Penn Medicine

Radiologist Dr. Tom Quinn and hematologist/oncologist Dr. Zachary Quinn aren't just colleagues at Chester County Hospital, they're father and son.

While working under the same roof doesn’t mean working side-by-side, they enjoy being able to share their expertise with each other when the opportunity arises. “I often order procedures that are done by [my father],” says Zack. “Once or twice it’s been a Dr. Quinn–to–Dr. Quinn handoff!”

Wishing a very Happy Father's Day to both Drs. Quinn, and to all the dads in the Penn Medicine community who motivate and inspire.

Like Father, Like Son: Doctoring Runs in the Family - Penn Medicine Generations of doctors run in many families, but how many families have two doctors working at the same hospital? At Chester County Hospital, Dr. Tom Quinn is one of the longest-tenured physicians, and his son, Dr. Zack Quinn is one of the newest.

"I have lost several childhood friends and family from gun violence," says Trauma Violence Recovery Program lead specialist Rodney Babb. "Being able to support my community members by providing resources and a sense of hope is how I stay motivated."

Rodney and his team aim to provide trauma-informed care to patients who've experienced violent injuries, re-injury, mental health struggles, and engagement with the criminal justice system. "In order to stop [the cycle of] violent retaliation, it's essential to support survivors and their families," says Rodney. "One of the ideal times to do this is while they're in a hospital getting care for their injuries."

Learn more about the Trauma Violence Recovery Program: http://spr.ly/61865qvR8

The Trauma Center at Penn team is sporting orange for Gun Violence Awareness Month! Last year there were 1,291 nonfatal and 375 fatal shootings in Philadelphia, with countless others in our community impacted.

Learn more about how we're working to reduce these statistics through various prevention efforts and trauma-informed care: http://spr.ly/61815k3OS

More than 35 years ago, Dr. Emma Meagher and Dr. Noel Williams met over an open cadaver at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland. After getting married and welcoming four children, they took a leap of faith and left their support system behind to build their careers at Penn Medicine in 1994. They've since become fixtures in the Penn community.

“Penn is in our blood," Meagher said. "We feel very fortunate. Cheering for the same winning team is a great feeling.”

Read their full story: http://spr.ly/61815BSwD

Join us this Sunday, June 9 in West Philadelphia for FREE health screenings, food, raffle prizes, giveaways and more.

Get the details here:

Community Health Fair - Penn Medicine The events calendar includes health related events, classes, informational sessions for patients as well as clinical education classes, conferences and other events for healthcare professionals

Late last summer, Dr. Kevin Kline became our first ever Medical Director for LGBTQ+ Health. This new role highlights Penn's focus on decreasing LGBTQ+ health disparities by improving education and training across specialties.

"One of our priorities is to identify areas across LGBTQ+ and gender-affirming care where the development of standardized care guidelines can increase provider knowledge and cultural humility, improve the overall quality and efficiency of care, and serve as a model for providers across the medical landscape – not just here at Penn.”

Leadership to meet the needs of LGBTQ patients As the inaugural medical director of LGBTQ+ Health at UPHS, Kevin Kline, MD helps both patients and staff feel “seen, safe, and supported.”

Our mobile mammography unit rolled into a West Philly grocery store parking lot this morning for our fourth annual free, two-week mammogram event.

“Mammography is easy and it’s quick,” said Radiologist Linda White Nunes, MD, MPH, “and we’re trying to make it more accessible.”

Get the full details:

Free Mammograms June 3 thru 14 - Penn Medicine The events calendar includes health related events, classes, informational sessions for patients as well as clinical education classes, conferences and other events for healthcare professionals

What's it like to work the U.S. Women's Open? When the golf championship tees off in Lancaster tomorrow, Penn Medicine Lancaster General Health’s medical team will be there to help if anything goes wrong.

“The feeling of being part of something the nation is watching is incredible,” said nurse manager Brandy Jenkins, MSN, RN-BC.

Providing medical care on professional golf's biggest stage When the U.S. Women's Open golf championship tees off in Lancaster, LG Health’s medical team will be there to help if anything goes wrong.

This , we're revisiting an emotional moment from late last year, when a Penn Trauma celebration for the U.S. Navy turned into a surprise reunion. Major John Pryor, MD, former medical director of Penn Trauma, was killed in action in 2008 while serving as a U.S. Army combat surgeon in Iraq. Fifteen years later, his son, Temple University NROTC midshipman John Pryor Jr., volunteered for Color Guard duty at the Navy event, having no idea it was for Penn Trauma providers.

When former colleagues of his dad noticed his name tag, they couldn't believe it. "This was truly a miraculous and divine moment, said trauma surgeon C. William Schwab. "It was absolutely engineered by his father."

Surprise Reunion for Penn Trauma with Fallen Combat Surgeon’s Son It was an emotional night for military and civilian staff from the Penn Trauma program when a birthday celebration for the U.S. Navy turned into a surprise reunion with the son of Maj. John P. Pryor, MD.

"We need to recognize that we have blind spots in health care, that Black communities have significant and valid historical distrust in medicine, and really try to be sensitive to that,” said emergency physician Dr. Anish Agarwal.

At Penn Medicine, efforts are underway in a variety of ways to make its emergency department “front doors” a better experience for anyone who comes in.

Trust, equity, and hospitals’ ‘front door’ Emergency departments are hospitals’ “front door," so Penn Medicine is doing everything it can to make them a trusted space for everyone.

What's it like to donate a kidney? "Altruistic donor" Quincy Ponvert took the Philadelphia Inquirer along for the ride as he prepares to give his kidney to a stranger in need.

Qunicy's surgeon Dr. Matthew Levine and transplant surgery physician assistant Mary Cate Wilhelm explain the process from pre-op through recovery.

Read the full story here: http://spr.ly/6185dAAKN
📸: Alejandro Alvarez

In a trial analyzing how messages were framed in an underserved population, offering multiple colon cancer screening options resulted in the highest screening rate.

“Colonoscopy is important for screening, diagnosis of symptoms, and follow-up of positive stool testing, but we should think about offering less invasive options [like at-home tests] as an alternative if we want to increase screening rates," said chief innovation officer Shivan Mehta, MD, MBA.

Colonoscopy and At-Home Tests Doubled Colorectal Cancer Screening In a trial analyzing how messages were framed in an underserved population, offering colorectal cancer screening options resulted in the highest screening rate.

“I know we can’t resolve all the problems in the world,” she said. “Sometimes we have the opportunity to do a little wherever we are.”

Penn Medicine Lancaster General Health social worker Maria Del Carpio’s lifetime of service to others has led her everywhere from a convent to political office, eventually landing more than 4,000 miles from home.

But she has never forgotten the people from her hometown in Peru, returning regularly on mission trips with Sembradores de Semillas (Seed Sowers), a nonprofit organization she co-founded.

From Lancaster to Peru, a social worker sows seeds of service Maria Del Carpio, a social worker at Lancaster General Health, has made it her mission to serve others, returning regularly to her hometown in Peru with a group of volunteers.

"Ultimately, every drawing anyone makes is a picture of their own brain somehow," says Judith Schaechter, Artist-in-Residence at the Penn Center for Neuroaesthetics (PCfN).

Led by Anjan Chatterjee, MD, PCfN aims to understand the nature of aesthetic experiences, how they vary, and what they can tell us about how the brain functions.

Questions they try to answer include: What is the relationship between beauty and morality? What effect does architecture have on cognition? And more broadly, how do people interact with art?

South Philly stained-glass maker explores art, science at Penn Center for Neuroaesthetics The center explores the biological basis of aesthetic experiences. It added an artist-in-residence position in 2019.

De-escalation training for staff at Penn Presbyterian has been helping to reduce the risk of aggressive interactions in the workplace. It’s part of a system-wide commitment to addressing this national issue.

"A lot of it is about mentally preparing them for these events when they’re in a calm state, so that when things happen, they can act and go through the proper steps,” says Brian Hall, MBA, BSN, RN.

How nurses and other staff are training to de-escalate threats De-escalation training for hospital staff is helping keep focus on patient care and reducing the chances of aggressive interactions in the workplace. It’s part of a system-wide commitment to addressing this national issue.

A man from Alabama spent his whole life with FOP, which causes a patient to grow a “second skeleton”…but he didn’t even know it. Find out how Penn Medicine researchers determined that he could be the key to effective treatments for others born with the condition:

One patient’s gene mutation could save others from ‘2nd skeleton’ A patient who unknowingly grew up with a progressive bone-forming condition could help protect others from the grip of the disease.

Mothers nurture us in all kinds of ways. For Distribution Attendant Manny Bell, his mom, Clinical Services Coordinator Carmen Torres, inspired him to pursue a career at Penn Medicine. "She set the pavement for me to be able to walk on the right path," he says. "Seeing how hard she works makes me want to go harder so I can be in a position where I want to be in life."

We're so lucky to have them both on our team at Cherry Hill. Wishing a Happy weekend to Carmen and all the amazing moms in the Penn Medicine community.

Nurses across our health system prioritize community outreach and health education, in addition to providing compassionate care to their patients at work each day.

Last weekend, nurses from our downtown hospitals participated in a Community Day in West Philly to kick off Nurses Week. They offered overdose-reversal training and free narcan kits, as well as mental health screenings, cooking demonstrations, tips on reacting in emergency situations, and more.

Nurses Week is a family affair for three of our bone marrow transplant nurses! Nurse practitioner Jackie Smith, her daughter, inpatient BMT nurse Rachel Smith, and Jackie's sister, clinical research nurse Kim Hummel often find that their close ties help hasten care for patients with pressing needs.

“Each of them ... are so good at what they do, and their ability to work so quickly and well together made such a difference in his care,” said David Porter, MD, Penn Medicine’s director of Cell Therapy and Transplant.

It’s all in the family for these bone marrow transplant nurses Penn Medicine’s bone marrow transplant team already considers itself a family, but having three related nurses in its ranks—often treating the same people at different phases of care—makes them that much stronger.

Preparing for the Broad Street Run | Penn Sports Medicine The Broad Street Run has been a tradition in Philadelphia since 1980. John M. Vasudevan, MD, CAQSM, a Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Physician at Penn ...

We're making big institutional investments as we work towards becoming the most environmentally friendly health care system in the country. But teams at every level and location are finding new ways to improve sustainability in their day-to-day work, from reducing medical supply waste to going paperless.

“These are small but important wins that we can build on,” said Dr. Craig Wynne. “Health care providers should be champions of reducing waste and creating a greener environment.”

How Penn Medicine Staff are Making Health Care Sustainable Teams across Penn Medicine are working hard to “think globally, act locally” when making environmentally friendly changes in their day-to-day operations.

"In a time when violence against health care workers is rising, we've implemented new security technology to help protect our employees and our patients.
"[People] have a right to come to work safe every single day," said Lisa Triantos, clinical director of Emergency and Medical nursing at Penn Presbyterian.

We spoke with WHYY about our system-wide efforts, from de-escalation training and weapon detection to counseling services and personal duress badges.

Penn Medicine spends $28M in workplace violence prevention security systems Physical and verbal violence against health care workers has reached record levels, according to federal data.

This Earth Day, we’re signing The White House and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Health Sector Climate Pledge, a voluntary commitment to climate resilience and emissions reduction that includes halving greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and achieving net zero by 2050.

This important step is part of a larger effort to become the most sustainable health care system in the U.S. Learn more about how we’re balancing quality patient care with environmental impact:

Penn Medicine signs national Health Sector Climate Pledge Penn Medicine has signed an ambitious national pledge promising to significantly cut and, eventually, eliminate its carbon emissions.