Volume 8
Issue 6
March 22, 2013
PRESBYbulletin Penn Presbyterian Medical Center
PPMC In the News Sepsis: Sep p siss : A st stealthy, t ealtt hyy, ssudden udd d e n killer kii lll e r
From left: PPMC patient Bob Calandra with Larry Gavin, MD, UPHS sepsis expert Cliff Deutschman, MD, and Michael Cirigliano, MD
An article published in the March 4 issue of the Philadelphia Inquirerr tells the story of PPMC patient Bob Calandra’s battle with sepsis and the Penn Medicine team that made him “one of the lucky ones.” With symptoms that are often mistaken for the flu, nearly 800,000 cases of sepsis are reported in the U.S. each year. Of those, roughly 30 percent will die from the infection. Luckily for Calandra (who also authored the article), his physician Mike Cirigliano, MD, associate professor of Medicine at Penn Medicine, recognized the symptoms immediately when Calandra called his office asking for something to help with the flu. Cirigliano told Calandra to get in the car, and immediately made a call to Penn Presbyterian Medical Center’s Emergency Room. Larry Gavin, MD, professor of Clinical Emergency Medicine at PPMC was in the ED that day and took the case. Once in the Presby ED, Calandra says two nurses descended on him “like a NASCAR pit crew.” “In no time, they had me in a gown, took my blood pressure and temperature, drew blood, took a urine sample, started intravenous lines for fluid… My temperature, a roaring 104.3 degrees, earned ice bags under my arms and between my legs,” Calandra wrote. (continued on back)
PPMC Ranks Among 100 Top Hospitals For the second consecutive year, Penn Presbyterian Medical Center was listed as one of the nation’s 100 Top Hospitals by Truven Health Analytics, formerly the Healthcare business of Thomson Reut Re uter erss. The study identifies the 100 Top Hosp Ho spitital alss ba base sedd on the heir ir ove vera rallll organizational performance in 10 areas including mortality, patient safety, and patitien pa entt sa satitisf sfac actition on. Pe Penn nn Pre resb sbyt yter eria iann is one of only two in the state of Pennsyylvania to be included in the new stud st udyy. In Oc Octo tobe berr, Tru ruve venn He Heal alth th als lsoo named Penn Presbyterian one of the 50 Top Car ardi diov ovas ascu cula larr Ho Hosp spitital alss in the nation. “B Bei e ngg lisste tedd am a on o g th t e to topp 1000 hospitals is further proof of Penn Presbyterian’s positive impact to the communitity andd our dedi dicatition to providing the highest-quality patient care ca e,” , sai a d Mich c el e e Voolp lpee, ex e ec ecut utiv ivee director and CEO, PPMC. “This honor, in conjunction with our many other acco ac comp mplilish shme ment ntss ov over er the las astt ye year ar are grea gr eatt re remi mind nder erss of the ext xtra raor ordi dina nary ry faculty and staff who give so much of themselves here every day. We look forward to continuing to foster this culture of excellence and gr g owth in the year ye arss to com omee.”
2013 “Celebration of Art and Life”
PPMC In the News (continued from front)
The th hird annu ual “Celebrration of Art and Liife” opened last mo onth, show wcasingg the manyy talents of our facullty, staff, students and patients. The ju uried art exxhibitio on is ded dicated to the memo ory of Bernett L. Jo ohnson, Jr., MD, HUP’s form mer chieef mediccal officerr and an acccomplished artist. A skilled and com mpassionatee physiccian and arrtist, John nson was a beloved teacher an nd a loving family man.
“We started the protocol” for patients deemed to have serious infections, Gavin later reported. “So we take out a big hammer and try to hit as many different things as we can.”
At thee openingg reception n, Johnson’s widow,, Mary Martha, said that art “allows us to stop, take a breath and d smell the roses.” Pieces from Johnso on’s collectiion thaat are featurred in thiss year’s sho ow reflect both his early work and hiss most receent. Joh hnson started paintin ng in mid-11960s when an oil painting kit he purrchased forr a famiily memb ber went unused. An ambitious self-sttarter, Johnson deccided to picck-up th he kit and teeach himself to pain nt.
Several hours later, when things seemed under control, a team assessed Calandra for admission. “Two doctors arrived to do a history and physical. My blood pressure had slipped into the low 90s, but I was fully aware. The medical floor emissaries stepped into the hall with Gavin to discuss my case. That’s when my blood pressure tanked to 80/60,” he wrote.
This year’s art exhibit bro ought in more than n 450 submissions from facultty, staff ff and patients. The exhibitt is now on display on the Penn Tower Bridge an nd in th he Perelm man Centter for Advvanced Medicine.
PPMC CHAPLAIN WINS “BEST IN SHOW” PPMC’s Jo ohn Ehman was awarded “B Best of Show” for his phottograph “Frost” at this year’s opening ce eremony of the “C Celebration of Art and Lifee” display. Known to the Presbyy family as the hospital’s Chaaplain who has been with h PPMC since 1997, Ehman’s interest in ph hotography datess back to his high school days. With an eyye for detail, Ehman’s penchaant for photography favors close-ups of nature and an app preciation for the abstract. As he describes it, his phootographs focus on that which is “too small to be seen clearly or absorbed thoro oughly through our normal rea ach of visionn.” His method is often to explore a particuular object at length (typically a mineral orr flower) until he sees within that object soomething that strikes him as uniqquely artistic. “Some phootography attempts to captuure stark reality, but whatt I try to do is capture an image thhat has thee feel of a paintingg and to some degree a sense of the abstract,” Ehman expplains. “Parrt of the joy of my photography is capturingg moments of wonder. I see most of my photographs as havinng a living quality. There iss a vibrancy to it.” Ehman’s winning phottograph in this yeear’s art display is a good example of his closeup or macrro approach h. The 24-inch priint was created by photoographing a patch of frost cryystals only two-inches wide.. Ehman spotted the “maggnificent filigree” of frost on his window w one morning in early 2011, and thought itt was the perfect opportunityy to take so omething so small and intricate and bring itt to a large scale. “It’s a grea at honor to be a part of this tribute to Bernie Johnsonn,” Ehman said of his “Best in n Show” aw ward. “Bernie wa as truly a wonderful man and I miss him constantly.. To be able e to remember him m and honor his life and leegacy in this way is certainly ve ery special.” To see morre of Ehman n’s work, please visit his website, www.ehhman.org.
Calandra spent two days in the ICU, where he says he “received fabulous care” and eventually recovered. His official diagnosis was septic shock, brought on by E. coli bacteria. Today, he is back to full strength and says he owes “being here” to the entire Penn Medicine care team. To read more about Calandra’s story, please see the link to the full text of the Philadelphia Inquirer article in the e-Bulletin.
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