Lauren Zelinsky, manager, guest relations, displays the collection of personal care items donated by Princeton Health staff members to support central New Jersey families experiencing hunger or homelessness.
Princeton Health staffers were encouraged to take care of themselves and community members during Penn Medicine Experience (PMX) Week, which featured a wellness challenge, virtual yoga, and a drive to collect toiletries and other personal care items for individuals experiencing homelessness.
The week's activities celebrated staff members and recognized the great work they do every day, yet there was also an emphasis on self-care, said Geri Karpiscak, RN, director, patient relations and customer service, who leads a committee that coordinates PMX Week at Princeton Health. Yoga sessions, which had been offered in previous years, were on the schedule again this year, although they were provided virtually in keeping with social distancing guidelines.
A brand-new event in 2020 was a fitness challenge organized through Wellfocused, Penn Medicine’s wellness platform, and echoing this year’s PMX Week theme: BE Present—I show up and remain engaged. A dozen teams with 100 members finished the five-day challenge, racking up a total of more than 3.9 million steps — roughly 7,800 steps per day for each participant.
“To take exceptional care of our parents, we need to take care of ourselves, too," Karpiscak said. "That is why we incorporated the step challenge and other mindfulness activities such as virtual yoga into our PMX Week celebration. We wanted to be sure we were helping our staff remain engaged in their health and well-being.”
Princeton Health's community service project was an effort to collect bath, shaving, dental, and hair care products to benefit families served by Arm in Arm, a nonprofit organization in Mercer County, N.J. that works to combat hunger and homelessness.