Volume 25
Number 2
January 24, 2014
Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania
E
M P A T H Y : An Essential Part of
Patient Care `` Winners of HUP’s 2014 Patient Advocacy Awards
“Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.” Although the above quote — attributed to Plato (the ancient Greek philosopher) — was not originally directed at hospital employees, it easily could have been. Many of HUP’s patients are fighting a battle for their lives; kindness and compassion are essential parts of their care.
INSIDE HUP Pharmacy Receives Award.........................2 Partnership Between Penn Medicine and Monaco..............3 Another Comfort of Home: New Freezer at the Transplant House......................3 A Generous Donation to Sunday Breakfast......................4
This year’s winners of HUP’s annual Patient Advocacy Awards understand that. They come from throughout the hospital — some provide clinical care; others are part of our Support Services team — but they share one characteristic: empathy. According to Marguerite Kerry, BSN, JD, director of Patient and Regulatory Affairs, winners of this award “foster patient- and family-centered care.” She said their acts of kindness are often reflected in patient feedback or letters, or the winners’ partnering with Patient and Guest Services to help patients or family members. “You provided great solace to patients in need and set an example of how we all should behave,” said PJ Brennan, MD, chief medical officer and senior VP of the Health System, at the recognition event. “People here today can show us how we can make a difference,” agreed Regina
Cunningham, PhD, HUP’s new chief nursing executive and associate executive director. “We need to hear patients and act upon what they’re saying.” Noting that HUP has seen a consistent increase in patient satisfaction scores, Garry Scheib, HUP’s executive director, said, “I am very proud to be part of the team that provides excellent care. Thank you for being role models for all of us.” Congratulations to this year’s winners of the HUP Patient Advocacy Awards 2013. Read about their excellent work in the words of their co-workers who nominated them: Edwin Baez, Environmental Services “ Edwin is a true asset to our success. We would love to acknowledge his efforts as a team player, his dedication to all, and responsiveness to act swiftly no matter the call.” (continued on page 2)
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HUP Patient Advocacy Award Winners (continued from page 1) Jennifer Barger, MS, BSN, Emergency Medicine “ She always goes above and beyond to meet the needs of our patients, our staff, the department, and UPHS. Jen is a genuinely wonderful human being.”
Tetyana Furmanets, BSN, RN, Rhoads 3 (oncology) “ Tetyana tackles many challenging patient situations. In doing so she always maintains a calm, resilient ‘can-do’ attitude providing hope to many patients and families.”
Beverly Brown, Food Services “ Beverly always comes to work with a smile on her face and ready to make our guests and fellow employees’ day a brighter one.”
Horace Hubbard, Patient Transport “ Horace has been acknowledged by both hospital staff and patients for his care and compassion when interacting with patients.”
Sharon Davis-Manigault, Perioperative Services “ Sharon is a great patient advocate who goes the extra yard for patients and their families.”
Michael Lynch, BSN, RN, CFRN, CEN, Rapid Response Team “ Mike often receives emails from the providers and clinical nurses to thank him for his positive energy during emergencies and in dealing with patients and their families.”
Socrates Deguzman, BSN, RN, ED Observation Unit “ Socrates treats each and every patient as if they were a part of his own family.” Kevin Fox, MD, Hematology/Oncology “ Dr. Fox is one of the most caring and trusted physicians at Penn. His patients adore him. The staff members are devoted to him.”
Randy Meadows, Physical Therapy “ Randy is a role model for his professionalism and his ability to engage patients and families. He leaves every day making this a better place to work because of his caring demeanor and his work ethic.”
Stacie Neefe, BSN, RN, Rapid Response Team “ Stacie is extremely dedicated to ensuring the safest patient care possible. She instills a sense of trust with patients and families.” Laura Perilli, BSN, RN, Silverstein 7 “ Laura knows how to add that special caring touch to each patient’s day. She makes the patient experience a priority and serves as a role model to her peers.” Helen Preston-Pelzer, Admissions “ Helen has shown empathy for patients and looks for ways to exceed expectations.” Gregory Weinstein, MD, Otorhinolaryngology “ Dr. Weinstein is devoted to providing patients with the highest level of care.”
ALL EMPLOYEE MEETING Tuesday, February 4 Medical Alumni Hall on 1 Maloney Noon to 1 pm
HUP Pharmacy R E C E I V E S A WA R D
Congratulations to HUP’s Pharmacy Department, one of six award recipients of the Fifteenth Annual Best Practices Award in Health-System Pharmacy by the American Society of HealthSystem Pharmacists. The award recognizes outstanding pharmacists who have successfully implemented innovative systems that demonstrate best practices. HUP won the award for its Patient Centered Pharmacy Model, in which a clinical pharmacist is part of every health-care team on HUP’s patient-care units. According to the Pharmacy submission, improved patient outcomes from this practice model included a significant decrease in 30-day unplanned readmissions and an increased HCAHPS score.
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`` Members of Pharmacy who contributed to the creation and continued success of the program and the successful award submission include (l. to r.) J Michael Vozniak, Cassandra Redmond, Melissa Hibbs, Gene Gibson, Joshua Guinter, and Rick Demers.
Partnership Between
Penn Medicine and Monaco His Serene Highness Albert II, Prince of Monaco — whose mother, the late Princess Grace of Monaco was one of Philadelphia’s most beloved citizens — came to Penn to celebrate a new partnership between Penn Medicine and the Princess Grace Hospital in the Principality of Monaco. The new venture, which focuses on cardiovascular medicine and oncology, will allow patients in Monaco and Philadelphia to have access to some of the most innovative new treatments in these areas of medicine, and for students, faculty and staff from both institutions to learn from one another. Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter was on hand for an event — featuring a ceremonial signing of the agreement and a plaque presentation — to formalize the partnership and commemorate Prince Albert II’s visit to Penn. `` Prince Albert II of Monaco (top right) and Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter look on as Patrick Bini, director of Princess Grace Hospital in Monaco (seated left), and J. Larry Jameson, MD, PhD, dean of the Perelman School of Medicine and executive VP of the University of Pennsylvania for the Health System, formally sign the agreement between Penn Medicine and the Princess Grace Hospital.
Another Comfort of Home New Freezer at the Transplant House The Clyde F. Barker Penn Transplant House provides affordable, comfortable and convenient accommodations for many of Penn’s pre- and post-transplant patients and their families. To help provide a “homey” environment, guest chefs prepare homecooked dinners for patients and families that serve as a welcome respite from fast food or expensive restaurant meals. One of the regulars who helps prepare these meals is Sallie Smith, a social worker for the Heart Transplant Program. She comes every month, either with members of Clinical Resource Management and Social Work or the Heart and Vascular Center, not only to provide healthy meals for those staying at the House but also to spend time talking with them. “These interactions really help our transplant families, some of whom stay here as long as four to five months,” she said. But Smith wants to do more. To help increase the number of volunteers coming to the House as well as to educate people about organ donation — and its impact — she plans to hold open house events for members of the surrounding community, including local sororities and fraternities that do service projects. “I want to show people first hand what organ donation does for people.
Many of our volunteers have told me that volunteering has changed how they look at organ donation,” she said, adding that “a general lack of knowledge leads to misconceptions about organ donation.” Her recent Penn Medicine CAREs grant — which was used to purchase an upright freezer — will help. The Transplant House has three refrigerators for guests but freezer space is at a premium. “People have wanted to donate meals — we’ve even had bakeries offering desserts — but we had no place to keep them before,” said Kirsten King, Operations manager at the Transplant House. Now they can take advantage of the generosity of both people and businesses. “We’ll also be able to freeze leftovers from donated meals so guests can have them available when no volunteers are scheduled to prepare meals,” Smith said, adding that the freezer space will be especially helpful over the holidays, when many people generously donate meals and goodies to the House.
`` Sallie Smith (l.) and Kirsten King can’t wait to start filling the new freezer the Penn Transplant House now has, thanks to a Penn Medicine CAREs grant.
TO LEARN MORE about cooking a meal or donating food or supplies to the Penn Transplant House, contact Kirsten King, manager, at 215-662-4540.
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Digital Art Contest The Mahoney Institute for Neurosciences (MINS) is holding a Digital Art Contest. It is open to all Penn faculty, staff, students and alumni. Contestants are asked to create a digital image with a neuroscience theme for potential display in and around the Neuroscience Offices in the Clinical Research Building. Prizes will be awarded: three $1,000 first-place winners, four $500 second place winners, five $100 third place winners, and $50 honorable mention winners. The deadline for submissions is Friday, March 7. For more information, contact MinsArtContest@gmail.com.
`` Members of Respiratory Care/Pulmonary Diagnostics with some of the hundreds of pounds of food collected for the Sunday Breakfast Rescue Mission: (l. to r.) Mike Morrissey, Katie Trifiletti, Shelagh Humes, Andy Ross, and Lance Arrington.
A Generous Donation to Sunday Breakfast With contributions from throughout the hospital, the staff of Respiratory Care/ Pulmonary Diagnostics collected nearly 1000 pounds of non-perishable food, clothing, and toiletries for the Sunday Breakfast Rescue Mission. The department has held this drive nearly every year since 2008.
DATE: Friday, January 31 TIME: 12:30 pm TOPIC: Focus on Cancer Caregivers
“We view the community as one of our stakeholders and, through community involvement and support, we can accomplish our goals of providing compassionate care which goes beyond our hospital doors,” said David Moore, Jr, MBA, RRT, the department’s administrative director. “HUP employees and families have a longstanding tradition of compassion and always step up to help those in need even in the most difficult of times.”
The job of caregiving can be both stressful and rewarding and have many ups and downs. During this informative focus on cancer caregivers, we will focus on the needs of caregivers and provide strategies to help you help yourself and strengthen your caregiving abilities. To access the chat, go to oncolink.org/webchat.
The Sunday Breakfast Rescue Mission is the oldest in Philadelphia and the third oldest in the country. The mission serves over 110,000 meals in its Center City location each year. For more information, go to http://www.sundaybreakfast.org/.
Helping People ALL THE TIME
Congratulations to winners in September’s Helping People All the Time raffle: Pam Bivins. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Admissions Dana Bower. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Founders 8 Hermine Boyd . . . . . . . . . . Phlebotomy/ICU Jess Carter. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ravdin 9 Craig Chadler. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ravdin 9 Annette Coleman. . . . . . . . . . . . . Founders 8 Ann Coyle. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Rhoads 7 Kathleen Crockett. . . . . . . . . . . . . Radiology Mark Dillon. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Founders 8 Mark Durand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ravdin 9 Janelle Harris . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ravdin 9 Soo Kim. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Rhoads 7
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Phuriettia Lee. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Rhoads 7 Carrie Marvill. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Rhoads 7 Laura Mattock. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Radiology Pat Munoz. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ravdin 9 Samantha Schad. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Rhoads 7 Pasquale Sferra. . . . . . Materials Management Debra Speaker. . . . . . . . . . . . Financial Services Sarah Tolbert. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ravdin 9 Pari Tucker. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Founders 11 Alexis Weaver. . . . . . . . . . . . . Patient Transport Timothy Williams. . . . . . . . . . . . . . Founders 12
HUPdate EDITORIAL STAFF Sally Sapega Editor and Photographer Abby Ernst 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.