OSF Innovation is leading transformational projects that encourage community collaboration.

It’s hard to believe OSF Innovation is well into its third year of work, bringing together multidisciplinary teams to solve some of the most complex problems in healthcare. These teams have moved quickly to develop ideas on different ways to improve healthcare for the better—many of which have been tested or implemented within OSF HealthCare facilities.

“The collaborative atmosphere along with new processes for the way we work has led to so many advances within our healthcare system,” notes Becky Buchen, senior vice president of OSF Innovation. 

OSF Innovation worked with clinicians to develop new standards of care to keep heart failure patients from returning to the hospital. It’s expanded telehealth capabilities to include more specialties and increase behavioral health services to those who need it the most. 

OSF Innovation has adopted and invested in applications to help patients stay engaged in their own care. It’s growing its advanced analytics capabilities. And Jump Simulation has received national recognition, cementing its legacy as a world-class simulation, engineering and innovation center.

OSF Innovation executive leaders Dr. John Vozenilek, Michelle Conger and Becky Buchen collaborate to address challenges in healthcare.

Looking to the Future 
To address some of healthcare’s biggest challenges, OSF Innovation continues to focus its efforts on advancing simulation, making the aging feel ageless, building a path for those off the beaten path, and empowering those who feel powerless. As part of this work, the Complex Solutions Innovation (CSI) team was launched in 2017 to identify and design solutions to reach the most vulnerable populations across the ministry. 

“For too long, innovation in healthcare has been geared toward those with the means to take advantage of medical advances,” says Dr. Sarah de Ramirez, chief medical officer of clinical innovation and vice president of OSF Innovation. “Meanwhile, those with the most needs struggle to get their basic needs met.”

OSF Innovation, through CSI, is leading transformational, community-based innovation that encourages collaboration with healthcare experts, innovative companies, academic researchers and community members to develop solutions for the elderly, rural and poor populations. 

Helping with this effort is the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC). In the spring of 2018, OSF HealthCare became the first corporate partner with the Discovery Partners Institute at UIC, giving OSF Innovation access to the strengths and expertise of design, engineering, business, marketing and other graduate disciplines at the Chicago facility. 

“Uniting these university groups with our cross-functional team of performance improvement experts, clinicians, educators, senior marketers, human-centered designers and advanced analytic specialists here at OSF HealthCare will result in the development of solutions resulting in equitable healthcare for all,” notes Dr. John Vozenilek, vice president and chief medical officer for Jump Simulation.

A Call For Help 
Innovation doesn’t just happen in a single building. OSF Innovation will soon launch a program to support ideas generated by mission partners throughout the organization, adding to the firepower that’s been created with the launch of several innovative projects.

OSF Innovation has also launched the Synergy Society, giving the broader public the ability to support innovative ideas. You can follow OSF Innovation progress and learn more about the Synergy Society at osfinnovation.org. iBi