Pennsylvania Hospital is dedicated to caring for those in need both on our units and in our community. When the hospital was founded, the Good Samaritan parable was integrated into the official seal, and a commitment to helping and supporting vulnerable individuals and families has been deeply rooted in our practices ever since. PAH’s compassionate and resourceful staff have ensured that improving the health, wellness, and safety of our community is not an “extra” part of our work or only done “on the clock,” but is directly tied to our mission and a major strength of our culture.
Fundraisers and other charitable ventures are staples of our calendar all year round, with food drives and clothing drives, bake sales and pretzel sales, marathons and walks, and bike rides and free clinics all providing a wide range of opportunities to support local organizations and causes and to give back to the community. PAH’s Cultural & Community Awareness Council also hosts events throughout the year that encourage staff to better understand the needs and perspectives of our diverse patient population while inviting those communities to join in the fun. All of this underscores the fact that when our teams come together with a desire to serve – whether by distributing boots to homeless patients to protect their feet in the winter, or by selling water ice to support the ICN Family Fund in the summer – they are unstoppable.
PAH is also excited to have staff who regularly apply for Penn Medicine CAREs grants and successfully receive funding to support community outreach projects, big and small. Some recent grant winners have led workshops teaching community members how to perform CPR and the Heimlich maneuver, distributed much-needed toiletries and clothing to underserved individuals, organized activities to keep local at-risk youth safe, active, and healthy, and provided information about accessible food, healthcare, housing, and community resources during health fairs. You can read about the work of one recent CAREs grant winner from PAH in the current issue of System News, and I encourage you to apply for a grant yourself to promote your outreach projects across the health system and secure a funding boost!
Pennsy’s emphasis on community service brings us closer to our service-minded colleagues, creates trusting connections with the community, cultivates supportive partnerships with local organizations, and allows us to exercise each of those traits we have pledged to “BE.” Thank you for helping to make an investment in our community part of who we are at PAH.