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West Philadelphia

Engaging faith communities to reduce vaccination disparities
Masked person holds up photo border that reads "I got the COVID-19 vaccine!"

The event was the result of a close partnership among Penn Medicine, Mercy Philadelphia, and faith leaders from West and Southwest Philadelphia.

Engaging faith communities to reduce vaccination disparities

In partnership with Mercy Philadelphia and community faith leaders, Penn Medicine held a vaccine clinic at the Church of Christian Compassion that reached 500 people in West Philadelphia. At least two more such events are planned.

Katherine Unger Baillie

Black and Hispanic Americans are most likely to miss health screenings due to COVID-19. A Penn physician is meeting the need

Black and Hispanic Americans are most likely to miss health screenings due to COVID-19. A Penn physician is meeting the need

Carmen Guerra of the Perelman School of Medicine spoke about the structural and social barriers that have prevented communities of color from getting screened for cancer, even before the pandemic. Guerra and her colleagues have created a colorectal cancer screening navigation program to help remedy this disparity in West Philadelphia.

Artist Maya Lin’s large-scale installation will be on display in Penn Medicine’s new Pavilion
Rendering of Maya Lin’s art installation, a large-scale treelike sculpture with branches reaching upwards through atrium open ceiling.

Newly commissioned artwork by Maya Lin will soon be displayed in the Penn Pavilion. Pictured, artist rendition tentatively titled “DNA Tree of Life” by Maya Lin. (Image: Courtesy of Maya Lin Studio)

Artist Maya Lin’s large-scale installation will be on display in Penn Medicine’s new Pavilion

The new installation from the renowned artist and designer embodies the health system’s goal of creating calming, healing environments for patients.
Side Gigs for Good across Penn
Classroom full of girls seated at wooden desks with Fatima Al Rashed seated in front of the blackboard in the front of the class.

Side Gigs for Good across Penn

For many, 2020 was a difficult year. Despite that, the community found ways to go above and beyond, in their own backyards and across the world.

Katherine Unger Baillie , Michele W. Berger

Ancil George’s legacy reaches outside the stacks
Ancil George leans on The Button sculpture in daylight in front of Van Pelt Library.

Since his retirement as community outreach librarian in 2019, Ancil George continues to volunteer at the local Lea Elementary School in West Philadelphia. (Pre-pandemic image: The Pennsylvania Gazette)

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Ancil George’s legacy reaches outside the stacks

After retiring in 2019, the long-serving Penn figure continues his work in community outreach in West Philadelphia.

The Pennsylvania Gazette

At the Clyde Barker Transplant House, respite and comfort food for the soul
Plate of pink frosted cupcakes.

Walnut Hill College students recently prepared a three-course meal of butternut squash soup, homemade dinner rolls, shepherd’s pie, and spooky, Halloween-themed fudge brownie cupcakes, complete with edible fondant spiders on top. (Image: Penn Medicine CAREs)

At the Clyde Barker Transplant House, respite and comfort food for the soul

A partnership between the Clyde F. Barker Penn Transplant House and the Walnut Hill College culinary school gives transplant patients and their families hearty meals and much-needed comfort from the West Philadelphia community.

From Penn Medicine CAREs