UPMC Delivers Expert Care Anywhere

By: UPMC

First Friday, UPMC’s digital internal magazine, publishes monthly and aims to capture the spirit of innovation, dedication to caring, and attention to quality that permeates the work done across UPMC every day. 

Imagine: a plane full of people making good use of their PTO for a long-awaited vacation or a visit to long-distance family and friends, and just as the plane reaches its cruising altitude, the pilot makes the nerve-wracking request for a doctor onboard.  

Perhaps it’s a lucky day and the passenger in seat 14B is a newly minted MD, but did you know that UPMC has an entire team dedicated to answering calls from the sky, during which staff walk the in-flight crew through their medical emergencies?   

The November issue of First Friday highlights the heroes on the ground who expertly handle those emergency calls, showcases the UPMC Pinnacle Foundation’s Farm to Hospital program at UPMC Memorial, celebrates a Health Plan Medicare win, and looks back on a decade of Q&As: 

Making a Difference Through Senior Health Care Coverage 

Start this month with a win. UPMC for Life, UPMC Health Plan’s Medicare Advantage plan, provides personalized, award-winning support in helping members understand plan benefits through the Health Care Concierge team. 

Emergency Care in the Air:  Q&A With TJ Doyle, Medical Director of STAT-MD 

STAT-MD is a component of the Center for Emergency Medicine of Western Pennsylvania, a business unit of UPMC. Based out of a brand-new communications center in West Mifflin, Pa., STAT-MD staff consult on approximately 16,000 calls each year that come in from a range of commercial, corporate, and private air carriers.  

Farm to Table at UPMC Memorial 

The UPMC Pinnacle Foundation’s Farm to Hospital program at UPMC Memorial provides fresh produce for patients, staff, and the community year-round. In addition to helping fight food insecurity and adding nutrients to hospital dishes, the farm’s goal is to address the root cause of illness through focusing on the impact of diet and exercise. 

Ten Years of Questions and Answers 

Q&As have always been a First Friday staple, affording readers the opportunity to learn more about their leaders, business units, and organization initiatives directly from the source. Look back on a decade of some of our most memorable Q&As. 

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