illinois health

ILLINOIS HEALTH

Islet cell project a diabetes

breakthrough

Bernie Mac Foundation: A partnership of hope

Smiles all around as our dental school gets a makeover

A publication of the University of Illinois Hospital & Health Sciences SystemVolume 1 | Spring 2012

Changing Medicine. For Good.

A NEw STATE Of HEALINgChicago leading the way to a healthier Illinois

INAUGURAL ISSUE

Introducing the university of Illinois Hospital

& Health sciences system. what you knew

as the university of Illinois medical center

is now part of a larger organization

that also includes the university health

sciences colleges. by bringing these

resources together, we’ll be able to make

the best care accessible to those who

need it most. because we all deserve the

best healthcare. the university of Illinois

Hospital & Health sciences system.

changing medicine. for good.

Find out more at HoSPitaL.uiLLinoiS.edu

tHe best wAy to treAt A

communIty Is by treAtIng tHe people wHo mAKe

It up.

28707_UIH_OneOffAds_95x12_r3.indd 1 4/26/12 4:18 PM

Introducing the university of Illinois Hospital

& Health sciences system. what you knew

as the university of Illinois medical center

is now part of a larger organization

that also includes the university health

sciences colleges. by bringing these

resources together, we’ll be able to make

the best care accessible to those who

need it most. because we all deserve the

best healthcare. the university of Illinois

Hospital & Health sciences system.

changing medicine. for good.


tHe best wAy to treAt A

communIty Is by treAtIng tHe people wHo mAKe

It up.

28707_UIH_OneOffAds_95x12_r3.indd 1 4/26/12 4:18 PM

I l l I n o I s H e a l t H | 1

Joe g.N. “Skip” garcia, MD

Vice President for Health Affairs, University of Illinois

Earl M. Bane Professor of Medicine, Pharmacology and Bioengineering

I’M pLEASED TO INTrODUcE THE fIrST ISSUE Of IllInoIs HEAltH, a brand-new

publication of the University of Illinois Hospital & Health Sciences System. I hope you will

spend a few minutes reading about the exciting changes taking place throughout the

University of Illinois’ health sciences schools, colleges and patient care entities.

Over the last year, we have streamlined the internal structure of our health system

and introduced a new name for our combined clinical research, health professional training

and patient care enterprise. As the University of Illinois Hospital & Health Sciences System,

we are poised like never before to make a difference in healthcare, beginning with the

people served by our flagship health campus in chicago and

extending to the people of Illinois and our nation.

Every day I spend with my colleagues on our campuses

and elsewhere, I am constantly impressed with their knowledge,

dedication and optimism. from what I hear and see, there is a feeling

that this is a place where you can truly make a difference. Our exceptional health professionals

are working to gain knowledge and develop treatments that will improve outcomes and long-term

health. These game-changers are not just for our own patients, but for patients at the hospital up

the street or across town and for people in communities across the state.

what exactly does it mean to “make a difference?” There are as many answers to that as

there are people working here. And they are all important. But as a whole, as a health science

system with our public charter from the people of Illinois, we can do more than just about anyone

in the region to make a difference in people’s health.

In this first issue you will learn more about how we are fulfilling our renewed mission to

provide health care for the people of Illinois, find innovative ways to deliver personalized health

to those who need it most and grow clinical programs of distinction out of our outstanding

translational research programs.

for example, the relatively new field of human genomic science promises to make a

difference in how we diagnose and treat diseases that impact genetically similar populations.

comedian Bernie Mac suffered from sarcoidosis, an immune system disorder that African-Americans are three times more

likely to have than whites. Together with his family and the Bernie Mac foundation, we are determined to make inroads in

the fight against a disease that we are just beginning to understand.

In a country with ostensibly the best healthcare on earth, there are millions of people who aren’t benefiting

from it. The problem of health disparities among African-American and Latino populations is complex. Access,

genetically different responses to disease and treatment, and health literacy all play a role. But in our health system, we

have the science and the community populations to prove that this can be changed, that disparities can be reduced or

even eliminated.

As a boy, I picked strawberries with migrant workers in california. I saw up close the disadvantages the workers

faced when a number of them became ill with lung disease. I decided then and there to pursue a career in healthcare and

try to make a difference. That is why it is so refreshing to find kindred spirits all over the University of Illinois campuses

who are driven to do the same. I hope you enjoy some of their encouraging stories in these pages.

As we launch this first issue of Illinois Health, I would like to dedicate it to all the people in our health system who are

working every day to make a difference in other people’s lives. I hope you will join me in supporting them and the exciting

work they are doing.

wELcOME

Joe G.n. “skip” Garcia, MD

Office of the Vice President for Health AffairsVice president for Health AffairsJoe g.N. “Skip” garcia, MD

Interim Associate Vice president for professional practice & chief Medical Officer, UI HospitalBryan A. Becker, MD

Associate Vice president for population Health SciencesJerry A. Krishnan, MD, phD

Associate Vice president, UI HospitalJohn DeNardo, MS, MpH, fAcHE

Associate Vice president for Enterprise StrategyMike Jonen

Assistant Vice president for finance & chief financial Officer, UI Hospitalwilliam Devoney

Illinois Health Editorial StaffpublisherMike Jonen

Editor in chiefcamille Baxter, MA

Editorpat Kampert

Assistant Editorcayce Mallen, MHA

Editorial consultantsMichael J. wesbecher, carl Vogel

contributing writersKevin McKeough, John Morrissey, Alice patenaude, cindy Veldhuis, MS, and Linda wilson

DesignAnne Boyle, Boyle Design Associates

photographyDonald Barge, Lloyd Degrane, Barry Donald,Bart Harris, Mike Mccafrey and David Zalazniki/star Journal

Illinois Health is a publication of the University of Illinois Hospital & Health Sciences System©2012 All rights reserved.

All inquiries should be addressed to:

ILLINOIS HEALTH

Vice president for Health Affairs Marketing

[email protected]

HIpAA compliance StatementThe Health Insurance portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIpAA) outlines the minimum standards that need to be met to ensure the confidentiality, privacy and security of health care information. The University of Illinois Hospital & Health Sciences System ensures that all parties involved in the use and/or disclosure of protected health care information comply with current HIpAA regulations. Any identifiable and/or disclosed patient information within this publication has been consented by the patient or appropriate family member for the purpose of advancing the mission and visibility of the UI Hospital & Health Sciences System.

MissionThe mission of the University of Illinois Hospital & Health Sciences System is to provide high-quality, cost effective health care for the people of the state of Illinois, to leverage leadership in education and innovation to deliver “personalized medicine” to vulnerable populations and to grow clinical programs that are tightly linked to translational research and are academically distinct both regionally and nationally.

ILLINOIS HEALTH

cOVEr DESIgN: LAUgHLIN cONSTABLE

SMILES ALL ArOUND$22 million renovation will have College of Dentistry ready for the future

KEy fINDINgSNew accomplishments by our researchers

My pASSIONSometimes, improving healthcare isn’t as complicated as we think

fIrST BEST MOST Fast facts on the health system’s accomplishments as a national leader

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29

VIcE prESIDENT’S MESSAgE The sum of the health system’s parts is potent indeed

HEALTH SySTEM NEwSLatest happenings at the hospital andin health sciences


INSULIN INDEpENDENcEIslet cell project a breakthrough for difficult diabetes cases

TUrNINg LAUgHS INTO LIfE SAVErSHealth system teaming up with the Bernie Mac Foundation to search for a cure for sarcoidosis

14

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IN THIS ISSUE

N DEcEMBEr, the college of

Medicine in peoria opened its

$10 million, 24,000-square-foot

cancer research facility, which

will enhance the leading-edge

research conducted by cancer

biology and pharmacology faculty

into the molecular, cellular and

genetic characteristics of cancer.

“we have spent nearly 10 years

dreaming about this building and

the vital research that will occur

within it,” says Sarah rusch, MD,

regional dean in peoria. “Each of us

has a friend or relative who has been

impacted by cancer. It is critically

important that we find a cure. peoria

has the people, the plan and the

potential—and now the place.”

researchers led by Jasti rao,

phD, senior associate dean for

research and head of cancer biology

and pharmacology in peoria, will

work collaboratively with their

peers at other facilities, including

the Illinois cancer center, an

oncology practice based in peoria,

and children’s Hospital of Illinois at

OSf-Saint francis Medical center in

peoria, which is the Midwest affiliate

of St. Jude children’s research

Hospital in Memphis, Tenn.

Since its founding in 2001, the

cancer research program in peoria

has received more than $27.7 million

in grants and published 150 papers.

rao has discovered and patented

a promising new anti-cancer treat-

ment that’s now being safety-tested

before it progresses to human trials.

The University of Illinois

collaborated on the project with

caterpillar Inc., OSf-Saint francis

Medical center, Methodist Medical

center, the Heartland partnership

and other public agencies and

private donors.

College of Medicine in Peoria opens cancer research facility

I

ABOVE: the College of Medicine at Peoria’s new cancer research facility (above) covers 24,000 square feet and cost $10 million to build.

rIgHT: Dean sara Rusch is shown welcoming U.s. transportation secretary Ray laHood prior to his remarks at the opening ceremony.

BELOw: the official ribbon cutting for the Cancer Research Center represented the fulfillment of a dream 10 years in the making.

4 | I l l I n o I s H e a l t H

HEALTH SySTEM NEwS

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HE UNIVErSITy Of ILLINOIS HOSpITAL & Health Sciences System is

part of a partnership to develop the first blood and marrow stem cell

transplant center in Nepal.

Stem cell transplant is a standard procedure for the treatment of many

blood cancers, including leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma. The planned BMT

center in Bharatpur, in central south Nepal, will aim to serve thousands of blood

cancer patients from among the 30 million people of Nepal and the nearly 1.2

billion people in neighboring India.

The Health System is collaborating on the project with B.p. Koirala

Memorial cancer Hospital in Bharatpur and the Binaytara foundation, an

Illinois nonprofit organization that promotes health and education, which was

founded and is led by an oncologist who trained at UI Hospital. The UI Blood

and Marrow Transplant program and the center for global Health will train staff

in Nepal via videoconferencing and host physicians from Nepal.

“After visiting the cancer hospital in Bharatpur last May, I immediately

felt the challenge to help patients with blood cancer in Nepal,” says Damiano

rondelli, MD, professor of medicine and director of UI Hospital’s BMT program,

who is heading the project.

“Many of these patients are in need of stem cell transplant but currently

don’t have this option,” rondelli continues. “we are well aware of the many

challenges that this project will face but we are fully committed to assist Nepal

in achieving this goal.”

Nepal is a landlocked developing country in South Asia bordered by

china and India. recent world Health Organization reports suggest that deaths

from cancer are increasing to epidemic proportions in developing countries.

At B.p. Koirala Memorial cancer Hospital, 600 patients with leukemia,

110 patients with lymphoma and 40 patients with multiple myeloma were

diagnosed in 2010 alone.

Health system leads partnership to establish Nepal’s first blood and marrow transplant program

TUI Hospital receives bariatric surgery center reaccreditation

hE UNIVERSIty oF ILLINoIS

hospital’s bariatric surgery center

has received reaccreditation as an

American College of Surgeons Level

1 Accredited Bariatric Center, maintaining

its standing as the only center in Chicago

with this status. the center received its

initial accreditation in 2008.

Accredited bariatric surgery centers

provide not only the hospital resources

necessary for optimal care of morbidly

obese patients, but also the support

necessary to address the entire spectrum

of care and needs of bariatric patients,

from the prehospital phase through the

postoperative care and treatment process.

More than 11 million people in the

U.S. suffer from severe obesity, which

plays a critical role in type 2 diabetes,

hypertension, cardiovascular disease and

many other medical complications. “For

some patients, the only effective, lasting

treatment for severe obesity is weight loss

surgery,” says Subhashini Ayloo, MD, as-

sistant professor of surgery and director of

bariatric surgery at UI hospital.

Physicians at the hospital perform

robotic-assisted laparoscopic procedures,

including gastric bypass (reducing the size

of the stomach and routing food past part

of the small intestine), sleeve gastrectomy

(surgical removal of part of the stomach)

and adjustable gastric band surgery (plac-

ing an adjustable band around part of the

stomach to reduce food intake). In the past

two years, more than 500 bariatric proce-

dures have been performed.

the hospital offers patients a multi-

disciplinary approach to bariatric surgery

with a state-of-the-art facility, the latest

technology to minimize complications

and successful weight loss maintenance

through the Nutrition and Wellness Center.

T



EALTH SySTEM fAcULTy, students and

medical residents are working with health

care providers in Senegal to increase

detection and treatment of cervical

cancer in the Northwest coast African nation.

In late January, Andrew Dykens, MD, MpH,

assistant clinical professor of family medicine,

led a team that traveled to the Saraya district

in southeastern Senegal. working in collabora-

tion with peace corps volunteers in the district,

they spent nearly a month training staff at the

district’s health center to in turn train health

providers to perform cervical exams.

Dykens first traveled to Senegal in 2010

to perform an assessment of the district’s health

needs and has returned with a team each year.

On the latest trip, the team expanded its efforts

to encompass the entire surrounding Kedou-

gou region, which has a population of about

130,000, including an estimated 35,000 women

in the target age range for the exams.

“There will be at least one person at

each health post throughout the region by the

end of this year, meaning 35,000 women will

have access to a service that they did not have

previously,” Dykens says.

In the developed world, the precancerous

cells that develop into cervical cancer are

detected easily with routine pap smear

screenings. However, these screenings require

equipment to collect the samples and a

pathologist to read them, neither of which are

widely available in Senegal.

Dykens’ team is training the health workers

in the use of a common technique for cervical

exams that entails washing the cervix in a diluted

form of acetic acid, the main component in

vinegar, which causes precancerous cells to

appear as white patches. “The technique we’re

using is highly appropriate for a low-resource

setting,” Dykens says.

Treatable if caught in the precancerous or

early stages but usually fatal once it becomes

advanced, cervical cancer is the number one

cancer killer of women in Senegal. current

estimates are that 1,197 Senegalese women are

diagnosed with cervical cancer each year, and

that 795 of them die from the disease.

Because it takes two to five years for

precancerous cells to develop into malignancies,

there is time to treat them if detected. Dykens’

team has begun teaching health workers the

use of cryotherapy, a technique that freezes the

abnormal cells, causing them to slough off the

cervix.

“By the end of 2013, trainers will be in

place for both the exams and cryotherapy, and

with the assistance of peace corps workers,

the development of health service delivery can

continue with very little help from us,” Dykens

says. “we hope to work ourselves out of a job.”

Public health professor takes aim at cervical cancer in Senegal

H

Fourth-year medical student Amish Desai (from left), Peace Corps volunteer leah Moriarty and Andrew Dykens confer in senegal.

A F R I C ASenegal

Kenya

Mediterranean Sea

A t l a n t i c O c e a nI n d i a nO c e a n


HE HIV INfEcTION rATE in Kenya is

7 percent of the country’s population, but

it’s 20 percent in the country’s Nyanza

province. To help reduce infection rates,

robert c. Bailey, phD, MpH, professor of

epidemiology at the School of public Health, has

helped lead a campaign to circumcise young

adult men in Nyanza.

Bailey’s past research has found that

circumcision helps reduce incidence of HIV

infection, but unlike the rest of Kenya, the

practice is not common in Nyanza. following

the early 2007 publication of Bailey’s findings,

the world Health Organization recommended

that in areas with a high prevalence of HIV, male

circumcision should be offered as part of a

multipronged approach to HIV prevention.

Bailey and collaborators from the

University of Manitoba and the University of

Nairobi designed the policies for the circumcision

promotion program and worked with the Kenyan

government to implement it. The program is

supported by funding from the U.S. president’s

Emergency plan for AIDS relief and the Bill and

Melinda gates foundation.

“we train people in major health facilities

to perform circumcisions, we have teams that go

out to smaller health facilities in the villages, and

there’s been a major effort to promote circumci-

sion,” says Bailey, who spends five months out of

the year in Kenya, on the East coast of central

Africa, where he has been working since 1997. “I

assist with strengthening the infrastructure and

making sure there are urologists and medical

doctors who are training health service providers

and helping direct the program.”

Since the program began, 400,000 males

between 15 and 30 years old—the age range

with the highest incidence of HIV infection—

have been circumcised. The program’s goal is to

perform 950,000 circumcisions by the end of

2014, which Bailey estimates would avert nearly

200,000 HIV infections.

working with five School of public

Health phD students, Bailey has been the

primary investigator on a series of studies

assessing the impact of the program, including

changes in the prevalence of HIV infection,

sexual behavior, beliefs and attitudes about

circumcision, and women’s feelings of

vulnerability to HIV infection.

Bailey also conducted a 2008 study

to pilot infant male circumcision as a means

of overcoming some of the implementation

barriers among adult males. He collaborated

on the study with obstetrics and gynecology

assistant professor Tracy Irwin, MD, MpH,

associate professor Sherry Nordstrom, MD,

and Marisa young, an MD/phD student in the

college of Medicine.

“It’s very gratifying to see that we’re

achieving large numbers of circumcisions that

I’m very confident are going to avert hundreds

of thousands of HIV infections,” Bailey says.

“when you reduce the HIV prevalence in men,

you reduce it in their partners and eventually

in their babies. we hope this effort is going to

have a substantial benefit.”

Bailey’s work in Kenya helping to curb HIV

T

Circumcision

program hopes

to avert 200,000

HIV infections

throughout the

Nyanza province.

LOcATION pHOTOgrApHy By TrAcy IrwIN AND SHErry NOrDSTrOM

A F R I C ASenegal

Kenya

Mediterranean Sea

A t l a n t i c O c e a nI n d i a nO c e a n

‘Interrupters’ documentary wins Spirit film award

DOcUMENTAry film about three

people working for ceasefire—

a violence prevention program

founded by gary Slutkin, MD,

professor of epidemiology at the School

of public Health—received the 2012 Spirit

Award for best docu-

mentary. The annual

Spirit Awards honor

excellence in indepen-

dent filmmaking. This

year’s ceremony was

held feb. 25 in Santa

Monica, calif.

filmed over

a year beginning

in 2009, the film,

titled the Interrupters, follows violence

interrupters Ameena Matthews, cobe

williams and Eddie Bocanegra as they

attempt to intervene in impending

shootings. Directed by Steve James

(whose previous credits include the

acclaimed documentary Hoop Dreams),

and produced by James and best-selling

author Alex Kotlowitz (there Are no

Children Here), the film has been shown

in theaters across the country, including

weeks of sold-out screenings at the

gene Siskel film center in chicago.

the Interrupters also was broadcast

nationally on feb. 14 as an episode of the

pBS television program “frontline” and

was released on DVD and Blu-ray disc.

ceasefire employs dozens of

interrupters to work in some of chicago’s

most violent neighborhoods, where they

head off events that otherwise might

result in a shooting. “Violence interrupt-

ers were invented by the ceasefire pro-

gram,” says Slutkin, ceasefire’s executive

director. Violence interrupters in chicago

stopped nearly 500 events in 2011 and

more than 2,000 events in the last five

years, according to Slutkin.

“They know what’s going on in the

neighborhoods. They get information

from hospitals, from friends, from moms,

and because of their training and their

support, they are able to effectively

persuade people into not doing a

shooting,” Slutkin says.

In use in 15 U.S. cities and five

countries, the ceasefire method

treats violence as an infectious

disease, preventing its spread to keep

neighborhoods safer.

A


Pharmacy and Chicago Bear form an award-winning team to urge flu vaccinations

HIcAgO BEArS wIDE rEcEIVEr EArL BENNETT partnered with

the hospital’s pharmacy practice last fall in a campaign to promote flu

vaccination and flu awareness. In March, the department received a national

award for immunization community outreach by the American pharmacists

Association.

Bennett participated in a community flu vaccination event, held at the

Student recreation facility in September. His image also was used in promotional

materials for the campaign, which ultimately resulted in more than 400 people

receiving flu shots.

“Much of maintaining your health is just taking necessary preventative steps.

The same goes for preventing the flu. A simple vaccination can keep you healthy

and productive. That’s why I get my flu shot every year,” Bennett says.

In addition to receiving their flu shot, participants in the event had the

opportunity to meet

Bennett, have their

photo taken with

him and receive a

miniature football

with his autograph.

Student pharmacists,

along with a pharmacy

faculty preceptor,

also staffed tables to

educate participants

on topics such as the

proper hand washing

technique and the

differences between a

cold and the flu.

The event

provided practicum

experience for fourth-

year pharmacy

students, who provided the vaccinations under faculty supervision. “I was able to

put into practice the skills that I have learned via my immunization training,” says

Merrideth gilly, a fourth-year pharmacy student.

Between 5 and 20 percent of the U.S. population become infected with

influenza each year, according to the centers for Disease control, and approximately

200,000 people annually are hospitalized for flu, according to Janet Engle, pharmD,

professor and head of pharmacy practice and executive associate dean of the

college of pharmacy, who coordinated the event.

“reaching out to the community and providing the surrounding neighborhood

with high-level pharmacy services is a priority for our department,” Engle says.

“partnering with Earl Bennett gave us an excellent opportunity to provide

community outreach.”

The number of people who were vaccinated against the flu decreased

dramatically in the 2010-2011 flu season compared with the previous year, when

flu awareness was heightened by the H1N1 (“swine flu”) epidemic. To address this

issue, pharmacy practice developed a marketing campaign incorporating Bennett’s

likeness, which stressed the importance of flu shots.

The event kicked off the 2011 flu vaccine campaign by the university

pharmacies. As a part of this push, flu vaccines were distributed on campus in

early October. This initiative led to more than 4,000 students and employees being

vaccinated against the flu.

C

Chicago Bear Earl Bennett (center, first row) joins a winning team with the hospital’s pharmacy practice.

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HE cOMpETITIVE LANDScApE for health care in the chicago area is a crowded one, where new buildings and advertising campaigns seem to attract as much

attention as quality medicine. while the University of Illinois, with its flagship academic medical campus in

chicago, has long been known as the largest and most diverse medical school in the country,

the school’s depth and scope of colleges have been a lesser-known source of strength, one

that dwarfs the offerings at institutions like Northwestern University, University of chicago

and Loyola University.

t


To better marshal the University of

Illinois’ powerful healthcare forces into a

national presence, university leaders have

integrated the school’s health institutions

into the University of Illinois Hospital & Health

Sciences System, a newly created umbrella

that encompasses the university’s health care

facilities and the colleges of Medicine, Applied

Health Sciences, Dentistry, pharmacy, Nursing,

the School of public Health as well as the Jane

Addams college of Social work.

“This is not a new path for us, just a

better-articulated one,” says Joe g.N. “Skip”

garcia, MD, university vice president for health

affairs. “No other institution in the Midwest has

anything close to the strength of these seven

units, which are now working together in a way

they never have before.”

The university’s individual colleges

have reputations for excellence, garcia says,

but have not always functioned in a cohesive

manner. But as the researchers, faculty and

clinicians in various health entities get to know

each other, the possibilities for collaboration,

breakthroughs and success increase

exponentially, he adds.

“This is an opportunity for us to create

some excitement and be clear about what we’re

about,” garcia explains. “It’s also an opportunity

to connect more closely with the people we

take care of and leverage the research prowess

and the intellectual firepower that the university

has.”

In the academic medical world, UI’s

reputation is well-established among its peers

locally and nationally. college of Medicine

researchers in chicago, for example, attract

an enormous amount of funding from the

prestigious National Institutes of Health.

perhaps not coincidentally, research has

been a passion for garcia throughout his career,

which took him to major leadership positions at

Johns Hopkins University and the University of

chicago before he arrived at the University of

Illinois. As an elected member of the National

Academies Institute of Medicine, a community

of the nation’s elite thought leaders, he is

determined to give research a spotlight in the

new system.

“Our research portfolio is incredibly

strong, and we blend that into our clinical

mission in a distinctive way. Not too many

‘‘ ‘‘

JOE g.N. “SKIp” gArcIA, MD

We are the foremost training site for health professionals for the entire state.


institutions can lay claim to a powerful combination

like that.”

The heart of the new health system is

chicago, and garcia believes that the medical

campus’ home on the near west Side can be a

key advantage, one that can benefit patients

throughout Illinois and the rest of the country.

garcia says the university plans to bring more

personalized medicine to the 2 million people in

its service area, of whom 35 percent are Hispanic

and 35 percent are African-American.

“The practices and research within the

health system, and the way it serves the

chicagoland area, make it an incubator for

programs across the country,” garcia notes.

“Our goal is to be recognized for our programs

both within our communities and throughout

the state and country.”

The solutions that will result from such

efforts should help hospitals and health systems

around the country better care for underserved

and genetically diverse populations, he says.

“These types of research opportunities aren’t

as readily available in other parts of the country,”

garcia says. “But we need to do a better job of

letting the community know about our services

and extend our reach into these areas.”

Battling health disparities is an overarching

theme of the university’s mission, according to

garcia, who believes that the new health system

can be a leader in that regard.

“we want to bring high-quality, cost-

effective health care to the state, especially to

medically underserved Latinos and African-

Americans,” he says. “we truly want to make

a difference in chicago—and beyond.”

Illinois Health recently interviewed garcia

about the new direction:

Q: Why is the effort to defeat disparities so

important?

A: This is an issue that truly affects everyone.

It affects our healthcare costs. And it affects

our culture because we have these growing

populations that are unable to receive the basics of

stable health. It impacts the ability of people in our

community to be productive, to be with their kids,

to live and interact on a daily basis with people who

have advantages. It’s a divisive factor in urban life.

Q: Despite that, the issue of disparities is one that

few urban healthcare institutions have tried to

address. What is prompting the university to make

this a key component in its future?

The new University of Illinois Hospital & Health Sciences System has four key emphases as it moves forward:

Innovative Researchresearch is a cornerstone of the University

of Illinois Hospital & Health Sciences System.

By combining resources, the health system

has the opportunity to extend studies

with community research. “The healthcare

landscape is changing,” says garcia. “The

challenge is adapting to these changes.”

UI Health System personnel frequently join researchers at the University

of Illinois’ champaign-Urbana campus in studying population health and

biochemical illnesses. The University of Illinois Hospital & Health Sciences

System is recognized in research of alternative medicine, cancer biology,

drug development, genomics and infectious diseases, among other

areas, and the university is a magnet for graduate study. Among the

greatest beneficiaries of this innovative research are members of

our community.

Personalized HealthBecause no two patients are the same, the

researchers and specialists at the health

system work together to give everyone the

individualized care they deserve. personalized

care is determined by the patient’s genetic

makeup and lifestyle. In the long run, studies

in personalized treatment—for Alzheimer’s

disease, diabetes, obesity and more—can help to lower drug costs and

increase research funding.

Addressing Disparities“we saw the opportunity to bring resources

together to successfully address healthcare

disparities,” says garcia. “Health disparities

are a problem that has been recognized for

decades—without any significant progress.

Being in this community, being a research

institution and having a public charter, we are

in a position to actually make a difference in reducing health disparities

in our patients and community.”

Health Sciences EducationIn addition to its innovative care and research,

the health system provides access to health

education for young people from diverse

backgrounds so they can become leaders,

researchers and care providers—another

way the health system is addressing health

disparities. The health system is comprised

of seven colleges: Medicine, Applied Health Sciences, Dentistry,

Pharmacy, Nursing, the School of Public Health, as well as the Jane

Addams College of Social Work. with the largest college of medicine in

the nation, the University of Illinois Hospital & Health Sciences System is

changing the future of medicine for students and the patients they serve.

A: we are the foremost training site for health

professionals (across all disciplines—physicians,

nurses, dentists, pharmacists, therapists, etc.)

for the entire state. Our transplant programs

consistently rate highest in both case complex-

ity and outcome (survival) statistics. Our oral

health providers take care of more children

than almost all other dentists statewide. we

have the only dedicated center for adults with

sickle cell disease in the Midwest.

Q: In uniting all these colleges and

departments under one umbrella, is one of

your goals to eliminate the “silo” effect?

A: As the state’s flagship health center, we

have an obligation to improve the health and

the well-being of all citizens, regardless of their

socio-economic status. The current health-

care system has marginalized folks who do not

always have the means to access quality care. In

addition, all too often racial and ethnic minori-

ties are also disproportionately affected by the

current care delivery system. we are here for

all of these people and believe we can make a

difference in improving the quality and reducing

the cost of healthcare for all Illinoisans.

Q: Have other medical schools/academic

medical centers attempted to translate their

research into clinical treatment of diverse

communities to the extent that you envision?

Do you see this as a way to enhance the health

system’s reputation nationally?

A: plenty of academic medical centers are

talking about reducing health disparities in

their communities. The simple fact, however, is

that disease frequency and death rates among

minorities and the poor are getting worse, not

better. So, no, I do not see others making the

type of mission statement and commitment of

resources that we are undertaking here at the

University of Illinois. And yes, our success in this

endeavor will put us on the national stage be-

cause if we can even slightly reverse the disease

and death rates among the population we serve

right here in chicago, that will force others

across the country to take notice as to what can

be possible.

Q: At other medical schools around the country,

the reputation of the health system is well-

established. But in the general community, what

are some key strengths of the University of Il-

linois that may not be widely known?


History of the University of Illinois Hospital1881

college of physicians

and Surgeons (p &S)

incorporated as the

seventh medical

school in chicago,

located across from

entrance of cook

county Hospital.

1907

p &S faculty

open 110-bed

hospital at

Ogden, Lincoln

(wolcott) and

congress.

1913

p &S

becomes

University

of Illinois

college of

Medicine.

1924

first building

opens of

the 50-bed

University of

Illinois research

& Education

Hospital on

polk, wolcott

and wood.

1940

Illinois general

Assembly

creates Illinois

Medical

District.

rush and

presbyterian

share facilities

with college.

1965

Eye and Ear

Infirmary

building

opens on

Taylor St.

1970

State mandates

rural-health

initiative; college

of Medicine

at peoria site

opens.


September 2011

The University of

Illinois Medical center

and seven health

sciences colleges

are integrated to

create the University

of Illinois Hospital

& Health Sciences

System.

1971

college of

Medicine

campuses

in Urbana–

champaign

and rockford

open.

1980

UIc Hospital

opens at

1740 w.

Taylor St.

1982

college of Medicine

and University

of Illinois chicago

circle campus

merge to

form UIc.

1989

UIc Hospital

and Michael

reese Hospital

agreement

unfolds.

1999

Outpatient

care center

opens on

Taylor St.

June 2011

4th and 5th

floors of hospital

are designated

by NAcHrI

as children’s

Hospital

University of

Illinois.

A: Absolutely! The deans of the University of

Illinois health sciences colleges are unanimous

in their support for the “power of one.”

collectively, we realize that our ability to improve

community health, make a difference in the lives

of each individual patient and deliver innovation

throughout the entire healthcare system will be

accomplished only by working together.

Q: What message are you trying to send to the

alumni of all these health sciences colleges as the

health sciences combine their efforts?

A: The University of Illinois Hospital & Health Sci-

ences System combines the hospital, clinics and

federally qualified healthcare centers with the Uni-

versity of Illinois’ seven health sciences colleges:

Medicine, Nursing, pharmacy, Dentistry, Applied

Health Sciences, School of public Health and the

Jane Addams college of Social work. No other

health care provider in chicago or the state brings

together leading educators and researchers across

the health sciences to combine innovative research

with the delivery of advanced patient care.

Q: You’ve mentioned a desire for the various

campuses throughout the state to work more

closely together. What are some ways you hope to

achieve that?

A: This is happening already. for example, in

mid-November, the center for Medicare and

Medicaid Services issued a three-year, $1 billion

funding announcement for demonstration projects

that improve patient care and reduce the cost

associated with the federal Medicare, Medicaid

and children’s Health Insurance programs.

The “cMS Innovation challenge” provided an

opportunity for an extraordinary level of cross-

college collaboration to develop four proposals

that we believe will improve the outcomes and

efficiency of our healthcare enterprise.

JOE g.N. “SKIp” gArcIA, MD

‘‘ ‘‘No other institution in the Midwest has anything close to the strength of these seven units, which are now working together in a way they never have before.


AILy INSULIN INJEcTIONS didn’t prevent Judith-rae ross from frequently having medical crises brought on by her diabetes.

A retired history professor who taught

at one time at the University of Illinois’ chicago

campus, ross experienced severe drops in her

blood sugar levels that sometimes caused her to

experience hallucinations or lose consciousness.

“I was a frequent flyer in the emergency

room,” says ross, 67, who in recent years had

come to expect that her diabetes soon would

lead to her death.

On feb. 26, 2009, ross underwent an

experimental treatment for diabetes at the

University of Illinois Hospital. A team led by José

Oberholzer, MD, chief of transplant surgery and

director of cell and pancreas transplantation at

the UI Hospital, transplanted insulin-producing

islet cells into ross’ bloodstream. She quickly

began tapering off her insulin injections, stop-

ping them altogether by mid-April of 2009.

She hasn’t needed them since. what’s

more, her eyesight and learning abilities have

improved. “It’s allowing me to really enjoy and

appreciate life for the first time,” she says. “I

don’t have the words to thank Dr. Oberholzer

and his team. They have given me my life back.”

The chicago Diabetes project, an inter-

national research effort led by Oberholzer and

based at the University of Illinois Hospital &

Health Sciences System, has been advancing the

use of islet cell transplant in the hope of making

it available to more patients like ross. Launched

in 2005, the project enlists experts in research in-

stitutions around the globe, including physicians,

molecular biologists, engineers and chemists.

Diabetes is a chronic disease caused by

a lack of insulin, a hormone produced in the

pancreas that regulates blood glucose (sugar)

levels in the body. The world Diabetes founda-

tion estimates that 285 million people were living

with diabetes in 2010, and that the number would

grow to 438 million by 2030.

The chicago Diabetes project currently is

focusing its efforts on patients with type 1 diabe-

tes, such as ross, whose insulin-producing cells

have been destroyed by a malfunctioning immune

system. To survive, they must take insulin injec-

tions several times a day.

“They are the most urgent cases, the easi-

est to cure and the most justifiable to take the

risk involved in treatment, because they have the

higher rate of diabetes-related complications,”

Oberholzer says.

Eventually, though, he hopes to make islet

cell transplants available to treat type 2 diabetes,

which occurs when the pancreas doesn’t produce

enough insulin or the body doesn’t use it effec-

tively. Treatable with diet modifications, exercise

and glucose-lowering pills, it’s more manage-

able than type 1 diabetes. It’s also the far more

common form of diabetes, comprising 90 to 95

percent of all diabetes cases.

How it worksTHE TrANSpLANT prOcESS BEgINS with sci-

entists in Oberholzer’s laboratory extracting islet

DINSULIN

INDEpENDENcEIslet cell project breakthrough for difficult diabetes cases

By Kevin McKeough


pH

OT

O: L

LO

yD

DE

gr

AN

E


cells from the pancreas of a deceased organ

donor. first the donor pancreas is emulsified

through the combined use of chemicals and

heat, then it’s run through a centrifuge, which

separates the islet cells from the rest of the

organ. Between 300,000 and 600,000 cells

typically are extracted, compared with the

estimated half a million to 1.5 million cells that a

healthy pancreas harbors.

During the transplant procedure, the

cells are flowed into the recipient’s body

through a tube passed through a small incision

and threaded into a vein in the liver (chosen

because it has a better blood supply than the

pancreas). In most cases, the cells begin doing

what the donor recipient’s body could not on

its own—generate insulin that maintains blood

glucose at healthy levels.

The project began performing islet cell

transplants—all of which take place at the UI

Hospital—in 2005. By the end of that year, the

project completed a combined phase I and II

clinical trial demonstrating both the safety and

efficacy of the procedure based on the results

of the first 10 transplant recipients.

Since then a total of 25 patients have

receive transplants, and the vast majority have

remained insulin-free. The small number of pa-

tients receiving the transplants reflects another

key obstacle the project is trying to overcome:

the project’s very limited finances and the very

small number of available donor pancreata

(plural of pancreas), which averages around a

mere 6,000 each year. “Even if we could use

every single organ that can be used in the

United States, we would be limited to 1,500

transplants a year,” Oberholzer says.

Therefore, researchers with the chicago

Diabetes project are trying to find ways to

grow islet cells. collaborators at the cleveland

clinic and at Johns Hopkins are investigating

genes in mice that regulate how stem cells

develop into insulin-producing cells.

reflecting the project’s collaborative

nature, Oberholzer arranged for the chicago

Diabetes project to fund a postdoctoral fellow

to work in the lab of a Johns Hopkins University

expert on pancreatic cancer whose research in

pancreas stem cells had relevance to the proj-

ect’s efforts. The fellow found that certain stem

cells will cluster together and under the right

conditions produce insulin.

An international effortLIKE OrgAN TrANSpLANT pATIENTS, islet

cell recipients must take immunosuppressive

medication to prevent their immune systems

from attacking the transplanted islet cells,

which it recognizes as foreign to the recipients’

body. Since these medications have side

effects and leave patients at risk for illness, the

chicago Diabetes project is pursuing a means

of encapsulating islet cells, that is, coating them

with protective molecules that can withstand

the immune system’s attacks, rendering

immunosuppressants unnecessary.

Such vastly complex pursuits require

highly specialized knowledge and abilities,

which is why the project enlists experts at six

sites outside chicago. researchers at the Nor-

wegian University of Science and Technology in

Trondheim, Norway, for example, have worked

for five decades studying alginate, the molecule

the project is using to protect islet cells, and

the Slovak Academy of Sciences in Bratislava,

Slovakia, has one and a half buildings dedicated

to studying encapsulation technology.

In all, about 50 scientists are participating

in the project, plus support staff and volunteers.

In chicago, Oberholzer has a team of 20,

including five assistant professors working in

his laboratory, plus postdoctoral fellows, phD

students and technicians.

The project holds immense promise,

but its potential is being held back by funding

Chicago Leads Global TeamThe chicago Diabetes

project enlists clinical

and basic science

researchers at the

following sites around

the world:

cleveland clinic,

cleveland, Ohio

Johns Hopkins

University,

Baltimore, Md.

Norwegian University

of Science and

Technology,

Trondheim, Norway

Slovak Academy

of Sciences,

Bratislava, Slovakia

University of geneva,

Switzerland

University of Illinois

at chicago

University of Lille,

france

LEfT TO rIgHT: Grateful patients Bruno Pasquinelli and Janette leal with José oberholzer and UI surgery Head Enrico Benedetti

constraints, reflecting what Oberholzer says

is a widespread difficulty that researchers are

having in obtaining funding. In its entirety,

the chicago Diabetes project operates on an

annual budget of less than $2 million, compared

with the $13 million annually that Oberholzer

estimates the project would need to fully realize

its potential. “There are many experiments that

we know we have to do, and we know how to

do them, we just can’t do them with the limited

means we have,” he says.

The project receives about a third of its

funding from grants from the National Institutes

of Health and additional funding from the U of

I, but relies mostly on support from charitable

foundations. It was begun with a grant from

chicago-based washington Square Health

foundation, whose executive director, Howard

Nochumson, encouraged Oberholzer to begin

the project.

Since then, the project has received

major support from the christopher family

foundation in Hinsdale.

“we’re incredibly encouraged by the

quality of life improvement being experienced

by so many type 1-afflicted individuals due to

the work of the chicago project,” says Kelley

christopher Schueler, executive director of

the foundation.

The project also has received support

from the Juvenile Diabetes research founda-

tion, the American Diabetes foundation, the

Dr. Scholl foundation, Tellabs foundation,

the Efroymson family fund and a number of

smaller foundations.

Marathon fundraisingTHE wOrK ALSO HAS DEVELOpED an un-

conventional source of funding in the form of

cellmates on the run, a group of volunteers

that runs the chicago Marathon and/or New

york Marathon each year and enlists pledges of

support from family and friends. All the money

they raise goes to the project. In its first three

years, the effort has enlisted more than 600

runners and raised more than $500,000.

Oberholzer, an avid runner, takes part

in both the chicago and New york races and

this year also is running the Boston Marathon,

placing him among the elite group who have

qualified for the highly competitive event.

Other chicago Diabetes project researchers

and members of Oberholzer’s lab team also

have donned the team jersey to participate in

the races. The project’s annual meeting takes

place the week after the chicago Marathon,

so members of the global research team are

in town to cheer on the runners and join in the

post-race party at the race site.

further complicating the funding picture

is the status of islet cell transplant as an exper-

imental procedure not covered by insurance,

which means the chicago Diabetes project

itself must cover the approximately $100,000

required for each trial participant ($30,000 for

the procedure and the rest in follow-up costs).

The project is in the process of submitting an

application to the U.S. food and Drug Admin-

istration to have islet cell transplant recognized

as a standard of care, which will allow it to be

covered by insurance. Oberholzer hopes to

submit by the end of 2012 and receive approval

within a year—during which time the cDp will

have to ramp up from a research program to a

full-fledged clinical care service.

“The UI Hospital likely would become the

first center in the U.S. to offer this treatment

as a standard of care,” Oberholzer says. “we

have been a leader in moving this treatment

toward being put into widespread use, and

I look forward to the day when we can offer

islet cell transplant widely to the large number

of diabetic patients whose lives would be

improved and, in many cases, saved by this

treatment.”


The process of extracting islet cells is a complicated one. First, the donor pancreas is emulsified and then run through a centrifuge, which separates the islet cells from the rest of the organ. Between 300,000 and 600,000 islets are typically extracted during the process.

pHOTOS: BArT HArrIS

Health systemteams up

with the Bernie Mac Foundation to search for a cure for sarcoidosis

TUrNINg LAUgHS INTO LIfE SAVErS


ErNIE MAc wAS a beloved

entertainer and a chicago na-

tive whose knack for generat-

ing laughter stood in poignant

contrast to his concurrent suf-

fering from a mystifying chronic

disease. More than three years

after his death from complica-

tions of sarcoidosis, a founda-

tion named for him is partner-

ing with the University of Illinois

Hospital & Health Sciences System to demystify

that disease and lend some star quality to the

system’s efforts to discover a cure.

Details of the public partnership were

announced in April, which was Sarcoidosis

Awareness Month, says Nadera Sweiss, MD,

lead researcher in the sarcoidosis program at

the University of Illinois. It’s the culmination of

nearly two years of talks with top executives of

the Bernie Mac foundation, who were drawn to

the campus collaboration by both expertise and

inspiration.

Sweiss, a specialist in rheumatology, had

developed a practice in chicago centered on

treating people with sarcoidosis, a disease of

unknown etiology that attacks multiple organs

but most often the lungs and lymph nodes. It

disproportionately affects African-Americans,

who constitute more than 90 percent of her

patients. So there was a lot for those patients to

identify with as Bernie Mac fought the disease

from onset in 1983 until his death at age 50

in 2008.

“His death was devastating to a lot of my

patients,” says Sweiss. “They would come to me

and say, ‘Am I going to die the same way Bernie

Mac died? why did Bernie Mac die?’”

In 2010 Sweiss called the Bernie Mac

foundation’s executive director, Mary Ann gros-

sett, the older sister of the comedian’s wife of

30 years, rhonda Mccullough. They discussed

how they were engaged in the same push for

both awareness of the disease and a clear plan

to unlock its mystery and thus point the way to

productive treatment.

Sweiss unveiled the imagery of a “star

center” at the University of Illinois, which

would incorporate Bernie Mac’s star quality

as well as an acronymic identity: Sarcoidosis

Translational Advanced research. for gros-

sett, it wasn’t just what Sweiss said but the

way she said it. A like-minded relationship

“started immediately when I picked up the

phone,” she says.

“what stuck out in my mind about Dr.

Sweiss was her pure honesty and her being

connected personally to what she does. I im-

mediately saw and felt from her a sincerity that

was beyond her being a doctor—I saw a real

compassion and truthfulness in her,” grossett

remembers. “we began to communicate like

we had known each other all of our lives.”

That warm inspiration spread quickly

to Mccullough. “when the opportunity came

up that we would be able to work with the

University of Illinois, for me it was like a dream

come true,” she says. “I always wanted to

partner with a world-renowned facility—they

had the means, they had the pulmonologists in

place, it was just wonderful. And, to me, their

focus just kind of mirrored mine.”

Star power for the STAR programESTABLISHINg THE rESEArcH program also

was a dream come true for Sweiss, who fol-

lows 400 sarcoidosis patients in her practice

along with 200 living with scleroderma, another

disease of unknown origin that attacks healthy

tissue. Before coming to the University of Illinois

from the University of chicago, she had initi-

ated three interrelated studies into sarcoidosis,

including the use of drugs to inhibit tumor

necrosis, which plays a role in the disease. She

developed a reputation as an expert in these

disorders that drew patients regionally and

nationally.

TUrNINg LAUgHS INTO LIfE SAVErS

By John Morrissey

BWorking with the University of Illinois is “like a dream come true.” — rHONDA MccULLOUgH


Rhonda McCullough (from left), who was married to Bernie Mac for 30 years before his death, at the premiere of the documentary with nadera sweiss and skip Garcia, VP for Health Affairs

pH

OT

O: D

ON

AL

D B

Ar

gE

In the Bernie Mac foundation, the STAr

program gains a powerful source of funding

and visibility that first became apparent amid

the tragic news of the entertainer’s declining

health in 2008. Bernie Mac had established the

foundation himself a year earlier, intending to

make it a priority alongside his acting career.

Donations started pouring in as news of his

ultimately unsuccessful battle with pneumonia

played out, says Mccullough.

More money came in after his death,

“but I really wasn’t ready to do anything with it

just yet, because it took me awhile to grieve,”

she says. Nearly two years went by. “At first I

thought about not continuing the foundation,

and then I realized that this was the last thing

he was working on and this is a great way to

continue his legacy. So that’s when I took over

the reins.”

Attaching the foundation’s goals to a

celebrity’s name “allows us to reach a wider

audience,” says grossett, “and people are just

more naturally curious because it’s the Bernie

Mac foundation.”

Family involvementgrOwINg Up as Bernard Jeffrey Mccullough,

the man who would become Bernie Mac met

rhonda at chicago Vocational High School on

the city’s South Side. “we met him when he

was 16 years old,” says grossett. “And so when

you know someone that long, he becomes your

brother.”

The legacy issue is not just a cliché. All of

Mac’s family is involved in the foundation, and

chicago is their home. The foundation “was tru-

ly where his head was; he wanted to leave the

world with something that he felt would make

a difference. I know he felt like he had made a

difference in the entertainment world, and he

had done all that he could do in that arena,”

grossett says. “But for sarcoidosis he wanted to

leave his mark there, something that could be

carried on, even in his passing.”

As the foundation found out more about

the approach and aims of the STAr program, it

latched onto the underlying theme of personal-

ized care. The personalization includes both the

clinical and humanistic needs of each patient

and the family that gathers around. for patients

stricken with a chronic disease, says grossett,

there’s a toll on the person physically, financially

and mentally, as the Mccullough family lived

through for years. “The medical team is inter-

ested in treating the patient holistically.”

It’s also a medical and research theme,

says Sweiss. “As a disease, sarcoidosis affects

almost every single system in the body; it most

commonly affects the lungs, so it’s most com-

monly taken care of by lung specialists, but the

patient may end up in the eye clinic, or in the

gastrointestinal clinic, because of the nature

of the disease.” Sweiss, still rare in the field as

a specialist in inflammatory diseases, is taking

a multidisciplinary approach to evaluating the

disease in a systemic way. Each patient, with

individualized aspects of sarcoidosis, will provide

a piece of the puzzle and a bit of the solution as

bedside clinicians work with lab researchers and

geneticists to combine expertise and move more

quickly to treatment options.

A day at the universityfOUNDATION MEMBErS spent a day at the

hospital and its research facilities to get a tour

and learn about the history of the disease and

the STAr team assembled to target it—including

Vice president for Health Affairs Joe g.N. “Skip”

garcia, MD, with his eminent background in

translational research, and rick Kittles, phD, with

a track record of discovering the role of genetics

in disease, especially in racial minorities.

Among garcia’s contributions to

sarcoidosis research is a collaborative effort to

establish a biobank to enable studies of genomic

associations between DNA and diseases. Sweiss,

a clinician and teacher as well as a researcher,

has leveraged her experience to create

The image above shows the inflammation commonly found in the lungs and other organs of sarcoidosis patients. In sarcoidosis, immune cells cluster to form a granuloma—inflamed cells that have replaced normal tissue.


guidelines to plug the gap in available clinical

trial data, including algorithms to manage

bone issues and rheumatic manifestations of

sarcoidosis.

Impressed with the science as well as

alignment with the foundation’s own mission

statement, “I think it’s safe to say that after

that first meeting, we were signed, sealed and

delivered,” says grossett. “There was a sense

of comfort, a sense of trust on both parts. we

were in the right place, at the right time, talking

to the right people.”

“They’re going to help us to keep up

awareness of the disease sarcoidosis with the

public,” says Mccullough, “and it will also help

to allow treatment for patients and their fami-

lies, because families need an understanding of

the disease, too, for their loved ones.”

Driven by the continuing need for medi-

cal discovery—the food and Drug Adminis-

tration still has no approved treatments—the

University of Illinois is grateful for the founda-

tion partnership, says Sweiss. “Sarcoidosis

patients really need a star in their lives; we live

in the darkness with this disease, as physicians,

because we don’t know what is the best way to

treat this disease.”

gaining the star quality of Bernie Mac will

help accelerate the process. Even before the

official inking of the partnership, the foundation

held a fundraising gala in January to coincide

with the red-carpet premiere screening of a

tribute to the entertainer’s life, titled, “I Ain’t

Scared of you,” that later aired on comedy cen-

tral. garcia and Sweiss made short speeches

about the program as part of ceremonies at

the Showplace Icon Theater in chicago’s South

Loop neighborhood prior to the screening.

Associating the Bernie Mac name with a

program destined to have a worldwide reach

is the ultimate tribute to the man, says his wife.

“Bernie was an international star, and the health

system will welcome patients from around the

world. So to me that makes them an interna-

tional star.

“I actually believe this was Bernie’s

dream, and I do believe it exceeds what he

thought could be accomplished.”

Nadera Sweiss (above): “As a disease, sarcoidosis affects almost every single system in the body.”


MAgINE SpENDINg LESS TIME in the dental

chair while also getting higher-quality care—

thanks to dental students, faculty and gradu-

ates using the latest-generation equipment

and technology.

That is the expected outcome after the

University of Illinois Hospital & Health Scienc-

es System’s college of Dentistry completes a

$22-million renovation of its clinical facilities.

Scheduled for completion in early 2015,

the project will modernize all of the school’s

clinics, comprised of 300 patient-treatment rooms,

or operatories. The school has clinics for predoc-

toral degree students, which is a four-year process,

and postdoctoral students, who receive additional

training in dental specialties.

The new clinics will include various den-

tal equipment such as leading-edge high-speed

handpieces, suctioning equipment, operating

microscopes, surgical lighting, state-of-the-science

hygiene and cleaning instruments, and advanced

water-treatment systems. Digital radiography will

replace film-based X-rays, and the digital images

will become part of each patient’s permanent elec-

tronic dental record. chairs and cabinetry also will

be replaced. “green” technology will provide more

light with less heat and superior quality water.

To allow room for more students to observe,

some surgical suites will be larger and the layout of

equipment will be rearranged.

The new clinics will be located on the first

three floors of the dental school, encompassing

what will be known as the Integrated clinical

Technology center.

“This is critical to ensuring that our students

are getting a state-of-the-science education in

patient care. when they graduate, they are going

to be fully prepared to make sure their patients

receive the benefits of that technology,” Bruce S.

graham, DDS, dean of the dental school, says,

noting that the current facilities are nearly 40

years old.

The college will standardize on equipment

and technology primarily from the KaVo group in

charlotte, N.c. It also will be involved in testing new

KaVo products, giving students access to the latest-

generation dental technology for years to come.

The dental school’s patients will benefit,

too. Using the new equipment and technology,

students and faculty will be able to diagnose and

treat patients more efficiently. “More efficient

means, in theory, less time in a dental chair—we all

like that as a patient,” says David M. clark, DDS, the

dental school’s associate dean for clinical affairs.

One example: root canals. Through a com-

bination of high-speed handpieces, surgical

microscopes and digital imaging, dental students

and faculty will sometimes be able to complete

the procedure in one appointment, as opposed

to multiple appointments, as overall efficiency is

improved by the new technology.

The new equipment will be more reliable,

which also will increase efficiency. In the old clinics,

“there are constant breakdowns and repairs that

have to be taken care of,” clark says.

Improved efficiency also will help the college

increase access to dental care among low-income

patients. “we are the largest dental safety-net

clinic in Northern Illinois and maybe in the whole

state. If we can see patients more time-efficiently,

that means we can take care of more people who

desperately need our care,” graham says.

The college provides $2.3 million in

uncompensated patient care annually. It also is

a major provider of dental services to Medicaid

beneficiaries. Nearly half, or 46 percent, of the

dental school’s patients are Medicaid recipients.

The renovation of the college’s clinical

space was supported through the Brilliant Futures:

Educating the new Dentist for America capital

campaign, which has raised more than $37 million.

Among those gifts was the largest-ever single

donation to the college: an $8.2 million gift from

the guy D. and rebecca E. Brunetti foundation,

a private grant-making philanthropy in Arlington

Heights, Ill. The foundation’s gift is in the form of

equipment and technology, graham said.

“Helping to provide the resources to renew

the clinical facilities was the right thing to do. The

value of a professional education cannot be under-

estimated and, consequently, its value to society

cannot be overestimated,” says robert g. Brunetti,

DDS, a dentist who is president of the foundation

named after his parents. “we truly share the vision

$22 million renovation will have College of Dentistry ready for the futureSMILES ALL ArOUND

By linda Wilson

I


pIcTUrED ABOVE: Dr. Robert Brunetti (left) and Dr. Bruce Graham, dean (right), offer each other congratulations after signing the agreement for the $8.2 million donation by the Brunetti Foundation to the College of Dentistry. In the back are Executive Associate Dean for Academic Affairs Dr. Bill Knight (left) and Vicente Reynal of KaVo.

OppOSITE pAgE: A young patient receives treatment in the updated Pediatric Dental Clinic.

I l l I n o I s H e a l t H | 2 3

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and mission of the college in its goal to educate

and create ‘Brilliant futures’ for the dentist of to-

morrow and have supported this mission for over a

decade.”

Brunetti also is the chief executive officer of

procare Dental group pc, which operates 14 den-

tal offices in the chicago metropolitan area.

“we used to rely upon graduates from all

three schools in Northern Illinois to associate

with us and practice in our offices and serve our

growing patient

base,” Brunetti

says. “But once

both Loyola

and Northwest-

ern universities

closed their

dental schools,

we relied solely

upon the college

of Dentistry at

the University of

Illinois to fulfill

our growing need

for associates.”

Dentures make way for implantsprOcArE DENTAL also donated $1 million to

pay for construction of the procare Dental group

Implant and Innovation center, while the Brunetti

foundation donated another $1 million to endow

two full professorships at the center.

“Hopefully our gift and the many generous

gifts of others will spur more people to support

the future of our profession and our society,”

Brunetti adds.

One feature of the future of dentistry may be

the disappearance of dentures, and the renovation

at the school takes that into consideration, too.

Dental implants are artificial but have permanent

roots to hold replacement teeth. Implants are

“probably the biggest shift in dentistry,” and

could eventually replace dentures, graham says.

“The only barrier right now is cost. It is certainly

preferable to denture treatment,” he added.

To create the implant center, “we took an

unused space on the third floor of the building and

repurposed it,” graham says. The facility includes

12 operatories and classroom space. The admin-

istrative offices of the department of restorative

dentistry are located nearby.

patients already are receiving care in the

implant center, which is nearly complete.

In addition to the Dental Implant and

Innovation center, the doctoral-degree pediatric

dentistry clinic and the postdoctoral orthodontic

clinics also have been renovated.

The 2,500-square-foot Delta Dental of

Illinois predoctoral pediatric Dentistry clinic has

14 operatories, including specialized areas for

special-needs patients and a quiet room for infant

oral care. piped-in nitrous oxide, for sedation, and

digital imaging are available in each unit.

A diversity of strengthsThe new orthodontic clinic has 27 dental chairs,

up from 17 in the old clinic. The move allows each

postgraduate student in orthodontics to have a

dedicated chair. The orthodontic renovation also

includes a computer and imaging laboratory with

34 computers and web conferencing capabilities,

re-equipping of classrooms and office renovation.

The dental school has clinics in other dental

specialties as well: endodontics (tooth pulp and

nerves), periodontics (gums and soft tissues),

pediatric dentistry, prosthodontics/restorative

dentistry and oral and maxillofacial surgery.

The school also operates three

multispecialty group practices, comprised

of 150 operatories. The group practices are

staffed mainly with third- and fourth-year dental

students, although second-year students provide

some care as well. first-year students primarily

observe. faculty—both general dentists and

specialists—oversee each student’s clinical work.

“The student is responsible to oversee and

manage all of the care for the patient. Now, they

don’t provide all of the care because sometimes

these patients have to be referred to a specialty

clinic, but they are involved in managing those

consultations,” clark says.

The multispecialty group practices re-

placed separate doctoral-degree specialty clinics

in 2002. The group practices, which mimic private

practices, were created as part of an evolution

in the approach to education, emphasizing more

hands-on clinical training and fewer classroom

lectures. The move also has allowed the college

to treat more underserved patients. currently, the

college provides 90,000 patient visits per year.

The addition of new technology will further

enhance what the dental school can do for both

students and patients.

“we are already getting feedback from

students: they can’t wait to use this new

equipment,” clark says.

The dental school

has clinics in

other dental

specialties as

well: endodontics,

periodontics,

pediatric dentistry,

prosthodontics/

restorative

dentistry and oral

and maxillofacial

surgery.


How do we better serve

tHe people of IllInoIs?

by combInIng tHe resources

of IllInoIs.


Introducing the university of Illinois Hospital & Health sciences

system, a revolution in healthcare that combines all the university

of Illinois health science resources to provide an even higher

level of research, care and innovation to the people of Illinois.

At the university of Illinois, we’re changing medicine. for good.

28707_UIH_OneOffAds_95x12_r3.indd 2 3/26/12 10:16 AM

Low-fat diet a key to cardiovascular health?wEIgHT LOSS ALONE may

not reduce the risk for adverse

cardiovascular events. Shane

phillips, pT, phD, at the college

of Applied Health Sciences,

and his colleagues investigated

dietary factors that might be as-

sociated with improved brachial

artery flow-mediated dilation.

Improved fMD reduces the

risk of adverse cardiovascular

events, however, prior research

has been conflicting in isolating

the dietary factors that impact

fMD. phillips randomly assigned

participants who were obese to

one of two six-week diets: high

fat or low fat. Both groups expe-

rienced weight loss, but only the

low-fat group also experienced

a decrease in fat mass and waist

circumference. And, only the

low-fat group also experienced

fMD improvements. Taken

together, these results suggest

that weight loss alone may not

improve cardiovascular health

and that a low-fat diet is key to

reducing one’s risk.

Personalized dosages can improve coagulation outcomes AfrIcAN-AMErIcANS are at

higher risk than caucasians for

poor outcomes as a result of

subtherapeutic anticoagula-

tion, which is associated with

greater stroke-related disability

and higher mortality rates from

stroke and pulmonary embo-

lism. Thus, achieving optimal

anticoagulation efficiently is

particularly important for Afri-

can-Americans. Larisa caval-

lari, pharmD, a faculty member

in the college of pharmacy,

and her colleagues investigated

ggcX (glutamyl carboxylase,

an enzyme associated with

how Vitamin K is metabolized).

Specifically, they sought to dis-

cover whether ggcX mutations

were associated with changes

in dosage requirements. In

this study, African-Americans

were more likely to exhibit the

specific mutations of ggcX,

and among participants in

the study who were African-

American, the mutations of

ggcX were overrepresented

among those who required

higher doses of warfarin, which

is a blood thinner. This sug-

gests that patients who have

mutations of ggcX may require

higher dosages of warfarin and

gives some guidance in terms

of determining the optimal

dosage of warfarin in order to

improve patient outcomes.

Glycemic variability impacts mood, quality of lifeDiabetes is a chronic condi-

tion that significantly impacts

quality of life. poor glycemic

control is associated with

more diabetes complications,

depression and worse quality

of life. carol ferrans, MS, phD,

rN, fAAN, a professor in the

college of Nursing, and her

colleagues examined whether

glycemic variability had an ef-

fect on mood and quality of life

among women with diabetes.

ferrans found that among

women with diabetes, greater

glycemic variability was associ-

ated with lower quality of life

and negative moods.

Personalized approach aids older adults with osteoarthritisSUSAN HUgHES, DSw, DO,

of the School of public Health,

and her colleagues recruited

600 people to participate in an

eight-week “fit and Strong!”

exercise intervention to study

osteoarthritis. Osteoarthritis

is the most common condition

affecting older people today. It

is the leading cause of disabil-

ity among older people and its

impact is projected to increase

substantially with the aging of

the U.S. population. Although

there have been multiple ran-

domized trials investigating the

efficacy of different exercise in-

terventions among older adults,

few have looked at longer term

adherence and outcomes, and

extant research has shown

mixed results. After the inter-

vention by Hughes’ team, partic-

ipants were randomized into one

of two maintenance conditions

(individualized maintenance and

program-based maintenance).

participants who were in the

individualized maintenance

program had greater adher-

ence, self-efficacy and improved

functional status compared

with those in program-based

maintenance. This suggests that

adherence to an exercise regime

for older adults with osteoar-

thritis is more successful when

the program is tailored to the

individual.

Does oxytocin reduce symptoms in schizophrenia? LEAH rUBIN, phD, faculty in

psychiatry, and colleagues have

examined hormonal contributors

to cognitive performance and

symptom severity in schizophre-

nia. In a study of women and men

with schizophrenia, they found

that higher levels of oxytocin in

women were associated with a

decrease in positive symptoms

(such as delusions, hallucinations,

disorganized behaviors) sever-

ity and an increase in prosocial

behaviors. This study provides

support for new clinical interven-

tion studies of oxytocin and the

potential oxytocin has for im-

proving symptoms and affective

states in schizophrenia.

Framework offers personalized health care for midlife womenLAB TESTS cAN’T yet tell

women if they are menopausal.

Therefore pauline Maki, phD,

faculty member in psychiatry,

and a panel of experts from five

countries met in 2011 to review

reproductive staging research

and to change how menopausal

stage is determined (e.g., wheth-

er someone is perimenopausal).

The panel created recommen-

dations for the identification of

menopausal stages in order to

help clinicians predict when a

woman will enter menopause and

to guide the selection of treat-


KEy fINDINgS

ment options for menopausal

symptoms and other related

conditions. The framework,

named STrAw +10, created by

the panel, will help physicians

and researchers systematically

and consistently identify the

different reproductive stages

women go through from ado-

lescence to menopause and

beyond. further, it will improve

comparability between re-

search on midlife women and

is expected to facilitate clinical

decision-making.

Promising future for tooth regeneration INVESTIgATOrS IN the Brodie

Laboratory for craniofacial

genetics, directed by Tom Die-

kwisch, DMD, phD, a professor

and head of oral biology in the

college of Dentistry, have been

doing research in the area of re-

generative dentistry, which has

the potential to enable people

to maintain their own teeth for

longer and to reduce the need

for dentures. Diekwisch and his

colleagues have grown stem

cells from the periodontal liga-

ment of rats’ molars. They then

seeded the cells on barren rat

molars, and reinserted the teeth

into the animals’ tooth sockets.

In two to four months, the stem

cells aligned and formed new

fibrous attachments between

tooth and bone as compared

with molars replanted without

stem cells that were either lost

or loosely attached.

Cell migration provides insight into tumor metastasisUNDErSTANDINg HOw and

why cancers metastasize is

crucial to halting the spread of

tumors. Krishna Kumar Veera-

valli, phD, and colleagues at the

college of Medicine at peoria

studied the migration of cells as


sium channel pathway. These

results provide insight into how

tumor cells migrate, and thus

metastasize.

BPA exposure alters prostategAIL prINS, pHD, a researcher

in urology, has found that early

exposure to extremely small

amounts of Bisphenol A, an

ingredient in many common

plastics with a similar chem-

istry to estrogen, leads to

genetic changes in the pros-

tate as it develops. Although

these changes are not yet

conclusively tied to prostate

cancer late in life, prins contin-

ues to investigate. prins is the

principal investigator on three

National Institutes of Health-

funded studies examining the

effects of early life exposure

to BpA. Her work has led her,

rather unexpectedly, to social

and political activism. Her pre-

sentation to the chicago city

council in 2009 helped influ-

ence the council to ban sales

of BpA-containing cups and

baby bottles in chicago.

a way of better understanding

tumor metastasis. To migrate,

cells must perform a complex

set of maneuvers as they

travel. To do so, they respond

to a variety of factors such as

extracellular matrix molecules

and growth factors, which

engage cell surface receptors

(such as the integrins) to initi-

ate and maintain migration.

The researchers conducted

a simultaneous knockdown

of MMp-9 and upAr/cathep-

sin B, and in doing so, they

identified a novel mechanism

of integrin-dependent glioma

cell migration (α9β1 integrin-

SSAT-Kir4.2 potassium chan-

nel pathway); α9β1 integrin-

mediated cell migration uses

SSAT and the Kir4.2 potas-

An anthropological look at maternal mortality JULIENNE rUTHErfOrD, phD,

a faculty member in the UIc col-

lege of Dentistry, and Elizabeth

Abrams, phD, a faculty member

in anthropology, used a novel

approach to understand the

underlying causes of postpartum

hemorrhage, which is the leading

cause of maternal death world-

wide and accounts for nearly

35 percent of maternal deaths.

postpartum hemorrhage is com-

mon among humans but rare

among other mammals. Abrams

and rutherford argue that the

human placenta has evolved to

become more invasive into the

uterine wall in order to increase

the flow of nutrients to the fetus.

Although this is beneficial to fetal

development, the invasiveness

of the placenta into the uterus

increases the risk of blood loss

during labor. Abrams and ruth-

erford hope that their research

can lead to the identification of

biomarkers of increased risk for

postpartum hemorrhage so that

medical care can be tailored to

the woman’s risk level.

shane Phillips works alongside a dietitian who prepares meals for a study on cardiovascular health.

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S A pHySIcIAN-ScIENTIST at the University of Illinois Hospital & Health Sciences System, no two days are alike nor would I like them to be! I have a passion for science, for helping those in need and for

problem solving. I am grateful to have a daily

dose of all three and the opportunity to work with others to make

a difference in the health of the populations we serve.

Over the past few decades,

enormous strides have been made

in the understanding of disease and

the development of new treatment

options. Unfortunately, not all popu-

lations are benefiting from these

advances, and health disparities

remain a key challenge. Some have

difficulty getting access to high-

quality care. Some have difficulty

understanding healthcare instruc-

tions. Others cannot afford to pay

for treatments they need.

Let me give you an example.

Kendra (not her real name) is

a 68-year-old chicago woman who

was having difficulty breathing due

to asthma. She never smoked and had no environmental triggers

at home, such as dust or cigarette smoke, she said. I asked her to

bring her medications to the next clinic visit so that we could be

sure she was getting the treatment that was prescribed.

At her follow-up appointment, we realized why she had

been having trouble breathing. She had the right medicines, but

was unable to read. She admitted that she was often unsure which

medicines to take and when. She had been taking medicines

incorrectly—overusing some and underusing others. She was too

embarrassed to tell her doctors, nurses or pharmacist that she

needed help. This had been going on for years.

we reassured her and helped her remember which

medicines to use when. perhaps not surprisingly, her breathing

then improved.

four weeks later, there was a huge snowstorm. She was

able to shovel snow at her house with no difficulty at all. She even

helped her neighbor shovel snow.

we need a strategy to ensure that patients like Kendra have

access to innovations in healthcare and that we translate advances

in care into clinical routines every time. we need to increase our

emphasis on preventing illness, promoting wellness and empowering

patients to make informed decisions about their health care. This

will require teamwork—individuals, communities, clinicians, health

systems, insurers and policy makers working together. This will also

require that we think differently about how, where and when health

care is delivered.

for example, we need to embrace technology to expand the

reach of the health system into homes and communities. Innovative

applications of mobile health technology platforms would allow our

health system to more consistently intervene earlier in the course

of illness or to efficiently deploy

resources to prevent illness

altogether in the populations

we serve.

The health system is

uniquely suited to improving

population health and eliminating

health disparities. we have out-

standing clinicians, a broad base

of academic programs across

the health sciences, and partners

across the University of Illinois,

including leaders in the fields of

education, technology and health

policy. we also have a strong col-

laborative relationship with offi-

cials in the county, city, state, and

federal governments, as well as with colleagues at other institutions

in Illinois and across the nation.

I suspect that there are more people like Kendra in our clinics.

In such cases, taking the time to better understand how patients

manage their illness may be all that it takes to find a solution. No

need for special tests or more medicines. yes, others may need a dif-

ferent approach altogether. But we need a strategy for health care

that focuses on improving the health of people one person at a time.

That’s how we’ll improve population health. That’s how we’ll

eliminate health disparities.

anot all populations are benefiting from advances in healthcare.

Jerry Krishnan, MD, PhD, is associate vice president for population health sciences and professor of medicine and public health for the University of Illinois Hospital & Health sciences system.

2 8 | I l l I n o I s H e a l t H

Improving healthcare, one person at a time

B y J E r r y K r I S H N A N , M D , p H D

My pASSION

fIrSTwe were the first academic medical center in Chicago to offer femtosecond laser for cataract surgery. for 150 years,

the Illinois Eye and Ear Infirmary has been the leader in treating the most difficult and complex ophthalmology cases.

BESTThe University of Illinois Hospital has the best kidney and liver transplant survival rates in the city of chicago. A multidisciplinary

approach to transplant care offers patients and their families a supportive and highly successful program.

MOSTwe treat the most brain aneurysms in the state of Illinois. Health system neurosurgeons have treated more

than 1,000 brain aneurysms in the last four years.


fIrST BEST MOST

The mission of the University of Illinois Hospital & Health Sciences System

is to provide high-quality, cost-

effective health care for the

people of the state of Illinois,

to leverage leadership in

education and innovation to

deliver “personalized medicine”

to vulnerable populations and

to grow clinical programs that

are tightly linked to translational

research and are academically

distinct both regionally and

nationally.

you can reach us online at

hospital.uillinois.edu/about

or via email at

[email protected].

Vice president for Health Affairs Administration

914 South wood Street (M/c 973)

chicago, Illinois 60612

NONprOfIT Org.

U.S. pOSTAgE

pAID

cHIcAgO, IL

pErMIT NO. 4860

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