Newsroom OSF HealthCare

COVID-19 has limited the ability of medical students to do in-person observation and rounds at hospitals and other clinical sites, so they're using simulators to help provide "real life" scenarios. This story features students from OSF HealthCare Saint Anthony Medical Center in Rockford during their recent training using exercises developed at OSF's Jump Simulation and Education Center in Peoria.

Senior Vice President of OSF digital health Jennifer Junis, who oversees OSF OnCall testified before lawmakers in Springfield in favor of HB 3498, a bill that would require insurance companies to fairly reimburse health care providers that offer telehealth services. The bill seeks to prohibit restrictions on telehealth by location, meaning patients can be treated at their home and can see a provider of their choosing but they are also not obligated to use the service.

The Community Health Foundation of Warren and Henderson Counties have pledged $2.75 million to add 10,000 square feet of space to the emergency department at OSF HealthCare Holy Family Medical Center in Monmouth. The money will transform the department to include 10 treatment rooms, a dedicated triage area, private family consultation and behavioral health rooms, plus an ambulance bay with private entrance and a decontamination room, which is crucial for the care necessary for those living in a rural community.

Garrett Vygantas, MD, managing director, Venture Group, OSF Innovation, OSF HealthCare was among four key leaders weighing in on a panel discussion hosted by Health Leaders Magazine which looked at the impact and use of artificial intelligence by health systems. Dr. Vygantas said, "AI allows us to harness the insights (from data) that would otherwise be nearly impossible or very limited in scale on a human level."

This story explains a partnership between OSF HealthCare and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign will bring a COVID-19 test using saliva to schools, businesses and other organizations in the community. The goal of the initiative --"To make the tests available, very convenient, and very reliable, and at the very minimum costs,” according to OSF Innovation leader Dr. John Vozenilek.

This story for WCBU in Peoria and WGLT in Normal features Jennifer Junis, senior vice president of OSF OnCall Digital Health discussing how telehealth expanded rapidly in response to the COVID-19 pandemic but the new options were added to an already robust and growing Digital Health program that includes remote monitoring and e-ICU to connect rural hospitals with expert care.

This story features OSF Innovation leader Dr. Sarah de Ramirez discussing OSF Healthcare’s health equity action lab which is employing a data-driven strategy to address breast cancer disparity outcomes among its Illinois patients, 65% of whom live in rural areas.

Illinois Country Living Magazine takes a look at barriers to mental health in rural areas. Luke Raymond, director of behavior health for OSF HealthCare was interviewed for the story.

This story highlights how Virtual Reality Lessons Created at OSF HealthCare's Jump Trading Simulation and Education Center in Peoria are helping prepare medical students for real life scenarios at a time when their ability to do bedside rounds and sit in on surgical procedures is not an option because of COVID-19.

This story highlights the latest focus of nearly $1 million dollars in grants to research ways to leverage technology to improve access to care, especially for underserved communities and ways to provide screenings and care earlier to prevent disease or to catch it early enough for successful treatment.

This story outlines how OSF HealthCare will be vacating offices all over Peoria to move Mission Partners (employees) into the new hub on SW Adams for OSF OnCall, an electronically-based care programs for OSF HealthCare facilities throughout Illinois and Michigan.

OSF HealthCare CEO Bob Sehring and his wife, Barb, and Jay and Betty Vonachen and their son and daughter-in-law, Matt and Lesley Vonachen, have each committed to giving $1-million gifts in support of the fundraising campaign for a new cancer center on its campus in Peoria.

In this radio interview with host Vanessa Wetterling of WMOI-WRAM Radio in Monmouth, Dr. Linda Auer , an opthamologist who has been practicing in Galesburg for more than two decades announced she'll begin offering cataract surgery at Holy Family Medical Center in Monmouth to meet a growing demand from the community's older residents.

Amanda and Joe Pilger of Monmouth, Illinois have been raising money for five years and have delivered more than 500 care packages to families who have infants requiring specialty care in the Neo-intensive Care Unit at OSF HealthCare Children's Hospital of Illinois inside Saint Francis Medical Center in Peoria, Illinois. The Pilger's daughter Amelia, who is now a healthy 11 year-old, required surgery for a severe gastrointestinal issue as an infant and the Pilgers want to support other families who might need to commute to the hospital for care of their newborn.

Paul Leamon brings 30 years of experience in entrepreneurship, fundraising and corporate development into his position as the new executive director, of Distillery Labs, a 50-thousand square foot technology and innovatino hub in downtown Peoria, supported in part, by OSF HealthCare. He'll start in the role on Jan. 4 and this story features an interview covering everything from how Leaman will grow partnerships and the unique challenges to launching the hub during a pandemic.

Two OSF Innovation leaders were part of an industry roundtable discussion about the future use of Artificial Intelligence in health care, hosted by Pieces, a healthcare AI company. Chief Medical Officer for Clinical Innovation Dr. Sarah de Ramirez told the panel, "During the pandemic, natural language processing (NLP), automated patient screening, and digital care navigation really helped to democratize access to care in ways we couldn't have done in the past." Dr. Garrett Vygantas, managing director, OSF Ventures said AI improved COVID-19 testing capabilities.

The downtown Peoria Innovation Hub, now known as Distillery Labs has a new executive director, Paul Leamon, who is eager to foster opportunities for Peoria-area business developers through workshops, public-private partnerships and technology access, among other things. "OSF HealthCare has been part of a group driving Distillery Labs’ development, and we now need a strong and experienced leader to take this visionary center from concept to reality,” stated Bob Sehring, the OSF CEO and chairman of the Distillery Labs board.

This story highlights how OSF HealthCare is engaging important stakeholders as it advances it's digital health transformation. Its latest focus is identifying where AI and robotic process automation could enable Mission Partners (employees) to focus on other strategic priorities.

This story in the Illinois Business Journal highlights the deep experience of the next president for OSF HealthCare Saint Anthony's Health Center in Alton. Jerry Rumph has more than 25 years as a health care leader, having led improvements for operational, financial, quality and regulatory issues as a St. Louis-area health care executive.

Ground will be broken next week (Tues, Sept. 22) on the 76,000-square-foot, $23 million building, and a parking lot, that will be built on six acres donated by OSF HealthCare to the YMCA to the south of the hospital and to the east of OSF HealthCare Center for Health. The building will include programs for the YMCA but also from Easterseals Central Illinois and OSF HealthCare St. Joseph Medical Center.

The OSF Oncall Connect option is embedded in the Safer Illinois smart phone app, used by students at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign to gain access to buildings when they test negative. It also alerts students who test positive for COVID-19 and offers them a care team from OSF HealthCare which can monitor symptoms, provide education and engage in two-way communication with students while they remain in quarantine.

Emergency Medicine physician Dr. Sarah Stewart deRamirez is responsible for directing innovation efforts for OSF HealthCare, centered on achieving health equity though community health initiatives that leverage people and technology. Dr. deRamirez is also an Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine at the University of Illinois College of Medicine in Peoria where she created and directs the Innovation in Global Rural Health programs.

Dr. Mary Stapel, the medical director for community care at OSF St. Francis Medical Center and Faith Community Nurse Randal Mcclallen started a street medicine team in July to offer free doctor visits to those without a home or insurance, This story highlights their work providing care multiple times a week to the homeless population on the streets and at the Dream Center in Peoria.

The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign welcomed students back with a plan to test them twice a week and notifications will come on a news Safer Illinois app. The app also includes OSF OnCall Connect which will provide 24/7 support for those with suspected symptoms or a confirmed COVID-19 diagnosis. Students, faculty and staff can be monitored and receive digital support from OSF HealthCare while they quarantine.