About
Who We Are
The Center for Health & Human Services Research & Action Board represents county government, academic experts, and a wide range of human services and health providers. This fosters collaboration across different specialties. Government representation means that there is access to data and the means to support making the results actionable.
Lackawanna County Department of Human Services has data, but people don’t know it is available and even if they asked for it the Department cannot respond to inquiries easily because the data is not accessible at the cohort level. Government leadership and participation in the Center for Health & Human Services Research & Action will make this possible.
How we connect partners and programs comes down to our role in:
Common agenda:
Shared vision for change, common understanding of the problem and a joint approach to solving it through agreed upon actions
Shared measurement:
Collecting data and measuring results consistently across all participants ensures efforts remain aligned and hold each other accountable.
Mutually reinforcing activities:
Activated must be differentiated while still being coordinated through a mutually reinforcing plan of action.
Continuous communication:
Builds trust, assures mutual objectives, and common motivation
How we support & facilitate impact
Meet the Staff
Executive Director
Jennifer Passaniti DBH, MPH
- Main (570) 963-6781 ext. 1312
- Direct(570) 614-3055
- EmailPassanitiJ@CHHSRA.org
Board of Directors
Kerry Browning
Co-ChairAssistant Administrator at Lackawanna County Department of Health and Human Services, Lackawanna County Office of Youth and Family Services
James Gavin
Interim Chairman of the BoardPresident and CEO Community Care Behavioral Health Organization
Sandra Parry
Interim TreasurerFiscal Office 2 Lackawanna County Health and Human Services
Barbara Durkin
SecretaryDirector at Lackawanna Susquehanna Office of Drug and Alcohol Programs
Miki Drutchal
Director at Lackawanna Susquehanna BHIDEI Programs
Nina Flannagan
Clinical Professor, Decker College of Nursing and Director of Inter-professional Education at Binghamton University (SUNY)
Dr. Leighton Huey
BH Integration and Community Care Transformation, Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine
Sarah McDonald
Director at Lackawanna County Area Agency on Aging
Dr. Linda Thomas-Hemak
President and CEO of The Wright Center
Dr. Loreen Wolfer
Professor Psychology/Criminal Justice, University of Scranton, Chief Evaluator, Center for the Analysis and Prevention of Crime