OSF HealthCare is turning to researchers for improved insights as it strives to make sure care teams know patients better to prevent health challenges and to manage their chronic diseases.

A recent Connected Communities Initiative (CCI) grant of up to $75,000 will support research to improve health care outcomes by incorporating social drivers of health (SDoH) data into predictive models. Social drivers of health are non-medical factors that have a big impact on a person’s health and wellness. Those can include a person’s financial constraints, housing, transportation, childcare and access to fresh food, among others.

Those needs can often be revealed by where a person lives. For example, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation has tied ZIP codes to data showing a person’s life expectancy by neighborhood.

By integrating SDoH factors with information from traditional patient records, the project seeks to develop more accurate predictive models for 30-day hospital readmission and health care costs. Led by a collaborative team of data science experts and health care professionals, the research involves exploring SDoH data features, enriching already existing predictive models, and fine-tuning them for better accuracy.

Chris Franciskovich, vice president for Advanced Analytics, OSF Innovation, stressed, “The goal is to provide actionable insights and develop advanced predictive models to transform health care decision-making and resource allocation. Ultimately, this initiative should benefit patients, health care providers and insurance providers while contributing to advancements in health care technology and practices.”

Illinois State University co-lead researcher professor Maochao Xu, who directs the master’s program in the Mathematics Department, is excited to bring his expertise in statistical modeling to help patients and health systems. Graduate students will also contribute to the work, something Xu thinks is important as the role of artificial intelligence and predictive modeling will have growing applications in health care.

“We have three faculty members working on this who have great experience and can help students develop expertise in dating mining, statistical analysis and building and optimizing predictive models so they’ll help future generations better take care of patients.”

The CCI program is a partnership between OSF HealthCare and Illinois State University. The funding supports research involving clinicians, engineers and social scientists to rapidly develop technologies and devices that could revolutionize medical training and health care delivery.

Peoria, Illinois-based OSF HealthCare is partnering with the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) to award six grants totally more than $460,000 to support projects funded through the Community Health Advocacy program, with a goal to improve outcomes and reduce health care disparities. The latest grants seek to generate solutions focused on new models of care that improve access and reduce barriers for individuals from all racial and ethnic backgrounds. The projects also explore prototypes that can transform care and community-based initiatives that address the social determinants of health. The CHA program is also aimed at improving outcomes and reducing health care disparities.

The CHA program is a partnership between OSF HealthCare and The University of Illinois Chicago (UIC).

The funding supports research involving clinicians, engineers and social scientists to rapidly develop technologies and devices that could revolutionize medical training and health care delivery. A requirement of the grant applications was for solutions that could be deployed quickly, within four to six weeks.

Spring 2023 CHA Grant Projects

Automated Seizure Detection in Ambulatory EEG

• Huan Huynh, MD, OSF HealthCare
• Biswajit Maharathi, PhD, University of Illinois Chicago

Ambulatory EEG is a powerful tool to evaluate seizure propensity in patients with epilepsy within natural community settings and residential environments. This goal of this pilot project is to build a semi-automated seizure screening system using modern machine learning-based computational approaches to significantly reduce the physician’s time evaluating these events by providing faster and more accurate screening methods and improving the patient care experience.

BRIDGeS (Building Resourceful Interactions Despite Grief and Stress)

• Eileen Knightly, MHA, RN, BSN, OSF HealthCare
• Carolyn Dickens, PhD, APRN, ACNP-BC, University of Illinois Chicago

This project addresses the growing issue of violence and incivility in the community and its impact on patient care in hospitals. It utilizes findings from a 2022 community health needs assessment to address cultural and communication barriers affecting nursing staff and patients. Nurse burnout, caused by prolonged stress, has worsened due to staffing shortages, documentation burden and increased violence.

Developing Tools to Empower Patient Understanding, Management and Communication of Condition

• Jonathan Handler, MD, OSF HealthCare
• Michael J. Scott, PhD, University of Illinois Chicago

This project will focus on social determinants of health (SDoH) and consider solutions that empower the patient to more accurately track and communicate their conditions before they reach the reactive state. The approach is to change the way patients engage with their health-related data and provide better tools to convey this information to their care provider.

Harnessing Mobile Technology to Diagnose Migraines in Rural Communities

• Hrachya Nersesyan, MD, PhD, OSF HealthCare
• Yelena Nersesyan, MD, PhD, University of Illinois Chicago

The goal of this project is to test and improve the MiGRO app that enables providers to quickly and accurately diagnose and treat migraines, resulting in better health outcomes and improved patient satisfaction. The app also streamlines the referral process, allowing providers to quickly refer patients to migraine specialists, reducing medical costs and improving access to care in rural areas.

Improving Cancer Screening in Underserved High-Risk Populations

• Lisa Barker, MD, FACEP, OSF HealthCare
• Elizabeth Papautsky, PhD, MS, University of Illinois Chicago

This project seeks to characterize the current barriers to completion of screening recommendations among patients at high risk for breast cancer, then use that data to create and pilot test an “intervention bundle” to optimize rates of breast MRI completion for eligible high-risk patients. With attention to the underserved communities within the OSF service population, this project will contribute to reduced health disparities by reducing barriers to care in the context of timely breast cancer diagnosis.

UI Health Pancreatic Cancer Screening Initiative

• Jason Bill, MD, OSF HealthCare
• Paul Grippo, PhD, University of Illinois Chicago

The project aims to develop an infrastructure of early community engagement with clinical trials for all types of cancer. The goal is to address the increasing technological development in screening modalities without simultaneously widening the gap in morbidity rates of cancer within underserved communities. With this health care protocol in place, the team hopes to increase accessibility of clinical trials using methods that are showing promising results in pancreatic cancer detection.

Chicago ARC, along with new partners  OSF HealthCare, Americare Senior Living, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), Insight Hospital and Medical Center, and Illinois Tech join a collaborative of leading organizations to create the most ambitious partnership to tackle healthcare inequities through market-driven, community-informed solutions and attraction of startups that will support the region’s underserved populations.

The Chicago ARC venture collaborative announced today its partners voted to advance equity in the management of chronic diseases and access to quality behavioral health services, including those for substance use disorder, through collaborative approaches and solutions as the outcome of its inaugural convening. The meeting included founding health care partners representing nearly 750 health care delivery and training locations across Illinois and neighboring states.

Partners aligned on a vision to create a community of health innovation in Chicago and across Illinois and the Midwest, accelerating community-relevant innovation, technology, and partnerships, as well as positioning the region as a global destination for innovators and startups looking to transform healthcare and impact society. Chicago ARC partners will create collaboration and impact in the initial healthcare focus areas by sharing best practices through workshops and exchanges, collaboratively developing and evaluating new approaches, and serving as a network to pilot and scale innovative solutions.

By doing so, the partners will create replicable models to improve access, quality, cost of care, and address health inequities and social determinants of health.   

“Chicago ARC brings together the best global technology, startups and care models with the health equity needs of healthcare providers and the communities they serve” commented Chicago ARC Executive Director, Kate Merton, Ph.D., M.B.A. “Today, we are able to share incredible progress toward defining collaboration priorities where, together with our partners, we can drive equitable innovation to transform health care in Chicago, Illinois, and across the Midwest. And, by focusing on real-world needs that represent urban and rural communities across the U.S., we will bring technologies to market significantly faster than the traditional incubator and accelerator approaches.”

Chicago ARC's Healthcare Partners will define health equity market needs, contribute best practices, and serve as committed pilot sites and customers for technologies that meet defined solution requirements.

Stephen K. Klasko, M.D., M.B.A., former President of Thomas Jefferson University and CEO of Jefferson Health, and North American Ambassador, Sheba Medical Center and ARC, noted "Chicago ARC is taking radical collaboration to the next level by bringing together the amazing traditional healthcare ecosystem in Chicago and fourth industrial revolution technologies to bring population health, social determinants, and health equity from philosophic and academic exercises to the mainstream of clinical care in Chicago and beyond."

Founding Healthcare Partner, UIUC, along with Illinois Tech are the first institutions to join as Founding Innovation Partners, which means they have formalized a commitment of their expertise and capabilities to support the success of health systems and startups.

“The Chicago ARC and its network of leading partner organizations creates the ideal way for Sheba to translate our learnings and best practices to the U.S. healthcare market.  The commitment, collaboration, and expertise of the partners at the table demonstrates why the Chicago ARC model and this region are the perfect place for Sheba and our startup network to focus in the U.S.,” added Professor Eyal Zimlichman, Deputy Director General, Chief Transformation Officer, and Chief Innovation Officer at Sheba Medical Center.

The Chicago ARC additionally announced the finalized partnership agreement with Sheba to make it the North American epicenter for the Newsweek Global Top-10 Hospital’s global startup network.  Sheba will also collaborate with Chicago ARC partners on sharing and developing technology-based care model best practices.

"Making Chicago the preferred destination for groundbreaking startups is a top priority for World Business Chicago", stated WBC CEO Michael Fassnacht. "The Chicago ARC and its significant network of healthcare and innovation partners are delivering on the vision for Chicago and Illinois as the global hub for health equity innovation. The resulting collaborations and approaches will move the needle on equitable healthcare locally and create replicable models that scale across the U.S." 

Additional video clips with John Vozenilek, MD, vice president/chief medical officers OSF Innovation & Digital Health

What other new Chicago ARC partners say:

Michael Hammond, Americare Senior Living President and COO: “Americare Senior Living is a trusted name in senior living throughout Illinois, Kansas, Missouri, Tennessee, and Mississippi because of our person-centered approach.  The Chicago ARC partnership allows Americare to use technology and data to make a difference in the lives of our residents, their families, and our employees across 142 senior living communities through access to startups, approaches, collaborations, and capabilities not usually accessible to a senior care company.”

Robert J. Jones, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Chancellor: “Partnering with the Chicago ARC will help the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign harness our groundbreaking research, entrepreneurship-focused education, and statewide connectivity to lead the way in technology-inspired care. Working together with the Chicago ARC and fellow partners we can advance health equity and economic development in Illinois while building the next generation of innovators, entrepreneurs, and healthcare professionals.”

Dillon Bannis, M.D., Insight Hospital and Medical Center Chief Medical Officer: “Insight Hospital and Medical Center is dedicated to transforming healthcare and delivering world class, compassionate expert care to every patient we serve. Through partnering with Chicago ARC, we look forward to developing new care models and leveraging cutting edge technology to increase access to high quality care for our community in Bronzeville."

Raj Echambadi, Ph.D., Illinois Institute of Technology President: “Illinois Tech is committed to liberating the collective power of difference to advance technology and progress for all. As the only technology-focused university in the global city of Chicago, Illinois Tech brings a purpose-driven focus to education, research, and innovation while serving as an engine for opportunity and economic mobility. We are excited to partner with Chicago ARC to empower health system partners and startups in their mission to innovate and solve some of the most pressing challenges facing healthcare today.”

                                                                                                                                                                                                                     # # #

The Chicago ARC is on a mission to accelerate tomorrow's healthcare solutions to those in need today. Its venture collaborative is a new model for equitable health innovation that invests in and grows startups that support collaboratively defined needs and care models at home, in the hospital, and in the community. The Chicago ARC provides an engine to open up the third largest U.S. healthcare market to solutions that can impact health equity at scale bringing together top startups with experienced operators, investment capital and a cross-sector partner network.  Chicago ARC builds upon the proven ARC model (Accelerate, Redesign, Collaborate) of Sheba Medical Center — a Newsweek Top-10 Global Hospital. More at chicagoarc.health.