Jefferson Health

07/23/2025

It’s not just what’s in your moisturizer. How you wash, shave and even dry off plays a role in keeping your skin healthy. Here’s how a better shower routine can protect your skin all day long: https://bit.ly/3GW6ezp 🛁✨

07/22/2025

Congratulations to Chrisoula “Chrissy” Rogus, BSN, RN, CBC, from Thomas Jefferson University Hospital’s Intensive Care Nursery, recipient of the June DAISY Award. On Mother’s Day, Chrissy helped create a meaningful moment for a family by supporting a mother as she held her baby for the very first time. Through thoughtful coordination and skilled care, Chrissy provided both clinical support and emotional comfort. Thank you, Chrissy, for your continued dedication to patient- and family-centered care.

07/22/2025

We’re proud to share that several Jefferson Health hospitals have been recognized by the Pennsylvania Perinatal Quality Collaborative (PA PQC) for excellence in maternal and newborn care. These awards reflect our ongoing commitment to improving outcomes for mothers and newborns. https://bit.ly/4f6SgaQ

Lehigh Valley Health Network, Lehigh Valley Reilly Children’s Hospital

07/21/2025

We're honored to be selected as a recipient of the 2025 Nursing Innovations Fund Award! This recognition made possible by AARP and the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses supports our commitment to creating healthy work environments that help recruit and retain the dedicated nurses who are essential to quality patient care.

AARP and the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN Critical-Care) have awarded more than $355,000 to 20 projects offering innovative and replicable solutions to strengthen the nursing workforce by creating and sustaining healthy work environments aimed at improving recruitment and reten...

07/17/2025

April and Steve Kok are using their experience with loss to help other families who are grieving. The couple donated a Caring Cradle to Thomas Jefferson University Hospital to honor the legacy of their late son Koen. With loved ones and Labor and Delivery staff by their side, April and Steve placed a plaque and dedicated the cradle in Koen’s memory. The hospital-grade device includes special cooling features and was designed to give families who have experienced perinatal or infant loss more time and space to grieve.

07/17/2025

Meet Kelsey Wolf, PA-C, a new grad in our Central Region Emergency Medicine team! She treats acute conditions in the ER and Observation Unit—and loves supporting patients and mentoring future PAs. Outside of work, she enjoys time with family (especially her nephews!), walking her pup, painting, yoga, and travel.

07/16/2025

Congratulations to Keith Caribo, RT(R)(CT), our first-ever winner of the Jefferson Health LOTUS Award! This award celebrates radiology technologists who lead with compassion, skill, and innovation.

07/16/2025

Some people who keep the same job for a lifetime say it’s because their coworkers have become family to them. And that’s true of Mary McCoy, who has worked at Jefferson Einstein Philadelphia Hospital for 43 years.

But McCoy also had another incentive to stay: a work “marriage” that lasted more than 30 years and enabled her to be there for her three daughters as they grew up.

“That was important to me,” McCoy says.

The idea of a “work spouse” isn’t uncommon – someone with whom you collaborate, share celebrations, spend as much time with as your own family. McCoy’s “marriage” was slightly different than that.

She and Sally Chmielewski literally were each other’s second (work) half – sharing one job between them, for decades.

In 1987, McCoy had returned from maternity leave to a part-time clerical position in Human Resources– when Chmielewski, the secretary to the department director, came to her with a proposal. She had just had her first child and wanted to work part-time too.

“She asked if I would job share,” McCoy says. “I said, ‘But I’m not a secretary.’ She said, ‘Oh, you’ll be fine.’ I said, ‘Ok, why not.’”

They presented the idea to their manager who endorsed the new approach. Sometimes they'd work one day on and one day off and talk every morning to fill each other in. Sometimes they’d work alternate weeks and talk every Friday.

“It got to be like a marriage,” McCoy says. “Sometimes you’d get along really well. We had ups and downs but mostly it was very good. We worked out the kinks.”

Needless to say, they got very close.

Indeed, Chemielewski was pregnant with her second child when she began having pains at work that McCoy recognized as labor. “I told her she was in labor and walked her to the delivery room.”

“She came to my daughter’s wedding. I went to her daughter’s wedding.”

“She helped me through some difficult times. She knows more about me than almost anyone else and I know more about her.”

Their work relationship enabled them to strike a work-life balance, because they had the flexibility to be there for their children.

“My daughters played soccer in high school,” McCoy says. “I was able to make their games. Whatever they were involved in, we were able to be there.”

“It worked for me while my kids grew up and that’s what mattered to me,” McCoy says.

When their children got older, McCoy and Chmielewski returned to full time work in separate jobs.

A few months after Chmielewski retired in 2022, McCoy transferred to a job at Jefferson Moss-Magee Rehabilitation in Elkins Park.

“I work with a great group of people here,” she says. “I have no plans to retire any time soon.

“It’s good. It keeps your mind busy.”

She is still in touch with Chmielewski; they text and talk and meet for dinner on occasion.

McCoy is still going to soccer games – this time for her grandchildren – with Steve, her real-life spouse of 43 years.

Read the full story: https://bit.ly/4lontZa

07/16/2025

Your baby’s here, and everything just changed. 👶 The first 24 hours can be beautiful, emotional and intense. Knowing what to expect—from physical recovery to that first feeding—can make all the difference.

Welcoming a new baby into the world can be exciting and scary. Here’s what you need to know about your first day as a parent.

07/15/2025

Microplastics are turning up in human tissue—even in arteries. 🫀 Scientists are just beginning to understand what that could mean for our health. 🤔 The findings are early, but they’re raising big questions.

Learn more: https://bit.ly/4lrc8rg

07/11/2025

At 31 weeks pregnant, Audrey Delp, a 32-year-old nurse at Jefferson Einstein Montgomery Hospital, woke up with the worst headache of her life. Tests ruled out preeclampsia, but Audrey trusted her instincts—and that decision may have saved two lives.

A rare brain bleed led to an emergency flight to Jefferson Hospital for Neuroscience, where neurosurgeon Dr. Ritam Ghosh was preparing to perform a craniotomy. But just before the surgery, fetal monitoring revealed her baby was in distress.

In a remarkable moment of teamwork, maternal-fetal medicine specialist Dr. Whitney Bender and a team of other Jefferson clinicians performed an emergency C-section, right there in the neuroscience unit, delivering baby Ronin safely before Audrey underwent a 12-hour craniotomy to save Audrey.

Today, both Audrey and baby Ronin are home, healthy, and thriving.

Read the full story on Living Well: https://bit.ly/4nJEzSW

07/10/2025

Congratulations to Joshua Perez, Patient Care Technician from Jefferson Hospital for Neuroscience’s Acute Stroke Unit, recipient of the Being Extraordinary Everyday Award for May. Josh was recognized for stepping up during a critical moment to protect the safety and wellbeing of a patient and his team. His colleagues describe him as dependable, caring, and always ready to help. Thank you, Josh, for being someone your team can always count on.