Weekly Updates: Week of Oct. 12
Pawsitivity: Dumpster diving just part of patient care
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After 18 years working in waste processing, Alex Astier is used to being surrounded by trash. But he usually isn’t as up close and personal with it as he was last month when he found himself rooting through a dumpster one hot afternoon.
Astier, a waste processor at Hershey Medical Center, got a call from his supervisor about a patient belongings bag that was inadvertently put in the trash.
“I thought the chances of finding the bag were extremely low due to the volume of waste processed by the facility daily,” said Gary Paronish, Facilities shift operations manager.
Having no luck, Astier did what he’s never done before – dumpster dive.
Want your last name omitted from your ID badge? You need an official replacement
In response to legislation intended to protect health care professionals in the workplace, Penn State Health implemented a new policy in September allowing employees, if they choose, to omit their last names on photo identification badges.
Employees who covered their last names as a temporary measure when the policy was first announced must replace their badges with one that includes a new photo, the employee’s first name only and the last four digits of their Penn State ID.
The ID Badge Office in Hershey extended its hours through October to help issue the new, first-name only ID badges for employees who choose that option. St. Joseph will continue with normal hours.
Hershey Campus
- Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays ― 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
- Tuesdays and Thursdays ― 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.
St. Joseph Bern Campus
- Call 610-378-2011 to schedule an appointment.
Hershey names Paradise, Shue June and July Daisy Award winners
Hershey Medical Center presented DAISY (Diseases Attacking the Immune System) Awards to two Heart and Vascular Institute Critical Care Unit nurses, Jessica Paradise and Rebekah Shue. The accolade recognizes nurses for their skillful, compassionate care and their daily support of patients and families.
Paradise was selected as the June DAISY Award winner. She was nominated by a colleague who praised her efforts to advocate for a terminally ill patient.
“If one were to mix the spirit of Florence Nightingale with the spirit of William the Conqueror, then one would get Jessica Norton-Paradise,” wrote one colleague. “She advocates with great vigor for her patients and their families.”
Shue was selected as the July DAISY Award winner. She was nominated by a colleague who recognized that her empathy and care for her peers and patients were making a difference on the unit.
The colleague said Shue’s “superior therapeutic communication skills” helped the distressed family of a patient on ECMO and helped them deal in a healthy way with the loss of their loved one.
Certain preexisting conditions can double, triple mortality risk for COVID-19 patients
A large, international study of COVID-19 patients confirmed that cardiovascular disease, hypertension, diabetes, congestive heart failure, chronic kidney disease, stroke and cancer can increase a patient’s risk of dying from the virus.
College of Medicine researchers say their findings may help public health officials improve patient care and develop interventions that can target these high-risk populations.
The researchers found that cardiovascular disease may double a patient’s risk of dying from COVID-19. They also discovered that other preexisting conditions may increase a COVID-19 patient’s risk of death by one and a half to three times. The results were recently published in PLOS ONE.
Researcher leads $3.8 million project to map developing mice brains
A grant from the National Institutes of Health will allow a College of Medicine researcher to lead a three-year, multi-institution project to create an atlas of developing mice brains. The initiative will help researchers better understand brain development and give them a resource to use for studying brain disorders like autism and schizophrenia.
The National Institutes of Mental Health awarded Yongsoo Kim, assistant professor of neural and behavioral sciences, $3.8 million to lead the project. His collaborators include Lydia Ng from the Allen Institute for Brain Science, James Gee from the University of Pennsylvania, Jiangyang Zhang from New York University and Luis Puelles from the University of Murcia in Spain.
The research team will use computational tools and high-resolution 3D imaging to build a map of mouse brains across seven key developmental time points. Another goal of the project is to capture the location and quantity of key developmental neurons and other cell types across brain regions as the brain develops over time.
Releasing emails from quarantine now easier
The Office of Cybersecurity and Privacy has streamlined the process of releasing emails from quarantine. Now, users can release them directly from the End User Digest email. Click “Release” below the message that you want to release to your inbox. A confirmation window will appear indicating that the message was successfully released. The previously quarantined message will appear in your inbox within a few minutes.
Visit the Spam Email Quarantine Infonet page for more details on managing your email quarantine.
Check out Penn State Health employee discounts
Penn State Health offers employees discounts on products, services and events from local and national businesses. Discounts are available on travel, electronics, fashion and beauty, health and wellness, restaurants and more. Access the complete list of discounts available through Abenity.
Wellness Wednesday ― Clean Eatz discount
Clean Eatz Lancaster provides a variety of healthy meal and snack options for people with busy lifestyles.
Penn State Health and College of Medicine employees receive a 10% discount on all food and snack items in the Clean Eatz Cafe. Show your Penn State Health employee badge at checkout to receive your discount.
- For employees who wish to take advantage of the weekly meal plan program, visit cleaneatz.com/mealplanmenu to receive 10% off your order.
- Penn State Health employees ― enter PSH10 and your employee ID number (ex: PSH1012345) at checkout.
College of Medicine employees ― enter COM10 and your PSU ID (ex: COM10123456789) at checkout.
For more information click here to be taken to mySolutions.
For additional wellness resources visit the PRO Wellness BeWell Employee Wellness website.
Penn State Health Breast Center presents Employee Mammogram events Oct. 20, 21, 27
Penn State Health female employees age 40 and older are invited to schedule their annual screening mammogram during Employee Mammogram Nights at Penn State Health Breast Center, 30 Hope Drive, Entrance A, Suite 1800, Hershey from Tuesday, Oct. 20, and Tuesday, Oct. 27, from 4:40 to 8 p.m.
Penn State Health Lime Spring Outpatient Center will also host an Employee Mammogram event on Wednesday, Oct. 21, from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., 221 Noll Drive, Lancaster. We’re following all social distancing and safety precautions to protect your well-being. Register at 1-800-243-1455.
‘Drug Discovery and Medical Cannabinoids’ talk Oct. 21
Wesley Rapp-Konsavage, associate director of Penn State Medical Marijuana Academic Clinical Research Center, will discuss “Drug Discovery and Medical Cannabinoids” at the Research Quality Assurance Lunchtime Lecture on Wednesday, Oct. 21, at noon. Register here and receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.
Blood donors needed for Oct. 22 employee blood drive in Hershey
The American Red Cross has an increased need for blood donations. You can help by participating in the employee-only blood drive that Hershey Medical Center scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 22, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., at the Academic Support Building, 90 Hope Drive, Hershey. Look for the LionReach Trailer in the parking lot.
Organizers recommend scheduling appointments, which can be made here. To donate, you must be in good health, feeling well and weigh at least 110 pounds.
The American Red Cross continues to test all blood donations for COVID-19 antibodies. Donors may view their results through their American Red Cross blood donor app or by logging onto the American Red Cross website about seven to 10 days after their donation.
‘Cultivating a Climate of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in Virtual Teams’ seminar Oct. 22
Penn State Clinical and Translational Science Institute will present “Cultivating a Climate of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in Virtual Teams” at its next Translational Science Seminar Series webinar from noon to 1 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 22.
Susan Mohammed, professor of psychology and the institute’s team science expert, will present the webinar. Register here.
Pediatric Care Management Department presents fundraiser for employees
Hershey Medical Center’s Pediatric Care Management Department is raising money for the Employee Assistance Fund, which helps staff affected by hardships such as the COVID-19 pandemic.
The department is accepting orders for “We’re in this Together” T-shirts and donating the proceeds to the fund. Deadline to order is Sunday, Oct. 25.
Reducing barriers to hiring people with disabilities: Oct. 27 talk
In celebration of the 75th National Disability Employment Awareness Month and to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, Susanne Bruyère, academic director of the Yang-Tan Institute on Employment and Disability, will discuss how employer focus has shifted in recent years.
- Tuesday, Oct. 27
- 4 p.m.
- Register here
If you have questions or require accommodations for a disability to participate, email diversity@pennstatehealth.psu.edu.
The event is sponsored by Penn State Health Capital Region (Dauphin) Disability Affinity Resource Network Group and the Office for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion present.
Schmitz presents Dean’s Lecture Oct. 29
Kathryn Schmitz, professor in the Department of Public Health Sciences and the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, will give the Dean’s Lecture on Thursday, Oct. 29, from noon to 1 p.m. Visit med.psu.edu/Schmitz to watch via Zoom. Attendees can obtain Continuing Medical Education credit.
Register for Cancer Research Day Remote Conference on Oct. 31
Penn State Cancer Institute is sponsoring the third annual Cancer Research Day Remote Conference on Saturday, Oct. 31, from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
All Penn State undergraduate, medical and graduate students, along with postdoctoral scholars, residents and faculty interested in cancer research are invited. This event will provide attendees with an opportunity to learn from established research professionals who have a variety of backgrounds.
The keynote speaker is Dr. Douglas Lowy, deputy director of the National Cancer Institute. Guest speaker will be Dr. Mohamed Hassanein, associate director, clinical assay lead of Pfizer Inc., global product development.
This event also will feature a question-and-answer session and lightning talks by Penn State Cancer Institute faculty highlighting their labs and research philosophies. Trainees can participate in oral presentations and virtual poster sessions.
A Zoom link will be sent to registered participants. See conference details and RSVP online: cancer.psu.edu/research-day.
College of Medicine pandemic response Friday round-up – week of Oct. 5-9
College of Medicine leaders updated faculty, staff and students on Oct. 9 about the ongoing response to the COVID-19 pandemic:
- Kevin Black, interim dean, announced that the College will transition from phase 3 (50% capacity) to phase 4 (80% capacity) on Oct. 12.
- Research labs can slightly increase the number of researchers who can be in the lab simultaneously.
- The Clinical Research Center and Exercise Research Center will continue to limit capacity for human subjects.
- Any person who can work remotely should continue to do so.
- Supervisors of faculty and staff who will return to work in this next phase should fill out the University Return-to-Work Authorization form.
- Asymptomatic testing will be available to any faculty and staff (not students) who are working on campus.
- Some clinical departments are allowing medical and physician assistant students to shadow from Oct. 12 through Nov. 20, resuming in January.
University Fitness Center expands hours
The University Fitness Center has expanded its hours to Monday through Friday from 5 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Reichwein recognized for Exceptional Moments in Teaching
Dr. Raymond Reichwein, a board-certified neurologist and professor of neurology at Penn State College of Medicine, is featured for October in the “Exceptional Moments in Teaching” program.
“Dr. Reichwein provided one of the richest clinical education experiences in all of medical school,” the student wrote. “I have never had an attending teach with as much passion and excitement as Dr. Reichwein. His extensive knowledge of stroke and stroke management was extremely impressive, and the vigor and manner with which he shared this knowledge empowered me greatly as a learner.”
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