LEADERSHIP TRANSITIONS CUNNINGHAM NAMED SVP AND CHIEF NURSING EXECUTIVE FOR PENN MEDICINE Regina Cunningham, PhD, RN, FAAN, AOCN, has been named to a new post as senior VP and chief nursing executive for the Health System. She will continue her role as HUP’s chief nursing executive. In her new role, Cunningham will provide leadership to nursing colleagues from each entity throughout UPHS. The chief nursing officers will continue to report to their entity CEOs but will also have an indirect reporting relationship to her. Her close collaboration with PJ Brennan, MD, chief medical officer and SVP of the Health System, to advance interprofessional collaborations across the system will continue, and she will partner with Antonia Villarruel, dean of the Penn SON, to advance scholarly platforms for nursing across Penn Medicine. `` Photo: Will Connelly
In her current role, Cunningham has led HUP nursing’s patient and quality outcomes to best practice levels and has built strong partnerships to develop a CPUP nursing organizational structure and enhance coordination with the service line and inpatient nursing practices. Cunningham is broadly published in nursing and multidisciplinary peer-reviewed journals, and she is currently principal investigator of an NIH-funded multi-site study aimed at developing knowledge and skills to support the implementation of clinical trials.
CEO’s corner
(continued from cover)
Under its director, Mitesh Patel, MD, the Unit designs and rigorously tests nudge strategies for improving care. The findings are communicated throughout Penn Medicine and published, enabling other health systems to use our experience to better nudge their own patients. Nudging has been mostly carried out in the patient sphere. But now the Nudge Unit is turning inward to help clinicians improve outcomes and enhance value. First came a project to increase generic prescription rates. Informing physicians that generics were less expensive but as effective as brand name medications didn’t significantly change prescribing habits. So after a series of actions by our Information Services team, generic drugs are now programmed as the default in our EMR system. As with all good nudges, this one allows clinicians to opt out of the default choice
AWARDS AND ACCOLADES
when necessary. Since the program was implemented, generic prescribing has increased by as much as 30 percentage points for medications related to conditions such as congestive heart failure, pain, seizures, diabetes, depression, and insomnia, at substantive cost savings for
Garret A. FitzGerald, MD, FRS, director of the Institute for Translational Medicine and Therapeutics has been elected to the Royal Irish Academy, the highest academic honor in Ireland. Membership is awarded to persons who have attained the highest distinction by their unique contributions to education and research.
patients and insurers.
Ilene Rosen, MD, MSCE, an associate professor of Clinical Medicine and program director of the Penn Sleep Fellowship, has been elected president elect of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM). Rosen will serve a one-year term before becoming AASM’s 2017-2018 president. Established in 1975, the AASM improves sleep health and promotes high-quality patient-centered care through advocacy, education, strategic research, and practice standards.
manually check if a patient was due for a colonoscopy or
A second project looked to expand use of mammograms and colonoscopies, two crucial preventive care services. At first, providers at our outpatient clinics had to mammogram and then place an order for the test. But one clinic introduced an automatic alert into the EMR when a patient was due for the appropriate test, prompting the provider to actively accept or cancel an order for either or both tests. Following this intervention, the Nudge Unit
Amita Sehgal, PhD, director of the Chronobiology Program, has been elected to the National Academy of Sciences, considered one of the highest honors accorded a U.S. scientist or engineer. Members are selected for “their distinguished and continuing achievements in original research."
evaluated the impact and found a significant increase in physician ordering of colonoscopies and mammograms. Penn Medicine is an ideas-driven institution: creating and using new knowledge is our equation to success. Our Nudge Unit is the latest example of the value we place on
LGH RECEIVES TOP HONOR IN EMPLOYEE SAFETY Lancaster General Hospital has again earned OSHA’s top honor in employee safety — Star Status in the Voluntary Protection Program, or VPP. This prestigious honor includes LGH and facilities and services associated with its license including BURLE, Women & Babies Hospital and 14 outpatient centers. VPP recognizes organizations and employees who have implemented effective safety and health management systems and maintain injury and illness rates below national averages. “The renewal of our VPP Star designation recognizes LGH’s standing in an elite group of facilities that consistently provide exemplary safety and health protection for employees,” said Jan Bergen, president and CEO of LG Health. LGH is one of eight hospitals nationwide to earn this honor. The redesignation was awarded to the hospital following a week-long survey in fall 2015 and a strict review by OSHA.
resourceful thinking. By adapting findings from a seemingly unrelated discipline, our nudge experts are creating a plan and path to a better health care future for patients everywhere.
SYSTEMnews EDITORIAL STAFF: Sally Sapega, MA Editor
MOBILE ECMO SAVES LIVES ACROSS THE REGION A new program at Penn Medicine is bringing state-of-the-art care to some of the area’s sickest patients. Launched a little more than a year ago, the Penn Lung Rescue program uses a mobile ECMO (Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation) machine to transport patients in dire respiratory condition to Penn Presbyterian Medical Center where they can receive the level of care they require. Patients in need of ECMO are typically suffering from acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), which is a broad term for respiratory failure. The system pulls blood out of the body, oxygenates it and removes carbon dioxide, acting in place of the patient’s lungs. It can also pump the blood, serving as an artificial heart, if needed. William Vernick, MD, co-medical director of Penn Lung Rescue, said it’s sometimes described to families as “dialysis for the lungs.” Once a call comes into the team hotline, physicians here quickly determine if the mobile ECMO system would be safe and appropriate to use. Once the green light is given, the rescue team is assembled. The total time from phone call to transportation is just four to six hours, according to Vernick. To read more about Penn’s life-saving program, go to http://news.pennmedicine.org/inside/system-news/.
Go to http://news.pennmedicine.org/inside/system-news/ to read additional stories about Penn Medicine!
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ADMINISTRATION:
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Volume 15
Issue 6
July 2016
SYSTEMnews CEO’s corner RALPH W. MULLER
CEO, University of Pennsylvania Health System
SAVING
MEMORIES
The Penn Memory Center works to alter the path of Alzheimer’s disease
Changing patients’ behavior has the power to save lives. The question is, what is the best way to do it? “Nudging,” an approach using insights from behavioral economics adapted for the health care setting, points in a promising direction. It consists of framing issues in ways that increase the chances people will make better decisions. When we nudge patients, we are trying to bring about behavioral changes for improving their health, for example, offering incentives for taking prescribed medication.
The Penn Memory Center is working to bend the curve of a grim trend in America: An estimated 5.2 million Americans age 65 or older have Alzheimer’s disease, and, barring a cure or preventive breakthrough, that number will nearly triple by 2050, to a projected 13.8 million! As one of this country’s 30 National Institute on Aging-designated Alzheimer’s Disease Centers (ADC) — and the only one in the tri-state area — the Center is dedicated to the diagnosis, treatment, education and research of later-life cognitive disorders, primarily AD. “We want to develop better diagnostics, better therapeutics, and a better understanding of the challenges this disease presents,” said Jason Karlawish, MD.
Experts at Penn Medicine, including David Asch, MD, and Kevin Volpp, MD, of the Penn Center for Health Care Innovation, working with C. William Hanson III, MD, chief medical information officer, and Michael Restuccia, chief information officer, have already put the field on a new footing. These health care visionaries are testing behavioral economics strategies for keeping patients on track, for example, probing questions such as whether rewarding individual behavior or recognizing the “power of the group” is more likely to lead to weight loss. Nudging has great potential to create healthier scenarios for our patients. To take full advantage, we’ve created the Penn Medicine Nudge Unit, the first program of its kind within a health system. It debuted this past January and features a multidisciplinary group of clinicians and social scientists. (continued on page 6)
INSIDE Ludmirs Receive Good Samaritan Award......................2 Chester County Hospital Initiates Hug A Pup Program...2 Penn Medicine @ Work............3
Karlawish, a geriatric specialist, codirects the Center with David Wolk, MD, of Neurology. “There is no specific discipline or subspecialty of an ‘Alzheimer’s physician’,” Karlawish said. “The effort to define that requires multidisciplinary collaboration,” which at the Center also includes psychologists, psychiatrists, and social workers. With research as its main focus, the PMC conducts and participates in a wide range of studies related to Alzheimer’s disease, MCI (mild cognitive impairment), brain-aging, and lifelong brain health. “We are working to develop neuroimaging tools, particularly with MRI, that allow us to detect the most subtle and early brain changes associated with Alzheimer’s Disease. We are particularly focused on tools that allow us to measure these changes in individuals in the pre-clinical stage of disease — that is, people who have evidence of the disease pathology, but no symptoms yet,” Wolk said. “Such measures are essential to emerging clinical trials to treat people in preclinical or very early symptomatic stages.” The PMC is also part of the longitudinal National Alzheimer’s Coordinating Center (NACC) study which uses data from imaging studies, along with other biomarker collections during annual patient and caregiver visits, to help researchers better observe brain changes associated with AD. This information, in turn, can show trends and serve as a launching pad for new investigational studies at the Center and other ADC centers nationwide. “Our longitudinal cohort provides an extremely rich collection of data on very wellcharacterized cognitively normal and impaired older adults that serves as a critical resource for our work in understanding the
continuum of Alzheimer’s Disease,” Wolk said. “Further, data from all of the ADC centers pooled by the NACC has led to a number of significant findings in the field.”
Educating the Patient and Caregiver is Key With no cure for AD or drug to dramatically slow the disease’s progression, why is getting a diagnosis so important? “Studies show that if patients and families are educated about the disease, what to expect in the future, they’ll do better,” Karlawish said. “If you nurture and take care of the brain, it does better than if you don’t…even with this disease.” And the diagnosis protects patients and families. “Not knowing could lead to a series of disasters. Patients wander far from home and get lost,” Karlawish said, adding that financial management is one of the first activities that’s impaired, but the person often doesn’t recognize the problem. They become victims of scams.
“If you nurture and take care of the brain, it does better than if you don’t…even with this disease.” Results from every patient’s initial evaluation at the Center, which includes cognitive and memory testing, MRI imaging, and blood tests — as well as a family member interview — are reviewed by the PMC team at a weekly consensus meeting. But patients and their families receive more than a diagnosis, said Felicia Greenfield, LCSW, director of Clinical Research Operations and Care Programs. “We discuss what we see from a social standpoint for the family — how to educate and support them. Ideally we want patients to live at home safely for as long as possible.” (continued on page 2)
Penn Medicine Residents Sharpen Skills During Medical Jeopardy 2016............4 Newsmakers..............................4 2016 Nursing Clinical Excellence Awards....................5 Cunningham Named SVP and Chief Nursing Executive....6 LGH Receives Top Honor in Employee Safety.......................6 Mobile ECMO Saves Lives Across the Region.....................6
“Results from every patient’s initial evaluation are reviewed by the Penn Memory Center team at a weekly consensus meeting.”
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A ‘TAIL’ OF DREAMS COMING TRUE AT CCH “This has been my dream for a long time,” said Annmarie Blair, MSN, BSN, RN, of the Cardiovascular Education and Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation Program at Chester County Hospital, as she described the Hug A Pup program she initiated for hospital inpatients, cardiac rehab outpatients and employees. `` Jack and Blima Ludmir (center), who received PAH’s Good Samaritan Award, with Deborah Driscoll, MD, chair of Obstetics & Gynecology, and Harish M. Sehdev, MD, chair of OB/GYN at Pennsylvania Hospital.
LUDMIRS RECEIVE GOOD SAMARITAN AWARD For over 30 years, the Good Samaritan Award has been given to someone who has provided exemplary volunteer leadership and support with a spirit of generosity and caring for Pennsylvania Hospital. The award stems from the hospital’s seal, which Benjamin Franklin and Dr. Thomas Bond chose in 1751 to signify that those in need would receive care. “Take care of him and I will repay thee” is written on the seal. This year’s recipients were Jack Ludmir, MD, who recently stepped down as chair of Obstetrics and Gynecology at PAH, and his wife, Blima. Ludmir has been a driving force in transforming care for women and families. Under his leadership, Women’s and Children’s Health Services (WCHS), which cares for women and families in need throughout Philadelphia, has flourished, improving health outcomes for women in the surrounding PAH community. Ludmir also helped launch the Latina Community Health Services and is co-founder of Puentes de Salud, a community health clinic dedicated to serving Latino immigrants in Philadelphia. His wife has been very involved in WCHS, Puentes de Salud, and other Penn programs as a patient navigator and translator through the years.
Blair’s dream grew from Capstone research for her Doctor of Nursing Practice program from West Chester University. Numerous studies have confirmed that the use of animal-assisted therapy reduces stress, lowers blood pressure, decreases anxiety, promotes a sense of well-being and lowers the rate of depression. Hug A Pup allows patients and employees to take a few minutes from their treatment or work day to hug or pet a dog. “Seeing people’s expressions and having people thank me...I just get such a reward out of it,” she said. Patients in the Cardiac Rehab program have access to the dogs two days a week, and her pet therapy initiative just received approval to be present in the hospital three days each week. To read more about this new CCH program, go to http://news.pennmedicine.org/inside/system-news/.
In addition to receiving the Good Samaritan Award, the Ludmirs were recently honored with the renaming of WCHS as the Ludmir Center for Women’s Health.
S A V I N G MEMORIES (continued from cover)
Unlike caregivers for non-dementia patients, caring for a patient with dementia “can be all consuming,” Greenfield said. Studies show that dementia caregivers are twice as likely to suffer depression as those caring for non-dementia patients. And 60 percent of AD caregivers rate their emotional stress as “high” or “very high.” The Center offers monthly support groups for caregivers but, prior to joining, they must complete a six-week class that combines education, cognitive behavior therapeutic approaches, and mindfulness meditation. “We make sure they understand the illness, the different stages,” said Greenfield. “Then we teach them to be aware of what they’re feeling and thinking and how their behavior affects the behavior of patients.” Changing the behavior of dementia patients — for example, their constant repetition of questions — may not be possible, Greenfield said, but teaching caregivers to change their behavior can improve the situation. “We show caregivers activities they can do with the patient and teach them communication strategies,” she said. Feedback has shown the impact of the classes. “One woman who cares for her husband said ‘it changed my life… it was super eye opening and powerful.’”
The Center offers individual psychotherapy sessions for caregivers and a cognitive fitness program for people with either mild memory or cognitive impairment, but other unique approaches to helping both populations as well. Its monthly Memory Café is exclusively for people with memory problems, including Alzheimer’s disease, and their partners/families. The program incorporates art and culture as well as conversation into each meeting. Music students from Curtis Institute play during the event, and community partners often donate time and services for workshops. “Living with memory loss can sever social connection at a time when it is needed the most,” Greenfield said. “Memory Café gatherings help people with memory loss and their companions make new friendships, without fear of stigma.” Making Sense of Alzheimer’s*, a site created by Karlawish, educates the public and also provides a space for people to share their thoughts and feelings, through words, video or art. “People can talk about what they want to discuss, about themselves or about their loved one,” said Terrence Casey, the Center’s social media and communications coordinator. For example, “The One I Know” invites family members to share positive stories and photos of loved ones. “There’s so much negativity on how dementia impacts the family. This focuses strictly on happy memories of the person.” Plans for the upcoming year include a music therapy group and an intergenerational partnership between CHOP and older adults, who can read or work with children.
Raising Awareness Among African Americans
“Memory Café gatherings help people with memory loss and their companions make new friendships, without fear of stigma.” 2
Another important component of the PMC is community outreach — educating and raising awareness about cognitive disorders — and multicultural recruitment for studies, especially African Americans. “It’s critical to engage this population in research,” said Tigist Hailu, MPH, coordinator for Diversity in Research and Education. “They’re twice as likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease as other populations.”
“Tigist Hailu helped pull together an exhibition of photos taken by people with mild cognitive impairment documenting their lives.”
In addition to reaching out to local churches and senior centers, Hailu helped pull together two photo exhibitions to raise awareness — one showing portraits of caregivers and the other showing photos taken by people with mild cognitive impairment, documenting their lives. (The latter will premier this fall at the Perelman Center for Advanced Medicine.) She also collaborated with the African Network Against Alzheimer’s to organize two performances of “Forget Me Not,” which shows the devastating impact of Alzheimer’s on both the patient and the family, at the Freedom Theater. An expert panel discussion with PMC clinicians and the Center’s Community Advisory Board followed. Her outreach not only benefits the community but also helps increase the PMC’s Brain Health Research Registry and recruitment for studies. Encouraging the younger generation of minority population — undergrads and graduate students — to enter the health profession is another focus. Hailu’s worked with undergraduates in the Leonard Davis Institute Summer Undergraduate Minority Research Program and keeps in touch afterwards. “We’re trying to encourage more students from diverse backgrounds to work with us.” *makingsenseofalzheimers.org
Awards
PENN MEDICINE’S
2016 Nursing Clinical Excellence Each year, Penn Medicine nursing leadership celebrates clinical nurses throughout the Health System and presents those who go above and beyond with UPHS Nursing Clinical Excellence Awards. At the 16th annual celebration earlier this year, CEO Ralph Muller said this year’s recipients “are a direct personification of all that’s great about Penn Medicine. You take enormous pride in what you do and we take enormous pride in what you do.”
Kathleen McCauley, PhD, RN, of Penn’s School of Nursing, said the 2016 winners “are the best of the best. You have CIA: courage, investment, and accountability.” It’s something all nurses should strive for, she said. First, “we need the courage to do what is needed for patients and families. These can be tough conversations but you need courage to engage colleagues to initiate improvements.” Nurses need to invest in themselves. “We need to invest to prepare ourselves to capitalize on opportunities. Join professional organizations, go to conferences, expand your skill set, get a mentor… be a mentor,” she told them. “Learn to nudge out of your comfort zone and do things with confidence.” Be accountable for the work you do. “You need to own outcomes and be part of the solutions. When we’re accountable, people trust us.”
Lillian Brunner Award for Exemplary Practice
Kirby Cannon, BSN, RN, CMSRN.....................CCH PPMC Julie Pitts, BSN, RN...........................................CPUP Eunjoo Kim, MBA, BSN, RN, PCCN............... GSPP Leticia Pendleton, BSN, RN..............................HUP Barbara Cable, BSN, RN..............................PHCHS Mary Williams, ASN, RN, PCCN...................PPMC Diane Fetterhoff, BSN, RN, CPAN.....................PAH
Dianne Lanham Award for Leadership
Linda Sullivan, BSN, RN, PCCN.......................CCH Julie Truong, BSN, RN......................................CPUP Melissa Lattanzio, BSN, RN............................ GSPP Carrie DeFeo, BSN, RN, OCN............................HUP Nancy Venafra, BSN, RN..............................PHCHS Shaun Fenton, MSN, RN, CNOR....................PPMC Richard Armstrong, BSN, RN.............................PAH
Helen McClelland Award for Research and Innovation `` Chester County Hospital
`` Clinical Practices of the University of Pennsylvania
Kathleen Hubbard, BSN, RN, CPAN................CCH Colleen Cook, BSN, RN, CCTC........................CPUP Bernard McAndrews, BSN,, RN, CRRN....... GSPP Mae DeChristy, BSN, RN, OCN, BMTCN, CSN ...................................................................HUP Lynne Connor, BSN, RN................................PHCHS Kim Calhoun, MSN, RN, CCRN......................PPMC Patricia Maguire, BSN, RN, CMSRN...............PAH
Rosalyn J. Watts Award
for Community/Patient/Family Relationships `` Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania
`` Good Shepherd Penn Partners
Mary Maurer, BSN, RN, CEN.............................CCH Clarice Maggio, BSN, RN, OCN.....................CPUP Michele Lockett, BSN, RN............................... GSPP Alexis Brimm-Akins, BSN, RN, RRT................HUP Valerie Chadwick, BSN, RN........................PHCHS Debra Mosley, ASN, RN..................................PPMC Mary Schroeder, BSN, RN-C..............................PAH
Victoria L. Rich Award
for Transformational Leadership Sara Holland, DNR, RN....................................PPMC Director of Nursing Education and Research `` Penn Presbyterian Medical Center
`` Penn Home Care and Hospice Services
Congratulations
to all of this year's winners!
`` Pennsylvania Hospital
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penn medicine
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Quick, Easy and Free application for UPHS ! employees
EXCLUSIVE LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES AT PENNSYLVANIA COLLEGE OF HEALTH SCIENCES Founded in 1903, the Pennsylvania College of Health Sciences has built a reputation that echoes their mission: “Educate for excellence in healthcare practice, leadership, and the continuous acquisition of knowledge.” Originally a nursing school, the accredited college has grown its academic curriculum to include associate, bachelor’s, and master’s degrees as well as professional certificates in a range of health care studies. Now with over 100 years of health care education focused on perfecting real-world application, the Pennsylvania College of Health Sciences has joined Penn Medicine as a part of the Lancaster General Health family. Qualified employees can apply free online for the fall semester, just in time to be a part of the school’s accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing program. The Pennsylvania College of Health Sciences is dedicated to helping you complete your degree… whether you are just getting started or going back to finish a degree that you have already begun. “The Pennsylvania College of Health Sciences offers Penn Medicine employees an excellent opportunity to learn from experts in health care and immediately apply this knowledge to benefit our patients and families,” said Frances Graham, Director of Workforce
A Life in Balance
Have you started earning your Wellfocused rewards yet? All you need to do is visit the Wellfocused website at pennmedicine.org/wellfocused. Get started by completing the Well-Being Assessment and Know Your Numbers challenge to earn $50. You can earn an additional $150 by earning points and participating in the many different challenges offered. There are plenty of things to do … starting with the new July challenges: »» Visit the Farmer’s Market
Sure fruits and veggies are good for you. But get the fresh stuff by visiting your local farmer’s market to purchase more nutritious locally grown produce. »» Walk at Lunch
Take a break from your break. Go on a walk when you’re out for lunch. Check the Map My Run section of the Wellfocused HR and You site to see routes around your location. »» Take It Outside
Put some movement in your day. Whenever you can, set up a walking meeting. It allows you to be more active and provides new inspirations to stimulate creativity. »» The Magic Hour
Turn off the tech. Eight hours of work is enough, so relax and recharge by unplugging yourself for an hour, three times a week. »» Protect Yourself!
Learn how to prevent musculoskeletal injuries and disorders.
The Pennsylvania College of Health Sciences will waive the application fee for UPHS employees. Just use the partner code UPHS16 when you visit www.pacollege.edu/UPHS/ to apply online for free.
Development for Penn Medicine Academy. “The school really champions the adult learner and has built a program focused on ensuring our employees achieve their goals,” she said. Penn Medicine employees can take advantage of exclusive resources to help them succeed in their academic pursuits. In addition to the tuition benefit — $8,000 is available for full-time employees, $4,000 for those working part-time — the college offers a flexible delivery system with both online and classroom-based formats to help accommodate busy schedules. Each semester students can choose to take one or two accelerated courses over a five-week cycle. In addition, the Center for Learning Success at the Pennsylvania College of Health Sciences provides assistance through tutoring, advising, and library support. Faculty and guest lecturers will include leaders from Penn Medicine, while on-site programs create a positive environment to learn beside colleagues and peers. Courses at the college employ a combination of media-rich interactive modules, simulated dynamic environments, and on-site skill workshops. Personalized admissions assistance and a UPHS employee-dedicated web site are available to make the enrollment process as easy as possible. See if you qualify and take advantage of this opportunity by visiting www.pacollege.edu/UPHS/.
A Life in Motion.
Join your colleagues and peers in one of the many Penn Medicine awareness-raising walk, run, or bike events coming later this summer and in the fall. Get yourself ready to support a great cause at one of these events: »» Join the Couch to 5K challenge!
Training for a race, even if it’s your first time, is doable. You don’t have to be an advanced runner to complete a 5K. To prepare, all you have to do is train. Walk or run four times each week and earn 10 points per week! View the challenge on pennmedicine.org/ wellfocused for a list of resources to get you started and keep you motivated. »» Get Fit with Campus Recreation.
Purchase an annual basic membership for September 1, 2016 to August 30, 2017, and get this summer free (July 2016- August 2016). Come on down to Pottruck Health and Fitness Center to sign up. (http://www.upenn.edu/recreation/) With a membership you’ll have unlimited access to Pottruck Health and Fitness Center as well as the Sheerr Pool. For additional costs you can use Penn Campus Recreation’s arsenal of physical fitness options including: »» Group exercise
»» Rock wall climbing
»» Personal training
»» Instructional courses
The Wellfocused program allows you to receive rewards for participating in health and well-being challenges and activities and improving or maintaining your good health all year long. For each activity or action you complete, you earn points that allow you to move through the levels and earn up to $200. This year you will have the opportunity to be entered into a raffle to win $500 if you make your way through all three levels of the program. For more information about achieving a life in balance with Wellfocused, visit http://www.uphshrandyou.com/SitePages/Wellfocused.aspx or email Jen Brady, Employee Health and Well-Being Manger at Jennifer.Brady@uphs.upenn.edu.
Healthy Rewards is Mobile Friendly Did you know you can complete the well-being assessment, join and track challenges right from your smart phone? Start tracking now from wherever you are by visiting pennmedicine.org/wellfocused.
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Penn Medicine
NEWSmakers / / / First Human CRISPR Gene-editing Trial Gets Nod A National Institutes of Health committee approved the use of the gene-editing technique CRISPR in a Pennled trial for cancer patients with multiple myeloma, melanoma, and sarcoma. The trial, supported by the Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, would be the first human application of the technology and received widespread media coverage.
/ / / ‘Traffic Light’ Calorie Labels Help People Make Smarter Menu Choices Seeing a stoplight next to an unhealthy dish turns out to be quite an effective deterrent, according to new research led by Eric VanEpps, PhD, a postdoctoral fellow in the Center for Health Incentives and Behavioral Economics. His work was covered in outlets across the nation.
/ / / Moderate Sedation Shows Promise for Patients Undergoing TAVR Jay Giri, MD, MPH, an assistant professor of Cardiovascular Medicine, and his team conducted the largest observational study of minimally invasive transfemoral TAVR and found that use of moderate sedation is associated with improved patient outcomes, as compared to traditional general anesthesia. The results were covered in several media outlets.
/ / / Reforming Medicare Part D to Improve Access to Medicines Over the last decade, the Medicare Part D benefit has imposed high out-of-pocket costs as a way to control costs of specialty drugs. Citing Penn research led by Jalpa Doshi, PhD, an associate professor of Medicine, showing that the benefit design is reducing access to medicines used by very sick patients, Forbes said research is needed to determine why prices of specialty drugs are increasing despite insurers imposing high out-of-pocket costs on patients.
/ / / Learning Proper Technique During CPR Awareness Week Benjamin Abella, MD, MPhil, clinical research director for the Penn Center for Resuscitation Science and an associate professor of Emergency Medicine, was featured in many stories from across Philadelphia regarding the new Mobile CPR project, which aims to train city residents on this potentially life-saving technique.
/ / / Why It’s Easier to be Prescribed an Opioid Painkiller than the Treatment for Opioid Addiction In an article published by The Conversation, Krisda H. Chaiyachati, MD, MPH, and Jeffrey Hom, MD, MPH, fellows in the Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars Program, said that while little training is required for doctors to prescribe opioids for pain, onerous restrictions are placed on physicians who wish to and currently do prescribe oral buprenorphine to treat opioid addiction.
/ / / Microscopic Tubes Inside Beating Heart Cells Work Like Shock Absorbers Several outlets, including the NIH director’s blog, covered research from the lab of Ben Prosser, PhD, an assistant professor of Physiology, on the function of microtubules in a beating heart muscle cell. Using state-of-the art microscopy, the team peered inside cardiac cells while they beat, revealing tube-like structures that buckle and then snap back into shape.
/ / / The Evidence that Zika Causes Fetal Brain Damage is Now 'Awfully Strong' Sara Cherry, PhD, a professor of Microbiology, commented in The Verge about a New England Journal of Medicine article describing a fetus that was aborted weeks after the mother was infected with Zika, providing striking evidence that the virus causes fetal brain abnormalities. Cherry was also featured in other articles about Zika’s growing threat.
/ / / It Is Perfectly Natural To Lose Sleep Over The Orlando Attacks Sometimes sleep does not come easily. And after a tragedy like the mass shooting in Orlando, that’s completely normal. “To sleep, we need to be in a state where we are calm, our minds are not too active and we are able to let down our guard,” said Philip Gehrman, PhD, an assistant professor of Psychology in the Behavioral Sleep Medicine Program, to The Huffington Post.
To reach the Penn Medicine news website, go to www.PennMedicine.org/news
/ / / Fighting Cancer With Killer T-Cells A Forbes article pointed to results from a Penn abstract presented at the AACR annual meeting as one of the five CAR therapy developments to watch. The study, led by Donald M. O’Rourke, MD, an associate professor of Neurosurgery, found that T cells that target a tumorspecific protein known as EGFRvIII were able to cross the blood-brain barrier and target glioblastoma tumors.
Penn Medicine Residents Sharpen Skills during Medical Jeopardy 2016 For the first time ever, Penn’s resident Medical Jeopardy team from the Department of Medicine tied for second place in the nation in the American College of Physicians (ACP) Doctor’s Dilemma, also known as Medical Jeopardy! The annual competition brings together up to 50 teams comprising some of the brightest medical residents from across the United States and around the world in a friendly, but highly competitive, environment. The Penn team, coached by David Aizenberg, MD, associate program director of Penn's Internal Medicine Residency, included residents Michael Ayers, MD; Hari Shankar, MD; Roland Li, MD; and Christopher Reilly, MD. “I could not be more proud of our team,” Aizenberg said. “They prepared extensively for this competition — finding time after work and on their days off to practice as a team. Each of their scopes of knowledge is truly remarkable.” To read more about the competition, go to http://bit.ly/28Pmu41.
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