Volume 27
Number 6
March 18, 2016
Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania
Keeping
A LEGACY
Alive Since 2011, Penn’s Clyde F. Barker Transplant House has served as a home away from home for 1,500 families. With occupancy from 85 to 90 percent, it’s not surprising that, after five years, many items required replacement and updating. But, while the $60 per night charge as well as donor contributions support day-to-day operations, the House needed a sustainable source of income for upkeep and maintenance. A $600,000 endowment gift by the Board of Women Visitors and its Nearly New Shop will help the House meet these needs.
INSIDE Gospelrama Rocks the Auditorium!.........................2 3D Mammography Improves Cancer Detection......2 Giving Students the Tools for Life..............................3 2016 Penn Medicine Facts & Figures..........................4
The BWV, a steady presence at HUP since 1875, supports the hospital in many ways but improving care and comfort for patients and their families remains its priority. The Nearly New Shop was the hospital’s consignment/ thrift shop. It raised money for the hospital through the sale of everything from furniture and clothing to toys and jewelry (to name a few). After the shop closed in 2014 and the building was sold, “we received approval to use the proceeds to eventually fund a special project,” said BWV chair Jean Givey.
Each year, the Board solicits a wide range of proposals from Penn Medicine’s Departments to fund items on their “wish list” that respective budgets can’t cover. Linda Schelke, who represents the Transplant Institute on the BWV Board, worked with Diane Jakobowski, administrator of the Penn Transplant Center, to submit a request for $125,0000 (the Board’s top grant)to establish an endowment fund for the House. “Very basic needs were required — like replacing mattresses and dishwashers. I knew that even small amounts of money would help but I really wanted to do more,” Schelke said. “The endowment would also provide a vehicle that would encourage other donors to contribute.” With the support of Nancy Mennuti, the Nearly New Shop BWV representative, and the Board, it was agreed that this was the “special project” that the proceeds from the sale would fund. (continued on page 2)
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GOSPELRAMA
Rocks the Auditorium! Thanks to many talented singers, dancers, poets, mimes — and a return of the Pathfinders “Lightbearers” drum corps — Medical Alumni Hall was filled with the joyous sounds of Gospelrama 2016 last month. Chaplain Resident Fuminobu Komara offered a Buddhist invocation, touching on the ideals of the Buddhist tradition, collectively known as the “Three Jewels”— Buddha, Dhamma, and Sangha. It is chanted at the beginning of daily services from Buddhist scriptures. Chaplain Betty White, associate Clinical Pastoral Education supervisor, spoke about the history of gospel as songs of freedom and hope, noting that the song “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot” may have referred to the Underground Railroad, the freedom movement that helped blacks escape from Southern slavery to the North and up into Canada. Thanks once again to Chaplains Johnnie and Madeline Dawson and Chaplain Denise Statham who pulled together such an amazing show! u To see more Gospelrama photos, go to
news.pennmedicine.org/inside/hupdate/.
Keeping
A LEGAC Y
3D Mammography Improves Cancer Detection
Alive
(continued from page 1)
The Board’s support of the Transplant House is nothing new. The group donated $500,000 in 2007 as the naming gift in the building’s initial fundraising efforts and also to encourage others to help the project reach its $3 million goal. The Nearly New Shop made a $50,000 donation at the time. Schelke and Jakobowski also worked with Penn Medicine Development, which agreed to launch a campaign specifically focused on increasing the Board’s gift. Over the next five years, the goal is to raise the endowment to $1 million. Kirsten King, the manager of the Transplant House, is grateful for what she knows will help sustain the building and the program. “The endowment will make sure the BWV legacy lasts.”
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`` Clockwise from top: Gospelrama performers included the "Lightbearers" drum corps, Madeline Dawson, and the Baby Heavenly Angels.
The increased cancer detection and reduced call backs associated with 3D mammography, also known as Digital Breast Tomosynthesis (DBT), can be maintained years after a patient’s first DBT screening with regularly scheduled DBT imaging, according to a JAMA Oncology study from Penn researchers. The findings provide the first longitudinal evidence that the benefits of initial DBT screening — fewer patients called back for sometimes unnecessary imaging, more cancer cases found in recalled patients, and fewer breast cancers diagnosed between regularly scheduled screening appointments in women who received a healthy negative reading — can be sustained and improved over time with consecutive DBT screening. In 2011, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved use of DBT — which provides radiologists a 3D reconstruction and clearer view of overlapping layers of breast tissue — in combination with standard digital mammography (DM) for breast cancer screening. Findings from the Penn team published in 2014 reported that screening women with DBT in addition to DM not only improves detection of invasive cancers, but also reduces the number of patients called to return for potentially unnecessary imaging. “These findings reaffirm that 3D mammography is a better mammogram for breast cancer screening,” said Emily F. Conant, MD, chief of Breast Imaging in Radiology. “These results are an important step toward informing policies so that all women can receive 3D mammography for screening.” u To read more about this study, go to http://www.uphs.upenn.edu/news/
News_Releases/2016/02/conant/.
Giving Students the
Thanks to the hard work of one Penn doctor, her husband, and a Penn Medicine CAREs grant, students in Southwest Philadelphia will have a new source of support on their path to higher education. Aivi Nguyen, MD, a resident in Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, was recently awarded $700 for her work with the Woodland Writers, a writing group she founded with her husband to help students in the neighborhood of their church sharpen their skills, discover their writing passions and prepare for the SATs. They have about 10 students right now and are focusing on their writing skills. SAT preparation work has been in the plans, but the cost of new materials has been a hurdle. With the CAREs grant, however, they’ll now be able to afford various workbooks — including ones for general SAT prep, vocabulary and others — for their students to help with reading comprehension and creative writing. “I saw a need in the community for SAT prep for higher education to get them out of the situation in which they’re currently living,” Nguyen said. “These writing skills will be important for them outside
of school. It’s equipping them with the tools they need for life.” Nguyen is an old hand at this. She worked as a writing tutor as an undergrad at the school’s writing center, helping fellow undergrads `` Aivi Nguyen, MD and graduate students alike. She also tutored SAT prep in the past at a community center. If you volunteer your time in community outreach, you may be eligible to receive a Penn Medicine CAREs grant. To learn more and apply, go to http://uphsxnet.uphs.upenn.edu/community/CARE/grant.html. The deadline for the next round of grants is Wednesday, June 1.
PB&J ALL AROUND! Members of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine assembled approximately 400 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches last month — seven boxes full! — to be distributed to the homeless by Project Endless Agapé (PEA), a nonprofit organization that distributes food, water, clothing, toiletries and other supplies to the homeless in Philadelphia as well as South and Central Jersey. The project was pulled together by the Pathology and Laboratory Medicine Activities Committee, comprising about 20 people from each of the Department’s lab sections and divisions. “We typically partner with a local non-profit to help facilitate their goals to serve the local community as well,” said Nichole Howard, supervisor of Clerical Services. Ideas come from Committee members. In the case of the PB&J sandwiches — which required 60 loaves of bread, 35 jars of peanut butter and 25 jars of jelly! — Kelly Graf, automation laboratory technologist, submitted the idea to the team and “we all worked together to make it happen,” said Howard. Since forming in 2012, the Committee has run several major events, including stuffing back-to-school bookbags for underprivileged children and its annual basket raffle, which has so far raised over $21,000 for MANNA and People’s Emergency Center.
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`` Robin Harmony (l) gifted her painting to Rebecca Sands, who grew to love it during her cancer treatments.
A GIFT OF
Beauty
Penn Medicine’s annual Celebration of Art & Life exhibition not only lifts the spirits of those who view the many pieces of artwork but also brings people together. Rebecca Sands grew to love one of the paintings she passed every time she came to the Perelman Center for her cancer treatments. She reached out to the artist — Robin Harmony, Learning Management & Curriculum architect of HR — asking if she could purchase it but Harmony felt good about just giving it to her. “Becky is such a special person,” she said. “It made me so happy that the painting made her so happy.”
2016 Penn Medicine
FACTS & FIGURES
S &ES T C R 616 F FIGU 20201
The 2016 edition of Penn Medicine Facts & Figures is now available. This pocket-size brochure targeted for the general public contains a wealth of publicly reported, statistical information about our organization, from details about our latest building projects to quick facts about our economic impact, workforce, and student community. The publication also highlights selected Penn Medicine research, education, and patient care activities and achievements over the past year. Staff from across Penn Medicine report using the publication for a variety of purposes, including: • Training program • Recruitment
• Grant and award applications • Local and global outreach activities
F acts & Figures can be ordered in packages of 50 for $16.65 each from aelitho.com using item #UPHS-041-14. The publication is also available online at http://www.uphs.upenn. edu/news/facts.htm
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National Doctors’ Day March 30 is National Doctors’ Day, a day in which we recognize the contribution and dedication of our physicians. On that day, as has been its tradition, Medical Affairs will provide morning beverages and a small gift to doctors as a token of our appreciation. Please join us on the first floor of the Perelman Center, directly across from the Spruce Street Café, between the hours of 7:00 and 9:30 am.
Register Now for ÌÌÌ HEALTH EQUITY WEEK Penn Medicine is sponsoring a Health Equity Week from Monday, April 4, through Friday, April 8. As part of the conference, Georges Benjamin, MD, executive director of the American Public Health Association, will speak on “Health Equity and Addressing Social Determinants of Health.” Joseph Betancourt, MD, MPH, of Harvard Medical School, will discuss “Improving Quality and Achieving Equity: Pursing Value in a Time of Healthcare Transformation.” All the events are free. To see the full schedule of events, go to http://www.uphs. upenn.edu/gme/HEWRegister.aspx
HUPdate EDITORIAL STAFF Sally Sapega Editor and Photographer Abby Ernst Graphic Designer
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.