When a surgical technician volunteers on Saturdays to ensure kids in her community have safe places to play; when a patient transporter builds bonds with long-term patients as they roll through the halls for scans; when nurses on a unit help cheer patients year after year through crafting creative Christmas trees… Health care is full of stories that unfold every day — and when people know their stories have been heard, shared, and appreciated, it means the world.
A dedicated teller of such stories as the editor of HUPdate and System News, Sally Sapega has touched thousands of lives and raised up those who might otherwise go underrecognized. Sapega retired in July 2021 after more than 25 years at Penn, leaving a lasting impact through all the stories she has told.
“Reading stories like these actually impacts our wellness and establishes trust between our organization and our patients and community members,” Carmen Guerra, MD, of General Internal Medicine and the Abramson Cancer Center, wrote to Sapega in a note of gratitude for an issue of System News that highlighted cancer navigation programs. Plus, stories Sapega has written about community outreach have inspired others to give back in similar ways, whether another employee donating professional clothing to a workplace-readiness nonprofit, or other health systems launching their own programs to donate used hospital socks to homeless shelters after seeing her story about a Penn Medicine employee who established that initiative here.
For Sapega, through telling stories in HUPdate since September 2000, HUP has been her most meaningful professional home. HUP employees might not all have known her name, but most will recognize the brightly dressed, curly-haired woman they’ve seen walking the halls with her notebook, camera, and digital recorder, ready to capture stories with a smile.
“HUP is so large and complicated that sharing the little things makes it feel so much more human,” said Regina Cunningham, PhD, RN, CEO of HUP. “Sally gets the little details that collectively make up this incredible organization. She brings all of that to life. To be a storyteller is a gift, and I am grateful to her for it.”
At Penn Medicine, we all aspire to be Difference Makers who represent the Penn Medicine Experience
(PMX) in action. PMX sets a consistent standard across all of our entities and work locations to make every touchpoint an opportunity to build enduring connections with patients, families, visitors and colleagues, which is a foundational part of the UPHS Success Share program.