Center to Help Vulnerable Patients

Penn Medicine https://www.pennmedicine.org, has established a New Center to directly connect vulnerable patients to surgical care. The Center for Surgical Health (CSH) https://centerforsurgicalhealth.org, is the first multidisciplinary center housed in the Department of Surgery to provide access to sustainable high value surgical care for patients who typically rely on the ER for treatment.

“Many uninsured patients from marginalized groups particularly immigrant communities in Philadelphia use the ER for their surgical needs regardless of the condition, which can lead to costly care and worse outcomes. CSH enables patients to access high quality, elective surgeries, from gallbladder surgery to hernia repair, which eliminates the ER as a preoperative clinic.”, said CSH Director Jon B. Morris MD.

The CSH team is comprised of Penn surgeons, residents, nurses, medical students, and individuals in social policy and practice, and law students. The team will help navigate each patient through the surgical continuum, and be connected to world class surgical care.

CSH expects to support and provide surgical services to about 175 patients in 2021. Many patients will be referred through Puentes de Salud and the University City Hospitality Coalition. The number of patients is expected to grow in 2022 and beyond as CSH expands.

With Penn Medicine now managing the inpatient clinical services at the newly formed PHMC Public Health Campus, patients from West and Southwest Philadelphia will have an additional access point at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania to receive care through CSH.