They invent. They sing. Occasionally, they throw a wedding. But they all define the difference between medicine and care. They're the Difference Makers.
A Podcast From Penn Medicine
A tragic overdose. A sister's grief. A burning compulsion to save other people. Might the cure for the opioid crisis look a lot like Nicole?
Evan was a very young man with a failing heart. Anthony was his cool, tattooed nurse. Their friendship would leave a permanent mark on both.
A young doctor is diagnosed with a rare, fatal disease. Now he has to stay alive long enough to cure it.
It is, at once, a surgical procedure, a mark of ownership and a violation of human rights. This is one woman's attempt to reverse all three.
A Human Manifesto Brought to Life on TV
It happens every day, around every corner- the human spirit healing the human body in strange, intangible ways.
As neurological nurse manager at Pennsylvania Hospital for the last decade, George Shafer oversees not only a large number of staff but even more patients. Which means he knows that the toll surgeries can take on patients is not merely physical but often beyond that. It’s emotional. So he makes it his business to do whatever he can to accommodate the needs of his patients — no matter how big, small, or seemingly impossible.
That’s how George Shafer added “wedding planner” to his already impressive set of skills.
A hero graces the corridors of Pennsylvania Hospital, healing the world in his own way and adopting various monikers. Some call him Pressure Pete. Others call him Patch-Em-Up Pete. But his real name is Pete Schiavo.
And if you’re one of his many patients, he just may be crushing your groin today.
No one really says it, but most people don’t look forward to going to the hospital. The reasons are many. For some, it’s the fear of not knowing the depths of a particular disease or illness. For others, it’s a sense of loneliness and unfamiliarity. Some people just long for a sense of comfort. And for any patient with a chronic illness, it’s far too easy to lose hope.
That’s where Stanley Gantz comes in.
Imagine if you couldn’t use your hands for just one morning. To brush your teeth. To clean and dress yourself. To make yourself breakfast and get in your car to drive to work. Just one morning.
Now imagine that all day. Every day.
Whether it’s for a 10-hour car ride or to get through a painstaking workout, we all look forward to creating the ultimate playlist. Maybe it’s rediscovering lost gems from childhood. Maybe it’s listening to your favorite jam for the zillionth time. Regardless, there is an inherent joy in blasting out tunes that are uniquely … you.
Enter Sheila Rineer.
CrossFit athlete. Ivy League graduate. Trauma medical director at Penn Medicine. And, lest we forget, a colonel in the U.S. Air Force Reserves.
Dr. Jeremy Cannon goes about every day as if he’s living for two people. And in a way, he is.
Staring death in the face is a burden no one should have to endure. And the brilliant minds at Penn Medicine who do their best to remove physical scars know that healing emotional scars is often much more complicated.
When it comes to breast cancer, there are certain things even the world’s greatest oncologists can’t do.
Almost every doctor will tell you that the most difficult part of the job is realizing you can’t save everyone.
Still, that’s not ever going to stop them from trying.