Papal Preparations at Penn	Print Issue
,

Socks, a graduate of the Penn Vet Working Dog Center, inspects a vehicle with Penn Police officer Julie Wesley. Photograph courtesy of Public Safety.

Pope Francis visited Philadelphia on Saturday, September 26 and Sunday, September 27, leading city officials to plan for a crowd of up to one million visitors. Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter expected the visit to be “the largest event in the city’s modern history.” The Department of Homeland Security designated the event as a National Security Special Event.

Penn suspended normal operations on Friday, September 25 in anticipation of the crowds, as the “security box” extended onto campus. The no-drive zone included the area from 30th to 38th streets and from Powelton Avenue to University Avenue. Approximately 300 essential personnel stayed on campus for the weekend in temporary accommodations and ate in the residential dining halls. Some members of the National Guard pitched tents at the Pennovation Works, while others stayed at the Armory on Drexel’s campus. In the meantime, Penn’s campus welcomed an influx of friendly visitors from all over the world, many of whom arrived at 30th Street Station or University City Station.

The Penn Police Department was chosen as the primary law enforcement agency in the University City section of the festival grounds. Penn Police’s 118 sworn officers worked 12-hour shifts from Friday until Monday, accompanied by the Philadelphia Police, the Drexel Police, AlliedBarton Security, Amtrak Police, SEPTA Police and 500 National Guard troops. Six graduates of the Penn Vet Working Dog Center also assisted the officers in patrolling the area. The Emergency Operations Center at DPS managed the crowds on Penn’s campus and in the surrounding areas. The Medical Emergency Response Team (MERT), a student-run group that provides emergency medical services to the University community, received training on proper procedure and common medical conditions that occur in large crowds; its 22 members collectively worked 342 hours over the weekend.

Penn’s Department of Public Safety (DPS) also ensured that patients could reach HUP and Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia as well as Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, chosen as the primary trauma center for the pope in case of an emergency. Penn Medicine provided sleeping quarters at its hospitals for 2,000 doctors, nurses and staff members over the weekend and prepared for 100 babies to be born. They stocked up on extra supplies, including 80,000 pounds of linens, $1.25 million worth of medication and 560 pounds of chicken fingers for three cafeterias. In actuality, 10 babies were born at HUP and 15 were born at Pennsylvania Hospital. Additionally, four patients received organ transplants at HUP over the weekend.

Members of Penn DPS welcome visitors to campus. Photograph courtesy of Public Safety.	Gene Janda, chief of fire and emergency services in DPS, led the MERT team on their rounds in University City during the weekend. Photograph courtesy of Public Safety.

Penn Vet’s Ryan Hospital kept its Emergency Service for pets open all weekend, 24 hours a day. Many of Penn’s campus services also remained open throughout the weekend:

• College Houses were open, although guests not enrolled at Penn were not permitted inside.

• Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) was open for walk-ins and urgent referrals on Friday and Monday. CAPS was closed on Saturday and Sunday, as usual, but a provider was on call.

• The Student Health Service was open for urgent care on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

• Residential dining cafes served brunch and dinner. Retail dining cafes were open with reduced hours.

• Houston Hall, the Bookstore, the Computer Connection and the PennCard Office kept normal hours.

• Pottruck Health & Fitness Center was open with reduced hours.

• Penn Transit provided full service until Friday evening. Penn Accessible Transportation was available until normal operations resumed on Monday. LUCY operated as usual.

• Three of Penn’s eight parking garages were open to accommodate the essential employees’ vehicles.

• 50 IT staff members from ISC were on call all weekend.

The Penn Museum also began planning well in advance, and opened a special exhibition in honor of the pope’s visit with rare artifacts from the Penn Museum collection and rare books and manuscripts from the Penn Libraries (Almanac August 25, 2015). Sacred Writings: Extraordinary Texts of the Biblical World is on display through November 7.

Zzisa, also a Working Dog Center graduate, and partner Sean Mackey with visitors. Photograph courtesy of Public Safety. Penn Police officers Jason Squadroni and Chris Denshuick on patrol with a miniature Pope Francis souvenir. Photograph courtesy of Public Safety.