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One thing we learned during the COVID 19 pandemic was the value of telehealth.  Patients could see their physician from home, avoiding the danger of infection – and also eliminating the transportation barrier that many of our patients struggle with.  We also quickly came face to face with its limitations. For example, we couldn’t measure blood pressure, which made management of patients’ hypertension difficult.

The exciting news is that recent innovations have made it possible for patients to track their own blood pressure with wi-fi enabled blood pressure cuffs. 

In May 2021, ChesPenn launched our self-monitoring blood pressure management program with funding from a grant provided by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) and assistance from the Health Federation of Philadelphia. Patients receive instructions in taking their blood pressure and are asked to record measurements twice in the morning and twice in the evening. Patient Engagement Specialist Amyah Blakely reviews results daily that feed into a portal and then reports them to each patient’s provider through the EMR. 

In May 2021, ChesPenn launched our self-monitoring blood pressure management program with funding from a grant provided by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) and assistance from the Health Federation of Philadelphia. Patients receive instructions in taking their blood pressure and are asked to record measurements twice in the morning and twice in the evening. Patient Engagement Specialist Amyah Blakely reviews results daily and reports them to each patient’s provider.  When providers see elevated results, they can adjust the patient’s medication until the blood pressure returns to a healthy level.  This means patients don’t have to wait months for their next visit to have their provider check their blood pressure and make any changes needed.  To date, we have distributed blood pressure cuffs to over 250 patients and our goal is to expand the program to every patient whose blood pressure is not well controlled.

Patients have embraced their new ability to monitor their blood pressure.  The cuffs include an app that patients can download to their phones so that they can also keep track of both blood pressure and heart rate.  We’ve found that this tool helps increase patients’ engagement in their health management.

This initiative provides a powerful new tool for our participation in the Million Hearts® Collaboration.  Million Hearts® is a national collaboration co-led by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).
Current priorities for the program include optimizing care with blood pressure control. 

ChesPenn Chief Medical Officer Dr. Letitia O’Kicki commented on the program that, “The Million Hearts® project has been a very important program advancing health equity and contributing to the health of the communities we serve.  Through team-based care and evidence-based guidelines, blood pressure is closely monitored and medication added or adjusted, if needed. The focus has been to better control blood pressure in our patients, preventing strokes and heart attacks.  Self-monitoring blood pressure machines have allowed patients to be very engaged in their health care. Our team-based approach includes the clinical care team: providers, nurses, medical assistants, health educator, behavioral health consultant, pharmacist, and the quality improvement team, along with the patient engagement specialist.”

During our 50th anniversary year, we’ve focused on celebrating 50 years of caring for the communities we serve while looking to the future, exploring innovative strategies to meet our patients’ evolving needs.  This new program is a wonderful glimpse into the possibilities for community health care in the coming years.



Letitia O’Kicki grew up in a small town in western Pennsylvania.  The eldest of 7 siblings, caring for others came naturally and her maternal uncle, who was a family medicine physician, also had a profound impact on her.   “We had this close relationship so when I went to Penn as an undergrad and Temple medical school and began to take rotations I would go back home and take them with my uncle in his office.  He was very warm, very tender, very nurturing and had a really wonderful relationship with his patients.  He took care of generations of families which was really nice to see.  When a woman went into labor in a in a snowstorm someone would come on a snowmobile to take him to deliver the baby.   He was just a great role model and mentor.”

After medical school Dr. O’Kicki first pursued surgery, attracted by the fast pace and high energy.  After a year of internship she realized that surgery wasn’t a fit for her and she once again turned to family medicine.  And again, her family became an important influence on how she thought about practicing medicine.

“When I was a fourth-year medical student my grandfather got very sick.  He had cholangiocarcinoma which is a very difficult cancer even now to treat and he died within six weeks.  I was very grateful that I was given the time off to go back and be with him.  One of the things that struck me was that every patient is someone’s family member.  No matter who you’re treating, you treat them as if they’re your family member because they belong to someone.   It really helped develop my empathy for patients and their families.   I decided right then that I wanted to work in an FQHC in public health.  As soon as I walked through the door (at the City of Philadelphia Ambulatory Health Services) I said this is where I belong.

“Every single day I would be happy to go to work and every single night I thought I’m so grateful for what I have but also boy I’m so glad I went to work today.”  The ability to help patients get connected to services, diagnosing their illnesses made every day of her 12 years with the city fulfilling.

After taking some time for her family and for research, Dr. O’Kicki was ready to dive back into primary care.  In 2012 she learned of a faculty position at Crozer in their Family Medicine Residency Program.  She found that the position would be at the Center for Family Health at Upper Darby, which operated in partnership with ChesPenn.  She jumped at the chance to get back into a community health setting and to teach the next generation of family medicine residents, passing on the passion and dedication she’d learned as a child from her uncle. In 2016, after Dr. Rekha Yagnik’s passing, she became ChesPenn’s Medical Director and was named Chief Medical Officer in 2020.

“I really love what I do.  Doctor Yagnik laid a strong foundation, and we want to build it higher and stronger and with Sue (Susan Harris McGovern) as CEO we have a really nice team.”   Under Dr. O’Kicki’s direction, ChesPenn participates in nationally recognized programs including the American Heart Association’s Million Hearts Program and Crucial Catch, a collaboration with the American Cancer Society and the NFL.  The leadership team is also exploring possible new collaborations with major health care systems in the region, made possible in part because of Dr. O’Kicki’s academic appointments at Drexel and Temple Universities.

In the next 3 to 5 years, Dr. O’Kicki sees ChesPenn continuing to grow, adding new programs and expanding our current services.  One project that’s especially important to her is an expansion of the Upper Darby location and addition of dental care there.   She envisions ChesPenn continuing to explore cutting edge approaches to community health and teach new generations of healthcare professionals her own irst lesson as a physician – that every patient is someone’s mother, father, sibling, or child.

 



Dear ChesPenn Friends,

Can you believe ChesPenn has had its doors open for 50 years?

I guess time really does fly when you’re having fun!

Time is also our most valuable asset, and we often take it for granted. When was the last time you told someone how much you appreciate them? I want to let you in on a little secret: WE could not have made it this far without YOU. Who’s “You”? Our wonderful staff, funders, volunteer board, and supporters.  You need to know that, and you need to hear that from me…because there would be no ChesPenn without any of you. Through all the trials and triumphs – WE are because of YOU.

It all began in 1973 with Dr. Barr approaching Dr. Rekha Yagnik with the opportunity to provide health care services to the underserved children of Chester PA. On her first day, working in a double wide trailer on the corner of 7th and Tilghman Street in Chester along with just one nurse and a receptionist, Dr. Yagnik saw 11 pediatric patients.

From what started in a double wide trailer we are now a network of three community health centers: two in Delaware County, and one in Chester County, that provides care for over 14,000 patients per year. In addition, we partner with Crozer/Prospect Health to provide OB/GYN, and Family Medicine residency programs, training the next generation of health care providers.

We continue to explore new ways to meet the complex needs of the communities we serve, including expanding access to behavioral health, improving birth outcomes, and developing additional dental services. We are building alliances and with neighboring colleges, universities, and technology schools so we can increase pathways into public health, and foster training opportunities for staff, we want to invest in our most important asset – our staff and training the next generation of healthcare workers. We are looking for opportunities to build on our relationships with civic leaders, and connecting with community philanthropists in support of building a healthier and stronger society for no one does anything alone.

I want to say “thank you.” To the ones who helped get ChesPenn off the ground 50 years ago, the current staff who allow us to still serve our community today with professionalism and compassion, and to our donors who have generously supported us and continue to support us in our efforts to be an accessible integrated health care resource to our local communities.

I can picture Dr. Yagnik smiling from ea r to ear, knowing that her “pride and joy” – her humble little clinic – has reached its 50th milestone year. WE are because of YOU.

Cheers to 50 more years!!

Susan Harris McGovern

President and CEO


Locations

Center for Family Health at Eastside
125 E. 9th Street
Chester PA, 19013
Medical Phone: 610-872-6131
Dental Phone: 610-874-6231

Center for Family Health at Coatesville
744 East Lincoln Highway
Suite 110
Coatesville, PA 19320
Medical Phone: 610-380-4660
Dental Phone: 610-383-3888

Center for Family Health at Upper Darby
5 South State Road
Upper Darby, PA 19082
Phone: 610-352-6585

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Administration

1510 Chester Pike,
Suite 200
Eddystone, PA 19022

Phone: 610-485-3800
Fax: 610-485-4221

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