Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania receives two 2025 Hospital and Health System Association of Pennsylvania Achievement Awards
The hospital is recognized for pioneering programs that address food insecurity and expand cancer care access, improving community health and reducing hospital stays.
PHILADELPHIA— The Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania (HUP) received two 2025 Achievement Awards from the Hospital and Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania (HAP). Teams at HUP were honored for projects which provide wraparound and enhanced services, through an in-hospital food pantry providing meals for families, and for an expanded urgent cancer care center that reduces the time individuals spend at the emergency department and in the hospital. The two awards are among twelve projects led by Pennsylvania health care teams that personify hospitals’ mission to provide high-quality care and improve their communities’ health.
A Hospital Based Food Insecurity Program That Leverages Community Partnerships, Technology and Multidisciplinary Students can Improve the Health of Pennsylvanians was selected for the Community Champions Award. In 2020, nurses created the HUP Food Pantry, a program to screen patients for food insecurity and provide free groceries tailored to dietary needs that patients can take home when they leave the hospital. The program also trains students from local universities to complete their required community rotations while learning about social determinants of health, health disparities, and the impact these have on health outcomes. Since its launch in 2020, the program has distributed nearly 100,000 pounds of food provided by community organizations, like Philabundance.
Weekend Infusion Services for Oncology Patients Save Inpatient Days and Avoid Emergency Department Visits received the Optimal Operations Award. This initiative expanded the hours of the Oncology Evaluation Center (OEC) at the Abramson Cancer Center, from eight hours a day, five days a week, to twelve hours a day seven days a week. The OEC provides urgent care and same-day appointments to evaluate and treat individuals with cancer and offers services including infusions, testing, chemotherapy, symptom management, and supportive care. Rather than patients visiting the emergency department (ED) for these concerns, patients could visit the OEC and be discharged afterward instead of staying at the hospital while waiting to be evaluated. The expanded hours for infusion also increased accessibility to individuals who may work during normal business hours. In addition to helping individuals avoid ED visits and reduce admissions and length of stay, this solution gives patients more control over their schedules with more time options to get care.
In total, there were 108 entries for this year’s Achievement Awards. Additional information about the awards program and detailed descriptions of the winning projects are available on the HAP website.