Penn State Health News

Long-Term Care RISE ECHO Program
2026-02-05 13:00 - 14:00, 2026-03-05 13:00 - 14:00, 2026-04-02 13:00 - 14:00, 2026-05-07 13:00 - 14:00 (America/New_York) | Zoom
TRAINING FOR NURSING HOME PROFESSIONALS
(CE & NHA CREDITS AVAILABLE)
No-cost Monthly Sessions | 1-2 p.m. EST | Sep. 4, 2025 – May 7, 2026 | 100% Virtual
Are you working in long-term care or assisted living settings and want to:

Increase high-quality care for residents?
Join insightful conversations with experts & peers?
Foster confidence in providing specialized care?

Register Here
Grow Your Skills. Strengthen Your Network. Champion Long-Term Care.
JOIN our innovative, no-cost, virtual program—a monthly series designed to help long-term care facility leaders & staff improve health outcomes for residents—especially those facing age-related care challenges.
Sessions provide an evidence-based approach to increasing high-quality care for residents by bringing together specialists and non-specialists to improve care for residents in the communities where they live.
How It Works

Monthly live Zoom sessions (1–2 p.m. EST)
Rolling registration—sign up once and attend as you’re able
Each session features real participant cases + 15-minute expert “FlashTalks”

This South Central LTC-RISE program is offered in partnership with Project ECHO at Penn State College of Medicine, a trusted model that connects specialists with on-the-ground care teams to share knowledge and build community-based capacity.
Registration is free and open now. Sign up once to access all sessions

Schedule & Curriculum

Session Time 1–2 p.m. EST | ️ Upcoming Dates & Topics

Sep. 4, 2025 – Resident Councils

Oct. 2, 2025 – Family Councils

Nov. 6, 2025 – Advanced Care Planning in Assisted Living & Personal Care

Dec. 4, 2025 – Medication Reconciliation in Personal Care & Assisted Living

Feb. 5, 2026 – Introduction to the 4Ms of Behavioral Health Training from E4

Mar. 5, 2026 – Non-Ageist Approach to Care

Apr. 2, 2026 – Trauma-Informed Care

May 7, 2026 – How to Effectively Collaborate with Ombudsman

Connecting Through Literature: Classic American Short Stories Session 3
2026-02-11 12:00 - 13:00 | Zoom
Online Discussion – Short Story: “The Lottery,” Shirley Jackson
Description from Wikipedia:
“The Lottery” is a short story by Shirley Jackson that was first published in The New Yorker on June 26, 1948. The story describes a fictional small American community that observes an annual tradition known as “the lottery”, which is intended to ensure a good harvest and purge the town of bad omens. The lottery, its preparations, and its execution are all described in detail, though it is not revealed until the end what actually happens to the person selected by the random lottery.
Reading link: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1948/06/26/the-lottery
Register to receive the Zoom link the week of the event. Please add to your own calendar.

The Connecting Through Literature Book Club’s Classic American Short Stories series is a collaboration between the Harrell Health Sciences Library and Department of Humanities. Join in on one, a few, or all of the discussions in the series as suits your time and interest. You do not even need to have read the story beforehand to listen in on the conversation – are welcome.

Contact edonne@pennstatehealth.psu.edu if you would like to receive email updates for all of this year’s discussions.

Learn more here.

Pediatric Oncology ECHO
2026-02-12 12:00 - 13:00, 2026-03-12 12:00 - 13:00, 2026-04-09 12:00 - 13:00, 2026-05-14 12:00 - 13:00, 2026-06-11 12:00 - 13:00, 2026-07-09 12:00 - 13:00 | Zoom
Training for Primary Care Providers
(CME credits available)
No-cost Monthly Sessions | 12-1 p.m. EST | Dec. 11, 2025 – Jul. 9, 2026 | 100% Virtual
No matter your level of experience, this program provides the knowledge and community support to strengthen your role in caring for children with cancer.

Expand your role in pediatric cancer care, even if you’re not in a specialty center.
Access knowledge and support whether you’re in a rural setting or an urban clinic.
Explore timely, practice-relevant topics like:

Early signs of pediatric brain tumors
Best practices in adolescent and young adult oncology
Survivorship care after pediatric cancer
Integrative approaches and precision medicine

Register Here
Enhance Your Pediatric Care From Anywhere.
Join a dynamic community of general physicians, pediatricians, and experts for this free, virtual tele-mentoring program designed to empower primary care providers with the latest knowledge in pediatric oncology.
Through 8 monthly sessions, gain the insights and confidence to support young patients facing cancer — from diagnosis to survivorship.
How It Works

Monthly live Zoom sessions (12–1 p.m. EST)
Rolling registration—sign up once and attend as you’re able
Each session features real participant cases + 15-minute expert “FlashTalks”
Registration is free and open now. Sign up once to access all sessions.

Schedule & Curriculum

Session Time 12–1 p.m. EST | ️ Upcoming Dates & Topics

Dec. 11, 2025 – Adolescent & Young Adult Oncology

Jan. 8, 2026 – Pediatric Acute Leukemia

Feb. 12, 2026 – Precision Medicine

Mar. 12, 2026 – Pediatric Solid Tumors

Apr. 9, 2026 – Surviving After Pediatric Cancer

May 14, 2026 – Integrative Oncology

Jun. 11, 2026 – Genetic Predisposition to Cancer

Jul. 9, 2026 – Pediatric Brain Tumors

College of Medicine Research Data Live Help Sessions
2026-02-18 13:00 - 14:00, 2026-03-18 13:00 - 14:00, 2026-04-15 13:00 - 14:00, 2026-05-20 13:00 - 14:00, 2026-06-17 13:00 - 14:00, 2026-07-15 13:00 - 14:00, 2026-08-19 13:00 - 14:00, 2026-09-16 13:00 - 14:00 and 9 more dates | Remote
The COM Research Data team is now offering live help sessions to support you with all your research data needs. Whether you have a data request, questions about research data, or need real-time data provision, our team is here to assist. We can also help answer any concerns related to data collection or provide guidance on design specifications and self-service design. Don’t hesitate to join the live sessions for expert support and timely solutions to ensure your research runs smoothly.

Connecting Through Literature: Classic American Short Stories Session 4
2026-04-08 12:00 - 13:00 | Zoom
Online Discussion – Short Story: “Recitatif” by Toni Morrison
Description from Wikipedia:
“Recitatif” is Toni Morrison’s first published short story. It was initially published in 1983 in Confirmation: An Anthology of African American Women, an anthology edited by Amiri Baraka and Amina Baraka, and is the only short story written by the acclaimed novelist. The story was reissued as a stand-alone book, introduced by Zadie Smith, published in February 2022.
“Recitatif” is a story in racial writing, as the race of Twyla and Roberta are debatable. Though the characters are clearly separated by class, neither is affirmed as African-American or White. Morrison has described the story as “the removal of all racial codes from a narrative about two characters of different races for whom racial identity is crucial.”
Request this text through the PSU Libraries catalog here.
Register to receive the Zoom link the week of the event. Please add to your own calendar.

The Connecting Through Literature Book Club’s Classic American Short Stories series is a collaboration between the Harrell Health Sciences Library and Department of Humanities. Join in on one, a few, or all of the discussions in the series as suits your time and interest. You do not even need to have read the story beforehand to listen in on the conversation – are welcome.

Contact edonne@pennstatehealth.psu.edu if you would like to receive email updates for all of this year’s discussions.

Learn more here.

56th Commencement Ceremony
2026-05-16 13:00 - 15:00 | Hershey Lodge 325 University Drive Hershey, PA 17033, 325 University Drive, Hershey, 17033
The 56th Penn State College of Medicine Commencement Ceremony will be taking place at the Hershey Lodge on Saturday, May 16, 2026 from 1-3 p.m. Event is free to attend.
Faculty members who wish to participate in the ceremony and sit on the stage will need to RSVP for the event in the spring through Student Affairs. Please email studentaffairs@pennstatehealth.psu.edu.
