Volume 11
Issue 3
February 5, 2016
PRESBYbulletin Penn Presbyterian Medical Center
YOUNG WOMAN’S STRUGGLE FOR LIFE INSPIRES PPMC DOCTORS TO HELP OTHERS Penn’s Lung Rescue program was recently featured in a story about the young woman who inspired the program’s development. The lung rescue team is now able to place patients on ECMO at an outlying hospital and transport them to Penn Presbyterian for the advanced ECMO/pulmonary care they need, faster. The segment, which aired on 6ABC, told the story of Victoria Palko, a local woman who two years ago was fighting for her life against a rare pneumonia. She first got sick while studying for finals at the University of Delaware. The campus health center diagnosed her with pneumonia and prescribed antibiotics. But days later, back home in New Jersey, her illness turned into a crisis. “I couldn’t wake her up, so her lungs had collapsed,” Laurie Palko told 6ABC health reporter Ali Gorman. Victoria desperately needed high-tech breathing support called ECMO, or Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation. The machine was located in Philadelphia, but Victoria was too sick to transport, and the equipment was too bulky to move. ECMO puts oxygen into the blood and takes out carbon dioxide when the lungs can’t do it on their own. “So that when a patient has an infection, it buys you time to treat the infection,” said Jack Gutsche, MD, an assistant professor of Anesthesiology and Critical Care, and co-medical director of the Penn Lung Rescue team. Victoria finally stabilized just long enough to be flown to Penn Presbyterian and put on ECMO. She was on the life-saving device for 20 days, and in the hospital for two months. During that time, the PPMC team realized that a portable ECMO could save many lives. “Her case really cemented how important a goal this was,” said Bill Vernick, MD, an assistant professor of Anesthesiology and Critical Care, and co-medical director of the Lung Rescue unit. With the help of the Palko family, the team raised enough money to create the new “lung rescue team,” headed by Drs. Gutsche and Vernick, and buy a smaller, portable ECMO. (continued on back)
CALL FOR ARTIST SUBMISSIONS Deadline Tomorrow: February 6, 2016 Penn Medicine presents a unique opportunity for faculty, staff, students and patients to participate in a competition showcasing individual creative expression. The exhibit, which will open in early March 2016, is a juried art exhibition dedicated to the memory of Bernett L. Johnson, Jr., M.D., former Chief Medical Officer of the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. Please visit the Presby Bulletin online for a direct link to submit your application, including your profile and digital images of your work*. If you have any additional questions please contact Rosemarie Cray at 215.615.0431 or rosemarie.cray@ uphs.upenn.edu *After you initially register with Slideroom, you must check your email for an activation email from Slideroom. Once you have received this activation link, you can log in to cfeva.slideroom.com and start your application. You will not be able to start the application until you have received this activation email. If you don’t see this email, please check your spam filter/junk mail.