Volume 23
Number 10
May 18, 2012
Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania
WORK BEGINS
ON SOUTH PAVILION EXTENSION Continuing to Improve the Patient Experience In the original architectural plans for the Perelman Center for Advanced Medicine, future growth was a key component. Shortly after the Perelman Center opened in 2008, the expansion began, with the building of the ‘west tower,’ better known today as the Translational Research Center. Now, construction has begun on the next project: the South Pavilion Extension.
INSIDE Biggest LoserOut Competition Taking Time to Talk ..........2 for Charity .................................2 Roundtable................................3 Helping Uninsured and Underinsured Patients .............3 Free Skin Cancer Screening .....................3 Lab Professionals Celebrate....3 Partners in Rehab .....................4 Thousands Watch Cardiac Procedure Shortakes ..................................4
Located at the back of the Perelman Center, the South Pavilion will rise five floors above the loading dock, adding 200,000 square feet. When it is completed in early 2014, nearly all outpatient practices now remaining at HUP will be relocated in the Center. “Moving most of our outpatient practices into Perelman will not only improve the patient experience but also help us increase our outpatient services,” said Garry Scheib, HUP’s executive director and COO of the Health System. The South Pavilion will maintain the architectural continuity of the Perelman Center, wrapping around to the TRC (inset), much as the TRC wraps around to the front. Inside, it will appear seamless as well. “You won’t know you’re entering another building.” said Stephen Greulich, senior project manager of Real Estate, Design & Construction.
The addition will provide a comfortable and easy-to-navigate environment for patients and families. It will incorporate many of the Center’s original features — such as shared support spaces between the clinical modules — but “fine-tuned and improved, using data and feedback from user groups within the Center as well as from the TRC,” Greulich said. Each of the approximately 180 exam rooms will be a spacious 110 square feet, with ample room for family members. Consultation rooms will bring health-care providers directly to patients, eliminating the need to visit different offices around the medical campus. “There will also be comfortable waiting areas, computers and/or kiosks for check-in and access to mypennhealth.org, as well as easy-to(Continued on page 2)
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The ‘biggest losers’ were (l. to r.) Jen Naji, Kellie Barnes, Tyesha Godwin and Summer Teel. Not pictured: Jen Perno.
WORK BEGINS
ON SOUTH PAVILION EXTENSION Continuing to Improve the Patient Experience (Continued from cover story)
follow signs to guide patients to the right location.” Free wireless Internet access will be available throughout the South Pavilion.
Biggest Loser Competition for Charity:
A WIN-WIN EVENT In keeping with Penn Medicine’s focus on improving the health of both our patients and employees, the Center for Nursing Renewal decided to run a ‘Biggest Loser’ competition for charity. More than 200 employees participated in the three-month team challenge and, in the final weigh-in, they lost a total of more than 435 pounds! Summer Teel of Founders 14 and her team were judged the ‘biggest losers,’ shedding a total of 35 pounds. “Groups can be a big source of encouragement and advice,” said Andrea Spivack, MA, RD, LDN, of Penn’s Stunkard Weight Management Program. “There’s a ‘We’re in this together’ mentality that works. No one wants to let down a team member.”
The contest ran from November through February; participants had to make it through the holiday season. “I kept telling my team, ‘I know you’ll eat over holidays. Don’t worry — just start again,’” Teel said. “This is key, helping teammates hit the ‘reset’ button and not give up,” Spivack said. “But don’t wait till the next day. Start up again at the next meal.”
In Teel’s team, one teammate (Tyesha Godwin) was getting married and wanted motivation to go to the gym. “That was our mission. We stayed on each other,” Teel said.
The weight loss wasn’t the only winning part of this challenge. All of the participants donated $5 to compete; proceeds went to a charitable organization of the winning team’s choice. Teel donated the $1,200 to an organization close to her heart: the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund (www.ocrf.org). A friend of hers died almost 10 years ago of ovarian cancer and another is battling it but is in remission now.
She also tried to limit the sweets that generally appear on the unit on holidays. “I said, ‘Absolutely no donuts! You have to bring in real food.’”
Jean Romano, director of the Nursing Network Center, said the first ‘Biggest Loser’ contest was so successful that the Center has plans to make it an annual event.
To help participants succeed, the Center offered food-of-the-week tips and other information that team leaders passed along to their members, along with daily exercise classes.
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Losing weight with coworkers can be especially good, Spivack said. “There’s extra social pressure — you might be less likely to order fried food at lunch if you know your coworkers are watching!” she said. “And you share a common goal — you can take walks at lunch, celebrate victories.”
Continuing our Environmental Responsibility The Perelman Center achieved Silver LEED certification last year, and the new structure is aiming for the same recognition. LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification means a building is not only environmentally responsible but also a healthy place for patients, visitors and staff. Construction will include many of the sustainability measures needed for LEED certification, such as making use of local and ecologically friendly materials, recycling construction debris, and using low-emitting materials to reduce the amount of indoor air contaminants. In addition, a green roof will control storm water runoff and conserve energy. A green housekeeping program will use only non-toxic chemical and cleaning agents that meet Green Seal standards (a nonprofit organization dedicated to safeguarding the environment). There will also be an active recycling program. The South Pavilion Extension will continue the Perelman Center’s seamless integration of services, in an environment of convenience and comfort. But it also represents the next step in Penn Medicine’s long-term goal — moving all services out of Penn Tower and building a new patient tower on the site.
Marion Leary (third from right) received a grant from Penn Medicine CAREs Foundation for Sink or Swim Philadelphia, the charitable organization she founded. With her are (l. to r.) Sandra Kaplan, Jason Cohn, Harry Fisher, Kimberly Fisher, Hayley Fisher, Jessica Dine, and Erin Sweeney
HELPING
Uninsured & Underinsured Patients Pay for Lifesaving Treatment Penn Medicine CAREs Foundation Grants Kimberly Fisher has two great kids. Hailey, a five-year-old preschooler who loves Disney princesses, dolls, dressing up, and Mickey Mouse, is preparing for the next chapter of learning: kindergarten. Her brother, Gabriel, a 10-year-old fifth grader, has won awards for helping others and earned straight As on his most recent report card. He plays soccer every weekend, while his mom watches from the sidelines and his dad coaches on the field. But, in addition to raising her kids and working, Fisher faces an enormous challenge: she has multiple sclerosis. Diagnosed five years ago, the 38-year-old routinely needs MRI scans and blood work to evaluate the spread of her illness. Recently, Fisher was told that her lesions have spread to her brain and spine, and if she does not start taking medications to slow the lesions, she will likely become paralyzed within the year. The family’s health insurance helps, but her out-of-pocket
costs have now climbed beyond what they can afford. Sink or Swim Philadelphia (SOS) (www.sinkorswimphiladelphia.org) has stepped in to help. Founded in 2011 by Marion Leary, RN, BSN, assistant director of clinical research for the Center for Resuscitation Science, the group has been able to help several people — one a month — thanks to donations, fundraising events, and, most recently, a Penn Medicine CAREs Foundation grant. “We understand that the economy is tight these days, but it is that much tighter for our recipients,” said Leary. “The goal of SOS is to hopefully give them a respite, one month or more, where they do not have to decide between paying for life necessities or paying for their medical bills.” Leary extends special thanks to
Celebrate
volunteers, board members, Emergency Medicine staff and faculty, and Penn for their support in this initiative. The Penn Medicine CAREs Foundation grant supports faculty, student, and/or staff efforts to improve the health of the community and increase volunteerism in community-based programs. The deadline for the next grant is Friday, June 1. To apply, go to www.pennmedicine.org/community and click on CAREs: Foundation Grant.
“THE GOAL OF SOS is to hopefully give them a respite, one month or more, where they do not have to decide between paying for life necessities or paying for their medical bills.”
LAB PROFESSIONALS
Medical laboratory professionals are health care’s unsung heroes of patient care. Without them, many health-care decisions and diagnoses would be impossible to make. While the work of the lab technologist is performed behind the scenes, last week’s celebration of their role was in full view on the Ravdin Mezzanine. Informational displays and a video showcased their wide range of responsibilities. Laboratory Medicine also raffled off 15 gift baskets with proceeds totaling $3,500 donated to two local charities: the People’s Emergency Center and MANNA (Metropolitan Area Neighborhood Nutrition Alliance). In addition to the onsite celebration, 18 members of HUP’s labs got in an early kick-off celebration when they recorded a ‘Morning Wake-Up Call’ for NBC10.
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ONCOLINK BROWN BAG CHAT: DATE: Friday, May 18 TIME: 1:15 to 2:15 pm TOPIC: Sun Safety and Skin Cancer www.oncolink.org/webchat
THOUSANDS WATCH
as Heart and Vascular Faculty Operate Earlier this year, a team of interventional cardiologists and cardiac surgeons at Penn Medicine performed several successful cardiac procedures that were broadcast to an audience of several thousand cardiologists and allied health professionals at the 2012 American College of Cardiology (ACC) Annual Meeting in Chicago. The live case demonstrations — where doctors can watch a real-time transmission of a procedure being done at a large medical center anywhere in the world — are designed to help doctors learn from experienced colleagues and see new technology in action. The first two procedures — percutaneous coronary intervention or PCI cases — were performed by Howard C. Herrmann, MD, director, Interventional Cardiology and Cardiac Catheterization Laboratories; and Robert L. Wilensky, MD, director, Interventional Cardiology Research, along with Daniel M. Kolansky, MD, director, Cardiac Care Unit; Amr Bannan, MD, and Saif Anwaruddin, MD. For patients
with coronary artery disease considered at high risk for surgery and with appropriate anatomy for PCI, this procedure provides a much less invasive alternative to a coronary artery bypass graft and open heart surgery. “Both cases involved high-risk interventions, but the outcomes were excellent,” said Herrmann. “The patients went home the next day.” The other procedure was a transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) case with Herrmann and Joseph Bavaria, MD, vice chief of Cardiovascular Surgery and director, Thoracic Aortic Surgery Program, with Nimesh Desai, MD, PhD, and Anwaruddin also participating. TAVR is a procedure for select patients with severe symptomatic aortic stenosis (narrowing of the aortic valve opening) who are not candidates for traditional open chest surgery or are high-risk operable candidates. HUP is one of 23 hospitals nationwide that are participating
Howard Herrmann, MD (left) and Daniel Kolansky, MD, performed a cardiac procedure that was broadcast live to thousands of attendees at a conference in Chicago.
in the FDA-regulated clinical trial examining the use of this minimally invasive procedure as part of a clinical trial (PARTNER Trial). “The success of the ACC live cases reflected a dedicated team of people,” said Dawn Powers, supervisor of the Cardiac Catheterization Laboratories. “Many months of hard work and collaboration — both from the teams in the cath lab as well as in the operating room — came together to demonstrate what Penn Medicine Heart and Vascular is capable of achieving.”
HUPdate EDITORIAL STAFF
Helping People ALL THE TIME
Congratulations to the winners of the January Helping People All the Time raffle. Jamie-Ann Acero. . . . . . . . . . . Founders 14 Robert Bayer . . . . . . . . . . . .Respiratory Care Guy Bodarky . . . . . . . . . . . .Respiratory Care Patrick Cargan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Rhoads 1 Beth Carty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Founders 9 Kalia Cole-Avery . . . . . . . . . . . Silverstein 9 Chiana Conway . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Rhoads 1 Cara Davis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Founders 9 Alisha Davison . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Radiology Antoinette Edwards. . . . . . . . . . . Radiology Deborah Elliott . . . . . . Emergency Medicine Kelly Gracey . . . . . . . . . . . Clinical Resource Management/Social Work
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Corey Howard. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Rhoads 6 Suzanne Iyoob . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Radiology Jennifer Kraft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Silverstein 9 Farra Kwiatkowski . . . . . . . . . Founders 11 Donna Leone . . . . . . . . . . . . . Transition Unit Sunny Paulose . . . . . . . . . . . . . Founders 11 Cathy Russo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Radiology Isa Shahid . . . . . . . . . . . . . Patient Transport Robert Teasdale . . . . . . . . . . . . Silverstein 9 Stacey Thorpe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Radiology Kathleen Trow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Rhoads 5 Richard Watson . . . . . . . . Patient Transport Alison Whitmoyer . . . Emergency Medicine
Sally Sapega Editor and Photographer Lisa Paxson Designer
ADMINISTRATION
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