Feargal Roche, senior director of value analysis and Materials Management/CPD, was on his way to a staff meeting when he spotted something unusual in the parking garage. A group of staff members, including Juanita Mole, RN, of Clinical Resource Management, were huddled around a parked car with a screwdriver and a cardboard box. Roche asked if something was wrong, and Mole explained that after she had parked her car, she heard a strange noise – a kitten crying. Cats frequently seek out the cozy shelter provided by car engines or bumpers, and one had wheedled its way into Mole’s wheel well.
Though the group initially pressed on with their screwdriver-based rescue attempt, they quickly realized they needed to call in additional reinforcements. Roche contacted Pat Lanzilotta, associate director of Engineering Services, who in turn dispatched Bryan Lynch and Charles Rowand. They immediately took charge of the situation and removed the driver-side wheel well, then contacted a city animal control officer. Together, they were able to coax out the overly curious but uninjured kitten in about an hour.
“There were some emotional scenes when freedom was achieved!” Roche said. “I was just so impressed by how everyone refused to give up and by their careful approach to the entire operation.”
But the kitten’s PAH adventure wasn’t over yet! Raymond Fabrizio, MD, chief of Interventional Radiology, is involved with local animal rescue efforts, so he and his wife volunteered to find a foster family for the kitten, nicknamed “Bumper.” Bumper (pictured on the left) has since been adopted, and his journey to a loving home wouldn’t have been as successful without Pennsy’s interdepartmental teamwork.