Penn Medicine recognized Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day as a paid health system holiday for the first time this year, even though by longstanding tradition many have already viewed the holiday as a ‘day on’ for service activities, rather than a day off. Despite COVID-19 restrictions that made it difficult for people to come together for the shoulder-to-shoulder volunteer projects they organized in years past, service-minded PPMC staff were determined to find a way to honor Dr. King’s legacy of civic engagement and social justice and to answer the “most persistent and urgent question” he posed: “What are you doing for others?”
The Community Outreach Council has hosted an event around MLK Day for several years, and this year, the Diversity & Inclusion Committee joined the effort. The groups — led by Melisa Stanton MSN, MPH, RN, NPD-BC, director of Professional Practice and Nursing Outcomes, and Jennifer Nelson, MSN, RN, NE-BC, nurse manager of Cupp 3 East — hosted a toiletry and clothing drive in the weeks leading up to the holiday, encouraging staff across the hospital to donate items like shampoo, toothpaste, deodorant, and reusable face masks. Gently used and new clothing and socks were also collected.
As always, the PPMC team rose to the occasion, contributing enough necessities to fill more than 75 care packages for underserved Behavioral Health patients being discharged from Wright 4/5, as well as a significant amount of the clothing that can be distributed to patients in need.
“Both of our committees are truly dedicated to giving back to our local community. We’re always seeking out opportunities to serve and provide for others,” Stanton said. COVID-19 may have made service a bit more complicated, but “it’s exactly because of the pandemic that we needed to find a way to help the people we serve.”