Penn Presbyterian Medical Center recently had the opportunity to host a town hall led by Kevin Mahoney, CEO of the University of Pennsylvania Health System. I have worked alongside Kevin for nearly two decades, and I was delighted by how well his talk about his path to Penn and his vision for the future was received by our hospital leaders. His presentation resonated with all of us in attendance, and I’d like to share just one of many examples of how supportive he has been of PPMC.
Over the years, I have worked on many projects with Kevin, but the two that are closest to my heart were the development of Penn Medicine University City (PMUC) and the Pavilion for Advanced Care (PAC). Kevin played an instrumental role in developing these large facility projects and making years of plans a reality. Constructing PMUC allowed us to expand our footprint within the West Philadelphia community, while transitioning the trauma program to our PAC transformed our ability to serve the most vulnerable and critically ill patients. These two projects drastically changed Presby’s campus, improved our financial performance, and enhanced the patient experience. Throughout the process, Kevin was an advocate for us, even getting into the occasional skirmish as he defended the value of the health system’s investment in our growth. He was and continues to be an invaluable ally.
During the town hall, Kevin emphasized that part of what makes Penn such an exceptional institution is our willingness to break out of our siloes and work together — to unite with a shared purpose. PPMC excels at this, drawing on multidisciplinary teams to provide individualized patient care, develop new security protocols, sketch out the hospital’s future campus plans, and more. He also noted that if you want to make an impact, you’ve come to the right place. I am grateful to all of the staff who make it possible for us to continue evolving and expanding as a hospital and a health system. Kevin plans to host a virtual town hall for all of UPHS in the coming months. I hope you can all tune in.