Inside Penn Medicine

Digital Edition of System News - November 2016

Paul Foster — Thu, 01 Dec 2016 15:50:42 -0500

Click here for the digital edition of System News.

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.

Full Story

CEO Column

Sally Sapega — Wed, 30 Nov 2016 16:42:46 -0500

Penn Medicine staff, faculty and students engage with members of our community each day -- from care at the bedside to work with patient advocacy groups to administrative work that keeps operations for our patients and their families running smoothly. We’re proud that this spirit of help for our neighbors extends well beyond the work day for many Penn Medicine staff: For example, one staff member spends every Wednesday evening teaching adults to read and helping them get their GED. Another has helped over 400 uninsured women receive free breast cancer screening and diagnostic services. Others work with shelter programs to serve meals to homeless Philadelphia residents.

Individually, these efforts have a tremendous impact across our region. When we come together around a common cause, we make an even bigger imprint in efforts to improve our communities. Each year, the Penn’s Way campaign, a charitable giving program in which Penn Medicine joins forces with the University of Pennsylvania, demonstrates the power of our united commitment to helping others.

Full Story

Inside the Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy at Penn

Sally Sapega — Wed, 30 Nov 2016 16:36:59 -0500

Last month, Silicon Valley philanthropist and entrepreneur Sean Parker joined Penn scientists and leaders and patients who have participated in lifesaving clinical trials at the Abramson Cancer Center to mark the launch of Penn’s Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy. ABC News Chief Health & Medical Editor Dr. Richard Besser moderated the panel event, during which Parker shared his vision for the groundbreaking collaboration between Penn and five of the nation’s other top cancer centers. The Parker Institute was founded in April 2016, backed by a $250 million gift from the Parker Foundation, making it the largest single contribution ever made to the field of immunotherapy.

Philly Fights Cancer!

Sally Sapega — Wed, 30 Nov 2016 16:36:05 -0500

Over 1,300 people came together last month to take cancer down for the count at the Philly Fights Cancer Round 2! The celebration helped raise $5.4 million to support translational research and clinical trials at Penn Medicine's Abramson Cancer Center (ACC). Left: Physician honoree John Glick, MD, president of the Abramson Family Cancer Research Institute, and Nancy Wolfson, Philly Fights Cancer chair.

Two Win PBJ Health Care Innovator Award

Sally Sapega — Wed, 30 Nov 2016 16:36:00 -0500

Mitesh Patel, MD, of General Internal Medicine, and Jason Moore, PhD, director of the Institute for Biomedical Informatics at Penn, received Health Care Innovator Awards from the Philadelphia Business Journal. Patel’s research focuses on studying innovative ways to change behaviors and improve health outcomes. Moore has developed cutting-edge computer research software to help biomedical researchers prioritize the vast array of data being generated.

Awards and Accolades

Sally Sapega — Wed, 30 Nov 2016 16:35:00 -0500

Ronald Fairman, MD, chief of Vascular Surgery, was elected president of the Society for Vascular Surgery, a not-for-profit professional medical society that seeks to advance excellence and innovation in vascular health through education, advocacy, research and public awareness.

Garret A. FitzGerald, MD, director of the Institute for Translational Medicine and Therapeutics, received a 2016 Presidential Distinguished Service Award for the Irish Abroad. The Award recognizes his research which “has contributed substantially to the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease by low dose aspirin and has benefitted millions worldwide.

Full Story

Perelman School of Medicine Launches Online 3D Anatomy Courses

Sally Sapega — Wed, 30 Nov 2016 16:34:00 -0500

Penn’s Perelman School of Medicine now offers online 3D anatomy courses to students worldwide. The courses have been developed in collaboration with Elsevier, a world-leading provider of scientific, technical and medical information products and services, and Sharecare Reality Lab, a digital health company that provides visual solutions for health care.

Penn’s anatomy faculty developed the course content using images from Elsevier’s benchmark Netter Atlas of Human Anatomy, Gray’s Anatomy for Students, Larson’s Human Embryology and Sharecare Reality Lab’s sophisticated digital 3D-anatomic simulations.

Full Story

LG Health Recognized for Reducing Opioids in Low-back Pain Treatment

Sally Sapega — Wed, 30 Nov 2016 16:33:00 -0500

Low-back pain is the leading cause of disability in the United States, accounting for nearly 15 million medical visits and $25 billion in healthcare spending annually. One major consequence of the condition, prescription opioid abuse, carries enormous societal burden. Lancaster General Health’s innovative, triple aim-focused approach to treating low-back pain has won the Hospital & Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania’s (HAP) Optimal Operations Award.

The HAP award recognizes LG Health’s “Transforming Care for Low-Back Pain: A New Population Health Model,” a three-year project to develop a systemwide standard of care that reduces opioid prescriptions, unnecessary invasive treatments and imaging services, as well as related costs.

Full Story

New State-of-the Art Center for Breast Imaging at PAH

Sally Sapega — Wed, 30 Nov 2016 16:31:00 -0500

Pennsylvania Hospital recently opened the Center for Breast Imaging, a state-of-the-art facility that will provide patients with access to the most advanced imaging services with the least radiation dose possible for an accurate diagnosis. The newly expanded suite makes way for new clinical research opportunities and innovative treatment options. Additional space, equipment, and staff also enhances our ability to streamline the patient experience — from registration, to imaging and if necessary, to biopsy.

“This carefully designed facility within the heart of the hospital allows us to offer exceptional care with same-day results and biopsies to more patients,” said Brian S. Englander, MD, chair of PAH Radiology.

“The new center and hard work that went into creating it — from conception to construction to completion — represents our ongoing commitment to put patients first at the nation’s first,” said CEO Theresa Larivee. “We are constantly striving to provide the best care and the latest technology for everyone who comes through our doors and the Center for Breast Imaging will do just that!”

Volpe Represents Penn Medicine Among Healthcare Leaders

Sally Sapega — Wed, 30 Nov 2016 16:31:00 -0500

Michele Volpe, CEO of Penn Presbyterian, represented Penn Medicine in a gathering of the region’s healthcare leaders to recognize and celebrate their organizations’ participation in the HealthShare Exchange of Southeastern Pennsylvania. HSX allows sharing of patient information for treatment purposes at the point of care.

CCH Outreach Ensures Healthy Snacks for Kids

Sally Sapega — Wed, 30 Nov 2016 16:30:00 -0500

Thanks to the generosity of employees at Chester County Hospital and a Penn Medicine CAREs grant, underprivileged children in their community will enjoy healthy snacks during the school year.

Human Resources and Organizational Development at CCH took the lead on the Snack Bag project. After posting flyers asking for donations of snacks, in flowed hundreds, including cheese crackers, pretzels, fruit bars, granola bars, raisins, fruit snacks, applesauce, fruit bowls and juice boxes. “Our employees are very generous when it comes to giving back to our community,” said Nancy Canfield, Benefits Coordinator at CCH.

Full Story

New Penn Medicine CAREs Grant Winners

Sally Sapega — Wed, 30 Nov 2016 16:29:00 -0500

Congratulations to the latest recipients of a Penn Medicine CAREs grant!

Catrena Drake CCA Project Well Balanced

Dasha Saintremy HUP Center of the Advocate

Victoria Wilson CPUP Saturday Enrichment Program

Michelle Ferrant PAH ICN Family Advisory Council: Electric Breast Pumps for Uninsured/Low Income Mothers

Arlene Brackett CPUP Basketball Court

Qunbin Xiong HUP Asian Senior Cares Center

Joan Wielgoszinski CCA Justine's Food Angels

Janet McMaster PPMC WEPAC (West Philadelphia Alliance for Children)

Bethany Thomas HUP Medical Alert Bracelets to Epilepsy Patients

Julie Yoon CPUP Alphacare Stork Bus Program

Ben Cocchiaro PSOM Streetside Health Project Electronic Record Implementation & Sustainability Initiative

Mathilda Lyons HUP Interfaith Food Cupboard

Penn Medicine Cherry Hill Celebrates Grand Opening

Sally Sapega — Wed, 30 Nov 2016 16:28:00 -0500

Penn Medicine Cherry Hill, a new 150,000 square foot outpatient facility, celebrated its opening last month at its location at 1865 Route 70 East in Cherry Hill, NJ. With 28 specialties and expanded radiology and laboratory offerings in one building, the new facility allows patients to see their primary care doctor or a specialist, receive lab work, radiology services, and even pick up their prescriptions, all in one location.

A Philadelphia Inquirer article referred to the facility as the new giant on the Route 70 “health care highway,” treating simple and complex cases requiring care from specialists in dermatology, neuroscience, musculoskeletal specialties and physical therapy, urology and male fertility, liver transplant, cardiovascular medicine, and more.

The location also allows South Jersey patients to receive a broad spectrum of adult cancer services -- including hematology, surgical and radiation oncology -- which cancer patients may need daily for several weeks at a time. Being part of Penn Medicine, patients at the new practice can coordinate with other locations for additional cancer treatment, such as proton beam therapy or cancer surgeries

"Someday you'll describe these locations as hospitals without beds,” said CEO Ralph Muller at the opening. “Here patients can receive chronic care in almost all modalities and specialties."

The Art of Grief: Transforming Loss into Legacy

Sally Sapega — Wed, 30 Nov 2016 16:25:57 -0500

Something extraordinary kept happening at Penn Wissahickon Hospice’s exhibition “The Art of Grief” at the Chestnut Hill Fall for the Arts Festival. People slowly took in the pairing of eight paintings and poems and, by the time they came to the end, they had tears in their eyes. When they met Tremain Smith, the artist who created the artwork and poetry in response to her mother’s death as part of the Hospice’s Bereavement Program, there was the long hug, followed by the sharing of loss stories. Finally, people expressed surprise that art was being used by the hospice to support people who suffered a loss.

But using art in this manner comes as no surprise to Jeffrey Barg, LCSW, administrator of the Bereavement Program. “The art of grief is learning to turn toward rather than away from painful thoughts and feelings. We help people do that with the creative arts such as music, painting, drawing, photography, poetry and prose,” he explained. “This helps them to stay connected with their deceased love ones in a positive way, to create a lasting legacy, and to learn how to tolerate painful thoughts and feelings, which otherwise might impede their adaptation to their loss.”

Full Story

Penn Medicine @ Work

Sally Sapega — Wed, 30 Nov 2016 16:25:00 -0500

Provider Star Ratings Connect with Consumers

Penn Medicine recognizes the importance of patient input when defining the patient experience. For years, we have collected patient satisfaction data to guide improvements in care delivery. This data has been used internally to measure both clinical and operational performance. Consumers today, however, are demanding greater access to this type of data to aid in making important health-care decisions. In response to this growing demand, on November 16, 2016, Penn Medicine is launching Patient Provider Satisfaction Ratings – a pioneering initiative in the Philadelphia region that will allow consumers to find ratings and reviews on Penn providers via pennmedicine.org.

In this age of technology and data, peer-to-peer review websites like Yelp and Angie’s List have empowered consumers to provide online reviews about goods and services, and, thus, share their recommendations to a large audience instantaneously. With the proven success of obtaining recommendations online, it is no surprise that consumers have turned to the Internet when choosing a physician or one hospital over another. According to the Journal of the American Medical Association, 59% of consumers surveyed said online ratings are somewhat to very important in the decision-making process about their care providers. Many third-party review sites, however, allow unverified reviews and use unreliable sample sizes to obtain their data. Furthermore, because health-care is not their core business, the metrics these sites use to rate a provider are rudimentary. So who better than health-care experts themselves to engage the patient base with industry standard tools to produce accurate, reliable data?

Full Story

Tackling Clinical Engineering Here at Penn

Sally Sapega — Wed, 30 Nov 2016 16:24:39 -0500

The Penn Medicine family grew over the summer in a somewhat subtle, but very important way. Penn’s Information Services created a new department and a few dozen new positions to handle all of the organizations clinical engineering needs, needs that prior to June were being met by third party companies.

Penn’s new clinical engineering team now handles all of the organizations medical devices, more than 40,000 of them—everything from infusion pumps and ventilators to surgical robots and lasers. They take care of all device repair, keep track of any relevant recalls, and generally make sure that all devices are up to snuff. It’s a big job that Jim Beinlich, associate chief information officer for Entity Services, said was traditionally handled by third party companies as the devices come from different manufacturers and different vendors. It made sense to outsource that to someone else.

But a couple of years ago, when Penn Medicine leaders began to look at the contract that was set to end this past summer, Beinlich and team wondered if it still made sense for Penn. The devices are increasingly integrated with our electronic medical records, meaning they needed more personal attention and tailoring.

About 10 years ago, Information Services itself was outsourced, but leaders made the decision then to bring IS within Penn and Beinlich said that move improved quality and satisfaction. Why not do the same for clinical engineering?

Full Story

Penn Medicine Hospitals Reaccredited as Magnet for Nursing Excellence

Sally Sapega — Wed, 30 Nov 2016 16:22:58 -0500

Three Penn Medicine hospitals – HUP, Penn Presbyterian, and Lancaster General Health (LGH)-- have each achieved Magnet reaccreditation from the American Nurses Credentialing Center's (ANCC) Magnet Recognition Program®; this accreditation is the highest institutional honor awarded to hospitals to recognize excellence in nursing. All five Penn Medicine facilities, including Pennsylvania Hospital, and Chester County Hospital , have Magnet status.

Achieving Magnet accreditation is one of the highest professional nursing achievements a hospital can attain. Less than seven percent of hospitals in the Nation are Magnet designated. “This recognition reflects the tireless commitment by our interdisciplinary nursing teams to deliver exceptional care for patients and their families,” said Regina Cunningham, PhD, RN, senior VP and chief nursing executive for the Health System. “These efforts throughout Penn Medicine maintain our position at the forefront of nursing in clinical care, research, and professional practice.”