Temple Health celebrated the official opening of its new medical staff wellness space at Temple University Hospital–Main Campus with a ribbon-cutting ceremony in June, followed by tours that gave physicians, APPs, and other clinical staff their first look inside.
"Today is very exciting because we are opening more than a space. We are opening a visible reminder that supporting the people who care for patients is part of a health system's work," said Ryan Serdenes, DO, chair of the TUH Medical Staff Practitioner Wellness Committee and assistant professor of clinical psychiatry at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine.
Chief Medical Officer Daniel Feinberg, MD echoed that sentiment on behalf of Temple Health leadership. "Having a place to step away, gather your thoughts, recharge, and connect with colleagues—those little things can make a big difference, not just for each of you personally, but for the quality and safety of the care we provide to patients," Feinberg said.
Inside the New Space
The wellness space includes a lactation room, kitchenette, coffee station, computer workspace, lounge area, and massage chair, giving medical staff a dedicated place to step away and recharge during the workday. Attendees touring the space after the ceremony got a firsthand look at how these amenities are arranged to support quick, restorative breaks between patient encounters.
Serdenes credited the Practitioner Wellness Committee's work over the past year, including the use of survey data, with grounding the project in real staff needs. He noted that the space marks a starting point rather than a finish line for wellness efforts at Temple Health, and that it reflects a broader commitment toward proactively supporting medical staff rather than simply responding to burnout after it occurs.
A Shared Commitment to Wellbeing
Feinberg recognized the demands placed on physicians and APPs, and pointed to the new space as a resource that supports both individual wellbeing and the quality and safety of patient care. His remarks reinforced a theme carried throughout the event: that investing in medical staff wellbeing is inseparable from Temple Health's broader mission of delivering safe, high-quality patient care.