Health System reaches out to area

As the University continues to expand its already-vast Health System, it is building both up and out -- improving traditional care settings like hospitals while introducing primary care services to the surrounding communities and attempting to strengthen town-gown relations. Although this latter move is good for business, it is in reality much more complex. The Health System's administrators are making a conscious effort to reach out to communities that do not have high-quality health care and use the resources of one of Philadelphia's largest medical systems to improve medical conditions. "Everything we do we're doing because we want to be good corporate citizens," Health System Office of Community Affairs Director Marla Davis said, adding that "we have a responsibility in terms of addressing some of the health care issues in our surrounding neighborhoods." For example, Davis cited the Spruce Medical Center, where the Health System has joined with local community organizations to plant flowers beds around some trees. And at the Grays Ferry site, the Health System organizes presentations to inform community members about important health issues. Another important neighborhood site in the Philadelphia area is the Overbrook Medical Center -- located on North 63rd Street. "One of the reasons we went out to Overbrook is because we think that we're really not in touch with the community," Medicine Professor Harold Mignott said. Mignott added that "it's kind of intimidating for most of the people coming to the hospital. Being out there in the community, we become automatically a part of the community." A key feature of the Overbrook center is its men's health program, which was designed to make men -- and especially African American men -- aware that health care is important. Overbrook also features lectures on important topics such as hypertension and stress while offering free health screening. Overall, the Health System's community efforts are aimed at dual goals of "health promotion and disease prevention," Mignott said. "The University is part of the community, it's a neighbor to the community, and our mission -- at least from the Health System standpoint -- ought to be the wellness of everyone and making sure that everyone has access," he added. But the Health System was also designed to be one of the biggest and best health care providers in Philadelphia, and that is its primary driving force. "The experts are predicting that the Philadelphia region will end up with three or four integrated systems that will cover either the entire region or part of the region," Health System Physician Recruitment and Network Development Director Robert Field said. "Penn has positioned itself to be one of those surviving systems, and to do so it has to have the capability to service the entire region." In order to accomplish this mission, the Health System developed a network of 230 physicians entitled the "Clinical Care Associates." Covering a 50-mile region around Philadelphia, officials expect CCA to eventually include 300-400 physicians. And its development and growth reflect the changing health care environment. "We have to be able to reach people where they live and where they work in order to be attractive to managed care companies and in order to operate at a size that's appropriate to our educational needs," Field explained. Penn Medicine at Radnor is perhaps the hallmark of this brand of community-based medicine. Located in Radnor, Pa., this $35 million facility provides convenient care for Philadelphia's suburbs. The state-of-the-art medical center combines traditional physician visits with more advanced medical services. "We do a lot of procedures that five years ago were done in hospitals," Practice Administrator Gregory Stets noted. In an effort to provide efficient and convenient care, the Health System organized Radnor into eight clusters based on specialties and patient needs. The facility also includes services such as a Medical Information Center, where pharmacists provide drug information to patients, and Penn Health For Women, which is a nationally-recognized site specializing in women's care. And as part of the University, Radnor will serve as a center for educational experiences for Medical School students. "We've always intended to have medical education done up here," Stets explained.