Volume 25
Number 21
October 17, 2014
Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania
`` Bethany Fijan of Founders 14 carefully reviews a patient education sheet with Novella Williams
REACHING TO
TEACH Forming An Education Partnership with Patients Last year, Bethany Fijan, BSN, of Founders 14 went to HUP’s Patient and Family Education website to print a sheet about venous thromboembolism prophylaxis (measures to prevent a blood clot). She discovered that there were three sheets — not just one — and that not all the information showed current practices at HUP. “I emailed the Patient Education Committee about the necessary changes and thought that was that,” she said. But she received an email back, asking her to take on a project to consolidate the handouts into one easy-to-read, updated sheet. With help from the Committee, she focused on
INSIDE
keeping the writing simple, with language patients could understand. When she finished writing the single sheet, she said, “I thought I did a good job. ” But then she was challenged to take it to the next step … to write it from the patient’s point of view. “It took me a while to understand that a patient may want something different than I wanted to communicate,” she said. “But finally I saw the light. I had an ‘aha!’ moment.” “For patient education to be effective, there needs to be a partnership between the patient and health-care provider,” said Carolyn Cutilli, PhD-c, MSN, director of Patient and Family Education. Health literacy isn’t only about making sure information is on a level patients understand, she noted. “There must be an opportunity to combine what’s important to the patient with what we as clinicians think is important.”
Caring Corner............................2
Giving is Penn’s Way................4
A HUP Patient Education subcommittee, chaired by Sonja Wood, MSN, of Staffing for All Seasons, is reviewing current online patient-education materials. “We’re asking (Continued on page 4)
Did You Get Your Flu Shot?......2 A Change of Scenery................3
HUP’s Patient and Family Education Committee is tackling this important issue on many levels. For example, the recently developed health literacy journal club (scheduled to launch shortly) will be discussing “Health Literacy and Nursing: An Update,” (recently published in the American Journal of Nursing) on the Square. “The journal club is not just for nurses,” stressed Cutilli. “It is a place for everyone to share information, practical interventions, and ideas to meet the health literacy needs of our patients.” The Committee is also encouraging all clinical staff — nursing, therapists physicians, etc — to take the Teach Back: Helping Your Patient Understand course. (To learn more, go to Knowledge Link.)
“ We continue to push forward to ensure that health literacy concepts are at the forefront of patient teaching.”
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CaringCorner
THE
IS Helps To “Change A Life”
Are you involved in volunteer outreach activities? If so, spread the word about all the great work you do in the community. Go to Penn Medicine CAREs at h t t p : / / u p h s x n e t . u p h s . u p e n n . e d u / c o m m u n i t y / and click on “Report Your Activities.”
`` The team behind the Change a Life initiative includes (from left) Bettyanne Magee, Joy Winner, Poppy Bass, Karina Nunez, Ralph Johnson, Doreen Nation, Anana Reynolds, Kelli Esposito, and Mary Ann Cavener.
Change A Life, an outreach program created by members of Information Services, is a simple concept that reaps big rewards for community programs. A contribution jar, created by senior application analyst Ralph Johnson, sits in the department’s lobby at 3001 Market. Employees are encouraged to drop spare change into the jar. Every quarter, members of the department’s We CARE (Community Activity Rewards Everyone) committee count the change and donate it to a worthy organization. It may not seem like a lot, but when they count the change, it adds up to $200 … and more. Since its start, the Change A Life fund has contributed to:
• The Penn Vet Working Dog Center, to help defray the costs of
raising and training dogs for explosive detection, search and rescue, and cancer detection. • HUP’s intensive care nursery, for the purchase of infant car seats for patients who can’t afford to buy them.
• National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), which educates and
supports families with members who have a mental illness. • Jane Adams Place, which provides programs and services for homeless women and their children. Although the We CARE team makes the final decision as to which organization should receive the donation, they receive input from employees. For example, the donation to NAMI came at the request of an IS employee who was able to help her son — diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder I — return to a normal life thanks to NAMI’s Family to Family Education Program. “Members of the Penn Medicine IS team are as committed to providing great information technology service to our UPHS community as they are to giving back to the community in which we work,” said CIO Michael Restuccia.
DID YOU GET YOUR FLU SHOT? There’s still time to get your flu vaccine at one of HUP’s upcoming flu clinics on the Ravdin Mezzanine, to be held from 7:30 am to 7:30 pm on Monday and Tuesday, October 20 and 21. Starting October 27, employees can go to Occupational Medicine on the 4th floor of Penn Tower to receive the vaccine. All employees must be in compliance by December 1.
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IMPORTANT: Remember to bring your bar-coded vaccine consent form, which can be downloaded from http://uphsxnet.uphs.upenn. edu/occupationalmedicine/. The page can also be accessed from “What’s Hot” on the Intranet home page. If you received your vaccine from an outside provider, please send the documentation to HUP Occupational Medicine with a copy of your bar-coded form to make sure you get timely credit.
MLK Community Involvement
Awards `` Thanks to a group effort, a springtime scene on Silverstein 8 greets new moms and their babies on their way to the postpartum unit. (From left) EVS director Steven Gaynes, Christine Racobaldo (EVS director of Patient Experience), Laura Scalise, Jessica Lazzeri, Mia Gonzales, Neena Dinunzio and Maureen Gremminger.
A CHANGE OF SCENERY To protect newborns from exposure to germs or infections, new moms and their babies are transported from Labor and Delivery on Ravdin 7 to the postpartum unit on Silverstein 8 via the Silverstein service elevators. While the rationale behind this transport is good, the scenery was not. “The Silverstein service elevator pocket had equipment and boxes stashed there,” said EVS Operations manager Maureen Gremminger. “We looked at the area from a patient’s perspective and decided it was not very welcoming.” She and Neena Dinuncio, EVS Patient Experience manager, joined forces with Jessica Lazzeri, MSN, nurse manager of Silverstein 8, and Laura Scalise, RNCOB, the unit’s assistant nurse manager, to remedy the situation. Their first thought was putting a mural on the wall facing the elevator “but the cost was prohibitive,” Gremminger said. “Thousands of dollars.” Then they discovered vinyl decals, “which are, basically, large stickers but the final product looks like someone painted it.” The cost: around $200. Wanting a design to represent birth and life, the group found a ready-made springtime scene decal: a tree filled with
leaves and birds. They added a quote: “From small beginnings come great things.” Getting a fresh coat of paint in the elevator lobby was the first step. They contacted Joe Lupica, Maintenance manager, to get the job done. “He thought white would work but we wanted Almond Brittle,” Gremminger said, laughing. “His reaction was ‘… Really?’ but he got us the color we wanted. He was so supportive and very accommodating.” They ordered the design and it arrived … in 500 pieces. “The tree alone had 13 pieces!” Gremminger said. For four hours one afternoon, she and Dinunzio painstakingly created the design, first pressing the branches into place on the wall, then hundreds of leaves, and finally, the birds. When it came to putting up the individual words of the quote, “we eyeballed it. One person held up a word and asked ‘Does it look straight?’ and we went from there.” The final product is cheerful, bright, and most definitely welcoming. “It took a village to conceive this project and get it completed, leading to a really lovely result!” said Mia Gonzales Dean, MBA, MS, assistant executive director of Support Services.
The Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Involvement Recognition Awards are given to five individuals (Penn/Penn Medicine faculty, staff, students, and members of the broader Philadelphia community) who demonstrate significant contributions in community service and/ or working for social justice efforts. The awards committee is seeking nominations for individuals whose work most merits this recognition. Nomination forms are available online at www.upenn.edu/aarc/mlk/award.htm. Scroll to the bottom of page and click on “Access to 2015 Nomination Form.” The deadline for submitting nominations is Friday, November 7. If you have any questions, please contact the African-American Resource Center at 215-898-0104 or aarc@pobox.upenn.edu.
Meet the AP Providers Learn more about the roles of HUP’s advanced practice clinicians — nurse practitioners, nurse midwives, physician assistants, and nurse anesthetists — during the annual Advanced Practice Providers Week. A “Meet and Greet” will take place on Tuesday, October 24, at two locations, from 10 am to 2 pm: • The Perelman Center Atrium • HUP Mezzanine Advanced practitioners will be available to answer your questions and provide information about the individual specialties.
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GIVING PENN’S WAY is
Penn’s Way is underway across our campuses!
In partnership with our colleagues at the University of Pennsylvania, Penn Medicine is stepping up to support the greater Philadelphia area through donations to Penn Medicine, United Way and Center for Responsible Funding Agencies. Penn has set a goal of $1.5 million. This year, all funds raised for HUP, PPMC and PAH are designated towards their Pharmacy Assistance Programs, which provide prescription medications upon discharge to our most vulnerable populations. The Penn’s Way campaign is marked by raffles, fairs and events, honoring not only the donations from employees but also our culture of caring and spirit of giving. If you have not done so already, please visit www.upenn.edu/pennsway (also available through “What’s Hot?” on the Intranet). From there it takes just minutes to pledge your support and immediately impact the communities we serve.
REACHING TO TEACH
(Continued from page 1)
Forming An Education Partnership with Patients staff on every unit to look at information that’s relevant to their patients and update it,” Wood said. A tool kit to help professionals use or develop effective educational materials is available online at http:// uphsxnet.uphs.upenn.edu/hupnursing/ under “Patient Family Education.” A new simplified version is scheduled for release in the near future.
in patient education materials among all Penn Medicine entities. The group created two health literacy resource sites: UPHS Health Literacy Information/Resources and UPHS Limited English Proficiency and Non-English Language Resources for Patient and Family Education. (To access, click on “Patient and Family Education” on the Intranet home page)
Systemwide, a Patient and Education collaborative is working to reduce variation
All of these measures — and others — will not only help our patients but also have positive impact on our HCAHPS (Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems ) scores. This survey is a national, standardized, publicly reported survey of patients’ perspectives of hospital care. Ten questions on this survey — nearly a third — relate to patient and family education.
REACHING THE GOAL! Following three simple steps can help patients better understand:
• Put yourself in your patients’
shoes. Teach from their perspective. • Teach in a very simple manner … simple, simple, simple! • Use Teach Back to confirm their understanding.
“This is an ongoing process,” said Lynn Washington, RN, CT Surgery nurse navigator and co-chair of the HUP Patient and Family Committee. “We continue to push forward to ensure that health literacy concepts are at the forefront of patient teaching.”
HUP WILL CELEBRATE HEALTH LITERACY MONTH AND HEALTH EDUCATION WEEK on October 20 to 24. To learn about the many activities, go to the Intranet home page and click on Health Literacy under What’s Hot.
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Marquardt USciences Award Wayne Marquardt, RPh, senior pharmacist, received the inaugural USciences Distinguished Advocate for Students Award from the University of the Sciences. The award is for an individual who demonstrates an outstanding commitment to advancing USciences students’ professional and career growth and development, in a setting outside the University. `` Wayne Marquardt receives the inaugural award from Helen Giles-Gee, PhD, president of the University of the Sciences.
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ADMINISTRATION
Susan E. Phillips Senior Vice President, Public Affairs Holly Auer Director of Communications 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.