Healthcare Collaborations

A number of OSF partnerships are helping to provide more comprehensive and efficient care in the community.

Collaboration. It may not be the first thing you think of when you hear the word “healthcare,” but partnerships and collaborative efforts are key to the industry. Here are just a few of the examples of collaborations OSF Saint Francis Medical Center has forged in recent years:

• University of Illinois College of Medicine at Peoria. The relationship with UICOMP has a tremendous impact on the local medical community. OSF Saint Francis has 10 residencies for UICOMP students in a wide variety of specialties. This helps us keep the best physicians in the Peoria area after graduation, truly a homegrown commodity.
• Cardiovascular Fellowship. In collaboration with UICOMP, OSF Saint Francis and HeartCare Midwest have established a new Cardiovascular Disease Fellowship Training Program. The first three fellows will begin the three-year program at OSF Saint Francis in July. Not only will the fellowship help address a national shortage of cardiologists dealing with an increasing aging population with heart disease, it will boost central Illinois’ ability to lead or be part of national research studies and patient trials.
• Bradley University. In addition to working with Bradley’s Department of Nursing to offer clinical training opportunities for students, the Center for Collaborative Brain Research was established (in conjunction with UICOMP) in 2009 to increase the communication of academia, research and clinical needs. Neurosurgeon Dr. Julian Lin from the Illinois Neurological Institute works with Dr. Martin Morris, professor of mechanical engineering at Bradley, on numerous projects for mechanical engineering students, including one that resulted in a patent disclosure for a valve technology that could greatly improve the quality of life for people living with hydrocephalus (excess fluid around the brain).
• Peoria Area Emergency Medical Services. The Peoria Area EMS covers nine counties in central Illinois, with OSF Saint Francis serving as the Resource Hospital. That means we work with 1,600 providers (from more than 75 agencies), including paramedics, firefighters, police, dispatchers, EMTs and first responders, to make sure they comply with all state and local regulations and offer continuing education opportunities.
• Bariatric Surgery Center of Excellence. The collaboration between OSF Saint Francis and Peoria Surgical Group, under the direction of Dr. J. Stephen Marshall, is certified by the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery as a Bariatric Surgery Center of Excellence. A team of medical professionals, including a surgeon, psychologist, pharmacist, dietitian, nurses and more, works with patients to determine the best approach to achieve their weight loss goals.
• Comprehensive Lung Cancer Clinic. In conjunction with the Illinois Lung and Critical Care Institute, OSF Saint Francis has established the Lung Cancer Clinic, which makes accessing care and treatment so much easier for lung cancer patients through a multidisciplinary team with representatives from the OSF Interventional Pulmonary Lab, Illinois CancerCare, Peoria Surgical Group, HeartCare Midwest, Illinois Lung and Critical Care, OSF Radiation Oncology, OSF Systems Laboratory and Central Illinois Radiological Associates.
• Illinois Neurological Institute Comprehensive Stroke Center. The Illinois Neurological Institute’s (INI) Stroke Center at OSF Saint Francis was the second center in the country to be designated a Comprehensive Stroke Center by the Joint Commission. Through the collaborative efforts of physicians, nursing staff, pharmacists, therapists, technicians and ancillary staff, we are able to provide excellence in treatment response times and improved outcomes for our patients.
• Jump Trading Simulation and Education Center. Perhaps our most visible collaboration, the Jump Trading Simulation and Education Center is under construction on the OSF Saint Francis campus. Jump is a joint effort by OSF HealthCare and UICOMP that will change the education and training landscape for the entire Peoria area medical community and beyond when it opens in April.

The list could go on, but as you can see from these examples, collaborative efforts are critical as we navigate the changing healthcare landscape so that services are appropriate, affordable and attainable for our community. iBi

Shelli Dankoff is the senior media relations specialist at OSF Saint Francis Medical Center.