COVID-19: News & Updates

Staying Sober in the Age of Sipping ‘Quarantinis’

Feelings of isolation, boredom and uncertainty coupled with the proliferation of Zoom happy hours and creative boozy concoctions like ‘quarantinis,’ have been a recipe for relapse for some.

Videos, Webinars and Lots of Feedback: Medical Training’s Shift Amid COVID-19

Blinking and rasping, the patient admits that it’s hard for him to breathe. He is suspected to have COVID-19 and he needs to be intubated. It’s a routine procedure that has taken on added risk because it so easily “aerosolizes” the germs that cause the disease, sending them widely into the air.

New Mental Health Platform Provides Support for Healthcare Workers

While mental health in the workplace is a longstanding and undertreated issue, it has been amplified as health professionals struggle with the extraordinary physical and emotional demands of COVID-19.

Performing Organ Transplants Safely Amid the COVID19 Outbreak

How does a health system manage the need for organ transplants during a global pandemic?

Additional News Releases & Blogs

• 

  Called to Comfort: How Chaplain Residents Are Walking Through COVID-19 With Patients and Staff

  April 10, 2020

  In the chaos created by the coronavirus, a hospital may seem like one of the last places where a healthy person would want to spend time. However, chaplain resident Scott Sprunger believes it’s exactly where he’s meant to be.
• 

  Giving Blood, Giving Back: Penn Medicine Staff Step up to Help in the Crisis

  April 08, 2020

  According to the American Red Cross, more than 13,000 blood drives have been canceled since states began enacting “stay home” measures due to COVID-19.
• 

  Penn Medicine Together: Helping Staff Cope While Providing Coronavirus Care

  April 06, 2020

  As the coronavirus pandemic continues to spread, health experts throughout the country are not only concerned about the nation’s physical health but also the mental and emotional impact of constant anxiety, worry, and fear.
• 

  Philadelphia Eagles Owner Jeffrey Lurie Gives $1 Million to Penn Medicine Research to Fight COVID-19

  April 03, 2020

  Philadelphia Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie today announced a $1 million contribution to Penn Medicine to establish the COVID-19 Immunology Defense Fund, laying the foundation for the world’s foremost experts to fight the novel coronavirus pandemic.
• 

  Philadelphia 76ers All-Star Joel Embiid, 76ers Managing Partner Josh Harris, and Co-Managing Partner David Blitzer Join Forces to Provide $1.3 Million to Penn Medicine for Critical Support of Health Care Workers Fighting COVID-19

  April 03, 2020

  As part of a pledge to coronavirus medical relief efforts, NBA All-Star Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers, along with the team’s managing partner, Josh Harris, and co-managing partner, David Blitzer, today announced a combined contribution of $1.3 million to Penn Medicine, establishing a funding campaign for COVID-19 antibody testing of front line health care workers.
• 

  Penn Launches Trial to Evaluate Hydroxychloroquine

  April 03, 2020

  A new trial led by the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania will evaluate whether the drug hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) can benefit people infected with COVID-19.
• 

  Why Clinical Trials During Disease Outbreaks May Need a New Approach

  April 02, 2020

  As trials for COVID-19 treatments, like the drug Remdesivir, are already underway, researchers are hoping to avoid mistakes made during the West African Ebola epidemic, in which incomplete studies led to inconclusive results.
• 

  Amidst Global Pandemic, Students Have a Match Day to Remember

  March 31, 2020

  Instead of receiving their match results surrounded by family, friends, faculty members, and staff in the atrium of the Jordan Medical Education Center (JMEC), students were virtually cheered on as they opened emails with their Match results.
• 

  Pavilion Powers Ahead to Combat COVID-19

  March 26, 2020

  As much of the region falls quiet, construction crews are on job around the clock at the Pavilion, the new hospital on the campus of the HUP, to expedite the completion of 120 patient rooms by mid-April — 15 months ahead of the facility’s planned opening.
• 

  At Drive-Through Testing Sites, Penn Providers on the Front Lines of a Pandemic

  March 22, 2020

  As the coronavirus quickly spreads, experts say that testing is critical. In response, Penn Medicine is joining health systems throughout the region and the U.S. in following the South Korean model and setting up drive-through testing sites.