OSF OnCall Connect and the I-80 region are partnering to offer a new obstetric care model. Pregnant or postpartum women in Ottawa, Peru, Mendota and surrounding communities will now have the opportunity to schedule more visits virtually during their pregnancy. In addition, all I-80 patients will be eligible to enroll in the Pregnancy and Postpartum Support program that offers 24/7/365 access to an OB care team. 

I-80 patients will now be offered virtual visits at eight, 12, 19, 24, 30 and 34 weeks. The two-week postpartum visit can also be scheduled virtually. 

Visits are available seven days a week from 7 a.m.-7 p.m., offering patients additional flexibility and opportunities. Nurses on the OSF OnCall Connect team will enroll all I-80 OB patients in the pregnancy and postpartum support program at no cost, providing continuous access for questions and concerns, conducting virtual discharges and scheduling follow-up appointments. Patients will also be screened for social drivers of health such as food, transportation, housing and other supports. OSF OnCall does have a mobile unit to support pregnant-postpartum women on Medicaid who might need care brought their doorstep.

”The one-year program combines virtual visits, 24/7 digital support and in-person care to ease travel burdens, strengthen follow-up and provide a healthier pregnancy and postpartum experience,” says Kate Johnson, manager of Digital Care-Women’s Services, OSF OnCall. “We are committed to innovative solutions that keep care personal while expanding access.” Johnson adds, “Women will benefit from coordinated prenatal and postpartum monitoring and stronger follow-up, while in-person care teams will maintain key milestones and bedside care.”

The OSF OnCall Connect care team will also support post-delivery education before a woman is discharged from the hospital, making sure she has follow-up appointments scheduled, understands the need for regular blood pressure checks and offering lactation services if needed.

The research collected during the year-long pilot will evaluate outcomes, patient experiences and staff insights to guide improvements and shape patient-centered care and communications. 

B-roll-OSF OnCall Pregnancy-Postpartum support for I-80 region

Additional content re: OSF OnCall Pregnancy and Postpartum support:
24-7 connection through OSF OnCall empowers patients and improves outcomes
OSF HealthCare receives $1.5 million for new mobile pregnancy and postpartum care unit

The OSF HealthCare Advanced Practice Provider (APP) Fellowship program is adding emergency medicine to the list of tracks for fellows.

The OSF HealthCare APP Fellowship is accredited with distinction as an Advanced Practice Provider Fellowship Program by the American Nursing Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation in Practice Transition Programs.

The 12-month program has more than a 97% graduation rate and offers 100% of graduates a permanent position within OSF HealthCare. The robust, cutting-edge APP Fellowship program at OSF is among the most mature of all health systems in the country.

The APP fellowship program focuses on professional growth by offering mentorship, regular feedback and skills assessment that build on the knowledge fellows learned in graduate school. At the end, they are more prepared to transition into full-time practice. OSF HealthCare is also leveraging federal grant money to extend primary care support to high-need communities with vulnerable populations, using resources such as OSF Care-A-Vans to support street medicine teams or on-site clinics.

The APP Fellowship curriculum stresses the importance of excellent communication with patients and colleagues. Other confidence-building exercises result in developing decision-making and other soft skills that often result in fellows advancing quickly to leadership positions within their area, region, or even across the OSF Ministry.

This new track in emergency medicine will allow fellows to rotate through a variety of emergency departments within our OSF HealthCare system, caring for different populations of patients in critical access hospitals to Level 1 Trauma Centers. Using the Jump Trading Simulation and Education Center, the program will provide hands-on skills training to equip new APPs for any situation they may encounter.

If interested in joining the APP fellowship program, please fill out the form here to receive more information.

Graciela Botello needed a new doctor. Her long-time physician was retiring soon, and the 77-year-old Mendota, Illinois, resident was looking for someone who could not only address her pulmonary fibrosis and other health issues, but who could speak her language – Spanish.

She found that in Maritza Estrada-O’Brien, MD, who is not only Hispanic, but quite familiar with the struggles many of her Hispanic patients experience when it comes to their well-being.

Botello previously knew Dr. Estrada-O’Brien, which made the transition easier.

“For me to know her and knowing that she's Spanish is good because my English is just okay,” Botello says. “Sometimes there are words that I can’t pronounce, or I don't understand. So, when I ask her something in Spanish, she helps me a lot. And this is good for all the Spanish people in Mendota. They feel comfortable.”

Dr. Estrada-O’Brien works at OSF HealthCare Saint Paul Medical Center in Mendota, a small town in northern Illinois, where 26% of its 7,000 residents are Hispanic. The hospital has five Hispanic physicians and nurse practitioners, some of whom were born and raised in Mendota.

“We're fortunate enough that we have a lot of Spanish speaking providers, and I do think that providers who practice in a community should reflect the population in this area – we do have a higher percentage of Spanish speaking patients,” she says. “I think that has us better equipped to take care of the population. Language barriers as simple as making a phone call to make an appointment can be challenging. Getting your results by being more understanding of your medical conditions is much harder if you don't understand the primary language that your provider speaks. So just being able to speak even a little bit of Spanish is better for patients because they have a better understanding of their medical conditions before they become a problem.”

But a language barrier is just the tip of the iceberg. Dr. Estrada-O’Brien is well versed in the challenges facing those of Hispanic heritage. In fact, she researched many of the issues during her residency program and has been involved in many projects regarding disparities among Hispanics since becoming a physician.

“The state of health among the Latino population depends on location, specifically in rural Illinois,” she says. “Latinos or the Hispanic population are at a disadvantage from a health equity standpoint, from a health status standpoint, more so because of access and disparities in health care. It puts Latinos at higher risk for a lower health status. It's mostly because of social determinants of health – access, quality of health care, insurance coverage, language, immigration status, all of which present obstacles with attaining health care.”

Among common health issues for the Hispanic population are diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol, which can lead to heart disease, cancer and stroke. For example, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Hispanics are 50% more likely to die from diabetes or liver disease than non-Hispanic whites. And the number of Hispanics who have died from Alzheimer’s disease has risen in the past decade. Genetics, diet, obesity and Type 2 diabetes are thought to be significant risk factors for the spike in Alzheimer’s cases.

Experts say problems arise due to a combination of factors including diet, lifestyle and genetics. And if these problems aren’t addressed early, they can cause severe complications down the road. That’s why early detection and screenings, such as cancer and bone density, are so important.

But that can be difficult, especially if a patient won’t seek care in the first place. In general, men are less likely to visit a doctor than women, but it’s a far more complex issue with Hispanic men, according to Joy Preciado, a nurse practitioner with OSF HealthCare. 

“Many of the men are the head of household and they don't want to take time off work to come in and be seen,” says Preciado, who was born and raised in Mendota. “A lot of them say they feel well, so they don't want to come in. Unfortunately, down the line that can lead to diabetes, high blood pressure, things that can be prevented. But if they did a once-a-year checkup they could catch things before they get worse.”

Graciela Botello knows this all too well. She’s personally had family members who didn’t seek proper treatment for cancer and eventually died. Now she tries to educate friends and family about the importance of seeking medical care and practicing self-care.

“When men turn 40, they should go to the doctor to have their prostate checked and women should check their breasts at 30, because you can have cancer and sometimes it can be bad,” she says. “And if you don't check yourself out, you can die from it.” 

Leonardo Lopez, MD, is the medical director for OSF HealthCare Saint Paul Medical Center. He says organizations like OSF HealthCare can lead the charge in not only ensuring quality care for Hispanics but educating them about career opportunities in the medical field where Hispanic representation is lacking.

“We need to encourage communities that have those populations who may be underserved,” Dr. Lopez says. “We should encourage them to go to school, get educated and become physicians or providers or nurses. To go into health care will help that need that we have and provide that care and trust that the community needs within their health care systems.”

People like Dr. Estrada-O’Brien, who is also a Mendota native. For her, practicing medicine in her hometown means more than just treating patients. It’s serving as an example for others who also aspire to make a difference – especially among the Hispanic population.

“I'm fortunate that people from Mendota want to stay in Mendota and help the community,” she says. “I hope that I can be some type of role model, someone for kids from the area to look up to. I've already had many students come back and spend time with me, so they can get an idea of what it's like to be in medicine.”

OSF HealthCare offers a variety of assistive services for individuals with limited English proficiency by providing interpretation, translation and other aides to patients and their loved ones at no cost. For more information, visit OSF HealthCare.

 

Maritza Estrada-O’Brien Interview Clips

Joy Preciado and Dr. Leonardo Interview Clips 

Graciela Botello Interview Clips 

B-Roll

Mark Pohl never gets sick. That’s why when he suffered a massive heart attack last year he went into a funk.

“I was depressed and kept thinking, ‘Why me?’ It was an emotional roller coaster.”

But Pohl survived that turbulent time, and thanks to excellent care from his medical team at OSF HealthCare and life-saving technology, he’s getting a second chance at life.

Pohl, who lives in Mendota, Ill., was honored April 25 during a special luncheon hosted by OSF Saint Anthony Medical Center and Abiomed, Inc., at OSF Saint Anthony Medical Center in Rockford.

A Navy veteran, Pohl was marching in a parade for the VFW in August of 2022, when he began to feel ill and went home. Later, he became unresponsive and his wife, Melody, called 911. Paramedics arrived and performed CPR before rushing Pohl to OSF Saint Paul Medical Center in Mendota. He was then transferred to OSF Saint Anthony Medical Center in Rockford.

“I really don’t remember much,” Pohl says. “Four days later, I woke up at OSF.”  

Pohl’s medical team determined his left anterior descending artery (nicknamed the widowmaker) was 100% blocked. A stent was placed but Pohl needed additional CPR. Once he was stabilized, Dr. Samer Mowakeaa, a cardiologist with OSF Cardiovascular Institute, implanted an Impella CP to allow Pohl’s heart to rest.

“He would not have survived without the support of these technologies that we used,” says Dr. Mowakeaa. “This was a life-threatening condition.”

Developed and manufactured by Abiomed, Impella heart pumps allow the heart to rest and recover by temporarily assisting the pumping function of the heart to efficiently deliver blood and oxygen to the entire body. The Impella has been helping patients in the United States since 2008.

Additional testing revealed that Pohl was also experiencing right heart failure, so Dr. Mowakeaa implanted an Impella RP to provide biventricular support. Two days later, Pohl’s heart function began to improve and eventually the Impella RP and Impella CP were removed.

Pohl spent 11 days in the hospital before he was released. He has returned to work where he manages an office supply company. He also works out several times a week and enjoys spending time with his children and grandchildren.

Heart disease is the leading cause of death in men in the United States. Dr. Mowakeaa says situation’s like Pohl’s should serve as a wakeup call to others.

And Pohl agrees, saying there’s a lesson in the journey he’s traveled. “Don’t give up. Grab the bull by the horn as they say and plow through it.”

Interview Clips 

B-Roll