Volume 3
WHAT’Snew
Number 2
January 24, 2014
Pennsylvania Hospital
U P H S
Palliative Care Award C ha m p i o n s
Daniel Feinberg, MD, PAH chief medical officer and associate professor of Clinical Neurology, and Mary Pat Lynch, CRNP, MSN, AOCNP, administrator of the Abramson Cancer Center at PAH, have been honored as Pennsylvania Hospital recipients of the inaugural UPHS Palliative Care Champions Award.
“Our team focuses on providing patients with relief from the symptoms, pain, and stress of their serious illness — whatever the diagnosis...” R. Michael Buckley, MD Executive Director, PAH
Inside PAH Honored for Its Green Spaces — Again!.......................2 A Patient Experience.................2 PAH In the News........................3 Penn Medicine Recognized as PA Donate Life Hospital Challenge Winner......................3 What’s Happening.....................4 Digital Art Contest: Show-off Your Creative Techno Side!..............................4 Save the Date: Annual Fundraiser to Honor John Paul Pryor, MD, FACS......4
Feinberg and Lynch were recognized for their outstanding leadership and support of palliative pare at PAH and throughout the Health System. “We take a team approach to palliative care, providing specialized medical care for people with serious illnesses, with the goal of improving quality of life for both patients and their families,” said R. Michael Buckley, MD, executive director, PAH. “Our team focuses on providing patients with relief from the symptoms, pain, and stress of their serious illness — whatever the diagnosis. Dan and Mary Pat are excellent team leaders in this mission; always available to support patients and their families, and always willing to work with other medical professionals to discuss patient prognoses, medical care goals, and the best ways to achieve those goals.” Awardees in seven categories were selected by Penn Medicine palliative care leadership from nominations made by hospice and palliative care providers throughout the Health System who identified colleagues who promoted palliative care through their support, encouragement, and leadership. The resulting list of nominees came from diverse backgrounds and included Health System leaders, house and other clinical staff, and medical students. Awardees will receive a
certificate of appreciation at a luncheon in their honor with Dr. Diane Meier, a nationally recognized palliative care leader.
The first ever UPHS Palliative Care Champions Award recipients are: A dm i n i st r at o r / L e ad e r : Daniel Feinberg, MD – PAH N u r si n g : Mary Pat Lynch, CRNP, MSN, AOCNP – PAH P h ysic ian : Amy Corcoran, MD – HUP/CPUP M e d ical st ud e n t: Lauren Kelly – Perelman School of Medicine R e si d e n t / F e llow: Kristen Rock, MD – HUP S oc ial wo r k : Samantha Null, Vanessa Jackowski, Erika Parker, Ashley Adams, Eileen Addis – Abramson Cancer Center C hapla i n : John Ehman – PPMC
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A Patient Experience `` Sam Royer, Nate Johnson, and Nate Moser are shown here working on the Pine Building Lawn.
PAH Honored for Its Green Spaces– Again!
The following excerpt is from CCA Newsbriefs, the e-newsletter for Clinical Care Associates, and was submitted by CCA Chief Operating Officer, Angela Wurster, about a patient’s experience: I received an email from a health system employee who had gone to Internal Medicine at Penn Medicine Washington Square. He wrote to share with me that
It’s a wonderful thing for a hospital to be recognized for its clinical expertise and excellence. It reflects the hard work and dedication of its staff to easing the suffering of others, saving lives, and promoting wellness. While PAH has its fair share of clinical honors, it is also officially known for promoting the health and well being of its internal and external communities through creating and maintaining exceptional green spaces. Last spring, the Washington Square West Civic Association and the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society (PHS) honored PAH for its dedication to creating and maintaining open green spaces in the Washington Square West neighborhood. For the second time in a year, PAH was honored by PHS for its green space — this time at the state level. “The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society has honored us once again, this time with its 2013 PHS Community Greening Award,” said Jeffrey O’Neil, director of Engineering Services. “The hospital was nominated by one of our staff members. Evaluators from the Society visited a total of 89 nominated sites and recommended Pennsylvania Hospital for this prestigious award.” Representatives from PAH were invited by PA First Lady, Susan Corbett, to a reception held in honor of the awardees at the Governor’s Residence in Harrisburg on December 10, 2013. “We take great pride in the appearance and maintenance of our gardens because interactions with nature can reduce stress and provide a peaceful, calming environment for patients, visitors, employees, and community members alike,” said Matthew Menard, PAH Physician Liaison and Community Relations coordinator. PAH’s gorgeous green spaces, which are meticulously maintained by a small team of landscapers led by Lead Horticulturalist Samuel Royer, include: the historic Physic Garden, the Pine Street Lawn and Garden, the Elm Garden (adjacent to the main hospital entrance on 8th Street), and the courtyard behind the President’s House (between the Garfield Duncan and Harte Memorial Building).
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it was his first visit and it was in his opinion very impressive. The facility he found beautiful, the staff very pleasant and informative but most of all, as he put it, “in this day and age of the computer,” he found his physician to be engaging. During each step of the exam, the doctor explained everything that was being done and why. He was “most impressed.” Clinical Care Associates (CCA), Penn Medicine's network of primary and specialty care physicians, is one of the largest primary care practice networks in Philadelphia, its suburbs and outlying counties, and southern New Jersey. Established to provide high-quality health care in communities throughout the region, CCA physicians have direct access to regional hospitals as well as to the vast resources within Penn Medicine, including consultation with physicians at PAH, HUP, and PPMC. Employing approximately 150 physicians, 30 mid-level providers (CRNP/physician assistants/ midwives), and 600 support employees, CCA providers average more than 650,000 patient visits per year. The practices provide care in internal medicine, family medicine, cardiology, obstetrics/ gynecology, orthopaedics, hematology/oncology, endocrinology, and pediatrics.
PAH I n t h e N e w s Philly’s Homeless Get Help During “Code Blue” 6ABC featured Helena Boyle and Sarah Sterling from PAH’s Hall-Mercer Homeless Outreach Service, which is part of a network of hospitals and non-profits that help people outside during a Code Blue when the temperatures in the city dip dangerously low. Reporter Kenneth Moton joined the team as they searched for homeless to help get them food, warmer clothing or transport those in need to shelters throughout the city during the record-cold temperatures earlier this month. Staff like Boyle and Sterling work in teams of two and are frequently assigned to respond to calls for the homeless in the Center City area, but also work outside the perimeter of Center City. When they aren’t receiving response calls, team members are on the street engaging homeless people — every day of the year. During a Code Blue, they work longer hours from 8 a.m. to midnight, Monday through Friday, and 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. on weekends. The dedicated outreach workers work in 8-hour shifts and typically make contact with about 10 to 15 homeless people a night. Watch this story at: http://bit.ly/1fR197L.
Why Bank or Donate Umbilical Cord Blood? Corrina Oxford-Horrey, MD, director of Obstetric Services at PAH, discusses the reasons and processes behind the private banking and public donation of umbilical cord blood on 6ABC with expectant mother and “Action News” co-anchor Alicia Vitarelli. Watch this story at: http://bit.ly/1mbDVcY.
Endometriosis and its Challenges to Conception Vitarelli also shared her own personal story of pain and heartache battling stage 4 endometriosis and her struggles to conceive in a separate news story. Her obstetrician, Rene Anderson, DO, Penn Care OB/GYN at PAH, is featured in the story. According to Anderson, seven to ten percent of women suffer from endometriosis. “In the infertility population, it’s about a third of those women,” she said. “You have a good chunk of women who can’t get pregnant because they have endometriosis. It may be a struggle and they may have to undergo treatments.” Because of the delicate, but aggressive nature of the disease, the options are tricky — but all hope it not lost. Thanks to surgery, fertility treatments and lifestyle modifications, Vitarelli and her husband were finally able to conceive. Watch this story at: http://bit.ly/1kQiwYD.
Penn Medicine Recognized as PA Donate Life Hospital Challenge Winner The Hospital and Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania (HAP) recognized Penn Medicine with a top honor — commendation for “Highest Variety of Activities Achieved” — and as a Gold Level Achiever for the combined efforts of PAH and HUP to increase donor awareness and designations during the 2013 Pennsylvania Donate Life Hospital Challenge.
Hospital Challenge. From April 1 to August 31, 2013, participating hospitals and health systems held activities to increase donor awareness and designations within their organizations and communities. Activities — which included information fairs and donor designation drives — were captured on a scorecard.
Penn Medicine received the “Highest Variety of Activities Achieved” honor for completing the widest variety of activities by a hospital or health system to help increase donor awareness HAP partnered with the Pennsylvania and designations. As a Gold Level Achiever, Department of Health, the Gift of Life Donor Penn Medicine was recognized for achieving at Program and the Center for Organ Recovery and least 500 scorecard points as a health system. Education (CORE) — the two organ and tissue The Pennsylvania Donate Life Hospital procurement organizations serving PA, to support the 2013 Pennsylvania Donate Life Challenge is part of HAP’s partnership with the American Hospital Association and the
US Department of Health & Human Services Administration’s Workplace Partnership for Life Hospital Campaign.
Did you know? Right now, more than 8,300 men, women, and children in PA are waiting for a life-saving organ transplant. Nationally, there are over 117,000 people waiting. Approximately 18 Pennsylvanians die each day because a suitable match was not found in time. Yet one organ, tissue and eye donor has the potential to save up to 18 lives and help over 50 people. To learn more about donor and tissue donations please visit www.donors1.org.
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WHAT’S H a p p ening
Y our resource for events and happenings throughout PA H and P enn M edicine
For complete events listing, please visit What’s New on the Inside Penn Medicine web site at: http://news.pennmedicine.org/inside
January–May January – March
Penn Program for Mindfulness Winter 2014 Course Offerings
February 3-7
February 28
Lost & Found Week
Deadline for PAH Nursing Conference Research and Posters Submissions
February 13
January 31
March 7
Schwartz Rounds
“Top Gun” – PPMC’s 13th Annual Fundraising Gala Benefit
Deadline for PAH Magnet Community Involvement Survey
Digital Art Contest: Show-off Your Creative Techno Side! The Mahoney Institute for Neurosciences (MINS) is holding a Digital Art Contest. Organizers hope for the contest to be fun, inviting, and inclusive, and everyone in the greater Penn and Penn Medicine community is invited and encouraged to submit an entry. Contestants are asked to create a digital image with a neuroscience theme for potential display in and around the Neuroscience Offices of the Clinical Research Building located on the Perelman School of Medicine campus. Send submissions to Jacqueline Fowlkes at MinsArtContest@gmail.com. Deadline for submissions is Friday, March 7. Prizes will be awarded! • Three $1000 1st Place Winners • Four $500 2nd Place Winners
• Five $100 3rd Place Winners • And $50 “Honorable Mention” Winners
March 27 Annual PAH Nursing Research Conference
SAVE THE DATE: May 3 Million Dollar Bike Ride
May 16-18
Penn Wissahickon Hospice’s Annual Camp Erin
WHAT’Snew Editorial Staff Staff Editorial
Sally Sapega Sapega Sally Director of of Internal Internal Communications Communications Director
Save the Date: A n n ual F u n d ra i s e r to John Paul Pryor, MD, FACS
Honor
Save the date for Penn Presbyterian Medical Center’s 13th Annual Fundraising Gala Benefit on Friday, March 7, at Vie in Philadelphia at 600 N. Broad Street. Doors open at 6 pm. Proceeds benefit the future John Paul Pryor, MD, FACS, Shock Trauma and Resuscitation (STAR) Unit in the new Trauma Center at Penn Presbyterian. On Christmas Day in 2008, Dr. Pryor was serving as a combat surgeon with the US Army Reserve Medical Corp in Iraq when he was killed by mortar shrapnel. His loss has been felt deeply throughout Penn Medicine, the city of Philadelphia and beyond. On March 7, we will celebrate his life as we carry on his legacy of providing excellent care to patients. For more information, visit www.PennMedicine.org/TopGun.
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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/.