Reporting - Health and Science
First Lady Jill Biden visits CHOP to encourage parents to vaccinate their children
First Lady Jill Biden visited the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia on Friday to encourage parents to vaccinate their children against COVID-19.
Biden attended CHOP's vaccine clinic at the Nicholas and Athena Karabots Pediatric Care Center, where she spoke with young children who just received the vaccine and their families. Gov. Tom Wolf, the Philadelphia 76ers mascot, and Ala Stanford, who founded the Black Doctors COVID-19 Consortium, joined Biden at the event.
Individuals who are five years old and older are now eligible to receive the vaccine in the United States, and all adults are eligible for booster shots. Biden urged all eligible Americans to receive the vaccine, as well as their boosters.
Full story reported for The Daily Pennsylvanian on Dec. 03, 2021
Photo by Sukhmani Kaur
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Penn Med’s $1.6 billion Pavilion to open this week with technologically advanced patient rooms
After five years of construction which totaled $1.6 billion, the Pavilion will accept its first patients on Oct. 30. The facility will offer advanced technology features for both patients and clinicians to improve patient care and comfort. More than half of the clinical services previously offered by the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, including cardiac surgery and oncology, will shift to the Pavilion.
The Pavilion will house 504 patients in single-occupancy rooms equipped with “smart room” features, like interactive smart TV monitors to display important patient care information, a MyChart bedside tablet that displays medication and appointment times, and outside door displays to show clinicians relevant information about the patient.
Full story reported for The Daily Pennsylvanian on Oct. 29, 2021
Photo by Sukhmani Kaur
First-year Penn Medicine students reflect on in-person White Coat Ceremony during pandemic
More than 100 members of the Perelman School of Medicine's entering class donned their own embroidered Penn Medicine white coats for the first time at an in-person ceremony on Sept. 24.
Vice Dean of Medical Education Suzanne Rose led the ceremony, distributing the white coats and delivering remarks to the incoming students and their guests. Nearly two years into the COVID-19 pandemic, Rose acknowledged the emotional and physical toll the virus has had on health care workers, and the greater push towards embracing scientific discovery.
"The past year has shown us how health and society intersect, how science can transform our lives, how health care providers are true heroes, and how precious health is for everyone," Rose said.
Full story reported for The Daily Pennsylvanian on Sept. 28, 2021
Photo Courtesy of Penn Medicine
First Nursing Innovation Prize winner awarded for wearable light that won’t wake patients
Nursing senior Anthony Scarpone-Lambert is the first Nursing student to receive the President’s Innovation Prize. His startup Lumify Care sells a wearable LED light that nurses can attach to their scrubs to illuminate their workspace without disturbing a patient’s sleep.
“The power that nurses bring into this innovation space is that we really understand problems we are solving first hand, because we are the ones at the bedside with the patient,” Scarpone-Lambert said.
Full story reported for The Daily Pennsylvanian on Apr. 28, 2021
Photo by Sukhmani Kaur
A year into the pandemic, students reflect on losing family members to COVID-19
Members of the Penn community described how their outlook on life and the pandemic were upended in just a year after losing family members and loved ones due to complications from the virus, and expressed hope that their stories would send a resounding message to members of the Penn community who continue to disregard COVID-19 safety protocols.
Full story reported for The Daily Pennsylvanian with Lindsey Perelman on Mar. 18, 2021
Photo by Kylie Cooper
Penn Medicine's Carl June Awarded Dan David Prize for Breakthroughs in Cancer Treatment
"Cell therapy was one of the best examples of a technology that was promised but no one ever thought it could be commercialized," June said in an interview with The Daily Pennsylvanian. "It was going to just be a boutique demonstration that could change the immune system, but no one thought it would be FDA approved."
Full story reported for The Daily Pennsylvanian on Feb. 18, 2021
Photo Courtesy of Penn Medicine
Zeke Emanuel details how COVID-19 has exacerbated inequities in healthcare at Penn event
"In current hospitalization, African Americans and Hispanics are three and a half to four times more likely to be hospitalized than white patients and about 2.4 times more likely to die as a result of it," Emanuel, who recently served on Joe Biden's Transition COVID-19 Advisory Board, said. "It's not just about the disparity in healthcare and access to doctors and the hospital but also other factors that lead to [differences in] life expectancy."
Full story reported for The Daily Pennsylvanian on Jan. 28, 2021
Photo Courtesy of the University of Pennsylvania
From Pottruck to Tiktok: Penn graduates introduce virtual workout classes amid pandemic
During their time at Penn, the Jones triplets were known around campus for hosting high-energy fitness bootcamps at various college houses. Since graduation, they've expanded their operation to teach classes across the country with their new online platform, which was featured on Good Morning America at the start of the pandemic.
Full story reported for The Daily Pennsylvanian on Jan. 16, 2021
Photo by Sukhmani Kaur
Penn students bring virtual birthday celebrations to children of healthcare workers
“I wanted to celebrate children’s lives; for them to remember joyful moments and have happy childhood memories to look back on even in situations beyond their control,” rising senior Saachi Datta, who currently serves as CEO and president of Manāna, said.
Full story reported for The Daily Pennsylvanian on June 16, 2020
Photo Courtesy of the Manāna board
Grad student research returns to campus as first set of lab restrictions lift
After announcing a three-phased reopening for research labs on campus in mid-May, the University is set to begin its first phase of reopening for research labs on June 1. Phase I and II will only allow volunteering graduate students to return to labs. Only research deemed essential and prioritized by the University will begin in Phase I and it is not until Phase III that all research, including undergraduate research, will resume.
Full story reported for The Daily Pennsylvanian on May 30, 2020
Photo by Sukhmani Kaur