By Abby Alten Schwartz
There’s a radiance that beams from Kenya Pitt, MA, MBA, chief human resources (HR) officer for Penn Presbyterian Medical Center (PPMC). It’s easy to imagine her walking through the hospital, lighting up each person she encounters with her warmth and optimism.
“I get personal fulfillment from seeing people thrive and grow, evolve and overcome,” Pitt said. “It’s just my nature.”
Pitt became the HR leader at PPMC in September 2022 following more than seven years at other Penn Medicine entities, most recently with Clinical Practices of the University of Pennsylvania. Since starting her latest position, Pitt has prioritized getting to know the people in each department and understanding what they need to feel supported. She listens attentively and translates their challenges, strengths, and aspirations into actionable plans to make PPMC a better workplace, patient care provider, and community leader.
Raised in West Philadelphia, Pitt knows firsthand how life-changing it can be to have someone believe in you. That lesson is never far from her mind as she envisions new possibilities for the hospital’s employees—present and future.
Forging connections
Pitt devotes much of her time to workforce strategies, from compensation to talent acquisition to employee retention, committed to enhancing the lives of Penn Medicine’s nearly 4,000 employees based at PPMC.
She is always looking for ways to connect with staff—even popping into the cafeteria to pick up breakfast provides an opportunity for conversations.
When she asks an employee, “How are you?” Pitt isn’t asking them to report on how their job is going. Rather, she wants to how they’re feeling as an individual, “head, heart, and mind.”
“Kenya truly cares about everyone who works at PPMC. Her energy and positive outlook are contagious, and she is a great asset to the PPMC family,” said PPMC Chief Executive Officer Bob Russell.
Workforce Wellness Rounds
On the first Thursday of the month, Pitt and her team partner with Corporate Wellness for Workforce Wellness Rounds, a hospital-wide check-in that Pitt launched in 2023, in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. She took inspiration from a similar idea that Penn Medicine Lancaster General Health carried out during the pandemic.
“The pandemic left a lot of people feeling anxious, hurt, and uncertain,” Pitt said. “And because most of us spend more of our awake hours with our coworkers than we do with our families, we often bring those feelings to work.”
Although HR already offers many mental health and wellness resources for employees, Pitt wanted to ensure the staff were aware of the breadth of services available to them and how to access help when needed.
From 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Pitt and her team split into three groups and round the hospital with their “wellness wagon” to meet with each department, pass out healthy snacks, and chat about resources relating to that month’s theme, such as work-life balance or financial well-being. Sharing resources in person, said Pitt, opens up opportunities for employees to get personal.
“We have so many sidebar conversations with employees wanting to talk about their personal challenges, like the death of a parent, or a loved one needing care,” she said. “By bringing those resources to them, we’re able to solve problems right there on the fly.”
Pitt said the rounds have helped HR engage with staff and build trust. Within a few months of launching, more employees were coming to the HR office to talk through issues—whether work-related, personal, or a combination of both.
The wellness rounds have been so well-received that the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and Pennsylvania Hospital recently rolled out their own versions.
‘You never know what people are dealing with’
Pitt’s colleagues often commend her for empathy that allows her to understand where other people are coming from and meet them where they are. She attributes that to her early life experiences growing up in West Philadelphia, not far from where she works today.
“I’ve faced a lot of adversity, as have many other people, and it’s shaped me to be a person of compassion,” she said. “You never know what battle someone’s dealing with.”
Two months shy of Pitt’s 7th birthday, her father passed away in a freak accident, leaving her mom to raise six kids on her own. Pitt described having “a village of people” supporting her, motivating her, and investing in her well-being. And even as they coped with difficult experiences, Pitt and her siblings grew up valuing kindness and service to others—principles instilled by their mom and aunt, who were local leaders involved in social advocacy and community engagement.
Emerging Careers Pipeline Coalition
An emphasis on service and community engagement helps Pitt in her focus on managing a multi-generational workforce—younger millennials and the Generation Z cohort now make up a large segment of the staff. “They want to know how Penn Medicine is contributing from a social responsibility perspective and how they can align themselves with what we’re doing in the community,” Pitt said.
Her newest project, Emerging Careers Pipeline Coalition, will support PPMC’s youngest employees and nurture their growth by training hospital managers to work more effectively with Gen Z staff. The project also demonstrates to Gen Z employees Penn Medicine’s commitment to social advocacy by providing career opportunities to youth in underserved communities.
Emerging Careers, which kicks off this summer, will match recent high school graduates from the School District of Philadelphia with entry-level jobs in allied health professions at PPMC. It’s a collaborative, community initiative involving PPMC, The School District of Philadelphia, Heights Philadelphia, Philadelphia Youth Network, Philadelphia Works, and other organizations.
Pitt described Emerging Careers as a talent pipeline for positions at PPMC, including perioperative assistants, anesthesia technicians, pharmacy tech trainees, nursing assistants, inventory clerks, and others, with potential expansion throughout Penn Medicine. The program complements other existing pipeline and career development opportunities, such as the West Philadelphia Skills Initiative, in helping to open pathways for the many talented but un- or under-employed individuals in local communities.
The program will provide eligible high school graduates with workplace readiness training, career guidance, and mentorship; the participants will also receive funding to help with transportation, meals, and other potential barriers to success.
“These programs will be mutually beneficial to both the hospital and the young people we seek to train and employ,” said Greta Gilbode, MBA, vice president and chief operating officer at PPMC.
The overall goal “is not only to employ but to retain and guide employees to long-lasting health care careers at Penn Medicine,” Pitt said. Philadelphia has a high population of young adults who, she added, “if we reach them early and partner with them in the right way, we can make a significant economic impact on them and their families.”