Volume 26
Finding a
Balance
`` (From left) Olubunmi Ariyo with her pastor, Emmanuel Odeyale, and Folu Abiona
Cultural differences often present as big a challenge to immigrant populations as the language barrier. Olubunmi Ariyo, clinical coordinator in Family Medicine, has discovered many such imbalances among the African immigrants at her church. For example, Africans use a lot of salt in their diet to compensate for the extreme heat — and sweating — in their natural environment. But when they arrive in this country, the unnecessary higher sodium content leads to hypertension and high blood pressure. “Doctors tell them to change their diet but it is hard to find a balance between eating your cultural food and following your doctor’s advice,” she said. Ariyo wanted to help this population better acclimate to their new surroundings. She and Folu Abiona, a member of her church, created Knowledge Saturdays, addressing the unique challenges of restarting life in a foreign country while maintaining their own cultural values. Healthy eating was a prime topic. “We shed light on harmful dietary practices,” such as the high salt content and using palm oil to cook. During food demonstrations, she showed them how to incorporate healthy foods into their own cooking. “I tell them they’ll be healthier and they’ll save money,” she said. “Hypertension is more expensive than olive oil! Ariyo also helped them integrate exercise into their lives. “Music during services makes you want to get up, so I tell them to dance while they praise God,” she said. “It’s a win-win all around.” The program — which they started eight years ago — has made an impact. “People have gravitated to water, instead of soda. And they’re not deep frying foods as much,” Ariyo said. “Plus we’ve seen an increase in the use of olive oil.” Thanks to her Penn Medicine CAREs grant, Ariyo will expand her program beyond her church and into the community. She plans to hold a health fair later this summer featuring cooking and workout demonstrations and plenty of information to help other African immigrants find a healthier fit to life in this country.
Helping People All the Time
Congratulations to the January winners of the Helping People All the Time raffle:
4
Tamara Cross. . . . . . . . . . Pulmonary
Sam Ludwig . . . . . . . . . . . . Rhoads 6
Joan Durso. . . . . . . Guest Relations
Natalie Rivera . . . . . . . . . . Rhoads 6
Tina Peritz. . . . . . . . . . . Founders 12
Holland Robinson . . . . . . . Rhoads 7
Alketa Reka . . . . . . . . . Founders 12
Jeanmarie Sullivan. . . . . . Rhoads 7
Brian Dougherty. . . . . . . . . . SICU CT
Megan Campbell. . . . . . . . Rhoads 7
Emily McGrath. . . . . . . . Founders 8
Paul Scolis. . . . . . . . . . . . . Ravdin 9
Van Doan. . . . . . . . . . . . . . Radiology
Helen Knapp. . . . . . . . . Silverstein 8
Heather Chilton . . . . . . . . Radiology
Adriana Boyle. . . . . . . . . . . Ravdin 9
Regan Shaffer. . . . . . . . . . Radiology
Cara McGuiness. . . Labor & Delivery
Lauren Prince. . . . . . . . . . Pharmacy
Tina Sengechareum . . . . Pharmacy
Sergie Vernovsky. . . . . . . Pharmacy
Ryan Fuller . . . . . . . . . . . . Pharmacy
Tara Thomas. . . . . . . . . . . Radiology
Vanessa Currie. . . . . . . . . Pharmacy
If you volunteer your time in the community, be sure to report it on the Penn Medicine CAREs website at: uphsxnet.uphs.upenn.edu/community.
Join the 5K for the IOA
Support aging-related research and care at Penn’s Institute on Aging by joining the 5K run or the 1.5-mile Memory Walk on Sunday, September 20. The run begins at 8 am and the walk at 8:10 at the Shoemaker Green entrance on 33rd between Walnut and South Streets. New this year: Dogs on leashes are welcomed on the Memory Walk! To register, go to pennmedicine.org/5kioa. Participate as an individual or start a team. You can also create a page at givingpages. upenn.edu and encourage friends and family to support your run. With your help, the IOA can make the difference that yields new knowledge, finds cures, and changes the lives of millions of people suffering from Alzheimer’s and other aging-related diseases.
HUPdate Editorial Staff
Pastoral Care Volunteers ‘Feeling Blessed ’ to Give Back
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.
`` Pastoral Care Visitor Janet Dennis spends time with heart patient Nancy Vida.
In times of crisis, many people turn to their religious beliefs
and spiritual resources for comfort and support. As a result, pastoral care has long been an important part of HUP’s clinical healing mission. Its staff chaplains and chaplain residents from its accredited Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) program are assigned to every inpatient area of the hospital; a chaplain is on duty in the hospital 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Volunteers feel like they’re
getting more out of the program than they’re giving.
Lauren Hochenberger Graphic Designer
Susan E. Phillips Senior Vice President, Public Affairs
June 12, 2015
Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania
Sally Sapega Editor and Photographer
Administration
Number 12
Inside HUP’s Lab Coat Heroes.............2 Two “Spirits” Who Care...........3 Nursing Accolades....................3 Finding a Balance......................4 Join the 5K for the IOA.............4 Helping People All The Time....4
But providing this around-the-clock coverage — which translates into well over 30,000 patient and family contacts a year — requires additional resources. This is where HUP’s Pastoral Care Volunteer Visitors come in, a specially trained group which provides a supportive presence on the units. Not everyone has what it takes to be this type of volunteer, said Denise Statham, MTS, MSPCC, administrative chaplain, who oversees the program. “I talk with all potential volunteers, examining their motives and making sure it’s a good match for this setting,” she said. The eight-week training course she developed teaches the specific listening skills they’ll need in HUP’s multicultural, acute-care setting. “These are not social conversations,” Statham said. “They are pastoral conversations which focus only on the patient’s needs.” The sessions also cover other topics, including perinatal loss, loss and grief, cultural diversity, and ethical issues.
The training is so comprehensive that many volunteers have taken their interest in pastoral visits to the next level, enrolling in the hospital’s CPE program. “The difference between those who have taken the training and those who have not is like day and night,” said Jesper Krogsgaard-Jensen, chaplain resident at HUP who works with pastoral volunteers on the units. Some use the training to help those in their own communities. “Pastors send us deacons and lay people for training,” Statham said. “It’s a part of our community outreach.” In the past 10 years, she has trained over 300 people. There is no “typical” volunteer, Statham said. They come to HUP to help others for many reasons, from all walks of life. Take, for example, Janet Dennis. Every Friday morning, she heads to HUP’s pre-transplant unit, where she spent six weeks before her own heart transplant 10 years ago, as well as the hospital’s post-transplant unit. (Continued on page 2)
1
(Continued from cover)
Pastoral Care Volunteers ‘Feeling
Blessed ’
“I had never been sick and suddenly I was told I needed a new heart,” she said. “I understand how scary it can be.”
“‘You’re petrified because you don’t know the future,’ I told her. ‘You feel like you’ll be hurting forever.’”
But patients find it hard to believe that the cheerful, outgoing and energized woman they see was ever in their position. Not only did she fully recover but she went on to compete — and excel — in the World Transplant Games. “I have 23 medals — 7 gold, 8 bronze and 8 silver. One of my goals is to set a U.S. record,” she said. “When I tell patients I’m a transplant survivor, they sit up and notice!”
She recalled one post-transplant patient who was in bed, with the blanket pulled right up to her neck. Dennis spoke softly to the new transplant patient.
I love the immediacy of interaction with patients, talking about what’s going on in their lives now.
The woman relaxed a little. She then showed the patient her Team USA photo on her iPad and said, “You can do this next year!’” The next time Dennis passed her room, the patient was telling her son, “I’m going to the Olympics!” “I have to give back. I’m thankful and grateful,” Dennis said. “Nobody should have to go through this alone.” Pat Wisch, a psychologist who also trained as a hospital chaplain, has volunteered for 10 years. “I love the immediacy of interaction with patients, talking about what’s going on in their lives now,” she said.
to Give Back
On one of her assigned units, she speaks with patients who are battling cancer. “My heart breaks, especially with young patients,” she said. But that doesn’t keep her from reaching out. “Sometimes, before I enter a room, I take a deep breath and silently ask, ‘Help me be strong.’” Statham said a lot more professional people are volunteering for the program, looking for new dimensions for their own lives. “They feel like they’re getting more out of the program than they’re giving,” she continued. “You come out a patient’s room feeling blessed, that you’ve been there for somebody at a tough time in their life.” To learn more about HUP’s Pastoral Care Visitor Volunteer program, contact denise.statham@uphs.upenn.edu.
2
Gift baskets donated by 15 labs raised more than $6,600, nearly 20 percent more than last year. All proceeds of the raffle were donated to MANNA (Metropolitan Area Neighborhood Nutrition Alliance) and PEC (the People’s Emergency Center),
HUP’s Pastoral Care staff, students, and volunteers make thousands of patient contacts a year, providing a better hospital experience for patients and their families. The Spirit of Caring Award recognizes those caring individuals who make exceptional contributions. This year, two people received this honor: Chaplain David Henfield of Pastoral Care and Tyrone Harris of Environmental Services.
Strength and Sweetness Prior to his retirement earlier this year, Henfield was HUP’s trauma chaplain for close to 15 years. “If you consider over 2,000 traumas per year, you realize the burden of over 30,000 broken bodies and the many lives David has helped,” said Ralph Ciampa, former director of Pastoral Care. “I don’t know any other way to say this,” Ciampa continued. “You are a combination of strength and sweetness that I have seldom met. And we are all blessed by your presence among us.”
Harris would always come early and help set up the chapel, moving the furniture and putting sheets down on the floor. Afterwards, he would help put the chapel back in place. When Peyton’s residency ended, he looked for someone to take over the service.
our pathology faculty, department administration, laboratory technologists, and support staff to develop the testing policies, procedures, processes, simulations, and the special treatment laboratory” needed for patients admitted with suspected Ebola infections. As part of its Lab Week festivities, the department organized a wide range of fun activities, which included door decorating contests, dessert competitions, a picnic, games and puzzles. It also included its annual gift basket raffle.
who care
Jum’ah is special noon service on Friday for Muslims. Because it is generally held between 1 and 1:30 pm, it is hard for those who work fulltime to attend. Justin Peyton, adjunct chaplain at HUP, “kick started” one when he was a chaplain resident. “It was very well attended by Muslim staff of all levels as well as Muslim families of patients,” he said. “It allowed visitors and staff to fulfill the requirement of the Muslim faith.”
HUP’s Lab Coat Heroes
Pathology and Laboratory Medicine staff work around the clock to perform critical patient care functions, such as running blood banks and conducting tests that provide essential data to make diagnoses of all kinds and keep patients safe throughout their hospital stays. An important example of their critical role is the recent Ebola outbreak, when, according to Irving Nachamkin, MD, director of Laboratory Medicine, “countless hours were spent by
“Spirits”
Keeping Jum’ah Special
`` Denise Statham oversees the Pastoral Care Vistors program.
Earlier this year, Penn Medicine celebrated Medical Laboratory Professionals Week, a time to recognize the hard work and dedication of the 600-plus lab professionals in more than 30 laboratories across the Health System. This year’s slogan: “Not All Heroes Wear Capes, Some Wear Lab Coats.”
T wo
`` Chaplain David Henfield with his two sons, David (l.) and Kirk, and his daughter, Karen Campbell.
He approached Harris, who was initially hesitant but, with encouragement, “he has kept the service going since I left in November 2013.” In addition to setting up the chapel each week, Harris coordinates the sermon (which he himself does once a month). “He’s not part of Pastoral Care but he even comes in when he doesn’t work,” Peyton said. “He’s doing this completely out of devotion to God and for hospital staff.” In keeping with his religious beliefs, Tyrone Harris did not want his photo taken for the article.
Nursing A cco l ades
`` Thirteen labs participated in the annual “Decorate Your Door Challenge,” in keeping with the superhero theme. The Microbiology lab won first prize, with their “Microtech” comic strip door.
two Philadelphia charities that provide nutrition for people with life-threatening illnesses and that nurture and support families in local neighborhood communities.
Kristen Wisniewski, MSN, received the Excellence in Medical Oncology award from the Oncology Nursing Society for her contributions to the specialty.
Two members of HUP Nursing received an award from the School of Nursing. Regina Cunningham, PhD, chief nursing executive, received the Outstanding Alumni Award for her contributions as a nurse executive, scientist and educator in advancing the practice of cancer nursing across the globe. Bev Emonds, MSN, of Talent Acquisition, was given the Alumni Spirit Award for outstanding contributions to achieving Nursing Alumni goals. A Penn nurse educated in both HUP’s diploma nursing program and the SON, she helped build the bridge between the two alumni groups.
3