Inside Penn Medicine

Rare Botanical Images Brighten Up Cafeteria Walls

Paul Foster — Fri, 09 Dec 2016 12:22:03 -0500

Patients, guests, and staff can now enjoy some botanical artwork and get a glimpse of history all while dining in the cafeteria at Pennsylvania Hospital. Adorning the walls are reproductions, featuring plants and flowers from the Pennsylvania Hospital Historic Library’s rich collection of botanical rare books dating from the seventeenth to the nineteenth centuries. These volumes were once used as reference for medicinal uses when “drug” treatments were primarily plant based.

These books, among others, are part of the first medical library in the nation, established in 1762. There are more than 13,000 volumes in the collection, some dating back to the 16^th Century. It also includes one of the most complete collections of medical books published between 1750 and 1850.

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Antibiotic Stewardship at PPMC

Paul Foster — Fri, 09 Dec 2016 12:15:53 -0500

Antibiotics are vital to the practice of modern medicine. They make many things that we take for granted today - like surgery - possible but like anything else, too much of a good thing can be bad.

Changing the way antibiotics are used, and making sure they’re used appropriately, is the goal for the Antibiotic Stewardship team at Penn Presbyterian Medical Center (PPMC). Led by Amanda Binkley, PharmD, AAHIVP and Christo Cimino, PharmD, BCPS, Judith O’Donnell, MD, and Naasha Talati, MD, the local group keeps a close eye on how local prescribers make use of the important drugs.

The stewardship effort has a long history at Penn. One of the first antibiotic stewardship programs in the c, HUP’s program was started in 1992 by associate medical officer Neil Fishman, MD. Now led by Keith Hamilton, MD, an assistant professor of Clinical Medicine and infectious disease physician, the program remains a national model for stewardship programs.

PPMC’s local stewardship team recently wrapped up its annual Antibiotic Stewardship Week, which gave faculty and staff across the hospital a chance to focus on the issue and learn more about what can be done to prevent to over-prescription of antimicrobial drugs. The stewardship team set up a table with games and educational material outside of the cafeteria. Binkley, a clinical pharmacy specialist in Infectious Disease, said it was a huge success.

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A Thanksgiving to Remember

Sally Sapega — Thu, 08 Dec 2016 15:30:02 -0500

Spending a holiday in the hospital is hard for both patients and their loved ones, but, thanks to the HEADstrong Foundation, Thanksgiving on HUP’s oncology floors – Rhoads 3,6, and 7, and Dulles 6 – became a more cheerful (and especially well-fed) place.

Nick Colleluori, a young man who battled non-Hodgkin's lymphoma at the Abramson Cancer Center, created HEADstrong to raise awareness of the disease and help other cancer patients. Before he died in 2006, he made his family promise to bring his vision to fruition. A decade later, his family has more than kept its promise. The HEADstrong Foundation has raised over $9 million to help support more than 13,500 patients through grants for treatment expenses and for cancer research.

The annual Thanksgiving visit to HUP is a tribute to Nick, said his mother, Cheryl, who is president of the Foundation. “It was his favorite holiday,” she said. Colleluori family members and more than 30 HEADstrong volunteers set up banquet tables in each floor’s conference room and covered them with fall decorations and homemade cards that elementary school children created for patients.

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Spirituality and Medicine: Refocusing on an Ancient Connection

Sally Sapega — Wed, 30 Nov 2016 16:45:15 -0500

For hundreds of years, spirituality and religion played significant roles in medicine. Indeed, the church originally issued medical licenses to physicians, many of whom were monks or priests. The first hospitals were built by built by religious groups. But, with the advances in medicine and technology, religion and spirituality existed only on the periphery of medical practice.

In the last decades of the 20th century, the pendulum began to slowly swing back. Research in the field showed that not only were spirituality and religious beliefs important parts of many people’s lives, but they also had an impact on a person’s physical and mental health. “Medicine is inherently an emotional, psychological and existential experience,” said Horace DeLisser, MD, of Medicine. “Spirituality is a part of people’s identify. Understanding these beliefs helps to better care for patients and form relationships.”

A new Certificate in Spirituality and Health at Penn’s Perelman School of Medicine will teach students how to incorporate spirituality into their medical practice – and feel comfortable in that role.

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PPMC Takes 1st in HAP Donate Life Campaign

Paul Foster — Wed, 23 Nov 2016 11:43:41 -0500

The results are in: Penn Presbyterian Medical Center won “Top Hospital” in the Hospital Association of Pennsylvania’s Donate Life challenge (HAP) to raise awareness about organ and tissue donation. The University of Pennsylvania Health System won top overall health system and HUP finished right behind Presby in the hospital category.

The annual competition encourages health care organizations to get the word out about organ and tissue donation by offering points to participants for various tasks. Each hospital recorded evidence of activities completed on a score card during the campaign and submitted it to the HAP Donate Life judges who then verified the evidence submitted and then selected the winners.

Susan Chodoff, director of Regulatory Affairs and Accreditation Matters at PPMC and one of the organizers of this year’s Donate Life campaign, said all of PPMC stepped up to the plate when asked. Managers of departments across the hospital built enthusiasm to get their teams involved in raising awareness and helping tally up the points needed to clinch the victory for PPMC. Gift of Life’s Amy Martiner was especially helpful at amplifying all of their ideas and initiatives, Chodoff added.

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HUP Celebrates Patient Advocate Award Winners!

Sally Sapega — Wed, 23 Nov 2016 10:45:55 -0500

“Talented, innovative, bringing excellence to everything they do. Trusted, respected, valued. Welcoming and comforting”

These were just some of the glowing adjectives Carolyn Jackson, COO, read in the narratives describing this year’s winners of the HUP Patient Advocacy Recognition Awards. “And the word ‘always,’” she added. “These are things they do every day. It is in the fabric of who they are.”

This year’s winners reflect HUP at its best. They consistently succeed at making the patient experience a great one. And it’s making a difference. “With your help, patient satisfaction is at all-time record highs,” said Garry Scheib, CEO of the hospital, at this year’s Recognition Ceremony. “Our quality and patient outcomes are improving every year, thanks to team efforts led by our awardees.”

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Pennsy Pride at the 2016 Magnet Conference

Paul Foster — Fri, 11 Nov 2016 12:23:50 -0500

Nurses from Pennsylvania Hospital joined colleagues from across the country for the 2016 American Nurses Credentialing Center National Magnet Conference, which took place in Orlando, Florida in October. During the conference, PAH was recognized as a first-time Magnet Organization.

The Magnet Conference is the largest nursing conference in the United States, bringing together more than 9,000 health care professionals in order to share proven best practices and invigorate nursing programs to transform health care. At the annual conference, the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) honors newly designated and re-designated Magnet facilities. At this year’s conference, 25 team members from Pennsylvania Hospital representing many different departments and areas of practice attended the ceremony as PAH was recognized for its initial designation.

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PPMC Remains a Magnet for Excellence!

Paul Foster — Fri, 11 Nov 2016 12:08:07 -0500

For the second consecutive term, Penn Presbyterian has earned Magnet recognition from the American Nurses Credentialing Center, a designation that puts them in the top tier of healthcare facilities around the world.

The news was announced Oct. 18 during a conference call to a standing-room-only auditorium in Presby’s Philadelphia Heart Institute. On the phone was Donna Havens, PhD, RN, FAAN, the Commission Chair for ANCC. She announced that the commission had voted unanimously that Penn Presbyterian Medical Center had earned Magnet status for the second time in a row.

With the announcement, the audience burst into lengthy applause with high fives and hugs all around. Havens offered her own congratulations and walked the crowd through areas in which Presby was found to excel, including high marks in nurse satisfaction and working to prevent blood clots.

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A Helping Hand … and Much More

Sally Sapega — Thu, 10 Nov 2016 11:06:35 -0500

Nurses are responsible for direct patient care on a unit – but a bevy of supplies and equipment help them to ensure the very best outcomes for patients. This is where support associates come in, serving as an “extra set of hands” on busy patient care units. Their work includes stocking supplies, but reaches far beyond that behind-the-scenes task. They’re each an integral part of the unit’s clinical team, supporting patient care on many levels.

“Everything you do helps us deliver quality care on the unit,” said Regina Cunningham, PhD, RN, SVP and chief nursing executive for UPHS, at this year’s Support Associate Recognition Day.

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