHC. She is also an accomplished author with publications focused on community health issues. A passionate and devoted advocate for organizing platforms that empower community health centers, she intentionally devotes her leadership to multiple health care and medical education organizations, several nonprofit boards of directors, and numerous cross-sector committees and workgroups. Dr. Thomas-Hemak advocates for collaborations that benefit the health and welfare of local, regional, and national communities. Her advocacy prioritizes quality, safety, and accessibility of health services while also enhancing the well-being and competency of the health care workforce. Appointed in March 2026 to a two-year term on the newly established federal Healthcare Advisory Committee, convened by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), she is one of 18 committee members selected through a highly competitive national process. She will help guide national health policy and program innovation, strengthen and modernize care delivery and financing, focus on advancing higher-quality care, reducing administrative burden, and focus on patients.
Clinical Expertise
- Addiction medicine, Nutrition, Obesity and obesity-related disorders, Pediatrics, Teaching, Patient education, Patient-centered medical homes, Internal medicine, Substance use disorder, Interprofessional health care workforce development, Socioeconomic determinants of health, Medication-assisted treatment (MAT) advocate, National EHR/EMR interoperability advocate, Health care delivery innovation, Hands-on medical practitioner, Graduate Medical Education Safety-Net Consortium, School-based health centers
Education & Training
A.T. Still University School of Osteopathic Medicine in Arizona (ATSU-SOMA)Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters, 2022
Mass General Brigham/Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical SchoolResidency, Internal Medicine/Pediatrics, 1994 - 1998
Baylor College of MedicineClass of 1994- University of ScrantonBS, Biology, 1986 - 1990
Certifications & Licensure
AZ State Medical License 2026 - 2028
FL State Medical License 2026 - 2028
NC State Medical License 2026 - 2027
PA State Medical License 1998 - 2026
American Board of Internal Medicine Internal Medicine
American Board of Pediatrics Pediatrics
American Board of Obesity Medicine Obesity Medicine
American Board of Preventive Medicine Addiction Medicine
National Board of Physician Nutrition SpecialistsNutrition Certified
Awards, Honors, & Recognition
- Lifetime Achievement Award National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC), 2025
- Athena Award The Greater Scranton Chamber of Commerce, 2025
- Trailblazers in Healthcare City and State Pennsylvania, 2024
Publications & Presentations
PubMed
- 5 citationsClosing the Referral Loop: Improving Ambulatory Referral Management, Electronic Health Record Connectivity, and Care Coordination Processes.Stephen L Davidow, Jignesh Sheth, Constance S Sixta, Linda Thomas-Hemak
The Journal of Ambulatory Care Management. 2018-10-01 - 9 citationsPractice Transformation: Professional Development Is PersonalMeaghan P. Ruddy, Linda Thomas-Hemak, Lauren Meade
Academic Medicine. 2016-05-01 - 4 citationsNurturing 21st century physician knowledge, skills and attitudes with medical home innovations: the Wright Center for Graduate Medical Education teaching health center...Linda Thomas-Hemak, Ghanshyam Palamaner Subash Shantha, Lakshmi Rani Gollamudi, Jignesh Sheth, Brian Ebersole
Peerj. 2015-02-10
Journal Articles
- THE MIND-HEART CONNECTION: ATRIAL FIBRILLATION AND NEW ONSET DEPRESSION, INSIGHTS FROM NATIONAL READMISSION DATABASEAnand Reddy Maligireddy, JANGA CHAITRA, NISCHAY SHAH, PRANAV V KARAMBELKAR, Purveshku Patel, PRANJAL BORUAH, LINDA THOMAS-HEMAK, Chest, 10/9/2023
- Association between insurance status and in‐hospital outcomes in patients with out‐of‐hospital ventricular fibrillation arrestSamir B. Pancholy MD, Gaurav A. Patel MD, Dhara D. Patel MD, Neil Patel MD, Shivam A. Pancholy, Purveshkumar Patel MD, Linda Thomas-Hemak MD, Tejas M. Patel MD, David ..., Clinical Cardiology, 10/9/2023
- Closing the Referral Loop: Improving Ambulatory Referral Management, Electronic Health Record Connectivity and Care Coordination ProcessesLinda Thomas-Hemak, Stephen L Davidow , Jignesh Sheth, Constance S Sixta, Journal of Ambulatory Care Management, 10/2018
Abstracts/Posters
- Developing a Learner-Driven Culture of Improvement through an Interactive Web-Based Practice-Based Learning and Quality Improvement Management System (PBLI/QIMS)Linda Thomas-Hemak, IHI National Forum on Quality Improvement in Health Care, Orlando, FL
- A National Consortium Pathway to Single GMELinda Thomas-Hemak, ACGME Annual Educational Conference, Orlando, FL, 2019
- Innovative Training Relationships with Community Health Centers-Big Data, High Value, and Common SenseLinda Thomas-Hemak, American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine (AACOM) Annual Conference, Educating Leaders 2019, Washington, D.C., 2019
Lectures
- HRSA’s PHETAS “Leveraging Collective Impact: Strategies for Addressing Opioid Use Disorder and Other Public Health Crises”7/16/2024
- ACGME National Learning Community for Sponsoring Institutions Meeting Presenter: “Teaching Health Centers: An Emerging Model of Community-Based Residency Education to ...Chicago, Illinois - 9/19/2023
- Our Forever Evolving Primary Care Behavioral Health Integration Story - An Opportunity for Revenue and Resource (Broadening) by Expanding Primary Care Towards Whole Pe...Forvis Best Practices Workgroup - 2023
Other
- Testimony, “Actualized, Actionable, and Sustainable Solutions for Primary Care Workforce Development: Evidence-Based Outcomes of a Fifteen Year Journey of Teaching Hea...Linda Thomas-Hemak, MD, National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) Standing Committee
https://www.nationalacademies.org/event/42471_05-2024_standing-committee-on-primary-care-may-meeting
Washington D.C. - 5/20/2024 - Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine, Internal Medicine Interest Group Physician PanelLinda Thomas-Hemak, MD
Scranton, Pennsylvania - 2023
Authored Content
- Why Regional Hospital's Survival Matters Most to NEPAMay 2025
- All across America, local community health centers are improving the health and welfare of communitiesAugust 2024
- Local community health centers are improving the health and welfare of communitiesAugust 2024
Press Mentions
Bresnahan, Dr. Oz Survey the State of Healthcare in Northeast PennsylvaniaDecember 8th, 2025- Northeast Pennsylvania Health Care Leaders Discuss Impact of Potential Cuts to Medicare, MedicaidMarch 11th, 2025
Wright Center awarded grant to boost breastfeeding resources for Healthy MOMS programNovember 5th, 2024
Professional Memberships
- Member
- Fellow
- Member
- Society of General Internal MedicineMember
- Association of Program Directors in Internal MedicineMember
Industry Relationships
- Member, Healthcare Advisory CommitteeDr. Thomas-Hemak will help to guide national health policy and program innovation, while strengthening and modernizing care delivery, financing, focus on advancing higher-quality care, reducing administrative burden, and focus on patients.2026 - Present
- Advisory Group Member, Partnership for Quality Measurement's (PQM) Endorsement & Maintenance Cost and Efficiency Committee2025 - Present
- Governor, Eastern Region of the American College of Physicians’ Pennsylvania Chapter (PA-ACP)The ACP, the nation’s largest medical-specialty organization, enhances the quality and effectiveness of health care by fostering excellence and professionalism in medicine and promoting quality patient care, advocacy, education, and career fulfillment in internal medicine and its subspecialties.2023 - Present
- Advocate, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' HIV Care ContinuumActive engagement in the US Department of Health and Human Services' HIV Care Continuum in Northeast Pennsylvania2019 - Present
- CEO Workgroup Member, Pennsylvania Association of Community Health Centers2019 - Present
External Links
- The Wright Center for Community Health and The Wright Center for Graduate Medical Educationhttps://thewrightcenter.org/leadership/linda-thomas-hemak/
- ACP Pennsylvania Chapter, Eastern Regionhttps://pa-acp.org/linda-thomas-hemak/
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