A Letter from Michele Volpe

Michele Volpe
Executive Director,
Penn Presbyterian Medical Center

Earlier this month, we were thrilled to officially open the doors and welcome our first patients to Penn Medicine University City. Our newest outpatient facility is already off to a great and busy start with 62 outpatient surgeries performed in the six new operating rooms, and over 850 patients visiting the new Penn Therapy & Fitness Center in the first week alone.

With University City’s opening, we mark the first of many firsts and the beginning of a major expansion for Penn Presbyterian Medical Center. Together, Penn Medicine University City and the soon-to-be-complete Pavilion for Advanced Care (PAC) comprise the $165 million Cornerstone project, which will allow Penn Medicine’s regional Level I Trauma and Critical Care Center to transition from its current home at HUP to the new PAC.

Additionally, as we work to expand our footprint within the West Philadelphia community and bring more services closer to where people work, we are also improving our approach to delivering care. The Penn Medicine University City model of care delivery aims to keep patients informed and engaged in their own health by focusing on the patient experience. The improved delivery of care model was developed using best practices from industry leaders in customer service and patient experience, combined with patient suggestions and feedback. The lessons learned throughout the design and development process will carry-over to our existing facilities, helping us to continue building upon our already rich culture of excellence.

Throughout the facility, patients are offered the same comprehensive one-stop-shop for which Penn Medicine has become known. For example, the Penn Musculoskeletal Center – the first of its kind in the region – provides a unique and unprecedented approach for patients with musculoskeletal disorders or injuries by bringing together specialists in orthopaedics, rheumatology, physical medicine and rehabilitation, pain medicine, and musculoskeletal radiology.

Penn Medicine University City is also the first building at Penn Presbyterian to be designed to fit with the ever-changing digital age. From the fully wireless infrastructure electronic badge access, and phones that run on data lines, to interfaces for both patients – digital wayfinding in the lobby, check-in kiosks, e-prescriptions, and more – and providers – patient tracking, digital films and test results, endoscopic video-guided surgery, and LCD equipped conference rooms – Penn Medicine University City provides patients with the care they need in an environment designed to advance treatment and enhance patient comfort and convenience.

In the coming weeks, more Penn Medicine practices will complete their transition to University City and by early September, the building will be in full swing. I’d like to extend my sincerest thanks to all of the teams who spent time with patients and care providers working to design this new and innovative space for healing. I invite all of you to visit the facility and experience for yourselves our newest care environment and how by working together we are taking patient care to a whole new level.