Penn State Health News

Dr. Craig Hillemeier wears a suit and poses against a wooden wall. His right hand is on the banister, his left hand is in his pocket.

People

College of Medicine Dean and Penn State Health CEO Craig Hillemeier to retire

Marissa Aulenbach, right, a board-certified music therapist at Penn State Children’s Hospital, plays a guitar while registered nurse Lauren Libhart tends to 4-month-old Caden Hoover. The baby is lying in a crib with wires and monitors attached to his body. Aulenbach is wearing a blue, long-sleeved shirt and jeans. Libhart is wearing blue scrubs, a headband and glasses. Several toys are in the crib.

Patient Care

Patients find this prescription for therapy is music to their ears

A woman sits on a couch, leaning forward. Her right leg is crossed over her left, and she holds the bottom part of her right leg with both hands.

Medical Minute

The Medical Minute: Varicose veins unlikely to develop into blood clots

A young man and a child embrace on the floor of THON at the Bryce Jordan Center. The man, facing the camera, is smiling. Several people are in the background – some standing, some seated, slightly out of focus. A stage is also visible.

News

First dances: Two Four Diamonds families cross thresholds at Penn State’s Dance Marathon (THON)

Paul Haidet, MD, MPH, a professor of medicine, humanities and public health sciences at Penn State College of Medicine, smiles in a head-and-shoulders professional portrait. He is wearing a long-sleeved dress shirt, a tie and glasses. He has brown hair with slight graying at the temples. Dr. Xuemei Huang, a professor of neurology, pharmacology, radiology and kinesiology at the College of Medicine, is pictured in a head-and-shoulders professional portrait wearing a lab coat with the medical center and College of Medicine’s logos on the right. She is wearing a blouse and necklace under the coat.

Education

Haidet, Huang honored as University Distinguished Professors

Latest News

A group of people, including a college mascot dressed as a lion, smile for a photo.

Penn State Health Medical Group – Mountville is relocating to better serve patient population

Penn State Health Medical Group – Mountville is changing to better meet the needs of the people it serves. The practice will move to the Shops at Prospect, located off the Prospect Road exit on Route 30, where it can better serve the communities of Mountville and Columbia. The practice will relocate by fall 2019 […]

Penn State Health St. Joseph unveils new hybrid cardiac catheterization laboratory

READING, Pa. – A new hybrid cardiac catheterization laboratory at Penn State Health St. Joseph is now open, offering the Berks community expanded treatment options with leading-edge catheterization and imaging technology. The hybrid lab combines the features of a cardiac catheterization lab with those of an operating room, which allows for more complex interventions. The […]

Waning receives $50,000 grant to support breast cancer research

The PA Breast Cancer Coalition awarded Dr. David Waning of Penn State Cancer Institute $50,000 to advance his studies of metastatic breast cancer treatment.

Funding research, fueling hope

For the research investigators and physicians who make up the Four Diamonds Pediatric Cancer Research Center at Penn State Children’s Hospital, the impact of THON is felt long after the 46-hour dance marathon is over.

A mechanical pipetting machine dispenses fluid into rows of vials.

Cannabinoid compounds may inhibit growth of colon cancer cells

Penn State College of Medicine researchers say some cannabinoid compounds may inhibit the growth of colon cancer cells in the lab.

Researcher to study exercise and medication adherence in older breast cancer survivors

The American Cancer Society has awarded $728,000 in funding to Penn State College of Medicine researcher Shirley Bluethmann to study whether exercise reduces joint pain and increases adherence to a type of lifesaving medication called aromatase inhibitors in women who have survived breast cancer.

Thyroid cancer incidence associated with malpractice climate

The incidence of thyroid cancer was associated with malpractice payouts in a recent study by Penn State Cancer Institute researchers. Because thyroid cancer is not usually fatal, the findings suggest that physicians sometimes offer unnecessary testing to avoid being sued.

New, evidence-based diagnostic tool developed for abusive head trauma

Penn State researchers have developed an evidence-based predictive tool physicians can use to help confirm, exclude and report suspected cases of abusive head trauma.

A woman sits on the edge of a bed, buttoning a sweater. Another woman stands at her side, helping her put the sweater on.

The Medical Minute: Helping caregivers address mental health concerns

Caregiver jobs often come loaded with pressures. In fact, caregivers face a higher risk of developing a mental health disorder because of the stress that can accompany taking care of others.

The Medical Minute: Performing artists must protect their bodies like athletes

Whether amateur or professional, performing artists have unique health needs specific to their art form.

The Medical Minute: Living donors may benefit transplant patients

For a patient awaiting a new organ – namely a liver or kidney – living donation provides a viable alternative and can often shorten a recipient’s wait time.

The Medical Minute: Causes and cures of hiccups remain elusive

Everyone gets hiccups. And nearly everyone has a theory about the cause and the cure.

The Penn State College of Medicine Crescent facade is seen at 500 University Drive in Hershey, PA, framed by grass below and a blue sky with clouds above. In front of the building to the right, two flagpoles can be seen displaying the American and Pennsylvania flags.

Shantz recognized for Exceptional Moments in Teaching

Dr. Lisa Shantz, associate professor and vice chair for education, Department of Cellular and Molecular Physiology, is featured in the February Penn State College of Medicine’s “Exceptional Moments in Teaching” program.

Exceptional Moments in Teaching honorees take center stage

During the past 17 months, George Blackall, director of the Office for a Respectful Learning Environment, has collected 758 narratives from College of Medicine students hoping to recognize someone who both challenged and changed them. The program, Blackall says, is helping to make the College of Medicine an even better place for tomorrow’s medical professionals.

Gonzalo recognized for Exceptional Moments in Teaching

Dr. Jed Gonzalo, assistant professor of medicine and public health sciences and associate dean for health systems education, is featured in the January Penn State College of Medicine’s “Exceptional Moments in Teaching” program.

Preventing an incorrect diagnosis starts in the classroom

Dr. Timothy Mosher, chair of the Department of Radiology at Penn State College of Medicine, developed a new medical school course aimed at identifying systemic causes of misdiagnosis-and how to prevent them.

Ramiah Martin sits reclined in a stroller; her sister sits beside her, placing her hand on Ramiah's arm.

Ramiah’s story: How patient care and medical innovation helped her overcome obstacles

A child with an extremely rare -- and usually fatal -- condition is being discharged after spending the first 13 months of her life in the hospital.

Custom made for her

Denise Brown, left, talks to Dr. John Conte about how she feels since he implanted an apical aortic conduit into her heart last February.

Virtual reality helps Penn State Health St. Joseph pediatricians solve a problem

Dr. Jerry Lee, a pediatrician at Penn State Health St. Joseph Downtown Campus uses virtual reality goggles on young patients who are suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and other conditions to distract them from medical procedures.

Positive attitude beats ‘stupid bum lungs’ for cystic fibrosis patient

Alyssa Kibler, a 33-year-old cystic fibrosis patient from Harrisburg, gets lifesaving help from Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center as she battles the chronic disease.

Ask Us Anything About… Insomnia

People who are challenged with insomnia can have problems falling asleep, and wake up and have trouble going back to sleep. Julio Fernandez-Mendoza, a clinical psychologist at Penn State Health Sleep Research and Treatment Center, talks about the causes of and treatments for insomnia.

Ask Us Anything About… Age-Related Macular Degeneration

Age-Related Macular degeneration, which occurs when the central part of the retina deteriorates, is a leading cause of vision loss in Americans age 60 and older. Learn more about it in this interview with Dr. Ingrid U. Scott, a retina specialist at Penn State Health.

Ask Us Anything About… Blood Thinners

Blood thinners are medicines that help blood flow smoothly through your veins and arteries. They can protect against heart attacks and strokes, but who needs them? What are the benefits and risks associated with taking them? Are there alternative treatments to blood thinners?

Ask Us Anything About… Memory Loss

What is considered normal memory loss? Is memory loss simply a part of aging and is there a way to slow it down?

Todd Miller, a man with a long beard and glasses, smiles as a Kelly Rittle, a nurse on his right, holds up his shirt to administer a flu shot, out of the frame. Rittle is flanked by a table upon which is a rendering of the Penn State Nittany Lion in a shield.

Penn State Health inoculates more than 1,400 people against flu

Penn State Health and the Pennsylvania Department of Health inoculated 1,439 patients to the flu shot at this year’s Pennsylvania Farm Show. That’s up from 1,242 last year.

Penn State Health staff offers free flu shots at Pennsylvania Farm Show

More than 80 nurses from Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center plan to administer flu shots at the Pennsylvania Farm Show, Jan. 5 to 12 in Harrisburg.

Giving is always in fashion: Event raises record amount for CMN

The 11th annual Neiman Marcus Runway Show and Luncheon on Nov. 30 raised a record-breaking $140,000 for Children’s Miracle Network at Penn State Children’s Hospital.

State Police cadets learn how to ‘Stop the Bleed’

Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center trauma prevention staff led about 100 Pennsylvania State Police cadets in Stop the Bleed training on Nov. 3.

An aerial view of the Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center campus.

Faulkner to retire as general counsel of Penn State Health

Mark Faulkner, Penn State Health’s general counsel, has announced plans to retire. His decision brings to a close a legal career that began in 1972, and included providing legal services to Penn State, The Milton S Hershey Medical Center, and what evolved during his tenure into Penn State Health.