Volume 4
WHAT’Snew
Number 13
June 26, 2015
Pennsylvania Hospital
PUENTES DE SALUD —
PROVIDING “BRIDGES OF HEALTH” IN A NEW HOME BASE
For nearly a decade, Puentes de Salud (“Bridges of Health”) has provided low-cost primary care and a range of educational and social services to the city’s Latino community at many locations throughout the area. The program has grown to be recognized as a national model for immigrant health and wellness. `` The new Puentes de Salud and Wellness Center officially opened its doors earlier this year, thanks to the efforts and generosity of many people, including Jack Ludmir, Nancy Milio, Kevin Mahoney, and Steve Larson.
By 2013, Larson and Ludmir, along with a legion of volunteers and donors, were providing health care to over 3,300 patients annually on a shoestring budget…
INSIDE Puentes De Salud Continued............ 2 The Patient Experience…................. 2 2015 Hubschman Award Recipient.................................. 3 And We’re Off!..................................... 4 Penn Medicine Hospitals Receive Top Cancer Accreditation................. 4
Now, it has achieved a long-range goal: opening a permanent home.
Penn Medicine donated the space to establish the clinic, and its funds toward the $1.2 million renovation of the clinic set the stage for additional foundation grants and in-kind donations from area construction, engineering and supply companies. The new 7,000-square-foot clinic and education center — its full name the Puentes de Salud Health and Wellness Center — is part of the Penn Medicine Rittenhouse campus, located at 17th and South Streets. Puentes, which was featured recently in the Philadelphia City Paper, has grown over the past decade since its founding to be recognized as a national model for immigrant health and wellness. “You read a lot about the use of new research, technology and buildings in health care, but this is where it really happens, down here on the street,” said Kevin B. Mahoney, vice dean for Integrative Services, senior vice president and chief administrative officer for the University of Pennsylvania Health System. “And it’s the passion and vision of the Puentes co-founders that we must recognize.”
Penn Medicine physicians Steven C. Larson, MD, an associate professor of Emergency Medicine at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, and Pennsylvania Hospital’s own Jack Ludmir, MD, chair of Obstetrics and Gynecology, co-founded Puentes in 2006. Both physicians share a common philosophy of maintaining low cost health care by preventing illness and addressing the socioeconomic factors that affect patient outcomes. “Our aim is to keep them out of the hospital,” Larson told the City Paper. Ludmir agrees. “Costs would be much lower if women got treatment that prevented problems during pregnancy rather than waiting for problems to arise,” he told the City Paper. By 2013, Larson and Ludmir, along with a legion of volunteers and donors, were providing health care to over 3,300 patients annually on a shoestring budget at multiple locations, including space at Penn’s Tuttleman Center and PAH. Ludmir is also the director of Latina Community Health Services located at PAH, / / / Continued on page 2
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PUENTES DE SALUD — PROVIDING “BRIDGES OF HEALTH” IN A NEW HOME BASE / / / Continued from page 1 a site where PAH faculty, staff and student volunteers provide care to pregnant women and their children from across Philadelphia. The need for such services continues to grow. Since 1997, there have been 44 maternity unit closures in Pennsylvania with only six hospitals remaining in Philadelphia delivering babies. With all the maternity programs that have closed throughout the city, PAH and the HUP now deliver nearly half of all the babies born in Philadelphia each year. Within the new, larger location, Puentes is projected to accommodate 10,000 visits a year, from primarily the Latino community but also other immigrant populations and any uninsured U.S. citizen in need of emergency medical care.
“I signed an oath that didn’t have anything to do with geographic boundaries or anything but a life. The way I look at it, that’s my responsibility.”
Within the new, larger location, Puentes is projected to accommodate 10,000 VISITS a year, from primarily the Latino community but also other immigrant populations and any uninsured U.S. citizen in need of emergency medical care.
Both Ludmir and Larson steer clear of the politics of treating immigrant populations. “We’re health care providers,” said Larson.
The new center allows Puentes’ clinical footprint to physically expand, with extended hours five days a week plus two evenings. The center is staffed mostly by volunteers from Penn’s Perelman School of Medicine, as well as students and staff from the schools of Nursing, Dental, and Law. The facility offers an array of treatment diagnostic, educational and language services, and partners with Latina Community Health Services, based at Pennsylvania Hospital, to provide comprehensive prenatal and obstetrical care. The new facility includes exam rooms for medical and dental treatment, large space for educational classes, space for behavioral and mental health counseling, and a kitchen for healthy-eating classes.
The Patient E XPE RI E N CE … D E A R P E N N SY LVA N IA HO SP I TA L A DM I N I S T R AT O R S A N D STA F F : My husband was transferred to Pennsylvania Hospital in need of a heart catheterization and subsequently, open heart surgery to replace his aortic valve. During his stay he was under the care of Dr. Satoshi Furukawa and his exceptional cardiovascular team. Every person with whom we came in contact with during his hospitalization was caring, pleasant and constantly concerned about my husband’s care and comfort. Nurse Terri Ryan became my best friend during the ordeal. She held my hand when I was frightened and gave us hugs to reassure us that all would be well. I can’t explain how much that meant to me. Countless others, including Dr. Furukawa, were always there to answer questions and keep us informed. It was a blessing to know what was to be expected each step of the way. My husband spent his entire stay, except for critical care, on 6 Cathcart. The nurses were wonderful! Not only providing excellent care but also offering friendly and nurturing
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service, they made us confident that healing and recovery were realistic outcomes. The technicians, food service representatives and housekeeping staff were always attentive, efficient and cordial. They all helped to turn a very trying time into a very manageable experience. I also mention affectionately the young medical student, Joe Mintz, who visited my husband on several occasions just to say hello and wish him well. That really meant to world to him. If Joe only know how his visits made his day! What a fine young doctor in the making. This was our first experience with Pennsylvania Hospital. Needless to say, we were very happy with our experience and this wonderful institution. I commend you all for a job well done and for a professional staff that surpasses all others. No one ever looks forward to hospitalization but if ever necessary again, Pennsylvania Hospital will be our choice. I thank you for all that you did to bring my husband home healthy and renewed. Your hospital is a credit to our city and our nation. Thank you and God bless you!
Ronald Chmar 2015 Hubschman Award Recipient C O N G R A T U L A T I O N S to the 2015 Lynn and Emil
`` Ron Chmar, shown here with Mrs. and Mr. Hubschman at the Award Ceremony held in the Great Court on June 3.
“This award honors an individual who represents the all-around ‘best of the best’ of our hospital,” said Theresa M. Larivee, the executive director of PAH. “It is special because it recognizes one of our own, by our own. As the nation’s first hospital and a member of one of our nation’s leading academic health systems, we strive to stay at the forefront of cutting edge therapies in the delivery of clinical care, research, technology and medical education. Our skilled, compassionate and caring employees, like Ron, are the foundation of our excellence in all those areas.” Chmar has a history with PAH that spans nearly three decades. Since 1995, he has been a teacher and counselor at the Mill Creek School located in West Philadelphia on the former site of the Institute of Pennsylvania Hospital. At the Mill Creek School adolescents who are struggling with personal and/or educational difficulties learn to trust and express their feelings, make choices and handle peer pressure, and establish satisfying
Hubschman Award recipient, Ronald Chmar, a teacher and counselor at the Mill Creek School. The Hubschman Award annually recognizes an individual who exemplifies the Pennsylvania Hospital tradition of combining compassion and caring with an outstanding performance of responsibilities. and meaningful relationships while getting back on track academically. For the past 20 years, Chmar has contributed to the school’s mission to provide a quality educational program to adolescents in a supportive setting that encourages personal, social and academic growth by: providing instruction in areas including psychology, music and history; developing, implementing and monitoring daily lesson plans and individual education plans; counseling students and their families; conducting educational and therapeutic groups to address substance abuse and addiction issues; and serving as a substitute teacher in other areas when needed. Chmar is also credited with developing and conducting the school’s first Psychology and Sociology curriculum and music programs. Prior to his current position with the Mill Creek School, Ron was an intake worker at the Hall Mercer Crisis Response Center from 1993 to 1999. For two of those six years he also served there as a case manager.
From 1990 to 1992 Ron was a teaching assistant and counselor at the Mill Creek School and before that he served as a psychiatric technician in the Adolescent Psychiatric Unit at The Institute of Pennsylvania Hospital from 1987 to 1991. Among comments from Chmar’s nominators: i Ronald exemplifies outstanding performance on a daily basis at the Mill Creek School for students with emotional disturbance. i He is impeccable with attendance and works beyond the 40 hour week to prepare for and meet the needs of emotionally fragile students. i Ron is a role model to his colleagues and demonstrates professionalism, caring and compassion to each person he interacts with on a daily basis.
Lynn Hubschman, who served as the Director of Social Work Services at PAH for 14 years, promoted high standards of professionalism while fostering and encouraging an exceptional attitude of caring that is the hallmark of PAH. Thanks to the continued generosity of the Hubschman’s, PAH has been able to maintain the tradition of promoting professional excellence and high standards of compassionate care by annually recognizing an employee or staff member who exemplifies what the award represents.
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AND WE’RE OFF! The Journey to MAGNET Marches On The PAH Care Executive Team invited colleagues to join them as they collectively hit “send” to submit the Pennsylvania Hospital Magnet Documentation to the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC). On the afternoon of June 1, staff gathered in the Zubrow Auditorium in a show of support for the Department of Nursing to collectively conclude the second phase of the four phased process to becoming an ANCC Magnet designated hospital. Phase two consists of written documentation of patient outcomes, RN satisfaction and patient satisfaction.
Nursing submitted 78 different examples of nursing excellence at PAH which featured improvements and accomplishments in clinical care over the last four years. The ANCC Magnet Recognition Program is the most prestigious distinction a health care organization can receive for nursing excellence and quality patient outcomes.
Penn Medicine Hospitals Receive TOP CANCER ACCREDITATION
Achieving Magnet recognition is a rigorous process well worth the effort because of the benefits and status it conveys. From initial recognition to the renewal process, Magnet recognition is a credential that reaffirms the hard work and dedication of our entire nursing staff and reinforces the development and use of evidence-based criteria to achieve nursing excellence.
WHAT’Snew EDITORIAL STAFF
Olivia Fermano Editor and Photographer Pamela Furches Design Graphic Design
The American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer (CoC) has awarded three-year accreditation to three Penn Medicine hospitals in recognition of their commitment to the highest level of quality cancer care. HUP received the Gold Award, the highest accreditation award possible for a National Cancer Institute-designated center. Penn Presbyterian Medical Center received the commission’s top honor, the Outstanding Achievement Award (OAA),
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and Pennsylvania Hospital received an accreditation with Commendations. The Outstanding Achievement Award confers an extra level of distinction to cancer programs based on performance during an on-site assessment by a physician surveyor. PPMC is one of a select group of only 75 U.S. health care facilities with accredited cancer programs to receive this national honor for surveys performed last year. In 2013, Chester County Hospital also received the CoC Outstanding Achievement Award.
Barry Ogburn Photography
ADMINISTRATION
Susan E. Phillips Senior Vice President, Public Affairs Holly Auer Director of Communications Sally Sapega Director of Internal Communications CONTACT WHAT’Snew at: Department of Communications Pennsylvania Hospital Philadelphia, PA 19106 phone: 215.829.6799 email: olivia.fermano@uphs.upenn.edu WHAT’Snew is published biweekly for PAH employees. Access WHAT’Snew online at http://news.pennmedicine.org/inside/whats-new/.