Dedicating the John Paul Pryor, MD, Shock Trauma and Resuscitation (STAR) Unit in the Trauma Center at Penn Presbyterian Medical Center |
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May 10, 2016, Volume 62, No. 34 |
On Christmas Day 2008, Penn Medicine lost a friend and colleague with the death of John “JP” Pryor. Dr. Pryor was serving his second tour of duty in Iraq with a forward surgical team with the Army’s 1st Medical Detachment when he was killed by enemy fire (Almanac January 13, 2009). Feeling an obligation to lend his skills to help those serving our country and the many victims of war, Dr. Pryor had joined the Army Reserves after learning that trauma surgeons were desperately needed.
The impact of Dr. Pryor’s life and death resonated beyond his friends and family, and over the past few years, his memory has been a guiding force as Penn Medicine built its new trauma center at Penn Presbyterian Medical Center for Advanced Care. On May 4, Penn leaders welcomed Dr. Pryor’s family and friends—including military and congressional dignitaries—to celebrate the dedication of the John Paul Pryor, MD, Shock Trauma and Resuscitation (STAR) Unit in the Trauma Center at Penn Presbyterian.
Penn President Amy Gutmann said, “On John’s office wall, there hung a quotation from physician and theologian Albert Schweitzer. The quotation said, ‘Seek always to do some good, somewhere.’ That simple philosophy clearly guided this physician who so dedicated his life to serving others—and who ultimately gave his life in service.”
Penn Medicine’s Level One Trauma Center treated 17 percent more trauma patients (2,592 patients) in 2015—its first year in its new location since transferring from the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania—than in 2014.
Penn Medicine has a long and transformative history with the military, dating back to some of Penn Medicine’s earliest graduates’ involvement in the Civil War. More recently, the trauma program has taken an active role in training military surgeons in trauma and critical care—skills that are vital to saving lives on the battlefield. Since 1996, the trauma program has trained more than 20 military fellows who have returned to active duty. Dozens of Penn Medicine physicians and staff currently wear two uniforms, both working in medicine here and serving as members of the National Guard or Reserve forces.
The STAR Unit (Almanac February 10, 2015) includes a state-of-the-art, five-bay trauma resuscitation area and the largest known design dedicated to trauma resuscitation, which facilitates immediate access to “Corridor of Life” critical care treatment areas, including ceiling-mounted CT and MRI imaging and X-rays.
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J. Larry Jameson, EVP, UPHS & dean of PSOM; Dr. Pryor’s children, Francis, Danielle and John, and his wife, Carmela Calvo; Penn President Amy Gutmann; Ralph Muller, CEO, UPHS; and C. William Schwab, professor of surgery in Traumatology & Surgical Critical Care and physician-in-chief of PennSTAR.
Photograph by Dan Burke Photography |
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Penn President Amy Gutmann at podium during the Dedication
Photograph by Dan Burke Photography |
Dr. Carmela Calvo, Dr. Pryor’s widow, at podium
Photograph by Dan Burke Photography |
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Photograph by Dan Burke Photography |
President Gutmann and Brad Wenstrup, Army Reserve Lieutenant Colonel and US Congressman
Photograph by Dan Burke Photography |
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Pryor family in the John Paul Pryor, MD, Shock Trauma and Resuscitation Unit
Photograph by Dan Burke Photography |
Military dignitaries at the ceremony
Photograph by Dan Burke Photography |
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