Abington Hospital Creates Quality & Safety Endowed Position Named For Philanthropist

ABINGTON, PA — Jefferson Abington Hospital has announced that it has created the healthcare facility's first endowed quality and safety position, which will be held by Dr. Oren Guttman, and one which is named in honor of a former member of the hospital's board of trustees who served as a healthcare reformer for many years.

Jefferson Abington Hospital recently held an investiture ceremony to highlight the new Chief Quality and Patient Safety Officer position, which is being named in honor of Edward Asplundh, a former trustee and philanthropist who passed away in December 2020.

"The Edward Asplundh Chief Quality and Patient Safety Officer chair is a fitting way to pay tribute to our friend because Ed cared so deeply about the health and wellbeing of patients," Alison
Ferren, president and chief operating officer of Jefferson Health-Abington, said in a statement.

The recent investiture ceremony for Guttman, who is an associate professor of anesthesiology in the Sidney Kimmel College of Medicine and a national expert on patient safety, included an unveiling of a new portrait of Asplundh that was created by realist painter Alexandra Tyng, according to the hospital.

"Ed was a champion for quality healthcare and patient safety," Bruce Meyer, president of Jefferson Health and Senior Executive Vice President of Thomas Jefferson University, said in a statement. "It was something he cared about and worked so hard to weave into the fiber of Abington. With this named position, Ed's passion for putting patients first will live in perpetuity. That is Ed's legacy."

According to the hospital, Asplundh spent the better part of 30 years raising $20 million for nursing scholarships, chairing Abington's campaign to raise $50 million to build the Lenfest Pavilion, and leading his family's commitment to naming the Asplundh Cancer Pavilion.

Asplundh also began paying for a group of nurses to go to Florida each year to receive professional development, something he had learned was not afforded to the nurses like it was to doctors.

The hospital stated that Asplundh dedicated decades of service to Jefferson Abington, which included serving as chair of the Board of Trustees and leading numerous committees and major capital campaigns.

Family and friends of Asplundh ended up contributing more than $3.4 million in Asplundh's memory, money that was ultimately used to create the chief quality and patient safety officer position at the hospital, according to Jefferson Abington.

The hospital said that another portion of the $3.4 million was used to create the Edward Asplundh Physician and Nursing Fund for Professional Advancement, which will help underwrite the cost for up to 40 staffers to attend the Institute for Healthcare Improvement conference, is a similar event, on an annual basis.

"It's impossible to adequately put into words what Ed has meant to Abington," Jill Kyle, senior vice president for regional advancement at Jefferson Health, said in a statement. "We are so grateful to be able to celebrate his life and legacy."

The Asplundh name is known to many in Southeastern Pennsylvania, as trucks with his name belonging to his tree-service business can be seen traversing roads all across the region.

Asplundh died at 88 on Dec. 31, 2020, at Abington Hospital after suffering complications from coronary artery disease, according to an article in the Philadelphia Inquirer.

According to the Inquirer, Asplundh was a Philadelphia native who had attended the Wharton Business School at the University of Pennsylvania, and eventually began working for Asplundh Tree Expert Co., a Willow Grove-based business started by his father and uncles back in 1928.

The Inquirer article says that he served as president of the tree-service company from 1982 to 1992.

Asplundh's daughter, Jacqueline, told the Inquirer that her father became involved with area healthcare organizations because he had grown up during the polio epidemic, and was very interested in health issues.