On August 10, Pennsylvania Hospital’s Cardiology department expanded to South Philadelphia, allowing more Philadelphians to access Penn Medicine’s resources to treat their health needs.
While its main center is still located on PAH’s campus, this extension of the department has moved to the Constitution Health Plaza, joining other health services like PAH’s Primary Care – Delancey Internal Medicine – and Penn Medicine Urgent Care. Originally, the Constitution Health Plaza was the location of the St. Agnes Hospital, which closed its doors in 2004. Now, the property has been renovated as a multi-purpose medical campus with a myriad of health services to support community care.
“When St. Agnes closed, it limited health care in that area,” said Karen Lyons, director of Ambulatory Operations. “Through Constitution Health Plaza, PAH is bringing primary and specialty care into the South Philadelphia community, and our vision is to continue to grow and meet the needs of the population there.”
The expansion of the Cardiology department is part of PAH’s mission of providing greater access to patient care in the region. Offering services beyond PAH’s campus allows even more patients to be seen by specialists and helps the hospital to better meet local needs.
“A lot of our patients that come to PAH live in South Philadelphia. This new location will now give them the opportunity to be seen closer to home, while still having access to a fully integrated approach to care,” said Eric Smith, administrator of Practice Operations.
The close proximity between Penn’s practices at Constitution Health Plaza allows for convenient collaboration between the departments. If a patient is found to have a heart murmur or an irregular heartbeat in Primary Care, they can be easily referred to additional treatment in Cardiology right next door. The new Cardiology practice offers services ranging from general cardiac care, like managing high blood pressure and high cholesterol, to more advanced needs, like cardiac catheterization – a procedure in which a small tube is inserted into a blood vessel to help diagnose certain heart conditions.
“We’ve already had a tremendous number of new patients, and that’s something we’re really proud of,” said Smith. “This new, yet familiar, location to the community will allow more patients to feel comfortable seeking care.”