Penn State Health honors trailblazers during Black History Month
During Black History Month, Penn State Health honors and celebrates the contributions of some of its trailblazers who have left their marks on society and advocate for equality, justice and progress.
Peers and colleagues nominated the following Penn State Health employees for their contributions:
Dr. Taffy Anderson, Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center
Dr. Taffy Anderson is an obstetrician-gynecologist, an addiction medicine physician, a certified clinical trauma specialist and assistant professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Penn State College of Medicine. She has been with Penn State Health since 2017.
What contributions, professionally and personally, are you the proudest of?
I am most proud of helping to develop the Maternal Substance Use Disorder Program over the last year. As a result, I am able to help underserved women who are struggling with substance use have a place where they can receive help.
What message of inspiration do you have for future generations?
Be innovative. Understand what your gift is in medicine and pursue it with all your heart. You will make a difference in the life of your patients!
Dr. Samantha Butts, Milton S. Hershey Medical Center
Dr. Samantha Butts is chief of the Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility and a professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Penn State College of Medicine. She joined Penn State Health in 2021.
What contributions, professionally and personally, are you the proudest of?
The first would be mentoring students and trainees in their career aspirations. A highlight is a summer research program with Lincoln University undergraduate students and faculty, a program supported by the COVID-19 Maternal and Child Health Outcomes in Diverse Pennsylvania Communities grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Health. In this program, students spend the summer working as co-investigators, developing research proposals and foundational clinical research skills.
A second would be my interdisciplinary collaborative clinical and research projects, including my work with Dr. Pooja Rao and Dr. Gayle Smink in pediatric hematology-oncology. We support fertility preservation for patients who receive treatments for diseases like cancer and sickle cell anemia that can compromise their fertility as adults. We are growing this program with support from organizations like Four Diamonds and plan to develop a research program focusing on the fertility and reproductive outcomes of the patients we manage together.
A final highlight is my work to help build and grow clinical services in the Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility Division at Milton S. Hershey Medical Center. The number of in vitro fertilization cycles we perform has more than doubled in the past four years, and we have an outpatient practice to serve patients in York. In addition, members of our team have conducted some of the most significant fertility clinical trials in the last 20 years. Much of this was in place prior to my arrival at Penn State Health, and I strive to be a good steward of this division.
What message of inspiration do you have for future generations?
Working hard matters a great deal, but the “soft skills” reflect your integrity and are important to your personal satisfaction and success generally: emotional intelligence, preparation, impulse management and empathy, among other things.
Lynette Chappell-Williams, Penn State Health
Chappell-Williams serves as vice president and chief diversity officer of the Office for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. She began as the inaugural chief diversity officer for Penn State College of Medicine and Milton S. Hershey Medical Center in 2015 and became the inaugural chief diversity officer of the health system in 2020.
What contributions, professionally and personally, are you the proudest of?
I am proud of supporting students at the College of Medicine during my time there, seeing their progression through medical school and on to residency.
I am also proud of hosting a Project Search intern who believed she had a developmental disability. However, through attending our office’s educational sessions, she came out and realized her struggles stemmed from an extreme lack of self-confidence rather than a developmental disability.
Since being with the health system, I am most proud of developing and ushering through a policy protecting employees from bias or discrimination from patients and their families. On a personal level, I am most proud of establishing a scholarship with the College of Medicine in my dad’s name to provide a diverse medical or advance practice provider student with the financial support needed to complete their education so that they may support diverse patients.
What message of inspiration do you have for future generations?
Don’t ever let anyone take your dream—if you have the desire, you have the ability to be who or what you want. Surround yourself with people who will validate your dream and support you in reaching it.
Grace Hochella, Milton S. Hershey Medical Center
Grace Hochella is a chaplain fellow in the Department of Pastoral Care and a member of the Addiction Medicine Team. She has been with Milton S. Hershey Medical Center since 2022.
What contributions, professionally and personally, are you the proudest of?
I am writing and editing the required paperwork for research related to playing therapeutic harp music at the bedside of patients dealing with a substance use disorder while undergoing active withdrawal symptoms. My hope is that we will see an increase in relaxation and a possible decrease in their withdrawal symptoms. I am hopeful that this study will inspire others to follow and explore other noninvasive measures to help patients across the health spectrum experience different modalities related to the healing arts.
What message of inspiration do you have for future generations?
Have you ever felt that you were just too old to return to school and follow your dreams? Ann Landers said that the time is going to pass by anyway, and before you know it you will indeed be three years older – why not use that time to go back to school if that is what you desire? Be willing to be open to wonder and make seeking joy a regular spiritual practice.
Penn State Health recognizes and celebrates these nominated trailblazers for being a driving force behind positive change in the organization. The Office for Diversity, Equity and inclusion encourages employees to reach out to the nominated trailblazers and congratulate them on their accomplishments.
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