Volume 2
WHAT’Snew
Number 15
November 1, 2013
Pennsylvania Hospital
Some of the Biggest Bonds Come from the Tiniest Patients `` Shown here in front of Pennsylvania Hospital’s original, historic Pine Building, are just some of the nearly 400 former patients and family members that attended the Hospital’s 2013 Intensive Care Nursery on October 5, 2013.
Inside From Neonatal Intensive Care to College, This Baby’s Come a Long Way...................................2 A Piece of Quaker History Discovered on PAH Campus....2 Volunteer Services Needs Women’s Magazines.................3 The Great American Smokeout– November 21st – Make it Your Quit Day!....................................3 What’s Happening.....................4 Health Plan Benefits Dependent Eligibility Audit..........................4 2013 Intensive Care Nursery Reunion......................................4
Celebrating Life, Friendship & Personal Bonds at Pennsylvania Hospital’s 2013 Intensive Care Nursery Reunion The careers of health care providers are some of the most stressful, yet most rewarding. Talk about running the full range of emotions and experiences. Every day in hospitals around the world, nurses, physicians and therapists are on the front lines of health care, witnessing the intense highs of healing patients and sending them home, and the lows of caring for patients whose lives cannot be saved. At the top of those highs, health care workers sometimes have the opportunity to see patients beat seemingly insurmountable odds and go on to lead happy, productive lives. Plus, they have the satisfaction of knowing they played a important role in making that happen. Nowhere is this more apparent in an intensive care nursery. To see a video from the ICN reunion, visit here: http://news.pennmedicine.org/blog/oliviafermano.html On Saturday, October 5, nearly 400 people — 130 different families — came to Pennsylvania Hospital (PAH) for its bi-annual Intensive Care Nursery (ICN). Families were invited to come back to PAH to celebrate and reconnect
with staff and other families with whom they forged deep bonds during their baby’s stay in the ICN. This year’s reunion theme was, “Never underestimate the size of miracles!“ Held outdoors in the Hospital’s Elm Garden, it was a fall and Halloween-themed festival full of fun activities for children and adults alike: a bubbleblowing and painting table, pumpkin decorating, face painting, a photo booth and scrap-booking table, along with live music, free food (including barbeque and ice cream — always a kiddie fave), fundraising raffles, and silent auction to benefit the ICN. The event was marked by a parade of super, SUV-like strollers toting adorable, multiple mini-passengers, lots of hugs, and laughter as staff reunited with their former patients. “It is so wonderful to be able to see how well our patients are doing and how big they’ve grown,” said Jeffrey S. Gerdes, MD, chair, Section of Newborn Pediatrics, “Although we routinely get photos and cards from families — especially around the > > > Continued on page 4
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From Neonatal Intensive Care to College, This Baby’s Come a Long Way > > > Known as the hospital where the most
babies are delivered each year in the city of Philadelphia, PAH is the place where many
babies get their very first start in life. This past spring, Janelle van Leusdan, who now lives in Wheaton, IL, stopped in to visit Pennsylvania Hospital with her son Job — the oldest of her four children — and snap some photos. With Job still in his graduation cap and gown and clutching his diploma, it was obvious they were not visiting the hospitals as tourists. They were here for something more. They were coming back to — for Job — where it all began. Twenty-four years ago, on March 16, 1989, Janelle was 30 weeks pregnant when she was transferred to PAH from Reading Hospital. She didn’t have enough fluid for her son to grow in utero, and his heart rate was dropping. “My obstetrician told me that if my son had any chance to survive it would be at Pennsylvania Hospital,” recalled Janelle. Like something out of a movie, the next thing Janelle knew, she was being whisked away to PAH, via ambulance, her
mother and sister trailing behind by car, and her husband on a plane flying home from a family wedding in Europe. “As soon as we arrived at the hospital, the staff was ready and waiting for us. Everything happened so fast,” said Janelle. After a series of tests, doctors had to prepare Janelle for what she and little Job were up against: he had only a ten percent chance of survival, and if he lived, the tiny baby, Job, faced a 90 percent chance suffering from severe mental retardation and additional abnormalities. It looked as if Job didn’t have developed kidneys, and his heart rate still hadn’t stabilized. Late on the night of March 17, Janelle was prepped for an emergency cesarean section. “As they were taking me for my spinal, my c-section was suddenly postponed. My case was so risky, my doctor wanted to be sure my husband saw me before going into the OR. He arrived in the middle of night and come early the morning of March 18th, I had my c-section.” Shown at the top is Janelle when she was finally able to hold Job over a month after his birth.
Job van Leusden was born at a mere one pound eight ounces, and 13 inches long. “The first thing he did was pee when he was born so we were all thrilled to know he had kidneys!” said Janelle. “I will never forget the first time we met with the doctors after Job’s birth. They said it would be a huge roller coaster ride, and they were right.” Job was so tiny and frail and attached to so many tubes and lines Janelle could not hold him for the whole first month of his life. By the time he was able to be held, he still only weighed in at two pounds, two ounces. Once Job hit the three pound milestone, he was transferred to the “big boy nursery” in PAH’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). But then little Job suffered a set-back: He developed a hernia and was
A Piece of Quaker History D i s covered on PAH C ampu s Thanks to the discovery and detective work of PAH employee Nick Nastasi, Engineering, an important piece of Philadelphia Quaker history was finally returned to its rightful home. It wasn’t, however, a quick or easy trip! The stone, dated 1832, was found in the basement of the Farm Journal Building by PAH Engineering staff members. History lover Nick was intrigued and decided to investigate. His efforts helped reveal the stone’s story: it was from the Orange Street Friends Meeting House. A Friends meeting house is where the Religious Society of Friends — or Quakers — gather to hold meetings of worship. First built in 1832, the Orange Street House closed after 40 years in 1872. At that time, the members of the orthodox congregation were folded into the Arch Street Friends Meeting House at 320 Arch
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Street, the neighborhood now known as Old City. Nick’s sleuthing revealed that PAH’s Farm Journal building at 230 West Washington Square (or Manning Street, between 7th and 8th Street, depending upon which entrance you use) is located on the site of the former Orange Street Meeting House! Nick sent PAH Curator and Lead Archivist Stacey Peeples the online “evidence” he uncovered, explaining the connection between the two institutions. Stacey contacted Lynne Calamia at The Arch Street Friends Meeting House to inform them of the stone’s discovery and to offer to return the stone. The Arch Street Friends were elated to have a piece of their history thought to be long gone, with them again. At the end of the summer, PAH Lead Horticulturalist Sam Royer, his assistant Nate Moser, and Stacey met with Lynne at Arch Street Meeting to officially turn over the stone which will be incorporated into a garden on the Meeting House grounds.
The Great American Smokeout– November 21st – Make it Your Quit Day! UPHS is proud to join the American Cancer Society in promoting the Great American Smokeout on Thursday, November 21. Did you know that tobacco use is the single-most preventable cause of disease and premature death in the US? In fact, tobacco use is responsible for nearly one in five deaths in this country. This year you can earn Healthy Reward points for joining the Great American Smokeout challenge in the Healthy Rewards site and quitting for the day or supporting a loved one or co-worker quit for the day. Log in to join the challenge! http://www.pennmedicine.limeade.com/ transferred to Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia for surgery. After one week at CHOP, he was back in the PAH NICU, where he continued to receive specialize care until he was finally able to go home four months after his birth in July of 1989.
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“My son wasn’t supposed to make it, and if he did, all odds were surely against him,” said Janelle. “Due to the experienced doctors and staff at Pennsylvania Hospital, my healthy 24-year-old son graduated from Temple University on May 16th this year with a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology. Thank you Pennsylvania Hospital for my precious gift!
»» 12 hours after quitting: The carbon monoxide level in your blood drops to normal.
Volunteer Services Needs Women’s Magazines The Department of Volunteer Services is in need of women’s magazines for the book cart that volunteers bring to patients in their rooms. If you have any current or fairly recent back issues of women’s magazines and are looking to de-clutter, please drop off your magazines at the Volunteer Office in the North Gatehouse or at the Welcome Desk in the Preston Building. Your donations will help us help make our patients more relaxed and comfortable during their stay at PAH.
DAys
W hy Qui t?
Research shows that if you smoke and pick a quit date in the next 30 days and stick to it, you’ll be more likely to quit for good. So pick a quit date, and as you mark it on your calendar, consider these benefits of quitting:
»» 2 0 minutes after quitting: Your heart rate and blood pressure drop.
»» 2 weeks to 3 months after quitting: Your circulation improves, and your lung function increases. »» 1 to 9 months after quitting: Coughing and shortness of breath decrease; cilia (tiny hair-like structures in the lungs) regain normal function, increasing the ability to handle mucus, clean the lungs, and reduce the risk of infection. »» 1 year after quitting: The excess risk of coronary heart disease is half that of a smoker’s. »» 5 years after quitting: Risks of cancer of the mouth, throat, esophagus, and bladder are cut in half. Cervical cancer risk falls to that of a nonsmoker. Stroke risk can fall to that of a nonsmoker after 2 to 5 years.
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»» 10 years after quitting: The lung cancer death rate is about half that of a smoker. The risks of cancer of the larynx and pancreas decrease.
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»» 15 years after quitting: The risk of coronary heart disease is that of a nonsmoker’s.
To learn more about the FREE UPHS Tobacco Cessation Program (for employees and dependents covered under a medical plan) through Health Advocate call 1.866.695.8622 and check out additional resources on the UPHS HR & You Wellfocused website under the Tobacco Cessation — Quit Smoking section.
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WHAT’S H a p p ening
Y o u r r es o u r ce f o r eve n t s a n d happe n i n gs t h r o u gh o u t PA H a n d P e n n M edici n e
For complete events listing, please visit What’s New on the Inside Penn Medicine web site at: http://news.pennmedicine.org/inside 15 th annual
PHILADELPHIA HEART2013WALK
November November 9, 2013
2013 Penn Medicine Heart Walk
Philadelphia Heart Walk
November 15
Penn’s Way Campaign Ends
November 18
10th Annual Nursing Conference at PAH
November 21
The Great American Smoke Out
Health Plan Benefits Dependent Eligibility Audit At the University of Pennsylvania Health System (UPHS) we are committed to providing affordable health care benefits for all employees and their eligible dependents. One way to ensure we effectively spend our benefits dollars and provide an equal level of benefit to all employees is to verify that we are only paying the expenses of eligible dependents as specified in the UPHS Summary Plan Description.
UPHS has decided to partner with Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (ADP) to conduct a Dependent Eligibility Audit. ADP will work as a third-party contractor to verify the eligibility of all dependents covered under a UPHS Health plan. The audit is scheduled to occur from November 1, 2013 to December 31, 2013. In a couple of weeks, ADP will directly correspond with those employees who are currently covering dependents on a UPHS Health plan requesting the documentation necessary to verify eligibility of covered dependents.
Intensive Care Nursery Reunion > > > Continued from page 1
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If you are not covering a dependent on a UPHS Health plan no action is required. If you have any questions about this announcement or requirements for eligible dependents, please contact the Dependent Verification Services Center beginning November 1, at 1.800.847.8531. Thank you – the UPHS Benefits Department
WHAT’Snew Editorial Staff Staff Editorial
holidays — showing us how well everyone is fairing, nothing beats seeing our former little patients in person.”
developed and well enough to go home. The ICN staff and patient families often form close bonds during this time.
The most babies per year in the city of Philadelphia — nearly 5,000 — are delivered at PAH, which has been at the forefront of neonatal services for over half a century. Approximately 40 percent of the infants born at PAH are from high-risk pregnancies and about half of those babies require advanced neonatal care. Many are born at very low birth weights, as low as just one pound — small enough to wear diapers barely larger than tea bags. These special babies require high-tech care as they learn to breathe, grow and gain weight. They receive close monitoring in high-tech isolettes, during stays that sometimes exceed several months until babies are
National data show that PAH consistently ranks among the best centers in the US for outcomes of these preterm infants. The Hospital’s Level III ICN currently houses 45 bassinets, including intensive care and transitional care sections. The Level III nursery — the highest level of medical care available — is staffed by physicians from The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) and nurses who specialize in infant intensive care. “Our special little patients have all had to fight so hard to make their way into the world. It is so gratifying and heartwarming to see them running around and having a ball,” added Dr. Gerdes.
Sally Sapega Sapega Sally Director of of Internal Internal Communications Communications Director Olivia Fermano Fermano Olivia Editor and and Photographer Photographer Editor Pamela Furches Furches Design Design Pamela Graphic Design Design Graphic Barry Ogburn Ogburn Barry Photography Photography
Administration Administration
Susan E. E. Phillips Phillips Susan Senior Vice Vice President, President, Public Public Affairs Affairs Senior Contact What’snew What’snew at: at: Contact Department of of Communications Communications Department Pennsylvania Hospital Hospital Pennsylvania Philadelphia, PA PA 19106 19106 Philadelphia, phone: 215.829.6799 215.829.6799 phone: email: olivia.fermano@uphs.upenn.edu olivia.fermano@uphs.upenn.edu email: WHAT’Snew isis published published biweekly biweekly for for PAH PAH WHAT’Snew employees. Access Access WHAT’Snew WHAT’Snew online online at at employees. http://news.pennmedicine.org/inside/whats-new/. http://news.pennmedicine.org/inside/whats-new/.