Prior to serving as interim president at OSF Saint Anthony’s, Schepers was the hospital’s chief nursing officer. Recruitment for that position will begin immediately.

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December 12, 2024: Zach Yoder named president at OSF Saint Anthony's
March 23, 2026: Zach Yoder appointed president of select hospitals
May 6, 2026: OSF Saint Anthony's earns fifth consecutive “A” hospital safety grade from the Leapfrog Group
April 7, 2025: Commemorating 100 years of care in Alton, Illinois

Read more news and accomplishments from OSF Saint Anthony's here.

Sister M. Mikela brings nearly four decades of deep Mission commitment and broad leadership experience to her new role. She entered the Sisters of St. Francis of the Martyr St. George in 1986 and holds a Bachelor of Science in Nursing and a Master of Business Administration in Healthcare Management. Her experience includes serving as a director of nursing and subsequent administrator of a 114-bed skilled nursing facility owned and run by her sisters in St. Louis, Missouri, and chief executive officer and president of Saint Anthony’s Health Center in Alton, Illinois prior to it joining the OSF family.

She joined OSF HealthCare through the 2014 merger of Saint Anthony’s into OSF HealthCare and has since served on the OSF HealthCare System Board. She currently serves as executive vice president and chief ministry officer, overseeing Legal Services and Mission Services, which includes Ethics, Mission Formation, Pastoral Care, Government Relations, Economic Development, Compliance and Internal Audit.

In her new role, Sister M. Mikela will serve as the strategic partner to the CEO, helping strengthen the OSF Mission culture while guiding executive priorities, facilitating key decisions and serving as a key liaison to the Governing Board, the Catholic Church and Mission Partners across the Ministry.

“Having worked with Sister M. Mikela for over 10 years, I am confident of her leadership and her ability to help guide OSF HealthCare as we continue our Mission to serve with the greatest care and love,” said Michelle Conger in announcing the upcoming change.

“As president, Eunmee will lead OSF St. Joseph in aligning with the overall strategy of OSF HealthCare. She will be responsible for directing all internal operations and helping OSF evolve when necessary to ensure that high-quality and cost-effective health care continues to be delivered to the patients we are blessed to serve,” said Carol Friesen, CEO for OSF HealthCare’s Eastern Region.

Shim will carry forward a culture of collaboration and integration that provides a safe Mission Partner and patient care environment. She will continue to embrace the Catholic health care heritage and support the Sisters’ Mission of serving with the greatest care and love.

Shim most recently served as president at Adventist Health Care Fort Washington Medical Center in Fort Washington, Maryland. She has served in several executive leadership positions including chief strategy officer, chief operating officer, and chief nursing officer throughout her career, which has provided her with a unique blend of clinical, operational and strategic experience.

Shim earned a Bachelor of Science in nursing from Sahmyook University in Seoul, Korea and a Master of Science in nursing informatics from Columbia University School of Nursing in New York, New York.

Derrick Frazier will continue to serve as interim president until Shim’s start date in January.

In the 2023 State of the Union Address, President Joe Biden renewed a call to cap the price of insulin for people with diabetes.

Five days later, the condition got nationwide attention again when singer Nick Jonas, a type 1 diabetic, starred in a Super Bowl commercial promoting a product that monitors your glucose level.

And a recent report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention predicted a rapid rise in cases of diabetes in young people over the next few decades.

It’s a good thing that influencers and medical professionals continue to preach diabetes awareness, says Uche Allanah, MD, an internal medicine physician with OSF HealthCare. That’s because if undiagnosed or untreated, diabetes can be fatal.

“It’s alarming,” Dr. Allanah says, referring to the number of patients she sees with symptoms or precursors of diabetes.

Prediabetes vs. diabetes

Diabetes is a disorder that affects how your body uses blood sugar, from which our blood cells get energy. Type 1 diabetes is when an autoimmune reaction stops your body from making insulin. Without insulin, blood sugar cannot move out of your bloodstream and into cells. With Type 2, your body still produces insulin but doesn’t use it efficiently. Gestational diabetes occurs in pregnant women. Diabetes symptoms include increased urination, increased thirst, increased hunger and unexplained weight loss.

Dr. Allanah says prediabetes describes when you are at risk for diabetes because your blood sugar is higher than normal. She says a blood test is necessary to diagnose prediabetes because you don’t present with symptoms. In fact, the American Medical Association says of the one in three U.S. adults with prediabetes, more than 80% don’t know they have it.

“It’s important to identify prediabetes because you can stall the development of diabetes and actually prevent a patient from becoming diabetic,” Dr. Allanah says.

Risk factors for prediabetes include obesity, sleep apnea and polycystic ovary syndrome in women. Providers also look at a person’s family history of the disease, and Dr. Allanah says certain groups -- African Americans, Hispanics and Latinos, Asian Americans and American Indians -- are at higher risk.

Dr. Allanah advises everyone to have regular checkups with their primary care provider to keep an eye on the risk factors you can control. Also, practice healthy habits from a young age.

“Eat right. Avoid processed food,” Dr. Allanah advises. “Exercise. A lot of people are sedentary, especially due to the pandemic. People who went to the gym no longer workout. Even now that the stay-at-home orders have been lifted, some people are just not back into their previous lifestyle.”

Dr. Allanah also says a prediabetes or diabetes diagnosis is a lot to handle. Some people may have to learn to safely give themselves shots. Others may have to constantly watch for low blood sugar to avoid fainting. Providers realize this and will be there to answer questions. But Dr. Allanah says it’s not uncommon for someone to see a mental health provider to talk about the emotional toll of the diagnosis.

Learn more

Learn more about diabetes care on the OSF HealthCare website.

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