Penn Medicine

05/12/2026

"What started as a random conversation bloomed into a friendship I do not take for granted."

This Nurses Week, Mollie Covington, MSN, RN looks back on a young man she cared for nearly 20 years ago — a C5 quadriplegic fighting urosepsis who shared a birthday with her youngest child and whose strength and resilience left a lasting mark on her. What began at the bedside grew into a real friendship.

Mollie was there when his mother passed, celebrated at his wedding, and has watched him go on to travel the world, publish a book, and create beautiful artwork painted with his mouth. To this day, when he comes through Penn Medicine Doylestown Health, word always finds its way back to her that he said hello.

05/09/2026

"She told me I was family — closer to her than some of her own relatives."
This Nurses Week, Senior Clinical Manager Natalie Pierson, MSN, RN, shares the story of a patient whose chart labeled her "non-adherent" and "frequent no-show" — but whose real story was one of hardship, fear, and never feeling heard. Natalie started by simply calling her before that first visit, listening to her life instead of her symptoms, and celebrating every milestone along the way. Over seven years, what began as a clinical relationship became something much deeper, reminding Natalie that trust is the most powerful tool a nurse carries.

05/08/2026

"She came to me as a patient — she left as a fellow nurse."

This Nurses Week, Carolyn Browne, RN, reflects on Natalie, the 24-year-old vet student whose Hodgkin's Lymphoma diagnosis brought her to Penn right as the pandemic shut the world down, a time when Carolyn was newly back from maternity leave and terrified. Somehow, helping Natalie take it one day at a time helped Carolyn do the same.

Fast forward a few years: Natalie reached out asking for a letter of recommendation for nursing school, saying her care at Penn had changed the course of her life — and now she's a nurse, helping her own patients navigate their healthcare journeys.

Pictured: Natalie (photos 1–2) and Carolyn (last photo).

05/07/2026

The wait is officially over! Tomorrow, we open the doors to the new Pennsylvania Hospital Museum. We took therapy dog Zoey on one final walkthrough to make sure each exhibit is up to s***f.

From the origins of American medical education to the stories that shaped our city, there is so much to uncover. Come see it for yourself starting tomorrow—colonial costume optional.

05/06/2026

This Nurses Week, we're honoring the MICU and oncology nurses at HUP who brought the celebration to Dave Funk when his condition became critical the day before his daughter Kelsey's wedding.

The nurses decorated, helped Dave get dressed up, and lined the hallway as Kelsey walked with him, her white sneakers inscribed with "Love Dad" and "Love You Forever" in blue marker, her something blue. "At that moment," Dave said, "I was truly the luckiest man alive."

photos: .turnerphotog

05/05/2026

From bedside nurse to ICN parent to mental health advocate—Sara Cohen’s 20-year career at Pennsylvania Hospital is rooted in deep empathy.

After both of her sons were born early and admitted to her own unit, Cohen realized that clinical care is only half the battle. Today, as Practice Manager of the Penn Parenting Resource Center, she uses her personal experience to help new parents navigate the complexities of birth trauma and perinatal mental health.

“As I’ve helped people, I’ve felt less alone in my own experiences. I feel more at peace now.”

05/04/2026

To allow people to return home from the hospital more quickly and recover with care from home care nurses and remote monitoring by physicians, Penn Medicine started a Hospital at Home program.

Buoyed by federal reimbursement changes for at-home care, the effort also helps free up space at the hospitals for patients in need of more complex care.

“Just being around the people that you love, your own comfort zone ... It’s definitely better for them to be around people that they love," said Donald Peacock, the program's first official patient.

04/28/2026

Rob DiMedio knows firsthand how overwhelming bariatric surgery can feel. With guidance from the Penn Medicine bariatrics team, he built simple habits that helped him lose 50 pounds before surgery, and another 100 pounds after.

He’s still carrying those changes forward today through Busy Bariatrics, where he empowers weight loss surgery patients with strength training to build muscle, lose weight, and thrive in their busy lives.

04/28/2026

04/23/2026

Yentli Soto Albrecht lost her father to ALS in 2024. While he was sick, she learned she carries the same C9 genetic mutation that greatly increases her own chances of developing ALS or frontotemporal dementia (FTD).

While she initially planned to pursue virology after medical school, she switched gears in an effort to save her own life and help those facing similar circumstances. She spoke with Mike Jerrick FOX 29 and Alex Holley FOX 29 about how a "crisis of survival" led her down this path.

🎥: FOX 29

04/22/2026

This Earth Day, we're unveiling our plan to roll out paper prescription bottles system-wide, just one step in our Sustainability Action Plan to reduce our environmental impact.

In 2024, we announced our goal of becoming the nation's most environmentally-friendly health care organization, aiming to halve our carbon emissions by 2030, and eliminate them by 2042. We remain as committed as ever to this pursuit, and are excited to reach yet another milestone in this journey.