Digital Edition of HUPdate - 7/22/2016

Volume 27

Number 15

July 22, 2016

Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania

`` (From left) Jim Browning, director of Pastoral Care, with this year’s winners of the Spirit of Caring Award: Janet Dennis, Joseph DiRienzi, and Igor Tsimberg.

A CELEBRATION OF

CARING The Spirit of Caring Award, presented annually by Pastoral Care, recognizes those individuals who truly go above and beyond to provide a better hospital experience for our patients and families.

INSIDE Penn VAD Program Celebrates Dedicated Patient Caregivers.....................2 A Quick Peek into Penn Radiology’s Past.............3 Celebrating Cancer Survivors....................................4 Dorney Park Family Fun Day...4 Heartfelt Thanks........................4

This year’s awards went to individuals who represent two distinct areas of care: Joseph DiRienzi and Igor Tsimberg, of Medical Pathology, and Janet Dennis, a Pastoral Care volunteer.

The Kinder Side of Loss DiRienzi and Tsimberg perform autopsies but it is the other “service” they provide — helping grieving family members who come down to see a loved one who has passed away — that the award recognizes. “Joe and Igor are incredibly brave and compassionate. They always go out of their way to treat each person who comes down with respect,” said Leslie

Litzky, MD, director of Medical Pathology.

Indeed, “the autopsy suite is a place of great dignity. What they do is exceptional. We get letters from grateful families.”

“Modern medicine struggles with end-of-life issues,” said Chris Mignogna, MPH, Technical Operations manager in Medical Pathology.

“I learned about a lot of things in medical school but mortality wasn’t one of them … how the end of life unfolds and how it effects those around them.”

“Joe and Igor make a difference with everyone and make a lasting impact on families,” he continued. “They never hesitate to listen and console. They are always ready to provide information and help … they genuinely care.”

“We are an extension of Pastoral Care — one of your arms,” DiRienzi said. “We’re always there to help.”

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A CELEBRATION OF

CARING

Giving Back “All of us has dealt — or will deal — with a crisis of some kind. The goal is to get back to some ‘normal’ — even a new one,” said Amy Martiner, of the Gift of Life Program. “Very few people take the opportunity to find meaning in what happened but that’s what Janet did.”

Dennis underwent a heart transplant in 2005. “I had never been sick and suddenly I was told I needed a new heart,” she said. “I needed to give back.”

And that she has. She started volunteering for Gift of Life, talking with staff in the ICU who help Gift of Life approach a family “at that worst moment,” Martiner said. “Meeting Janet connects the dots of why we do it. We are giving someone a second chance of life.”

Dennis also became a Pastoral Care volunteer, talking with patients on HUP’s pre-transplant unit, where she spent six weeks before her own transplant as well as the hospital’s post-transplant unit. “I want to help patients through the journey. I know exactly what they’re talking about.

But you can’t be fearful,” she said. During her visits, Dennis often sees members of her transplant team, who continue to follow her progress.

But Dennis did more than that. “She also became a world-class athlete in the World Transplant Games,” Martiner said. “She now has over 40 medals!” (see sidebar at right) “This has been an amazing journey. And I wouldn’t have had it without my transplant,” Dennis said.

“You all take part in healing and become part of our patients’ lives,” Carolyn Jackson, COO of the hospital, told those attending the celebration. “And we are eternally grateful.”

From Transplant Patient to

W ORL D CL ASS AT HL E T E Without her heart transplant, Janet Dennis would not be the athlete she is today. And she would certainly not have 15 gold medals, 12 silver, and 13 bronze from the World Transplant Games.

After her transplant, “I just wanted to go home and take a shower. That was it!” But she was told that the heart is a muscle and that she needed to exercise it. “I’m not a gym person — I hate to sweat!”

So she decided to swim instead. And then she heard about the Transplant Games and thought ‘why not?’ In her first competition in 2006 — barely a year after receiving a new heart — she won her first silver medal doing the backstroke. And she was hooked.

Since then she has competed in games throughout the country … and the world. She got a track coach when she decided to include some track and field competition in her repertoire, including javelin, discus, ball throw and shot put. And she continued to win medals.

She has sent many of her medals to her donor family because, as Amy Martiner of Gift of Life noted, “without them saying yes, none of this would have happened.”

“I’m having the time of my life!” Dennis said.

To learn more about becoming an organ donor, go to http://bit.ly/29DmaS0.

Penn VAD Program

C ELE B R AT ES

Dedicated Patient Caregivers The Ventricular Assist Device (VAD) Program at Penn Medicine hosted a night of dinner, dancing and discussion to celebrate and give thanks to those caregivers who provide support for our VAD patients day in and day out. VAD patients depend significantly on their caregivers for help and support, physically, emotionally and financially. The event, funded by a grant from the Board of Women Visitors, offered these wonderful, dedicated caregivers a night out.

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A Quick Peek

I N T O P E N N R A D I O L O G Y ’ S PA S T

Although history books credit German physicist Wilhelm Roentgen with discovering x-rays in 1895, a Penn scientist actually beat him to it … but didn’t realize it at the time.

Five years earlier, while performing studies with vacuum tubes, Penn physicist Arthur Goodspeed unknowingly created an x-ray of two tokens on a photographic plate. Not understanding what it meant, he put the plate in a drawer to come back to in the future. But he never did, until he heard about Roentgen.

“Radiologists were called ‘roentgenologists’,” said physicist Andrew Maidment, PhD, of Radiology. “Just think — they could have been called “goodspeedologists!”

In February 1896, Goodspeed x-rayed the first HUP patient, in his physics lab. The patient was wheeled from surgery across Spruce Street to his lab in College Hall and then brought back to surgery. Seven months later, Goodspeed created a second x-ray system in the solarium of the White Building at HUP. This was official beginning of “in-house” x-rays at the hospital.

Today, 120 years later, Penn Radiology has grown in ways that Goodspeed could not have predicted or even imagined. But a bit of the past remains in the department’s Administrative Office on Ravdin 1: x-ray tubes and even photos that date back to Goodspeed’s time.

The original x-ray tubes were simple — an early vacuum tube with an anode and cathode inside. High voltage electrons pushed through the tube and “slammed” into the anode. The impact released particles of pure energy called x-rays. As the years passed — and knowledge increased — the x-ray tubes evolved, leading to better control of the radiation levels and image quality.

Maidment said that in the early days, an x-ray tube had an operating life of just a few days. Initially the tube was “soft,” meaning it produced low-energy x-rays that could only penetrate thin areas of the body, such as hands or wrists. A slightly older tube could

`` Charles Leonard, HUP’s first skiagrapher (radiologist) in the roentgen-ray room with Mrs. McNally, head nurse in the men’s surgical ward.

“ Today, 120 years later, Penn Radiology has grown in ways that Goodspeed could not have predicted or even imagined.” be used for something deeper, like a chest x-ray. By the end of its operating life, the tube was “hard” and used for radiation treatment.

“Back then, the same equipment was used for images and treatment, but with different levels of radiation,” Maidment said.

The soft tubes had a small amount of gas built up inside the vacuum tube, but, as it was used, the supply would diminish as the gas molecules coated the inside of the glass tube. “After a few days, the tube was so ‘hard,’ it wouldn’t produce any x-rays at all.” At that point, a person charged with tending the tubes would hold the tube over a candle which would heat it and free the gas stuck to the wall of the tube so it could be re-used.

“Once it was ‘softened’ again, the tube would go back on a wooden rack where they were sorted according to how soft or hard they were,” Maidment said.

Today, physicists in Radiology are responsible for making sure “our images have the highest quality for the minimum exposure.”

They cover 600 instruments throughout Penn Medicine, which produce over 1.3M radiographic studies a year. “We ensure

consistency in quality throughout the Health System,” he said. “That’s what distinguishes Penn. Many hospitals have consultants that come in a few days a year. We provide constant quality assurance.”

Back in Radiology’s infancy, Goodspeed trained radiologists in the physics of x-rays (“Apparently he taught them all he could about x-rays in 10 days!”) and today’s radiology residents receive training as well.

“You have to be an expert in the technology you’re using,” Maidment said. “A racetrack driver will know exactly what to adjust or change on the car that can get him around the track one or two miles per hour faster.

That’s the radiologist we want — someone who can look at the image and know exactly what to tweak to make it better.” `` The oldest x-ray tube in Radiology’s collection, dating back to the late 1890s

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Celebrating

DORNEY PARK FAMILY FUN DAY! CANCER SURVIVORS!

The staff of OncoLink went all out for this year’s National Cancer Survivors Day. According to the National Cancer Survivors Day Foundation, “It is the one day each year that people around the world come together to recognize the cancer survivors in their community, to raise awareness of the challenges these survivors face, and, most importantly, to celebrate life.”

OncoLink’s celebration featured activities to educate, engage and empower cancer survivors and their caregivers. This year it included Reiki, reflexology, aromatherapy, and even a visit by Finn, the therapy dog in Radiation Oncology owned by Christina Bach, an OncoLink education specialist.

The celebration also included learning how to create a Survivorship Care Plan and Advanced Directive as well as a chance to talk with cancer care experts and fellow survivors.

Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom is offering HUP employees discounts on tickets for two weekends: July 22 – July 24 and August 5 – August 7. Employees can purchase tickets for the “Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom HUP Family Fun Day” directly online at www.dorneypark.com/HUP. Simply choose which weekend and day you want to go to purchase tickets for — it’s good for One Day only. The cost per ticket is $28.50. There are no codes to enter for this special price. Just click which weekend you prefer!

For additional information about Dorney, visit www.dorneypark.com.

`` Sharon Civa of IS expressed her empowerment about beating back ovarian cancer last year.

`` Giles White, who was treated for prostate cancer four years ago, takes advantage of the aromatherapy massage provided by Susan Kristiniak, associate director of UPHS Palliative Care.

Heartfelt Thanks

I was recently admitted to your hospital… I was in room 1170 Founders. I would like to praise my entire nursing staff and the CNAs for the care and sympathy they showed me during my stay. Their patience and understanding was amazing. I would like to name them but I’m afraid I would miss a few. Please relay my gratitude to your entire staff.

Has your department or unit received a thank-you note from a patient or family member that you’d like to share in HUPdate? If so, please send to sally.sapega@uphs.upenn.edu.

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HUPdate HUPdate EDITORIAL STAFF EDITORIAL Sally SapegaSTAFF Sally Sapega Editor and Photographer Editor and Photographer Lisa Paxson Lauren Hochenberger Graphic Designer Designer

ADMINISTRATION Susan E. Phillips ADMINISTRATION

SeniorE.Vice President, Public Affairs Susan Phillips Senior Vice President, Public Affairs Holly Auer Director of Communications

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