Volume 4
WHAT’Snew
Number 6
March 20, 2015
Pennsylvania Hospital
Screening
Key to Beat Colon Cancer B e f o r e It Starts
March is home to the first day of spring, the start of Daylight Saving Time and St. Patrick’s Day, but more importantly, March is Colon Cancer Awareness month. This time of year hospitals and health care organizations get together to educate and empower people so they know that while colon cancer is the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths for both men and women in the U.S. — it is also one of the most preventable types of cancer. Nine out of 10 colon cancers can be prevented and or successfully treated with regular screenings.
Inside New Treatment Service at Hall-Mercer............................2 Sending Love and Hope...........2 Mao Pezzella, New Director.....3 The Patient Experience.............3 Screening Key to Beat Colon Cancer Continued......................3 TJC Corner.................................4 The Molly and Sidney N. Zubrow Award Program...........4
Know the Facts: »» People with a parent, sibling or child who has had colon cancer are twice as likely to develop colon cancer. »» There is a 90 percent survival rate after five years if colon cancer is detected early – Stage 1. »» Survival is less than 10 percent, however, at Stage 4 when cancer has metastasized to other organs. »» More than 90 percent of people diagnosed with colon cancer are age 50 or older, hence why it is recommended for folks at normal risk to start getting screened at age 50.
»» People with inflammatory bowel disease or a history of colon polyps are more likely to develop colon cancer. »» Pre-cancerous polyps increase a persons’ lifetime risk for colon cancer by three to five times. “Colon cancer is the third most commonly diagnosed cancer and the second highest cause of cancer deaths in the United States,” said Frederick Nunes, MD, medical director of the Endoscopy Center of PAH and chief of the Section of Gastroenterology. This shouldn’t be. With today’s technology, colon cancer is preventable with proper screening and early detection and early detection can be achieved painlessly with a colonoscopy. “With a colonoscopy, we can find pre-cancerous polyps and remove them during the exam, thus removing the risk of cancer,” said Nunes. Sadly, some folks are afraid to get a colonoscopy and for all the wrong reasons. They find it embarrassing or think it will be painful, neither of which are true. Patients are put under IV sedation (not general anesthesia) and don’t usually remember or feel a thing from the exam. Others dread the necessary prep involved, but this process too has improved much over years. / / / Continued on page 3
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New Treatment Service Tailored to Children and Adolescents Available at Hall-Mercer `` From left to right are PATCH team members, Ashley Dugan, Patti Ventura, Lauren Cliggitt, Hilary Dingfelder, Stephanie Marzelli, and Courtney Benjamin Wolk
Hall-Mercer Community Behavioral Health Center at Pennsylvania Hospital is excited to announce the expansion of services with a new program the Pennsylvania Hospital Anxiety Treatment for Children and Adolescents at Hall Mercer, or PATCH. A private-pay, specialty clinic PATCH focuses on the assessment and treatment of anxiety disorders and obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) in children and adolescents.
PATCH therapists are trained in cognitivebehavioral therapy (CBT), the evidence-based structured therapy involving a partnership between the therapist and family. “Through CBT children learn how to successfully change their thoughts and behaviors so that anxiety no longer has control over their lives,” said Hilary Dingfelder, PhD, in the PATCH program. “Most importantly it empowers kids to overcome anxiety and avoidance by
gradually facing what is feared. CBT has been extensively investigated in rigorous clinical trials and has demonstrated effectiveness in treating anxiety in children, adolescents, and adults.” P ATCH is currently accepting referrals. For more information, contact the PATCH Team at 215-829-5524 or patch@uphs.upenn.edu.
S ending Love & Hope After only seven weeks of being pregnant, Keri Heickert’s life as she knew it was no longer. Hers was a difficult pregnancy. In the fall of 2012 at only 20 weeks along, Keri — who was carrying fraternal twin girls — was admitted to monitored bed rest in PAH’s Antepartum Unit where specialized care is provided for women experiencing complications of pregnancy. Exactly two months later to the day, baby Brooklyn and Delaney were born. At three months premature both had to stay in PAH’s Intensive Care Nursery for 65 days before they could be taken home. “Today, the girls are just amazing,” said Keri. “But back then through my pregnancy and their hospital stay, I just didn’t realize how overwhelming everything was and how much it was affecting me. It was so scary to feel the way I did.” Then one day, after returning from a long and draining day at the hospital, there was a package on Keri’s front step. “I thought, really,
“ I was so moved by that gesture and by how much joy it brought that right there and then I promised myself I would pay it forward,” said Keri.
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someone sent a baby gift?” A fellow preemie mom sent Keri a couple of teeny micro-onesies for the girls. “I was so moved by that gesture and by how much joy it brought that right there and then I promised myself I would pay it forward,” said Keri. And pay it forward, she does. In January of 2014, Keri founded Sending Love and Hope. Through her organization she has been providing care packages to moms and their ICN babies at PAH with her own funds and with the aid of generous private donations. A group of women volunteers knit sacks from donated yard for Kari’s gift bundles. Preemies get cute onesies with “Made with Love, Sent with Hope” printed on them along with tiny hats imprinted with “Love and Hope.” High-risk pregnancy moms on bed rest get knitted sacks with dry shampoo, face and body wipes, nail polish, a deck of cards and a blank journal. “I really want to bring awareness to a mother’s mental state during this distressing time,” said Keri who experienced anxiety attacks, obsessive-compulsive behavior and even posttraumatic-stress post-partum. “However, I also want moms to know that — as George Chakiris once said — even in the darkest moments, love and hope, are always possible.”
Mao Pezzella N ew D irector of Respiratory Care and Neurophysiology Services
P lease w elcome Mao Pezzella, MBA, RRT, as PAH’s new director of Respiratory and Neurophysiology Services. Mao comes to PAH from Mercy Suburban Hospital where she was the manager of Respiratory Care Services, Neurodiagnostics, Pulmonary Rehabilitation, Smoking Cessation Services, the Sleep Disorder Center, Materials Management and Purchasing. Prior to her position at Mercy for the past two and a half years, Mao worked HUP for 11 years where she began her career and worked her way up to a Level III Senior Registered Respirator Therapist. Mao received a Master of Science in Business Administration from St. Joseph’s University, a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and an Associate of Science in Respiratory Care from Gwynedd Mercy University. Mao can be reached at: 215-829-5814 (office), 215-260-3890 (cell), or at mao.pezzella@uphs.upenn.edu
The Patient E x p e ri e nc e … Dear Pennsylvania Hospital, Just a note about the wonderful experience I had at your facility. I first arrived at your hospital through the Emergency Department. From the check-in desk until I was released, everything was great. Everyone I came in contact with was most professional and best of all; they all seemed to care about my condition. After my procedure I was put in the Special Care Unit. When they came in and told me I was moving, I requested a room with a view of the Cupola on the old (Pine) Building. It made me think about Ben Franklin and how happy I am that he created this great hospital in my neighborhood. Amazingly enough, even though I didn’t think they heard me, I arrived in my new room with a window-side bed looking out at the Cupola! (Now that’s customer service.) The best was yet to come. The morning I was to be discharged, my entire medical team lined up at the foot of my bed to send me off! It was just amazing to see them all standing there. I could feel that “my team” really cared about me. I even took a picture of them with my cell phone. I want everyone to know that this small gesture made me feel incredible. There they were — my team, ready to go, for me. Thanks for a wonderful stay.
Screening Key to Beat Colon Cancer B e f o r e It Starts / / / Continued from cover
The Endoscopy Center at PAH, previously a private practice, officially came into the Penn Medicine at PAH fold about a year and a half ago. A Joint Commission accredited ambulatory GI endoscopy facility, the Center, located on the 4th floor of the Farm Journal building, specializes in upper endoscopies and colonoscopies. One of the highest volume endoscopy centers in Philadelphia, the PAH Endoscopy Center handles over 6,000 cases a year. “Our Center’s team consists of RNs, GI technicians, medical assistants, reprocessing specialists, anesthesiologists and CRNAs,” said
Lindora Clark, BSN, RN, nurse manager of the Endoscopy Center. Both gastroenterologists and colorectal surgeons care for patients at the Center. “We are very proud of our satisfaction scores,” said Clark. “Ninety-eight percent of our patients rate the care they received as excellent and 99.5 percent would recommend the Center to others.” So there’s no excuse to delay. Know the facts and get screened. Schedule a colonoscopy for you or a loved one by calling the Endoscopy Center at PAH at 215-829-3561!
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TJC Corner Staying in a State of Perpetual Preparedness The survey window is rapidly closing for The Joint Commissions (TJC), the independent, not-for-profit organization that accredits and certifies more than 20,500 health care organizations and programs in the U.S., to inspect PAH. Surveyors may arrive any day now until April 20. Keep on the lookout! TJC’s visit with us will be announced at 7:30 a.m. the morning of their arrival. Surveyors will be here for five (5) days beginning at approximately 7:45 a.m. each day. Staff will receive a notice of TJC’s arrival through the Emergency Notification System and via email through the “Site PAH All Members” group. All about the Expiration Date As we continue to maintain survey readiness for TJC, it’s important to remember that the storerooms throughout the hospital are accessed
by many people every day. It’s a team effort for all staff to continually check for expired products and medical equipment that does not have up-todate labeling. »»A lways properly dispose of all expired items and those within one to two months of expiration. »» Remember to look in drawers, closets, carts and bins for expired products and dispose of them properly. »» Always check that an item is not expired prior to placing it back into the storeroom. »» Also…keep an eye out for medical equipment without an up-to-date Biomed sticker; Please pull any out-of-date equipment and notify Biomed immediately. Remember to… …Keep a keen eye out for hallway clutter, dirty and dusty surfaces, and proper O2 Tank storage and transport.
the
Thirty-Fourth Annual
Molly and Sidney N. Zubrow Award Program Monday, april 13, 2015 | 5:00 p.m. Zubrow Auditorium, Pennsylvania Hospital | 800 Spruce St., Phila., PA
Featuring…
Barron H. Lerner, MD
Professor, Department of Population, Health and Medicine, New York University Langone Medical Center
Two Doctors, Two Generations: Medical Ethics Then and Now Dr. Lerner will explore the changes in medical ethics over the last halfcentury through the prism of the careers of two doctors: his father, Phillip Lerner, and himself. The shift from physician-based paternalism to patients’ rights has been a welcome one, but what has been lost?
Reception to follow
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Kindly respond by visiting PennMedicine.org/Zubrow Inquiries: 215.898.8412 or pmevents@ben.dev.upenn.edu
…Contact Environmental Services for routine requests (trash removal, spill, rugs, curtains, exterminator) at x3235 from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. During off hours, call the EVS 24 Hour Hotline at x3930 …Look for the following button on the PAH Intranet page to access the Somas electronic system to report work orders to Engineering Services:
Engineering Request
…Sweep! Is your unit performing a daily “Ten Minute Sweep” for survey prep? This 34 point check off list literally takes no more than ten minutes to complete and is being adopted as a “best practice” to continue after TJC survey. The list is found under the Survey Prep Tools section of TJC page on PAH’s Intranet. Questions? Please contact Marian LordGartner, MSN, RN, at marian.lord-gartner@ uphs.upenn.edu, x7722 or 215-300-6761.
WHAT’Snew EDITORIAL STAFF
Olivia Fermano Editor and Photographer Pamela Furches Design Graphic Design Barry Ogburn Photography
ADMINISTRATION
Susan E. Phillips Senior Vice President, Public Affairs Holly Auer Director of Communications Sally Sapega Director of Internal Communications Contact What’snew at: Department of Communications Pennsylvania Hospital Philadelphia, PA 19106 phone: 215.829.6799 email: olivia.fermano@uphs.upenn.edu WHAT’Snew is published biweekly for PAH employees. Access WHAT’Snew online at http://news.pennmedicine.org/inside/whats-new/.