Connecting the West Philadelphia community to careers 
The West Philadelphia Skills Initiative is a workforce development partnership between the University City District, Penn Medicine, and the University committed to develop career opportunities for local residents.
The first-of-its kind Center for Surgical Health provides navigation and support to help under- and uninsured patients receive surgical treatment before it becomes an emergency.
Onika Washington-Johnson hands a box of food to David Cabello, founder of Black and Mobile food delivery service, outside of Share Food Program’s facility. (Image: Penn Medicine Service in Action)
A FAST approach to helping food insecurity
FAST (Food Access Support Technology) is a new platform created by Penn Medicine’s Center for Health Equity Advancement (CHEA) that connects health systems, food access community-based organizations and minority-owned small businesses to fight food insecurity.
A FIT Kit comes in an envelope and includes instructions, a prepaid return mailing envelope, and a small tube to contain a probe that the user will insert into a stool sample to capture a tiny particle. In the lab, the small sample is tested for signs of blood in the stool, which may not be visible. (Image: Penn Medicine Service in Action)
How to connect communities to colorectal cancer screening
Penn Medicine has been on a multiyear journey to both raise the rates of screening for colorectal cancer and increase uptake of follow up care, with the goal of driving down colorectal cancer death rates and addressing inequities
Canvasser Yuhnis Syndor, 57, speaks to Cristal LaTorre, 35, about the vaccine in West Philadelphia, PA, on May 20, 2021. (Image: Penn Medicine Service in Action)
Vaccine conversations go door-to-door
Canvasser with the West Philadelphia Vaccine Street Team Pilot Program go door to door to dispel misinformation and show their neighbors that vaccination is safe, by example.
Image: Courtesy of Penn Medicine Service in Action
Vaccine house calls bring COVID protection home
In an effort to reach residents who are elderly or disabled, Penn Medicine has put its COVID-19 vaccination efforts on wheels, taking shots directly to patients’ homes.
A Penn Medicine program called SHARP, or Safe Haircuts As We Reopen Philadelphia, helped refine plans for hair salons and barbershops to safely reopen.
