HUPdate 1/9/14

Volume 26

Number 1 January 9, 2015

Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania

Another Year Staff throughout HUP, CPUP and Corporate help those in need throughout the year but

the “giving” reaches new levels in the weeks leading up to the holidays. `` (From left): Tash Glenn, Jamie Benson, Anne Campion, and Brenda Bradford of the Nursing Network Center, with some of the presents for children living at the People’s Emergency Center.

of Generous Giving!

Holly Days again brought in a huge number of gifts and monetary donations. Departments throughout the hospital “adopted” 25 families (with a total of 60 kids) from a local shelter that helps women and children in transition. Employees also reached out to The Veterans Group, donating clothing, books, and other items to help displaced veterans. “This is the first year we’ve donated to veterans. They were overwhelmed with the amount of gifts they received ... and very appreciative,” said Phyllis Murray, who takes

Inside Two Fundraisers Help MS........3 Weight Watchers at Work.........4 Updated Phone Technology Coming..................4 Ebola Preparedness..................4

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the lead for Holly Days. In addition, employees contributed over $3,500 worth of gift cards from Target, Walmart, and supermarkets to Covenant House, a crisis center in Philadelphia which provides a continuum of services to meet the complex needs of homeless and runaway youth.

`` Cynthia Byrd and Matt Cardarelli with presents for Physical Plant’s “adopted” Holly Days family.

Holly Days recipients weren’t the only ones to benefit from our generosity. HUP’s Nursing Network Center held a toy and clothing drive for the People’s Emergency Center.

Brenda Bradford said donations poured in for the moms and their kids who are trying to make better lives for themselves. Periop Services filled the wish lists of two children with cancer through Kisses for Kyle, an organization that offers a variety of services to families dealing with childhood cancer in the Delaware Valley. And staff from Silverstein 11, which has a large transplant patient population, paid a visit to the Clyde Barker Transplant House, baking holiday cookies for – and with – family members of transplant patients staying there.

The staff of Rhoads 4, who also care for transplant patients, focused their outreach efforts on filling the wish lists of the children

`` Members of the ED brought many toys and goodies to cats and dogs at the SPCA.

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`` Nearly 80 Penn Medicine staff, friends and families volunteered to serve dinner to residents of local shelters at The Great Gathering.

of two of their patients. They held a skating fundraiser that brought in $1,300, enough for each of the four children from the two families (ages 1½ to 5) to receive 20 gifts! “I asked any employee who came on the unit to buy tickets to help support us!” said Nyree Lyons, who led the effort. The children received their gifts at the skating party and “the families could not believe the amount of love that was shown to their children.”

Animals in shelters felt the love as well.

Members of Emergency Medicine raised $1,000 for the Pennsylvania SPCA and also held a drive for toys, treats, blankets, and beds for the organization. The day before they made the trip to the shelter to deliver the boxes of donations, “we made homemade treats for the dogs — oatmeal, water, cinnamon and a lot of peanut butter!” said Heather Matthew.

“Our total donations for 2014 for the PSPCA is $5,000,” thanks to fundraising through HUP’s Pet a Pooch program.

Lynne Renee Gallagher of the GME office collected toys, treats, bedding, and food for two animal rescue organizations: PAWS and the Morris Animal Rescue. “Dogs and cats may not know it’s the holidays but they should have fun things, too!” she said. And while Labor & Delivery’s “A Purrrfect Holiday” tree theme

didn’t win a prize in this year’s tree-decorating contest, the cats and dogs of the West Philadelphia SPCA were the happy recipients of all its toys and edible decorations.

Our employees also joined others throughout the Health System to reach out. Nearly 80 Penn Medicine staff and their families and friends volunteered at The Great Gathering, a

Two `` Participants in the Octobeard fundraiser included (back, from left) Frank Ross, Amit Patel, Donald Wharton, Wayne Marquardt, Robert Nietupski, Troy Rehrig, Ryan Fuller, Dan Timko, Toby Titus Thomas and (front) Bill Lane (l) and Lap Nguyen.

Thanksgiving feast for the homeless and disadvantaged, organized by Compassion Community Development Corporation. They helped serve dinner to more than `` Helping to bring the holiday spirit into the Clyde Barker Transplant House were 3,000 adults and children (from left) Katlin Luu, Stacy Pham, Susanne Johnson, Casey Brophy, Annie Perng and Melissa Trolene of Silverstein 11. from local shelters. And, when Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell asked for volunteers to help out of South Neighborhood Association. The at her 15th Annual Holiday party for the group distributed 500 frozen turkeys to Homeless and Disadvantaged, close to 50 families and seniors so they too could enjoy employees, friends, and families helped wrap a delicious holiday meal. almost 2,000 gifts and around 100 volunteers Perhaps Penn Medicine’s biggest outreach served dinner to the thousands who attended effort was the Penn’s Way campaign held this year. earlier this year. The Health System Several Penn Medicine volunteers took part raised more than $850,000 for a variety of in the annual Turkey Toss with the South charitable organizations!

Fundraisers Help MS

Once again, several employees in HUP’s Pharmacy put their shaving routines on hold for all of October, growing beards to help raise money for a worthy cause — Multiple Sclerosis.

With 73 female sponsors donating a dollar for each day her chosen participant went without shaving – and the participant matching the amount he raised — the total raised hit $5,000!

Also raising money for MS was Team UPHS in the 2014 MS Society City to Shore Bike Ride. As Dan Wilson, VP of Allied Health and Ambulatory Services at PAH, announced last month, the team set a new single-year fundraising record of $211,264, beating last year’s record of $174,170.

“We again had the largest team with 290 riders participating. It was a fun-filled day and we had amazing weather — always a morale booster for an event like this.”

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Updated phone

Ebola preparedness

Technology

Coming

««

Almost a year ago, IS set out to replace HUP’s 30-year-old phone technology. While the “old” phone system worked for basic person-to-person communications among caregivers and other key personnel, it was not keeping up with the communication needs of HUP and Penn Medicine.

A multi-year project was initiated to bring a new phone system onboard. It features new telephone sets, improved features (i.e., online directory) and redundancy/resiliency that will prevent an outage to the entire system. In addition, the new phone system includes a “one unit, one number” feature, which provides a single contact number for each nursing unit. Other benefits include direct dial out (no use of 9) and one-touch dialing for main hospital functions, such as Rapid Response, Dietary, EVS, and Security.

Perhaps most important, the new phone system integrates with mobile phone technology as well as desktop and laptop computers to enhance collaborative communications among caregivers and support teams. The new system also represents a technology investment that can provide even more capabilities as time goes on and more communication features and functions become available.

To date, over 2,000 phones have been replaced with the enhanced phone system in the nursing areas. This project is slated to continue through the end of 2016.

Weight Watchers at Work!

Looking to lose weight in the New Year? The Weight Watchers At Work Program will fit right into your busy schedule because it will be held on site. Ask a friend who’s been thinking about losing weight to join with you! The program lasts 10 weeks, with sessions on Wednesdays from 12:30-1:30 in the Center for Nursing Renewal on the Penn Tower Bridge.

The cost of the program is $135 for new members and $130 for current or lifetime members.

Any employee covered under the Penn Care PPO medical plan can be reimbursed up to $150 per year after completion of the program. You can also earn 100 Healthy Rewards Points for completing the program!

Contact the Center for Nursing Renewal at 215-662-2471 or nursingrenewalcenter@ uphs.upenn.edu to sign up.

all employee meetings Be sure to attend an upcoming All Employee Meeting to learn more about HUP and the Health System. Members of HUP’s leadership team will be available to answer your questions.

All Employee Meetings are held in Medical Alumni Hall, on 1 Maloney.

Preparations for the possibility of caring for a patient with Ebola have been underway for several months at HUP, and we must maintain competency in our ability to care for these patients. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently announced that HUP is part of an elite group of 35 hospitals nationwide – and the only adult hospital in Pennsylvania – capable of safely caring for patients with Ebola.

As always, we encourage all staff to continue to check for updates at http:// pennpoint.uphs.upenn.edu/sites/ebola/ default.aspx. As a reminder, two phone lines are available to assist clinicians and staff around the clock: •C linicians with patient-related questions should call 215-614-0524. A physician will answer and handle calls about screening, isolation and, if necessary, lead arrangements for patient transport to HUP from another entity.

•G eneral questions not pertaining to direct patient care can be directed to 215-615-2929.

HUPdate Editorial Staff Sally Sapega Editor and Photographer Alexa Creter Graphic Designer

Administration

Susan E. Phillips Senior Vice President, Public Affairs

The next three will be held: J anuary 14 8:30 to 9:30 am F ebruary 17 Noon to 1:00 pm M arch 3 5:00 to 6:00 pm

Correction: The winning unit in the tree-decorating contest with the Under the Sea theme was Founders 10, not Silverstein 10. We regret the error.

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at penn medicine

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.