UPHS CEO Kevin Mahoney, right, and Rear Admiral Bruce Gillingham, Navy Surgeon General, hold the signed partnership agreement.
This month, Penn Presbyterian Medical Center (PPMC) leaders initiated a historic partnership with the United States Navy. The agreement, signed by Kevin B. Mahoney, CEO of the University of Pennsylvania Health System (UPHS) and Rear Admiral Bruce Gillingham, Surgeon General of the Navy, marks the start of a unique three-year partnership that will integrate 11 members of the U.S. Navy with the PPMC Trauma Division.
The program, named The Naval Strategic Health Alliance for Readiness and Performance, is the first comprehensive partnership between the U.S. Navy and a civilian health system. The program aims to broaden members’ experience in a trauma setting between deployments and layer in team-based training with the goal of producing a unit that is prepared for rapid deployments. The Navy has selected 11 of their top members to form a team comprised of three physicians, three nurses, a physician assistant, two hospital corpsmen and a health care administrator. They will onboard into their respective clinical department as any Penn Medicine new hire would, and will fully integrate into PPMC and department clinical operations.
To celebrate this exciting partnership, PPMC leaders hosted RADM Gillingham and other members of the Navy’s Bureau of Medicine and Surgery for two days in September. The visit kicked off on Thursday, September 9, 2021, with an address from UPHS, PPMC, and Trauma Division leadership. Speakers included Mahoney, C. William Schwab, MD, the founding chief of Penn Medicine’s Trauma Program, a professor emeritus of Trauma Surgery, and a veteran of the Navy, Michele Volpe, FACHE, CEO of PPMC, and Gillingham.
After the remarks, Mahoney and Gillingham signed the agreement and embarked on a tour of PPMC. Over the two-day visit, Gilligham visited the Pennsylvania Hospital campus, the Penn Vet Working Dog Center, the Corporal Michael J. Crescenz VA Medical Center, the Penn School of Nursing, Penn’s hyperbaric chamber, the Penn Museum, and the ROTC Battalion. He also attended a meeting with the Veterans Care Excellence Program during his time in Philadelphia.
“Many members of the Penn Medicine community have ties to the military, both through their own service and the service of family members,” said Schwab, who led the efforts to establish the program. “Penn Medicine has a deep appreciation for the sacrifices involved in serving our country, and we’re honored to welcome the Surgeon General and the rest of the Navy team members to Penn Medicine.”
The Navy team officially joined the PPMC family in September. Welcome aboard!