Geisinger medical students shaping new generation of community-focused physicians at The University of Scranton’s Leahy Clinic

SCRANTON – When the Leahy Clinic reopened in January 2024 as a partnership between Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine and The University of Scranton, it did more than restore free healthcare for uninsured patients in Lackawanna County. It gave medical students a classroom like no other to learn about community-based care. 

Three Geisinger students — Annie Shields, Olivia Zehel and Caroline Virone — have led the clinic's student-directed programs since its reopening, building financial assistance teams, forging community partnerships and developing initiatives that fill gaps in care for patients who fall through the cracks of the healthcare system.

"When I'm on my inpatient rotations, it's easy to say, 'refer to social worker' and they will take care of any financial or other problems," said Shields, who founded the clinic's Social Drivers of Health team and established a partnership with the Pennsylvania Department of Health and Human Services to help patients apply for financial benefits. "We don't have that. Our students serve in those roles. I think working here and getting involved in identifying those issues and then coming up with a solution is just going to make us stronger, more involved physicians." 

Zehel was involved before the clinic even opened, drawn into early planning conversations as a University of Scranton student in 2022. She helped plan the recruitment meeting that brought students like Shields into the fold and served as the student medical director for the first two years after the clinic reopened. Since January 2026, Zehel has served as the clinic's community health chair, focusing on outreach, preventive care and Pap screening days in partnership with the Pennsylvania Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program. 

"I really wanted to see this kind of care for my own community," said Zehel, a Scranton native and Abigail Geisinger Scholar who will remain in the area as a Geisinger physician. "Having that exposure to the Leahy Clinic previously was my confirmation that Geisinger was the institution for me because it really lives its mission." 

Virone, the clinic's student medical director and also an Abigail Geisinger Scholar, arrived as soon as the doors opened, bringing experience from volunteering at a free clinic in South Jersey. She describes how the clinic's resource-limited setting transforms the way students think about care. 

"There's a dollar amount to everything," Virone said. "We see exactly how much money is coming out of our patient's pocket for the things that we're ordering. So we're ordering smarter. We're only ordering what's essential. And our patients are still getting the care that they need, but in a way that is going to be more affordable and accessible to them." 

The students also point to the clinic's impact on the broader community. A feedback survey conducted in January 2026 found that volunteers from pre-law, health administration, business and communications backgrounds reported a newfound appreciation for the complexity of the healthcare system — valuable, Shields notes, even for those not pursuing healthcare careers.

About the Leahy Clinic 

The Leahy Clinic is a free clinic serving uninsured and underserved patients in Scranton, operated through a partnership between Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine and the University of Scranton. Reopened in January 2024, the clinic provides clinical care, financial assistance, and community health resources, with programs largely developed and led by medical and undergraduate students. 

About Geisinger College of Health Sciences
Educating. Inspiring. Leading. At Geisinger College of Health Sciences, we bring innovation and purpose together to educate the next generation of healthcare leaders. As the academic and research arm of the Geisinger family, our college was founded to enhance and improve community health, with a focus on discovery, hands-on learning and applied practice across our system. Today, we offer a research institute, graduate medical education, schools of medicine, graduate education and nursing, and faculty and professional development programs. Visit geisinger.edu/gchs.

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