Volume 23
Number 16
August 10, 2012
Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania
A Home AWAY FROM HOME The Clyde F. Barker Penn Transplant House Over one-third of Penn’s transplant patients must travel more than 50 miles for their surgery, some from as far as New England, the Carolinas, and even Hawaii. All too often, for these patients, the joy of receiving a compatible organ is tempered by the harsh reality of extended hospital visits for the patient and travel expenses for the family. And such challenges are not short-term. After they have received the transplants, organ recipients must return repeatedly for follow-up care — as often as 50 times during the first two years post-surgery. For loved ones, the full transplantation experience
INSIDE Sunny Paulose Wins CNA Spirit of Professionalism Award.........................................3 HUP Named to U.S. News Honor Roll .................................3 Nursing Outreach Throughout the Year.................4
adds up to a mountain of non-reimbursable hotel, transportation and meal expenses — at a time when emotions and finances are already stretched to a breaking point. For the past year, the Clyde F. Barker Penn Transplant House has provided affordable, comfortable and convenient accommodations for nearly 300 of Penn’s pre- and post-transplant patients and their families. Located at 3940 Spruce Street, the sun-filled facility offers guests a spacious family room, a large, fully equipped modern kitchen, fitness and laundry rooms, and dining room. The 12 large bedroom suites upstairs feature flat-screen TVs and are each large enough to accommodate up to four adults. The House’s center courtyard provides a private outdoor area for guests to relax. While the Transplant House offers many comforts, what helps make it a home away from home are the outreach efforts by HUP employees. Since the House opened last spring, several groups from throughout the hospital have volunteered as ‘guest chefs,’ preparing home-cooked dinners for guests
`` Volunteering for the monthly meal prepared by staff of Clinical Resource & Social Work were (l. to r.) Debbie Gordon, Sallie Smith, Laney Smith, Ellie and Lois (Debbie’s daughter and mother), Claudia Smith, and Carolyn Wrabetz.
that serve as a welcome respite from fast food or expensive restaurant meals. Enrique Flores said the “great smells” from the Italian dinner he and several of the Rhoads 6 staff prepared at the House earlier this year drew in several guests, as did the Mexican-themed dinner hosted by MICU staff. Ashlee Newberry, a clinical nurse on the unit, said talking with the guests during dinner “opened our eyes” about transplants from the family’s point of view. “We sat with a woman whose husband was post-heart transplant and she was struggling. It brought a different perspective to hear what she was dealing with.” The meals also “help to create a community feel,” said Denny DuPont, manager of Transplant Outreach and Communication, who prepared a meal with other members of Transplant’s management team. “It helps families get to know each other. They share their stories.” (Continued on page 2)
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A Home (Continued from page 1)
AWAY FROM HOME
The Clyde F. Barker Penn Transplant House
Sallie Smith, a Heart Failure/Transplant social worker who coordinates monthly meals with staff from Clinical Resource Management & Social Work and the Heart and Vascular Center, agreed. “One of the best parts is seeing guests staying at the tables talking to each other when we’re leaving,” she said. “At one of our meals, a woman told us that she had been here a month and not talked to anyone. She said, ‘The meals have changed the way I look at this house.’” Leaders from HUP Administration, including executive director Garry Scheib, chief financial officer Diane Corrigan, and chief operating officer Al Black — as well as Pat Wren, AVP of Human Resources Operations — prepared a turkey dinner for House guests. “Turkey is comfort food, like being home,” Corrigan said. “And there were plenty of leftovers for sandwiches.” She said the funniest moment occurred when they were eating dinner together and one of the guests asked what they did at HUP. “They were clearly surprised when we told them,” she said, laughing, “but it was a wonderful experience for us … and a great team-building exercise.” “Grabbing meals at the cafeteria gets tiring,” Smith said. “This is a population that needs people to care about them … a good meal and downtime.” “The patients and families who stay at the Transplant House are so touched that employees are giving more,” said Kirsten King, operations manager at the Penn Transplant House. One woman who recently underwent a kidney transplant joined Smith’s group for dinner and spoke of the “very caring people here.” Her husband loved the camaraderie and support system he found at the House and the low cost. “Our first night we spent $350 staying at a nearby hotel.”
Feedback from past guests expresses similar sentiments: “Thank you again & again. Words cannot express our gratitude.” “The atmosphere in the house is so quiet and comforting.” “ It was truly a blessing to have the Transplant house to come back to after so many hours spent in the hospital.” “ The staff and volunteers were so helpful and we appreciate all their efforts. We also met other families here and shared stories and information… thanks to all for providing this wonderful haven.” “We’d like to get more groups to do this,” DuPont said. “ It’s not difficult — the kitchen is lovely — and it’s such a great thing to do.” Dinners aren’t the only employee outreach effort. Many departments held drives for nonperishable food and hospitality amenities at Thanksgiving and Christmas, and the response was overwhelming. “It brought in an amazing amount of food,” King said. “In fact we still have some left!” And there were enough toiletries left over to make special hospitality baskets for people who stay in the rooms. The Call Center also donated boxes of dry goods early this year. “If someone checks in later at night, they may not feel like going out. It’s great to have foods like cereal and soup for them,” King said. There are many opportunities for staff to volunteer at the Clyde F. Barker Penn Transplant House. To find out how you can help, email kirsten.king@uphs.upenn.edu or call 215.662.4540. Staff can also help by donating dry goods, amenities, and other items. To see the House’s ‘wish’ lists, go online to http://news.pennmedicine.org/inside/hupdate.
2012 QUALITY & PATIENT SAFETY AWARD SUBMISSIONS The Quality & Patient Safety Award acknowledges departments or teams at Penn Medicine that have exhibited leadership and innovation in activities that ensure high-quality clinical outcomes, patient satisfaction, patient safety, and/or cost efficiency. If you’ve completed a project during the last 12 months that meets these criteria, be sure to submit it for the 2012 Awards. All applications and projects must be submitted electronically by Friday, September 7. To learn more and submit your project, go to What’s Hot on the Intranet home page and click on 2012 Quality & Patient Safety Award Submissions. Questions? Contact Michael Anderson (HUP) at 215.614.0632 or andersom@uphs.upenn.edu, or Scott Schlegel (CPUP) at 215.614.0041 or scott.schlegel@uphs.upenn.edu.
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HUP Named to U.S. News Honor Roll `` On hand to congratulate Sunny Paulose (second from right) on winning the 2012 CNA Spirit of Professionalism Award are (l. to r.) Lisa Oldak, CICU assistant nurse manager; Leah Moran, nurse manager; and Paul Harrington, clinical director of Surgical Nursing.
Sunny Paulose Wins CNA Spirit of Professionalism Award Each year Nursing presents the Certified Nursing Assistant Spirit of Professionalism Award to a CNA who works collaboratively with Nursing to provide high-quality and patient-and-familycentered care for patients. This year’s award went to Sunny Paulose, CNA, of the Cardiac Intermediate Care Unit (CICU). According to the nomination letter, Paulose is “extremely conscientious and takes excellent care of his patients. He is an eager learner and enjoys challenges. Mr. Paulose is a team player who wants to improve the outcomes of his patients by being actively involved in unit and hospital committees and activities.… He works alongside the clinical nurse to provide world class nursing care. He is at the patient’s door when the call bell goes off to provide assistance, to any patient, not just the patients in his assignment. Mr. Paulose is conscientious with his patient care delivery which is evident in his interactions with the patients and families, through his documentation in KBC, and overwhelmingly positive comments that he consistently gets in the Press Ganey Surveys and patient letters…. Mr. Paulose takes great pride in his job. When he is your CNA, you know your patients are safe.”
Help Create a World Free of MS
Named by Bicycling Magazine as the “Best Cycling Getaway in NJ,” the Bike MS City to Shore Ride on September 29 and 30 promises to be the best cycling experience on the East Coast: the scenic flat route through South Jersey, the enthusiastic volunteers at each of the fully stocked rest stops and the awesome feeling of crossing the finish line into Ocean City. Nothing beats this experience!
Once again HUP has been ranked among the top hospitals in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. HUP has been named to the publication’s Honor Roll in 15 of the last 16 years and this year ranked 15th out of 17 honoree institutions from nearly 5,000 hospitals nationwide. According to the editors, the Honor Roll distinction “signals both rare breadth and rare depth of medical excellence.” In addition, HUP was ranked #1 in the Philadelphia area while Penn Presbyterian and Pennsylvania Hospital were ranked locally as #3 and #5 respectively. To have all three of our hospitals ranked so high in this annual survey is a significant accomplishment of which everyone can be proud!
The Brain Up Close and Personal Research specialist Andrew Jaye from Penn’s Center for Brain Injury and Repair shares his knowledge of brain biology and how to prevent concussions with visitors to a Penn Medicine educational tent at the 2012 Philadelphia Science Festival Carnival held in the spring. Tens of thousands of families and individuals viewed over 100 exhibits offering family-friendly experiments, interactive activities, and games.
This year marks the 32nd anniversary of the Bike MS City to Shore Ride, in which Team UPHS/PENN will, with your help, be the largest team! We’ve set a system-wide goal of recruiting 325 team members this year. As always, there is an option for everyone. Choose to participate as a cyclist, a virtual cyclist (if you can’t ride, but want to fundraise), or a volunteer at the team’s Finish Line tent. The team has set an ambitious fundraising goal of $135,000. With so much important work and research taking place at UPHS, the team’s fundraising has more significance than ever.
To register or for more information, go online to http://news.pennmedicine.org/inside/hupdate or e-mail Richard.Bryson@uphs.upenn.edu. Don’t miss your opportunity to be a part of the movement to create a world free of MS. We can’t do it without you!
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`` MICU staff helping to make dinner at the Student-Run Emergency Housing Unit of Philadelphia included (l. to r.) Margy Burke, Colleen Avery, Kineda Reed, Ty Jackson, Robin Herman, Bill Herman, Steph Ottemiller, Sara Atkinson, Theresa Davis, Ashlee Newberry, and Jillian Edwards.
Nursing Outreach Throughout the Year
COME TO LEARN MORE…
Community outreach is a year-round activity for the staff of HUP’s patient care units.
Do you want to learn more about HUP and the Health System? Be sure to attend
A large group of MICU staff volunteered this past December for the Student-Run Emergency Housing Unit of Philadelphia, a volunteer program that allows homeless people to have shelter for the winter months. In addition to making a delicious dinner, they collected about $200 for the program. The MICU also recently held a “bake off ” which raised $175 to donate to “Sink Or Swim” (SOS) which helps uninsured and underinsured patients pay for lifesaving treatment. Earlier this year, nurses from Founders 14 (the hospital’s primary floor for CF patients) and friends participated in the Narberth Cystic Fibrosis Run. The team, called The Expectorants, raised over $350! `` Participants in The Expectorants team included (l. to r.) Timothy Rowan, Diana Santangelo, and Colleen Meyer.
Helping People ALL THE TIME
The February 24, 2012 issue of HUPdate listed the August 2011 winners of the Helping People All the Time raffle, but it was mistakenly called October’s winners. As a result of the mix up, we inadvertently skipped two months of winners. Below are the employees who won the September 2011 raffle. Look for the October 2011 winners in the next issue. Congratulations to everyone who helps improve the patient experience at HUP! Sheena Adams. . . . . . . . . . . Jennifer Bailey . . . . . . . . . . Ibrahim Belemou. . . . . . . . . Jaclyn Cardell. . . . . . . . . . . Jason Craig. . . . . . . . . . . . . . Rosemary DeRosa. . . . . . . . Dawn Dixon. . . . . . . . . . . . . Mark Durand. . . . . . . . . . . . Carol Gates. . . . . . . . . . . . . . Horace Hubbard . . . . . . . . . Sabrina Jiles. . . . . . . . . . . . Barbara Jones. . . . . . . . . . .
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Patient Registration Silverstein 10 Rhoads 1 Founders 9 Radiology Founders 10 Radiology Ravdin 9 Founders 11 Patient Transport Founders 11 Ravdin 6
Allison Kelly. . . . . . . . . . . . . Founders 9 Tara Lambert. . . . . . . . . . . . . Nursing Network Center Liz Lipski . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ravdin 9 Alisen McCaulley. . . . . . . . Nursing Network Center Nancy McGovern. . . . . . . . Founders 11 Jessica McGuire. . . . . . . . . Radiology Robin McLelland. . . . . . . . . Founders 9 Sarah Mooney. . . . . . . . . . . Rhoads 3 Molly O’Brien. . . . . . . . . . . . Founders 4 Christina Potts. . . . . . . . . . . Ground Donner Heather Redman. . . . . . . . . Radiology Maria Romanosky. . . . . . Founders 9 Chauntae Thompson. . . . Founders 4
one of the upcoming All Employee Meetings. Members of senior leadership provide updates and answer questions.
All Employee Meetings are held in Medical Alumni Hall, on 1 Maloney. The next three will be held: W EDNESDAY, AUGUST 15 Noon to 1:00 pm W EDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 12 5:00 to 6:00 pm W EDNESDAY, OCTOBER 17 8:30 to 9:30 am
HUPdate EDITORIAL STAFF Sally Sapega Editor and Photographer Julia Fiorello Designer
ADMINISTRATION
Susan E. Phillips Senior Vice President, Public Affairs CONTACT HUPDATE AT: 3535 Market Street, Mezzanine Philadelphia, PA 19104 phone: 215.662.4488 fax: 215.349.8312 email: sally.sapega@uphs.upenn.edu HUPdate is published biweekly for HUP employees. Access HUPdate online at http://news.pennmedicine.org/inside/hupdate.