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WILKES-BARRE — After King’s College President The Rev. Jack Ryan boasted of the $105 million economic impact his institution has in the region, and The Commonwealth Medical College Dean Steven Scheinman pointed out 10 percent of TCMC’s students come from Luzerne County, stand-up comedian John Yudichak — also a state senator — took the mike.

“You can tell from his passionate words that (Ryan) answers to a higher power, the Heavenly Father,” Yudichak, D-Nanticoke, said. “And you can hear in (Scheinman’s) voice that he too answers to a higher power — John Moses.”

Attorney Moses, a key member of the TCMC Board of Trustees, probably laughed the loudest among the group gathered Thursday for the unveiling of a new TCMC sign at the front of King’s on the Square, the former Ramada hotel that now houses King’s physician assistant program.

Moses probably also spoke the loudest among the dignitaries gathered to mark a strengthening partnership between TCMC and King’s that they all agreed was symbolized by the sign. “I leave here fully satisfied that the citizens of Wilkes-Barre understand they are a part of TCMC,” he said, “and that TCMC is a part of Wilkes-Barre.”

Scheinman offered his own quips about the Scranton-based TCMC’s reach. “True, there is a building located in a city north of us which shall remain unnamed,” he said, but TCMC has always been present in Luzerne County. Putting up the sign just meant “Father Ryan made an honest woman of us.”

The TCMC presence at King’s was first announced last July, as officials from both schools showed off a small, unassuming office that would be a TCMC outpost. At the time, Scheinman also announced plans to launch a behavioral health program from the site.

That program is well underway, he said Thursday, and TCMC is looking to hire two psychologists to supplement it. The medical college is also partnering with Geisinger Health in Forty Fort to develop a genetics program, and is developing a stronger relationship with Lehigh Valley Health in Hazleton, where the medical college’s REACH HEI (Regional Education Academy for Careers in Health – Higher Education Initiative) program aims to put disadvantaged students on the path to potential work in science and health care.

In keeping with the emphasis on the medical college’s presence in Luzerne County, Scheinman introduced student Lara Barna, a graduate of Crestwood High School and King’s College who said she chose TCMC because “it is truly student centered.”

Barna, also a pilot, talked of the region as “truly a patchwork of colorful communities,” and promised to return to the area after becoming a doctor.

“Like my parents,” she said, “I see great potential here.”

Others present included state Rep. Eddie Day Pashinski, D-Wilkes-Barre; Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. Mike Stack; Wilkes-Barre Mayor Tony George; Luzerne County Community College President Thomas Leary and Greater Wilkes-Barre Chamber of Commerce President Wico van Genderen

Dr. Stanley Dudrick, a Nanticoke native and TCMC professor of surgery, also stood quietly by, until Barna began speaking and couldn’t be heard that well. Unprompted, the man believed to have been a Nobel Prize contender stepped forward to adjust the microphone.

“It’s the heels,” Barna said with a grin.

The Commonwealth Medical College President and Dean Dr. Steven Scheinman touts the school’s growing presence in Luzerne County during the unveiling of a sign at King’s on the Square Thursday in Wilkes-Barre.
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/web1_tcmc1_faa.jpg.optimal.jpgThe Commonwealth Medical College President and Dean Dr. Steven Scheinman touts the school’s growing presence in Luzerne County during the unveiling of a sign at King’s on the Square Thursday in Wilkes-Barre.

State Sen. John Yudichak, D-Nanticoke, speaks at the podium while numerous state and local officials mark the unveiling of a new TCMC sign at King’s on the Square in Wilkes-Barre Thursday.
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/web1_tcmc2_faa.jpg.optimal.jpgState Sen. John Yudichak, D-Nanticoke, speaks at the podium while numerous state and local officials mark the unveiling of a new TCMC sign at King’s on the Square in Wilkes-Barre Thursday.
Medical school, King’s highlight partnership

By Mark Guydish

[email protected]

Reach Mark Guydish at 570-991-6112 or on Twitter @TLMarkGuydish