Volume 23
Number 24
November 30, 2012
Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania
it’s the
Riht thing to do
Winners of HUP’s annual Patient Advocacy Awards understand the importance of patient-centered care and go out of their way to make the hospital experience a positive one for patients, and their families.
Inside A Truly Heartfelt Thanks...........2 Halloween's Tiniest Celebrants....3 Connecting Kids with Health-Care Careers..................3 Path & Lab's Special Celebration.................................4
The 2012 award winners came from throughout the hospital — both clinical and nonclinical areas. And this year, special recognition went to the owners of Classical Coffees in the Penn Tower lobby, who in their own way go above and beyond for our patients as well. (see ‘A Truly Heartfelt Thanks’ on page 2) Mauri Sullivan, MSN, RN, clinical director of Medical Nursing, spoke of her aunt’s
experience when she came to HUP for a bone marrow transplant. “A smile to greet her, food service bringing her what she was able to eat, patient transport talking to her as they brought her places — every staff member made a difference,” she said. “We have to remember that what’s routine for us might be the patient’s first time. Every encounter matters!” (Continued on page 2)
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(Continued from page 1)
it’s the
Riht thing to do
HUP executive director Garry Scheib gave thanks for “the 500 employees who stayed over during Hurricane Sandy, putting their needs behind those of our patients; the generosity of employees in Penn’s Way — we reached 100 percent of our target — and our focus on patient-centered care. There are many role models in this room. We all try to live up to you.”
“Last week [during Hurricane Sandy] was just a glimpse of what we do for our patients,” said Peter Quinn, MD, DMD, dean for Professional Services and SVP. “Today we show our true appreciation.”
2012 Patient Advocacy Award Winners
Congratulations and many thanks to this year’s winners of the Patient Advocacy Award. • David Arcidiacono, Security • Andrew Belmont, EVS • David Gaieski, MD, Emergency Medicine • Marie Green, Emergency Department • Jung and Yong Lee, Classical Coffees • Hector Martinez, Food Services • Monroe Melchor, Perioperative Services
• Christopher Miller, MD, Dermatology • Amy Moore, Nursing • Patricia Naji, Nursing • Carolyn Newmiller, Urology • Christine Ranjo, Nursing • Steven Raper, MD, Gastrointestinal Surgery • Richard Shlansky-Goldberg, MD, Interventional Radiology
A Truly Heartfelt Thanks
Jung and Yong Lee of Classical Coffees (located in Penn Tower lobby) received a special advocacy award for their kindness:
daughter, Susan, was a brain tumor patient who passed away My almost three months ago. During the last year and a half of her life we made many trips into the hospital, as well as the Perelman Center, for various doctor visits, brain scans, chemotherapy, etc. Susan loved Mr. Lee’s chicken salad, served on top of a green salad, which she always pronounced the most fresh and delicious she ever had! There were a few times Susan was with me when we visited Mr. Lee’s cafe, which allowed him to meet her. Most of the time, however, I would run over there to see if he had the chicken salad to take back to my daughter as she sat for chemotherapy. There were quite a few times when he was out of that particular item, but when he saw me he would immediately ask how my daughter was, and then proceed to make her a fresh salad. He would even throw in various fruit items because they were “healthy.” On December 23rd of last year we arrived for chemo and as soon as Susan was settled, I ran over to the cafe only to find Mr. Lee all packed up and
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ready to leave for the holiday. When he saw me he put everything down to look through one of his bags and came up with the chicken salad! He also threw in some fruit and would not take any money at all because the register was already closed. I offered to give him money anyway, but he refused, saying he hoped we had a nice holiday. It may seem like a small thing, but kindness like that, in the midst of dealing with such pain and trauma, touched me deeply, and I want to let everyone who reads this HUPdate to know of this caring and generous man. I will never forget him.
Halloween’s Tiniest Celebrants Hurricane Sandy’s impact on the Philadelphia region did not dampen HUP’s Halloween celebration in the Intensive Care Nursery (ICN). The Third Annual ICN Halloween Party provided a unique way for parents to celebrate the first Halloween of these tiny babies, many of whom were born weeks and months too soon. To mark the special holiday, parents and ICN staff dressed the babies in miniature Halloween costumes, such as caterpillars, Tinker Bell, a pumpkin, Captain Hook, and more. “To be able to celebrate like this is very meaningful,” said Michelle Bradsher, whose son was born three months premature and has been in HUP’s ICN for 39 days. “It’s a very dedicated staff. The personal care that they give each baby is remarkable.” The baby’s father, a photographer for a local television station, photographed Hurricane Sandy damage in Atlantic City the night before, but got a chance to see his son in costume the next morning. “We have had the most amazing experience,” said Jacqueline DuMouchelle. “From Joe the valet, to the woman in the cafeteria who always asks how my twins are, everyone in this hospital has made such a great experience out of this. We’re so happy with every department.”
“It’s good for the nurses too,” said Joan Torbet, PhD, RN, interim assistant nurse manager. “It’s great when they can dress the babies up and give them even a little extra attention.”
`` Nolan the pumpkin and Hafsir the raccoon
Those in attendance received a “Healthy Halloween” themed gift bag with a water bottle, sanitizer, crayons, book, safe trick-or-treating information, gift certificate to the gift shop donated by Patient and Guest Services, daily pill reminder box donated from the HUP pharmacy, and more. The party is made possible through a generous donation from a parent who had a child in the ICN and other partners at HUP. “It’s very rewarding,” said Barbara Prior, MSN, interim nurse manager. “We’re excited to make a happy occasion during a difficult time. The feedback from the parents has been very positive.” For more photos, go to http://news.pennmedicine.org/inside/hupdate/.
Connecting Kids with Health-Care Careers Two years ago, a group of HUP nurses on Ravdin 9 joined the hospitalwide Community Outreach Committee to learn about different opportunities to give back to the community. In August 2011, they did their first event: staffing an information table at a health fair hosted by the childhood church of Janelle Harris, BSN, RN, CMSRN. Their next project was a health fair at Paul Robeson High School for Human Services (PRHS). As nurses who help patients with conditions such as head and neck cancer, they focused on the effects of smoking and methods of smoking prevention.
`` (L. to r.): Janelle Harris, Jaime Thomas, Maria Nicolas, Sitha Dy, and Jocelyn Blaisdell all participate in their unit’s community outreach events.
But they found that students weren’t asking questions about healthcare topics. “They were more interested in how we became nurses,” Harris said. Based on the significant requests for career advice — and a Penn Medicine CAREs Foundation grant — the group has changed its focus and will soon hold a health career fair at PRHS.
“We hope to reach at least 100 students who have shown an interest in working in health care,” she said. Understanding that a health-care career comprises many professions, "we're pulling in all aspects of nursing, nurse practitioners, social work nursing, as well as pharmacy, physical therapy, speech therapy, and more,” she continued. Members of the group know they can make a difference for some of these kids, as it did for them years ago. “My parents came to America in 1982,” said Sitha Dy, MSN, RN. “We didn’t have much family around us and my parents were blue collar workers. I learned about health care and how to become a nurse at a career fair in my high school.” “I remember in high school not knowing what I wanted to do and my friend’s mom was a nurse,” said Jaime Thomas, BSN, RN, GSPP. “I shadowed her and saw what she did and that’s why I went into nursing. Maybe meeting one of us and learning about what nurses do will make the difference.” Share your health-care career with aspiring teens! The Ravdin 9 Community Outreach Team is looking for employees to participate in a career fair on May 31 at a local high school. If interested, please email melissa.kavanagh@uphs.upenn.edu by December 10.
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Path & Lab’s Special Celebration In recognition of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Hermine Boyd, lead techician in Central Receiving, decided it would be great to throw a surprise party in honor of fellow coworkers who had overcome the disease. It started as a small gathering for the Central Receiving staff, who were also planning to get T-shirts with a pink ribbon on them. But word spread and soon employees from throughout Pathology & Lab Medicine wanted to show their support as well. Over 130 t-shirts were ordered! The group also decided to create special T-shirts for the Department’s four breast cancer survivors. Debbie, wife of Gerry Macchione of Client Services, made and donated two huge cakes to help in the celebration. The resulting tears of joy and the laughter made all the secret planning worthwhile. For more photos, go to http://news. pennmedicine.org/inside/hupdate/. `` Breast cancer survivors who were honored with a special party in Path and Lab Medicine were (l. to r.) Paula Harris, Roberta ‘Pee Wee’ Brown, Vincent Zic, and Theresa Ott.
Energy Conservation Efforts Paying Off! Recent below-average temps make it hard to remember the intense heat of the past summer that brought record heat waves in our area. The high temperatures also brought 10 energy alerts in the Health System, invoking our reduction plans to limit power use. The result was amazing, with an estimated savings of $70,000 for those few hours of reductions. “It is a great credit to the staff who take the time to turn off lighting and other powered devices in the middle of their busy days” said Pete Zeitz, UPHS Energy Manager. The reduction of 700 kilowatts is like turning off 700 electric heaters. Our ongoing lighting upgrade is also helping reduce our electrical power use. Physical Plant has been replacing older fluorescent lighting with new lamps, ballasts and fixtures. To date, 7,382 lamps have been changed, saving 110 kilowatts in demand and approximately $135,000 per year in electrical costs. HUP also received $73,000 in rebates from PECO for our lighting improvement effort. Chuck Aitken, assistant executive hospital director, noted that “increased energy efficiency allows us to redirect funding to our primary focus to improve the patient environment.” Advances in more efficient hospital chilled-water systems are also under way. This project, once completed, will help to reduce our summer air conditioning cost.
If you have ideas to save energy, let us know by sending them to save.energy@uphs.upenn.edu.
Helping People All the Time
Many thanks to June’s winners in the Helping People All the Time raffle who went above and beyond to help patients, visitors and employees. Chad Bonsall . . . . . . . . . . . . Respiratory Care
Barbara Jones. . . . . . . . . . . Ravdin 6
Alana Carter. . . . . . . . . . . . . Rhoads 7
Allison Krolikowski. . . . . . Dulles 6
Valerie Ciminera. . . . . . . . . Radiology
Melissa Melchor. . . . . . . . . Ravdin 6
Debra Dearstyne. . . . . . . . . Rhoads 7
Mary Mobley. . . . . . . . . . . . Patient Accounting
Mark Dillon. . . . . . . . . . . . . . Founders 10
Sreekala Pillai. . . . . . . . . . . Silverstein 7
Melissa Farley. . . . . . . . . . . Radiology
Tyesha Pollard. . . . . . . . . . . Peri-Op
Princess Foster. . . . . . . . . . Radiology
Lindsey Rehl. . . . . . . . . . . . . Dulles 6
Tiffany Frazier. . . . . . . . . . . . Rhoads 4
Shirley Rojas. . . . . . . . . . . . Silverstein 9
Advertus Gizzie. . . . . . . . . . Dulles 6
Kim Selwood. . . . . . . . . . . . Founders 10
Kendra Hawkins. . . . . . . . . The Admission Center
Cheryl Simonsen. . . . . . . . . Founders 10
Margaret Hobbs. . . . . . . . . . The Admission Center
Joseph Wells. . . . . . . . . . . . Silverstein 9
Roseann Jeffers. . . . . . . . . . Dulles 6
Mike Wilson. . . . . . . . . . . . . Physical Plant Carolyn Ziemba. . . . . . . . . . Silverstein 9
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Make a Difference for the Homeless In keeping with the holiday spirit of giving and our mission statement, Respiratory Care is once again collecting non-perishable foods and donations for the Sunday Breakfast Rescue Mission.The Sunday Breakfast Rescue Mission is the oldest rescue mission in Philadelphia and the third oldest rescue mission in the country. The mission originally began serving Sunday breakfast to the homeless but now serves three meals a day every day of the year. In 2011, the mission served over 119,000 meals in its Center City location. You can make the difference in the lives of homeless men, women and children throughout our community by participating in a food drive for the Sunday Breakfast Rescue Mission. All you need to do is drop off any non-perishable canned or boxed food products (unbreakable containers only) to Respiratory Care, located on 3 White, by Friday, December 21. Individual departments may also collect food and we will pick it up on December 21. The food we collect will be used to serve meals at the mission, as well as to create food boxes for the needy. If you have any questions please email david.moore@uphs.upenn.edu or call 215.662.6426.
HUPdate Editorial Staff Sally Sapega Editor and Photographer Julia Fiorello Designer
Administration
Susan E. Phillips Senior Vice President, Public Affairs Contact HUPdate at: 3535 Market Street, Mezzanine Philadelphia, PA 19104 phone: 215.662.4488 fax: 215.349.8312 email: sally.sapega@uphs.upenn.edu
HUPdate is published biweekly for HUP employees. Access HUPdate online at http://news.pennmedicine.org/inside/hupdate.