Kerry O'Connor

Created & spearheaded the #BornAtEinstein campaign, a year-long initiative celebrating Einstein Healthcare Network's 150th anniversary (2016) by soliciting the public through social media, billboards, tv ads, etc to submit pictures and stories to an online "baby book" if they or a family member were born at any Einstein hospital throughout their 150 year history.

I spearheaded the campaign to get Einstein Healthcare Network involved with the national social media campaign, #GreenLightAvet to honor veterans on Veterans Day by having Einstein Medical Center's iconic columns lit up green.

It was believed for years that lighting the columns for special occasions would be cost prohibitive. I did it for $33.00.

MossRehab created a training called "It's Just Respect"​ for companies/organizations to educate people—whether it be in the workplace, a retail business or out in the community—about disability etiquette. It's about providing a more comfortable experience for people with disabilities. But it is also makes good business sense for anyone who deals with customers with disabilities.

A component of the training is a video series called Disability Etiquette Gone Wrong that provides lessons in… Show more

MossRehab created a training called "It's Just Respect"​ for companies/organizations to educate people—whether it be in the workplace, a retail business or out in the community—about disability etiquette. It's about providing a more comfortable experience for people with disabilities. But it is also makes good business sense for anyone who deals with customers with disabilities.

A component of the training is a video series called Disability Etiquette Gone Wrong that provides lessons in the proper etiquette for dealing with key situations involving people with disabilities. The videos are light-hearted and humorous.

My involvement with the videos:

1) Spearheaded a social media campaign asking followers with disabilities to submit their true stories of a time when an interaction with someone went wrong and how it could have gone better. Participants of stories selected are featured in the videos

2) Wrote, directed, and worked on final editing to produce the finished videos

3) Posted published videos online so that they can be used/accessed by anyone, even if they could not sign-up for the in-person training sessions. Show less

MossRehab has become the first hospital in Philadelphia to use the new Accessible Icon to indicate parking spaces for persons with disabilities.

I spearheaded the project (found the icon, met with leadership, received approval) and—along with my wife—donated the icon stencil.

All the spots have now been converted at MossRehab at Tabor Road/Einstein Medical Center Philadelphia, and the stencil will now be moved to our other campuses throughout the network.

I leveraged personal and professional relationships at the Philadelphia Museum of Art's Public Relations department, Accessible Programs For People With Disabilities and the Young Friends of the Philadelphia Museum of Art to create a program that allows MossRehab art therapy patients to:

*Take private, adaptive tours of the museum with an art therapist and a trained guide
*Create art in 3 art therapy sessions based on what inspired them on their tours
*Have their work displayed in… Show more

I leveraged personal and professional relationships at the Philadelphia Museum of Art's Public Relations department, Accessible Programs For People With Disabilities and the Young Friends of the Philadelphia Museum of Art to create a program that allows MossRehab art therapy patients to:

*Take private, adaptive tours of the museum with an art therapist and a trained guide
*Create art in 3 art therapy sessions based on what inspired them on their tours
*Have their work displayed in the museum's Art Education Corridor-- steps away from the renowned main galleries--during the annual Community Partners exhibit.
*Have their work displayed at MossRehab's annual "All About Art" juried art exhibition for professional artists with disabilities. Show less

As a surfer and someone devoted to helping those with disabilities live healthy, fulfilled lives, I volunteered with They will Surf Again a free event allowing people with spinal cord injuries to ride waves with the help of volunteers and adaptive surf boards.

They Will Surf Again and MossRehab seemed to be perfect for each other, so I leveraged my personal and professional relationship with Chad DeSatnick who organizes local They Will Surf Again events and MossRehab. The result was a… Show more

As a surfer and someone devoted to helping those with disabilities live healthy, fulfilled lives, I volunteered with They will Surf Again a free event allowing people with spinal cord injuries to ride waves with the help of volunteers and adaptive surf boards.

They Will Surf Again and MossRehab seemed to be perfect for each other, so I leveraged my personal and professional relationship with Chad DeSatnick who organizes local They Will Surf Again events and MossRehab. The result was a volunteer corps of 20 MossRehab therapists, staff and supporters who joined over 200 other volunteers at Rambler Road in Wildwood Crest NJ, to help 36 registered participants with disabilities (one of which was a former MossRehab amputee patient) get up and down the beach, in and out of wetsuits and assist surfers in the water as they rode the waves past them on their way towards the shore.

MossRehab will be sending volunteers to They Will Surf Again in 2013. Show less

Einstein Medical Center Philadelphia began offering free Tay-Sachs disease screenings to those of Irish descent. Screenings—which involve a simple blood test—are free to those who participate. To be eligible, participants must be at least 18 years of age and have at least three grandparents of Irish descent.

If the carrier rate turns out to be high, then large –scale screening initiatives—like those conducted through the Victor Center for the Prevention of Jewish Genetic Diseases at… Show more

Einstein Medical Center Philadelphia began offering free Tay-Sachs disease screenings to those of Irish descent. Screenings—which involve a simple blood test—are free to those who participate. To be eligible, participants must be at least 18 years of age and have at least three grandparents of Irish descent.

If the carrier rate turns out to be high, then large –scale screening initiatives—like those conducted through the Victor Center for the Prevention of Jewish Genetic Diseases at Einstein and other facilities throughout the country—could identify carriers before they pass on the Tay-Sachs gene.

I am in charge of all public relations and promotions of the study and the screening, including traditional and social media strategies for which I oversaw the creation of a video profiling an Irish family with a child with born with Tay-Sachs.
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I leveraged personal and professional relationships at the Philadelphia Museum of Art's Public Relations department, Accessible Programs For People With Disabilities and the Young Friends of the Philadelphia Museum of Art to create a program that allows Magee art therapy patients to:

*Take private, adaptive tours of the museum with an art therapist and a trained guide
*Create art in art therapy sessions based on what inspired them on their tours
*Have their work displayed in the… Show more

I leveraged personal and professional relationships at the Philadelphia Museum of Art's Public Relations department, Accessible Programs For People With Disabilities and the Young Friends of the Philadelphia Museum of Art to create a program that allows Magee art therapy patients to:

*Take private, adaptive tours of the museum with an art therapist and a trained guide
*Create art in art therapy sessions based on what inspired them on their tours
*Have their work displayed in the museum's Art Education Corridor-- steps away from the renowned main galleries--during the annual Community Partners exhibit. Show less

I created a podcast series called Doc Talk, which features Einstein's Dr. Donee Patterson, a board certified family physician and Einstein's Director of Medical Community Outreach as host. In each podcasts, Dr. Donee talks with Einstein doctors and medical experts on a variety of health topics important to the community/consumer. The Doc Talk podcasts are unique in Philadelphia because they are the only podcasts used by healthcare systems that feature their own doctors, doctors that potential… Show more

I created a podcast series called Doc Talk, which features Einstein's Dr. Donee Patterson, a board certified family physician and Einstein's Director of Medical Community Outreach as host. In each podcasts, Dr. Donee talks with Einstein doctors and medical experts on a variety of health topics important to the community/consumer. The Doc Talk podcasts are unique in Philadelphia because they are the only podcasts used by healthcare systems that feature their own doctors, doctors that potential patients can actually make appointments with. Show less

I created, proposed and managed a project with local photojournalist Faye Murman that granted her full access to several spinal cord injury patients, their doctors, therapists and family members for 3 months.

The result was a series of photodocumentaries featuring black and white photos and recorded interviews with the patients that ran on Philly.com and several other sites. The photodocumentaries still reside on Magee's website.

When the photodocumentaries were complete, Magee… Show more

I created, proposed and managed a project with local photojournalist Faye Murman that granted her full access to several spinal cord injury patients, their doctors, therapists and family members for 3 months.

The result was a series of photodocumentaries featuring black and white photos and recorded interviews with the patients that ran on Philly.com and several other sites. The photodocumentaries still reside on Magee's website.

When the photodocumentaries were complete, Magee hosted a gallery-style opening on the rooftop to unveil them. The quality of Faye's work was gods enough for me to get the opening posted in the "First Friday" listing of local galleries that host open houses in Philadelphia. Show less

Magee was asked to create the training materials by Benjamin Kenion, a Captain in the U.S. Army who was in Iraq working with the Babil Provincial Reconstruction Team. Because of his experience as an occupational therapist at Magee, Kenion realized the need for videos and materials that helped Iraqi doctors and citizens utilize and maintain wheelchairs properly when working with the Babil Regional Rehabilitation Center, which treats 250 patients a day. Latter Day Saints (LDS) Philanthropies also… Show more

Magee was asked to create the training materials by Benjamin Kenion, a Captain in the U.S. Army who was in Iraq working with the Babil Provincial Reconstruction Team. Because of his experience as an occupational therapist at Magee, Kenion realized the need for videos and materials that helped Iraqi doctors and citizens utilize and maintain wheelchairs properly when working with the Babil Regional Rehabilitation Center, which treats 250 patients a day. Latter Day Saints (LDS) Philanthropies also agreed to send two thousand brand new wheelchairs to Kenion and his team.

I helped put the video together and did the voice-over work for the video. I, along with the others involved, received a citation from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and US flags that were flown over the US Embassy in Baghdad, Iraq for our service. The video is now used by the US Army all over the world. Show less

Einstein Healthcare Network launched a campaign to remind staff and visitors to wash their hands to reduce the spread of germs. Part of this campaign was the creation of a humorous video featuring a blues-type song about handwashing. I wrote the song, created the scenes, directed the scenes and oversaw production of the video.