Outreach

To address the xylazine crisis in Philadelphia, Penn Medicine employees are offering support within the health system and in the community.

For five years, Penn Medicine’s Social Needs Response Team has connected patients to vital support foundational to good health.

Sashank Prasad and Raymond Price have collaborated for years on an online quiz-show to teach uncommon neurological conditions for Penn Medicine students, and have introduced the program to other institutions as well.

“In a time of constant change and renewal, what keeps us connected is our traditions,” said Penn President J. Larry Jameson at an Alumni Weekend gathering.

When communication barriers impede care, nurses often play a role in bridging language and cultural gaps.

Community health workers from Philadelphia recently completed intensive training in chronic disease self-management through the Philly CEAL project, a strategic partnership between Penn Nursing and the city’s Office of Community Empowerment and Opportunity.

Nine graduating students were recognized at an annual reception for the President’s Engagement, Innovation, and Sustainability prizes.

Fueled by his faith, Chip Chambers, a fifth-year M.D./M.B.A. student in the Perelman School of Medicine and Wharton School, has always looked for ways to serve.“My faith is a huge motivator of everything that I do. I just believe that I’ve been blessed with a lot of things that I didn’t earn and that I have a responsibility to steward those for the good of other people and not for myself,” Chambers says.

The fifth cohort of Penn P4P teams will receive up to $100,000 each to support education, health, and urban agriculture, respectively, in Philadelphia.

Penn offices and community partners have options for off-campus pickups, on-campus donations, and additional curbside trash pickup days aimed at keeping the neighborhood clean and limiting what ends up in the landfill.