After extending operating hours of the Oncology Evaluation Center at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia-based Penn Medicine saved 679 inpatient bed days and 404 emergency department visits for cancer patients between March 2024 and January.
Having run for almost a decade at a smaller scale, the Oncology Evaluation Center is now open 24 hours per day, 7 days per week for cancer patients to receive “on-the-spot treatments” such as transfusion, symptom management and supportive care, according to an Oct. 14 news release from Penn Medicine.
The center is staffed with two advanced practice providers during the day and one at night, three registered nurses, a certified nursing assistant, a unit secretary and a pharmacist, with a physician available for consultation at all times, the release said.
Leave a Reply