Penn Medicine\u2019s expansion strategy is guided by a common goal \u2014 building spaces that can adapt with medical innovation and evolving patient needs.\u00a0<\/p>\n
From research laboratories and hospital wards to community-based clinics, leaders at the University of Pennsylvania Health System say facilities are designed to breed innovation and bridge the gap between scientific discovery and patient care.<\/p>\n
The Smilow Center For Translational Research<\/p>\n
Located at Perelman School of Medicine\u2019s main campus, the Smilow Center houses research initiatives across a range of biomedical disciplines.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The building, which opened in 2011, has become a \u201cphysical manifestation of our integrated mission,\u201d University of Pennsylvania Health System CEO Kevin Mahoney said in an interview.<\/p>\n
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Sign Up<\/a><\/p>\n According to Mahoney, the integration and physical proximity<\/a> to Penn Med\u2019s patient-care facilities have fostered informal exchanges between researchers and clinicians that can foster innovation. He referenced immunotherapy professor Carl June\u2019s pioneering work with Penn Med physician David Porter on CAR T-cell therapies<\/a> as a prime example of this phenomenon.<\/p>\n June\u2019s wet labs and mouse hospital are both housed in The Smilow Center.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cSpontaneous conversations\u201d that stem from \u201cbumping into each other in the elevator\u201d or \u201cgrabbing a cup of coffee\u201d are what \u201creally move ideas along,\u201d Mahoney explained.\u00a0<\/p>\n In June and Porter\u2019s case, the two met at a cafe below Smilow. They decided that as their funding for an early CAR T-cell therapy trial dwindled, they would publish what they had and see what would happen, \u00a0Mahoney explained.<\/p>\n Their research went on to gain global attention<\/a>, marking a turning point for CAR T-cell research.<\/p>\n In \u201cone elevator ride\u201d June could travel \u201cto the outpatient clinic where Dr. Porter was doing a trial with his patients,\u201d Mahoney said.<\/p>\n The Clifton Center for Medical Breakthroughs<\/p>\n The Clifton Center for Medical Breakthroughs, which opened in October 2021, is a more recent example of Penn Med\u2019s approach to expansion. At Clifton, building flexibility into the center and research facilities was a deliberate choice.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe tried to build it to be a hospital of the future,\u201d Mahoney explained.<\/p>\n For instance, Mahoney said the hospital was designed so all 504 beds could eventually be used as ICU beds, even though that additional flexibility added an estimated 5% to 7% to construction costs.<\/p>\n \u201cMedicine is always changing,\u201d Mahoney added. \u201cOtherwise, we\u2019d be sitting there trying to guess how many ICU beds you’re going to need today, 10 years from now.\u201d<\/p>\n Penn tested the construction by creating a 30,000-square-foot mock-up of half a hospital floor \u2014 a project that led the University to change parts of its design. GoPro Cameras were installed throughout the mock-up to see how staff actually moved through the spaces, Mahoney explained. Observations from that program led to several construction changes, such as door placement and hallway lengths.<\/p>\n HUP-Cedar Avenue<\/p>\n After Mercy Philadelphia announced its closure, Penn Med took over operations at HUP-Cedar Avenue in West Philadelphia<\/a> \u2014 where nearly a quarter of the population lived below the poverty line in 2024.\u00a0<\/p>\n HUP-Cedar Avenue Executive Director Sindhu Srinivas said in an interview that Penn has collaborated with community groups to help identify the neighborhood\u2019s needs. That outreach has produced an on-site food pantry, as well as partnerships addressing legal services and other health concerns.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve been trying to be very creative about what kinds of services we can help to support,\u201d Srinivas explained. \u201cInstead of always just waiting for that to be addressed when they\u2019re in the hospital as that one-on-one patient, is there something we can be doing with community partners that addresses that sort of more broadly?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Penn Med has also renovated an unused outpatient space at Cedar into a ground-floor ambulatory practice. Ambulatory care refers<\/a> to medical services performed on an outpatient basis, without admission to a hospital or another facility.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe took a space that had not been used in the five years we had been there, and that\u2019s the space that we renovated to be our new ambulatory practice space,\u201d Srinivas said. \u201cIt\u2019s accessible.\u201d<\/p>\n While the location does not house research facilities, the work at HUP Cedar can still inform research, Srinivas added.<\/p>\n \u201cWhile it might not be a trial, there\u2019s definitely other ways to demonstrate innovative ways to address needs that subsequently impact health outcomes,\u201d she explained. \u201cHow do we continue to evaluate these approaches so that maybe they\u2019re not just at HUP Cedar?\u201d<\/p>\n Telehealth services<\/p>\n Penn\u2019s expansion strategy also extends beyond physical facilities. Senior vice president and chief financial officer of the University of Pennsylvania Health System Julia Puchtler said that access to telehealth services has given patients a more cost-friendly alternative to traditional in-person care.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cPatients don\u2019t necessarily feel like they have to come downtown for everything,\u201d Puchtler explained in an interview. \u201cThey\u2019re much more open to staying close to home for care.\u201d<\/p>\n Penn is increasingly thinking of care as \u201clocation-flexible\u201d \u2014 which includes hospitals, outpatient clinics, patients\u2019 homes and virtual visits \u2014 according to Mahoney.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cHealthcare is going to be more virtual, more telemedicine, and we\u2019re going to keep leaning in,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Finances<\/p>\n Balancing the Health System\u2019s financial responsibilities with its push for innovation is also key to fostering breakthroughs, according to Puchtler.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s so many good ideas that come forward and proposals, and the challenge is that you can’t do all of them every year,\u201d she said. \u201cYou have to look for those that meet the most of our mission and our financial criteria together.\u201d<\/p>\n Last year, the University\u2019s health system was responsible<\/a> for over two-thirds of Penn\u2019s total revenue.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cYou can\u2019t do only things that don\u2019t have a return on investment,\u201d Puchtler added. \u201cIt\u2019s a portfolio. So you\u2019re going to need things that do generate a return so that you can generate returns to fund the things that don\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n That does not mean projects that do not guarantee an immediate financial return are automatically rejected, Puchtler explained. She added that Penn often tries to structure projects in phases so that it can change course if an idea does not pan out.<\/p>\n \u201cNot every great idea can materialize,\u201d Puchtler said. \u201cThat\u2019s how innovation works.\u201d<\/p>\n Staff reporter Saanvi Ram covers science and health and can be reached at ram@thedp.com<\/a>. At Penn, she studies health and societies. Follow her on X @Saanvi_vivi<\/a>.<\/p>\n