CHICAGO – Jan. 7, 2025 – COVID-19 vaccinations have protected people from severe complications, hospitalizations and death, but their impact on long COVID has been unknown.

According to new research published in Brain Communications, Northwestern Medicine researchers found that vaccination prior to COVID-19 infection did not significantly affect neurological symptoms in long COVID patients, both in patients who had a severe infection that required hospitalization and those with a mild infection who did not require hospitalization. Common neurological symptoms of long COVID include brain fog, numbness and tingling, headache, dizziness, problems with smell and taste and intense fatigue.

“Since COVID-19 vaccines reduce the severity of the infections, we hypothesized that vaccines may also affect the neurological manifestations of subsequent long COVID,” said Igor Koralnik, MD, chief of neuroinfectious diseases and global neurology at Northwestern Medicine, who oversees the Neuro COVID-19 Clinic and is the co-director of the Northwestern Medicine Comprehensive COVID-19 Center. “We aimed to identify what effects – if any – vaccination prior to infection has on neurological symptoms of long COVID, as well as the quality of life and cognitive function of our patients. These findings are sobering since it shows that vaccination prior to infection does not reduce the neurological manifestations of long COVID.”

STUDY HIGHLIGHTS

·       The study included the first 1,300 patients at the Northwestern Medicine Neuro COVID-19 Clinic with neurologic long COVID symptoms between May 2020 and March 2023.

·       Among those patients, 200 had been previously hospitalized for severe COVID-19, while the rest had mild initial COVID symptoms and never required hospitalization.

·       The study is a first-of-its-kind at Northwestern Medicine looking at whether vaccination prior to infection affects neurological symptoms of long COVID.

·       The study used quantitative metrics to assess quality of life and found patients had impaired quality of life in cognitive, fatigue, sleep, anxiety and depression with no differences between the breakthrough infection and pre-vaccination groups.

·       The study assessed cognitive function and found that patients performed worse on a range of cognitive tests compared to the general population with no difference between the patients who had a breakthrough infection after vaccination and those who were infected before being vaccinated.

“Long COVID is a debilitating condition that can affect multiple organ systems and can have considerable impact on an individual’s daily function and quality of life,” Dr. Koralnik said. “Because vaccination prior to infection does not decrease the neurological manifestations of long COVID, it is critical to keep our communities safe from both acute COVID-19 infection and potential long-term neurological manifestations.”

To date, the Neuro COVID-19 Clinic has treated more than 2,800 long-haulers from 44 states. For more information, visit nm.org and to schedule an appointment, please call 312.695.7950.

To read the full study, click here.

OAK BROOK, ILLINOIS – Over the Fourth of July holiday weekend, Alex Timchak, 47, had a deep cough. Days later, the cough went away, but pain in his left side did not.

“That was new. I never had that before and after about a week, I decided I needed to reach out to my primary care doctor,” said Timchak, a psychiatrist who lives in River Forest, Illinois.   

Timchak says his primary care doctor told him imaging showed his pancreas was inflamed and the pancreatic duct was enlarged. He referred Timchak to a gastroenterologist at another health system. During an endoscopy, no mass was detected, but a biopsy was obtained near the area where the pancreatic duct looked abnormal. The biopsy results came back normal, and the gastroenterologist recommended follow-up imaging in a month.

“That didn't seem to make the most sense to me, so I made an appointment at Northwestern Medicine for a second opinion,” Timchak said. 

Getting a second opinion

Timchak went to see interventional gastroenterologist Sri Komanduri, MD, at the Northwestern Medicine Oak Brook Outpatient Center and underwent another biopsy.

While waiting for the results, Timchak and his wife visited their son, who attends college at the University of Alabama. They had just sat in the stadium for their first Alabama football game, when Dr. Komanduri called with the results.

“Fortunately for Alex, we did repeat that endoscopic ultrasound and what we saw was a small growth in the pancreas. However, when we took the biopsy of this lesion, this came back as what is called a neuroendocrine tumor, which is very different than a typical cancer of the pancreas or what we call adenocarcinoma,” Dr. Komanduri said. “The reason this is so different is it has a much slower growth rate and doesn't spread to adjacent organs anywhere nearly as quickly as the standard cancer of the pancreas.”

“I am not going to lie, I jumped up and pumped my fist and screamed loudly, ‘Yes’, because I knew that this was a completely different picture than what I was most fearing,” Timchak said.

Fearing the worst

Timchak had been worried he would suffer the same fate as his father, who died of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma at age 70. 

“I've got four amazing kids, a beautiful wife and a job that I love, and the thought of having to fight a really aggressive cancer that has a very low, five-year survival rate that was a lot to have to think about and work through,” said Timchak.

Learning he had a different form of cancer that was highly treatable was a gamechanger. 

Dr. Komanduri recommended a referral for consideration of surgery to remove the cancerous lesion. 

Moving forward, cancer-free

Surgical oncologist David Bentrem, MD, with the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, discussed surgical options with Timchak. They determined a Whipple procedure, which involves removing the head of the pancreas, the first part of the small intestine and the gall bladder and a portion of the bile duct, was the best course of action.

“By removing the lesion completely, we are eliminating the need for any further treatment. Alex will need monitoring and surveillance, but there’s no need for chemotherapy or radiation. The cure rate is over 90%,” Dr. Bentrem said. 

Two weeks before Thanksgiving, on November 14, the procedure was performed at Northwestern Memorial, successfully removing the cancerous tumor.

The tumor had clear margins and 24 lymph nodes were negative for cancer. Timchak said the operation and recovery all went as planned.

“To be able to get back to a point where I am almost back to my pre-surgical level of functioning is just such a blessing and a gift and it's because I have a supportive family and supportive colleagues, but also an amazing medical team here at Northwestern Medicine,” Timchak said.

Understanding pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors

Pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) are less common than other types of pancreatic cancer and often misdiagnosed, which can delay diagnosis and treatment. 

Northwestern Medicine offers a multidisciplinary team of experts who specialize in NETs with care available at locations across Chicagoland, including pathologists with experise in identifying and diagnosing these rare tumors.

“Neuroendocrine tumors are rare in general,” said Dr. Komanduri. “With that said, when we're talking about all the growths that we see in the pancreas, even amongst that, the vast majority are adenocarcinoma, or cancers of the pancreas. However, a small percentage of them can be these neuroendocrine tumors which make the proper testing and diagnosis very critical, in terms of which direction you take the patient moving forward,” Dr. Komanduri said.

For more information about NETs and treatment options for pancreatic cancer, visit nm.org.

CHICAGO – December 24, 2024 – In December 2023, while pregnant with her first child, MaKenna Lauterbach developed a cough that wouldn’t go away. The then 26-year-old, who lives on a farm with horses and goats in Washburn, Ill., mentioned the cough to her local doctors, but because she was pregnant, her doctors were reluctant to perform chest scans due to possible radiation exposure.

“I give hay to the horses every morning and noticed how winded I was becoming with a dry cough. My body felt like I just ran two miles, when in reality, I had only walked to the barn and back,” said Lauterbach. “I knew something was wrong.”

By the time Lauterbach was 36-weeks pregnant, the cough was so bad that she started throwing up while coughing. After she was hospitalized for shortness of breath, doctors obtained imaging and discovered a large, grapefruit-sized tumor in her middle chest cavity and right lung, completely blocking the artery to the right lung. 

Lauterbach was in respiratory distress, which meant both she and the baby weren’t getting adequate oxygen. Due to her critical condition, Lauterbach was flown to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago and rushed to an intensive care unit where a large team of obstetricians, surgeons, anesthesiologists, pediatricians, nurses and staff awaited her. There, the maternal-fetal medicine team also noticed Lauterbach’s blood pressure was rising, she was contracting, and the baby wasn’t tolerating the contractions well.

“MaKenna was in real trouble, and we had to act quickly – this wasn’t something that could wait for Monday morning,” said Lynn Yee, MD, maternal-fetal medicine specialist at Northwestern Medicine. “When you’re pregnant with a baby that’s nearly full-term, your lungs already aren’t functioning at full capacity, and when you add a huge tumor on top of it, you run the risk of having respiratory collapse and cardiac arrest.”

In the early hours of Easter Sunday on March 31, after preparing the patient to potentially need extracorporeal life support (ECMO) after delivery, Dr. Yee performed an emergency cesarean section and a healthy baby boy named Colter was born. He remained in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at Northwestern Medicine Prentice Women’s Hospital for one week, where the family formed a connection with the nursing staff, especially clinical nurse Mary Schuessler.

“Because of the tumor, the delivery happened so quickly. I was grieving the birth plan I had spent months preparing for, while also dealing with the news of my unexpected diagnosis,” said Lauterbach. “My situation was serious, and while my clinical team was working on a plan to treat my cancer, it was comforting to know that Mary and the rest of the NICU nurses were taking such wonderful care of our son. My husband (Parker) and I can’t thank them enough.”

Making the Diagnosis and Developing a Treatment Plan

Following the delivery, doctors needed to figure out what type of tumor Lauterbach had. Kalvin Lung, MD, a thoracic surgeon with the Northwestern Medicine Canning Thoracic Institute, was able to obtain a sample of the tumor with advanced bronchoscopy to diagnose Lauterbach with stage 3 melanoma. Knowing the benefit of a team approach to provide the most innovative treatments, Dr. Lung reached out to Sunandana Chandra, MD, medical oncologist with the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, to see if there was anything to offer Lauterbach to help shrink the tumor before surgery.

“MaKenna’s diagnosis was difficult to make because we weren’t sure if the melanoma started in the chest or somewhere else, and there isn’t much literature or published cases on how to best treat tumors like these, so we had to rely on the expertise that we’ve developed here at Northwestern Medicine,” said Dr. Lung.

Based on a nationwide clinical trial that Northwestern Medicine was a part of, researchers discovered pre-surgical immunotherapy can ultimately improve surgical outcomes for advanced melanoma patients. Dr. Chandra recommended Lauterbach go through three cycles of immunotherapy before surgery, which helped shrink the tumor from 13 centimeters to nine centimeters, allowing Dr. Lung and Chris Mehta, MD, a cardiac surgeon with the Northwestern Medicine Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute who specializes in complex heart reconstruction, to remove Lauterbach’s entire right lung, parts of the main pulmonary artery and lymph nodes. 

“The tumor was sitting on top of MaKenna’s heart and extended into the right lung, impacting all three lobes and the entire main trunk of the pulmonary artery, which is why we had to remove the right lung,” said Dr. Lung.

“It's extremely rare to see this type of tumor invading into the major blood vessels of the heart,” added Dr. Mehta. “We may see something like this once every few years.”

“We think at some point, MaKenna had a melanoma on her skin and her own immune system took care of it, but not before a cell or two may have escaped and eventually started growing inside her body,” explained Dr. Chandra. “After three doses of immunotherapy, once she was taken to surgery, the surgical specimen showed no melanoma cells that were viable. MaKenna’s scans currently show no evidence of metastatic melanoma, and the hope is with continued surveillance, we’ll continue to show she has no evidence of disease. Medically, this is an amazing story with profound results. This type of outcome for our patients is what we always hope for.”

Celebrating the Milestones

Lauterbach will continue immunotherapy treatments for one year. Her cancer is currently a stable disease, meaning no new tumors have appeared. She celebrated her 27th birthday in October and is looking forward to her son’s first Christmas on the farm.

“Colter's the best baby. He's always happy and sleeps through the night,” said Lauterbach. “I’m so grateful to have Colter and Parker in my life, and I can’t say enough about the wonderful medical team that saved my life. Because of Northwestern Medicine, I’m here today.”

“It brings tears to my eyes to see MaKenna doing so well, and seeing Colter thriving is amazing. It just goes to show that when you get all the right medical teams in place, you can truly help families thrive,” said Dr. Yee.

To learn more about Northwestern Medicine, visit nm.org.  

When Meyers’ symptoms got worse, he was admitted to a hospital in Los Angeles and was diagnosed with heart failure. He quickly flew home to Chicago to be closer to family and get treatment from specialists at Northwestern Medicine Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute.

Preparing for a new heart

Meyers was admitted to Northwestern Memorial Hospital on November 18. He was seen by Sarah Chuzi, MD, a heart failure and transplant specialist at Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute, who put him on the transplant list for a new heart.

After just a few weeks of waiting, a heart became available. On December 3, Meyers went in for his transplant with Duc Pham, MD, a cardiac surgeon at Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute. Because Meyers recovered so quickly, he was discharged to go home on December 19 – just one week before Christmas – and got to ring the transplant bell.

“The silver lining to having heart failure and a heart transplant when you’re young is that people tend to be really resilient and have smooth recoveries,” said Dr. Chuzi. “Korey came into our hospital extremely sick. We’re so lucky we were able to give him this gift of life and it’s especially meaningful that he gets to go home right before Christmas.”

Meyers is now looking forward to spending the holidays with his family and taking care of his new heart.

“This will be the best Christmas for me,” said Meyers. “I’m looking forward to doing better with my new heart. I’ll make sure I exercise more, eat better, and I’ll cherish this heart for the rest of my life.”

More about heart failure

Heart failure occurs when the heart struggles to pump enough blood and oxygen through the rest of the body. The condition impacts 6.7 million Americans and is responsible for about 14% of deaths in the United States.

Northwestern Medicine Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute (BCVI) has teams that specialize in heart failure treatment and transplantation. The BCVI is ranked among the best hospitals in the world for heart failure and is currently conducting clinical trials to improve patient outcomes.

To learn more about heart and vascular treatments, visit nm.org/heart.

CHICAGO – Army Special Forces veteran Jeff Bosley estimates he’s had 10-15 surgeries during his life, mostly for injuries. But earlier this year, Bosley, 46, who lives in the Omaha, Nebraska area, needed one that would save his life after being diagnosed with prostate cancer in May.

While men being diagnosed with prostate cancer under the age of 50 is extremely rare, Bosley also has a family history with the disease, which increases risk. Because of that family history, his prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels are tested on a quarterly basis. High levels of PSA may indicate the presence of prostate cancer, and the disease is usually detected by that blood test before any signs or symptoms. 

“Prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer in men, and less than one percent of prostate cancers are diagnosed in men under 50,” said Edward Schaeffer, MD, PhD, chief of urology at Northwestern Medicine. “Routine screenings can help catch prostate cancer at an earlier stage.”

During a screening in early 2024, Bosley’s PSA levels had quadrupled in a four-month span, which indicated a possible aggressive form of prostate cancer, and a biopsy later confirmed the disease. After seeing multiple doctors near his home in, and feeling unsatisfied with their treatment plans, Bosley discovered a podcast with Dr. Schaeffer detailed diagnostic and management strategies for people with prostate cancer.

“I wanted to get a second opinion, and I also wanted a physician with great bedside manner because this person would have a significant impact on my life,” Bosley said. “When I heard Dr. Schaeffer on the podcast, I really appreciated his approach to patient care and research, and I decided to make an appointment. During our first video consult, I felt a strong connection with Dr. Schaeffer’s attitude and treatment plan.”

Traveling to Chicago for Lifesaving Care

Bosley traveled to Chicago where he underwent surgery on September 10 at Northwestern Memorial Hospital to remove the cancer. Bosley returned home a few days later to recover. His follow-up appointments are being done virtually, and like all cancer survivors, he will continue to have ongoing surveillance.

“Jeff had a great outcome to the surgery and currently has no signs of cancer in his body,” said Dr. Schaeffer, who is also a member of the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center at Northwestern University. “We always tell patients that cancer doesn’t read rulebooks, so we will have to continually monitor him, like we do all of our cancer survivors.”

Since his time in the military, Bosley has been working as an actor in television and movies. Following the surgery, he’s returning to his active lifestyle and has been receiving audition requests for acting jobs.

“As a kid, I always said I wanted to be Rambo,” Bosley said. “I didn’t know if I wanted to do it in real life or in movies. I got the real one out of the way and decided to try acting in 2014.”

Serving His Country Aided Him in Choosing a Urologist

Bosley served in the United States Army from 2006-14, serving with the 10^th Special Forces Group out of Fort Carson, Colorado. His deployments included serving in Iraq and missions in Africa.

“I always knew I wanted to join the military,” said Bosley. “I always knew I wanted to do the elite stuff, but didn’t know it was going to be the Green Berets. I value my decision to serve and would have regretted not doing so.”

He has always led an active lifestyle, working as a firefighter before and after his military career. Being a Green Beret, Bosley had a lot of unique training other than just combat duties. He majored in pre-med in college and Bosley’s specialty was medicine in the Army, receiving training beyond the basic combat medical needs.

After being diagnosed with prostate cancer, that medical training aided him in choosing a urologist for his care.

An estimated 1 in 8 American men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer with their lifetime. November is also “Movember,” a time to raise awareness for men’s health, including prostate cancer.  

For more information on prostate cancer care at Northwestern Medicine, visit nm.org/urology or call 833-7-POLSKY (833-776-5759) to make an appointment. To learn more about Northwestern Medicine, visit nm.org.

CHICAGO – Just three weeks before getting married, Annesley Clark (they/them/theirs) had to cancel their wedding. The 33-year-old from Chicago, Ill., had a life-threatening infection and a mass growing on their heart. Clark needed open-heart surgery right away.  

Because of the infection, the risks from surgery increased significantly and their outcome was uncertain. Clark and their partner, Christine Corso (they/them/theirs), were determined to say their vows before it was too late. 

The nursing staff at Northwestern Memorial Hospital had formed a special bond with the couple and despite not having much time, they pulled together a wedding in less than 24 hours.   

“Annesley is one of the most positive people I have ever met and constantly uplifts others,” said Tien Mai, a clinical nurse on 11W Feinberg at Northwestern Memorial. “They asked if it was possible to have a wedding the next day before surgery, and the moment I heard that, I made all the calls necessary. From blowing up balloons at the nurses' station to safely preparing them to walk down the aisle, my whole team made all the details perfect. Seeing Annesley smile as they walked down the aisle was the best feeling.” 

On October 9, one day before heart surgery, the nurses transformed the hospital waiting room into a wedding venue with balloons, decorations, flowers, and a makeshift altar. Clark’s close family, friends, and dozens of hospital staff gathered to celebrate their big day. 

“I am so grateful for the care that I’ve received from these doctors and nurses,” said Clark. “I have spent more than a third of the past 15 months at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. Many of the nurses at our hospital wedding were invited to our planned wedding in November. We’ve built such a great relationship with these people, and I have come to feel so cared for and seen by them. They’ve seen me in times that are really rough and scary, and I’m so glad they got to witness the enormity of the joy today.” 

A race against the clock 

The wedding allowed Clark and Corso to enjoy a few hours of bliss during an otherwise unnerving time. While most couples look ahead to a honeymoon on their wedding night, Clark was preparing for open heart surgery.  

Benjamin Bryner, MD, a cardiac surgeon at Northwestern Medicine Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute, says he normally opts for a minimally invasive way to operate, but in Clark’s case, the mass on their heart was too big. Despite the infection and a suppressed immune system making Clark a poor candidate, open heart surgery was the only option.  

“We wanted to get this mass out as quickly as we could because we were worried about a bloodstream infection,” said Dr. Bryner. “The infection was not going to go away until we got the mass out. We have to try not to disturb other structures, and we don’t want pieces of the mass to break off and get sent to other parts of the body. So, we settled on opening the heart up and taking the mass out directly. The safest way to do that was through cardiopulmonary bypass, which is like a safety net that cardiac surgeons build for themselves. That allowed us to open the heart and salvage all of the blood that was coming out. We could then see this mass really clearly, lift it out of the heart, and then close it back up. Everything went very smoothly just like we had hoped.” 

Clark underwent surgery on October 10 and the mass was successfully removed. They spent a few weeks recovering in the hospital and are now enjoying their new married life with a healing heart.

The newlyweds are looking forward to their first holiday season as a married couple, with a lot to be thankful for.

To learn more about heart surgery and other cardiac treatments, visit nm.org.  

Naples, FL — October 28, 2024 — Naples Comprehensive Health (NCH) announced today a strategic collaboration with Northwestern Medicine with a focus on enhancing and expanding cancer care services. Leveraging the expertise of Northwestern Medicine, NCH will establish a comprehensive cancer program to support the growing clinical needs to treat and care for cancer patients in Southwest Florida.

As part of the collaboration, NCH will have access to a variety of clinical resources offered by Northwestern Medicine including the ability to consult with oncology experts, refer patients for second opinions and the opportunity to leverage the latest in clinical trial offerings. Northwestern Medicine is also home to the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University. Designated by the National Cancer Institute (NCI), Lurie Cancer Center is one of only 57 Comprehensive Cancer Centers in the nation and one of the first centers to receive a Merit Extension Award from NCI.

“This is a unique opportunity to leverage our expertise and share best practices with the goal of enhancing the cancer care offerings in Southwest Florida,” said Howard Chrisman, MD, president and chief executive officer, Northwestern Memorial HealthCare. “Backed by a nationally ranked cancer program and leading oncology experts, we believe this collaboration has the potential to have a lasting impact on current and future NCH patients.”

For years, NCH has worked diligently to transform itself into an Advanced Community Healthcare System^TM committed to bringing more comprehensive and acute care to Southwest Florida, so residents won’t have to travel far to get it. To that end, this collaboration will advance cancer screening programs aimed at ensuring early detection and introduce patient navigation programs to support cancer patients through their journey.

Dr. Ed Grendys, a gynecologic oncologist, has been named Medical Director to lead the advancement of the NCH Women’s Cancer Program. This effort will include the opening of a women’s cancer center on the NCH North Naples campus, offering comprehensive gynecologic oncology surgery and treatment.

“NCH is proud to collaborate with Northwestern Medicine - one of the premier healthcare organizations in oncology. Through this partnership, our patients will gain access to leading-edge clinical trials, cancer specialists and experts who define the national treatment guidelines for cancer,” said Paul Hiltz, president and chief executive officer, NCH. “We will continue to recruit new physicians and nurses to Southwest Florida to support our growing oncology program. These expanding services allow cancer patients the opportunity to receive the best possible care right here in Southwest Florida with the world’s best cancer specialists.”

Northwestern Medicine is Chicago’s premier integrated academic health system. Dedicated to providing the most advanced health care to patients, the health system is anchored by Northwestern Memorial Hospital. For 13 consecutive years, Northwestern Memorial has been named to the Best Hospital Honor Roll by U.S. News and World Report, with 11 specialties ranked nationally. Most noteworthy being, Northwestern Memorial is one of only three hospitals in the nation to receive a U.S. News rating of High Performing in all procedures and conditions. The health system’s cancer program is nationally ranked by U.S. News & World Report and provides patients with access to state-of-the art therapies, highly specialized cancer care teams, specialized research and clinical trials.

“Through the continued generosity of our community, NCH will continue to rapidly expand cancer treatment and prevention services,” said Scott Lutgert, board chair, NCH. “NCH’s vision is to open a comprehensive cancer center that incorporates the best practices of leading cancer centers in the U.S., including Northwestern.”

"As we navigate the complex landscape of healthcare, this collaboration between Tempus and Northwestern Medicine underscores an alliance in revolutionizing patient care through AI-enabled methods,” said Eric Lefkofsky, CEO and Founder of Tempus. “By harnessing the power of data-driven insights, we're not just treating diseases; we're illuminating pathways to better outcomes, faster diagnoses, and more personalized treatment plans.”

Northwestern Medicine is deploying Tempus’ technology across its care teams in cardiology to identify patients at increased risk of developing atrial fibrillation (AFib) or any of seven structural heart diseases (SHD), including diseases of the mitral, aortic and tricuspid valves, abnormal heart function, and abnormal heart thickening. Northwestern Medicine is the first provider to clinically deploy Tempus’ ECG-AF algorithm, its FDA-cleared device that uses AI to help physicians identify patients at increased risk of atrial fibrillation/flutter (AF). The Tempus ECG-AF algorithm is intended for use to analyze recordings of 12-lead electrocardiogram (ECG) devices and detect signs associated with a patient experiencing AF within the next 12 months. These patients can be efficiently routed to a clinician for further diagnostic evaluation. As part of this initial rollout, both organizations will collaborate on a clinical research trial leveraging a variety of Tempus technologies that use ECG data.

“Northwestern Medicine is committed to applying innovative technologies to improve patient care," said Howard Chrisman, MD, president and chief executive officer, Northwestern Memorial HealthCare. “Artificial intelligence has the ability to be transformative in healthcare, and it’s going to take a collaborative effort to help unlock its true potential and ensure it is safely and ethically deployed in research and patient care settings.”

As Chicago’s premier integrated academic health system, Northwestern Medicine offers patients access to world class, compassionate care at 11 hospitals and more than 200 diagnostic and ambulatory sites. The health system is anchored by Northwestern Memorial Hospital. For 13 consecutive years, Northwestern Memorial has been named to the Best Hospital Honor Roll by U.S. News and World Report, with 11 specialties ranked nationally. Most noteworthy being, Northwestern Memorial is one of only three hospitals in the nation to receive a U.S. News rating of High Performing in all procedures and conditions.

CHICAGO – Nov. 22, 2024 – Since older adults have been more severely affected by acute COVID-19, researchers have hypothesized that older adults may have worse long COVID symptoms as well. But according to new research published in the Annals of Neurology, an official journal of the American Neurological Association, Northwestern Medicine researchers found on an average of 10 months after COVID-19 onset, younger (ages 18-44) and middle-aged (ages 45-64) adults had worse neurologic symptoms of long COVID than adults 65 and older. Symptoms included headache, numbness and tingling, problems with smell and taste, blurred vision, depression, anxiety, insomnia, fatigue and a decrease in cognitive function. These symptoms occurred regardless of if the patient had mild or severe COVID-19 infections.

“While deaths from COVID-19 continue to decrease, people still get repetitive infections with the virus and may develop long COVID along the way,” said Igor Koralnik, MD, chief of neuroinfectious diseases and global neurology at Northwestern Medicine, who oversees the Neuro COVID-19 Clinic and is the co-director of the Northwestern Medicine Comprehensive COVID-19 Center. “Long COVID is causing an alteration in patients’ quality of life. Despite vaccinations and boosters, about 30 percent of COVID patients develop some long COVID symptoms. These findings have an immense public health impact, given that long COVID significantly contributes to the leading global burden of disability and disease caused by the neurological disorders.”

STUDY HIGHLIGHTS

·       The study included the first 1,300 patients at the Northwestern Medicine Neuro COVID-19 Clinic with neurologic long COVID symptoms between May 2020 and March 2023.

·       Among those patients, 200 had been previously hospitalized for severe COVID-19 pneumonia while the rest had mild initial COVID-19 symptoms and never required hospitalization.

·       The study is a first-of-its-kind to look at the neurologic symptoms of long COVID over an adult lifespan.

·       The goal was to determine if the neurologic symptoms of long COVID affect adults differently based on their age group.

 “The impact of long COVID is causing disproportionate morbidity and disability in younger adults in their prime who provide much of the workforce, productivity and innovation in our society,” Dr. Koralnik said. “This may have a negative impact on the economy and cause additional burden on the health care system. This study highlights the importance that people of all ages suffering from Long COVID should be provided with the necessary treatment and rehabilitation services to alleviate their symptoms and improve their quality of life.”

To date, the Neuro COVID-19 Clinic has treated more than 2800 long-haulers from 44 states. For more information, visit nm.org and to schedule an appointment, please call 312.695.7950.

CHICAGO – Nov. 20, 2024 – Northwestern Medicine, West Health, and the Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute have announced a new collaboration that will make accessing care to evidence-based mental health services faster and easier for primary care patients across Northwestern Medicine.

This $8.6 million multi-year initiative from West Health will establish the Northwestern Medicine West Health Accelerator, which will provide access to comprehensive psychiatric services for primary care practices throughout Northwestern Medicine, expanding access to mental health care and promoting earlier intervention.

“Across the United States and Chicagoland, the demand for high-quality treatments for the most common mental health conditions continues to grow,” said Sachin Patel, MD, PhD, chair of the department of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Northwestern Medicine. “This collaboration with West Health will help transform mental health care by delivering efficient, effective and equitable behavioral health services to patients, while expanding access to care.”

It is estimated that more than one in five U.S. adults or 59.3 million people were living with a mental illness in 2022 and little more than half (50.6%) received treatment within the prior year.

To address the growing problem for demand in mental health services, Northwestern Medicine started its Collaborative Behavioral Health Program (CBHP) in 2018, which integrates mental health care into primary care settings to help manage population health across all generations, and scale and optimize equitable treatment for patients. Since 2018 CBHP has expanded and now is available to patients who are seen in any of the 75 different primary care locations across the NM System.

The success and recent expansion of CBHP has led to West Health collaborating with Northwestern Medicine and the Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute to increase utilization of the program and help facilitate expansion of similar programs across the United States.

“We believe in taking bold moves and this collaboration could be transformative,” said Shelley Lyford, CEO and Chair, West Health, which includes the West Health Institute and Gary and Mary West Foundation, which have funded and helped shape more than $500 million in initiatives that lower healthcare costs and improve aging in America. “We will leverage the unique resources, technologies, capabilities and expertise of each organization and design a robust evidenced-based care model that can be optimized across health systems and regions throughout the country.”

 "The Meadows Institute is honored to partner with Northwestern Medicine and West Health to expand access to quality mental health care,” said Andy Keller, the President and CEO, Meadows Institute. “The integrated care model is a proven, effective way to ensure people receive the treatment they need as early as possible.”

 The Northwestern Medicine West Health Accelerator – which is backed by national experts in primary care, psychiatry and psychology – will bring new capabilities and expertise to include patient care, technology, business development and data management to develop best practices and resources.

About Northwestern Medicine

For learn more about Northwestern Medicine, visit NM.org.

About West Health

Solely funded by philanthropists Gary and Mary West, West Health is a family of nonprofit and nonpartisan organizations including the Gary and Mary West Foundation and West Health Institute in San Diego, and the West Health Policy Center in Washington, D.C. West Health is dedicated to lowering healthcare costs and enabling seniors to successfully age in place with access to high-quality, affordable health and support services that preserve and protect their dignity, quality of life and independence. Learn more at westhealth.org.

About Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute

Independent and nonpartisan, the Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute works at the intersection of policy and programs to create equitable systemic changes so all people in Texas, the nation, and the world can obtain the health care they need. The Meadows Institute provides state and national leaders with data-driven, trusted policy and program guidance, and works to shift the focus of new investments toward early intervention for children and families, address the mental health crisis in our jails and emergency rooms, and help all people with mental health needs recover and be well. Learn more at https://mmhpi.org. 

London and Chicago – [19^th November] – The London Clinic, the UK’s largest independent charitable hospital and Northwestern Medicine, a leading U.S. based academic healthcare organisation, have announced a ground-breaking international collaboration. It is a wide-ranging agreement that will accelerate The London Clinic’s infrastructure improvements and growth ambitions in the years ahead.

 With a combined 250 years of delivering healthcare in the community, and sharing a not-for-profit ethos, this strategic agreement is a natural extension of both organisations’ commitment to improving healthcare and enhancing lives worldwide.

The London Clinic will draw on Northwestern Medicine’s experience in healthcare innovation, technology and research, alongside operational efficiency. It will greatly strengthen The London Clinic’s long-term position as the leading independent charitable hospital in the UK, defined by patient outcomes and community impact.

By leveraging The London Clinic’s exceptional reputation, Northwestern Medicine aims to expand its international reach, build partnerships with other healthcare systems, and develop patient-centred pathways with world-renowned consultants. This collaboration will further Northwestern Medicine’s mission to make people better by making medicine better.

The collaboration will focus on four key areas:

1. Enhancing Patient Care: By combining clinical expertise to deliver better care through increased access to innovative treatments.
2. Amplifying Charitable Impact: A shared commitment to philanthropy to enable both organisations to expand their community outreach and increase access to care.
3. International Collaboration: Consultants/physician leaders will collaborate in patient care, research and innovation to deliver advances in the care of rare and complex conditions.
4. Maximising Performance: Sharing best practice to optimise operational efficiency which will allow more resources to be directed towards patient care and charitable initiatives. 

Al Russell, CEO of The London Clinic, shared his excitement for what the new relationship will bring, “This is an incredibly defining moment in our history, and we’re thrilled to be working with the team from Northwestern Medicine as we embark on this next chapter together to set a new world-class standard in healthcare. Not only have we found a partner that shares the same not-for-profit values, but one with the scale that will give our charity access to the resources we need. We are determined to do as much as we can to support the health challenges our country faces. This collaboration with Northwestern Medicine will take this support to a new level, allowing us to further fulfil our charitable purpose.”

Remarking on the importance of the relationship, Howard Chrisman, MD, President and CEO of Northwestern Memorial HealthCare said, “Driven by our Patients First mission, we believe this strategic collaboration has the potential to redefine patient care and accelerate our ability to learn and share from a like-minded organisation with an exceptional reputation for clinical care. Leveraging the expertise of both organisations will enhance our collective ability to implement innovative healthcare solutions and drive breakthrough research for the betterment of all patients.”

About The London Clinic
The London Clinic is a leading independent charitable hospital, situated in Harley Street, in the heart of London’s medical district. Opened in February 1932, it has been at the forefront of healthcare for nearly 100 years. Her Majesty The Queen is the Patron. As a charity, The London Clinic reinvests all its surplus to further its mission of advancing healthcare for the benefit of the wider community, through programmes including clinical education, scientific PhD’s, innovation and community outreach.

About Northwestern Medicine
A leading U.S. based academic healthcare organisation, Northwestern Medicine offers patients access to world-class, compassionate care at 11 hospitals and more than 200 diagnostic and ambulatory sites. The health system is anchored by Northwestern Memorial Hospital. For 13 consecutive years, Northwestern Memorial has been named on the Best Hospital Honor Roll by U.S. News and World Report, with 11 specialties ranked nationally; and is one of only three U.S. hospitals to receive a U.S. News rating of High Performing in all procedures and conditions. To learn more about Northwestern Medicine, visit NM.org.

Palos Heights, IL - Trinity Christian College and Northwestern Medicine Palos Hospital are proud to announce an innovative and mutually beneficial nursing program that creates a pipeline for future nursing employment at Northwestern Medicine Palos Hospital and furthers Trinity’s commitment to alleviating student debt. At the official signing event on November 14, 2024, at Northwestern Medicine Palos Hospital, leaders from both institutions and the inaugural cohort of three current junior students in the Trinity nursing program were present.

“We are honored and excited to collaborate with Northwestern Medicine. It demonstrates powerfully the way that cooperation across sectors can have compelling and positive outcomes for students, two anchor institutions, and for the educational and healthcare outcomes of the communities we serve,” said President of Trinity Christian College, Dr. Aaron Kuecker. “I am grateful for the vision and commitment of our colleagues at Northwestern Medicine for their incredible collaboration – and I am eager to see the ways we can deepen this shared work.”

“The department of nursing at Trinity Christian is excited to be able to directly connect Trinity students with NM Palos Hospital to provide excellent care right here in Palos Heights,” said Dr. Tina Decker, professor or nursing and chair of the nursing department, Trinity Christian College.  “We are proud of the care our nursing students and graduates provide and are thrilled about the new and expanded opportunities this sponsored degree program offers.”

The collaboration, which launched in the fall of 2024, secures Northwestern Medicine and Trinity’s commitments to enhancing their local communities. This foundational collaboration includes Northwestern Medicine funding the final two years of tuition for this initial cohort of students and hosting all available clinical rotations for the students at Northwestern Medicine Palos Hospital. This unique opportunity offers Trinity students extensive experience in a world-class health system. In exchange, upon degree completion, Trinity-sponsored nurses will commit to three years of employment at Northwestern Medicine Palos Hospital in any available inpatient unit.

“Northwestern Medicine is committed to deepening relationships within our community, and it is an honor to collaborate with Trinity Christian College to provide clinical and financial support for local students pursuing a career in nursing,” said Mike Vivoda, president, Northwestern Medicine Palos Hospital. “Nursing plays such a critical role in our health system, and we look forward to continuing to find innovative ways to offer opportunities for those interested in nursing to pursue their dreams.”  

Alongside the benefits of ending reliance on student debt for Trinity students and the commitment to mutual good in the community, this collaboration creates a sustainable pipeline of top talent for Northwestern Medicine Palos Hospital.  Through this forward-thinking approach to nursing education and workforce development, Trinity Christian College and Northwestern Medicine Palos Hospital are fostering unique collaboration in higher education and healthcare.

“Our commitment to deepening workforce pipelines for nursing through enhanced community relationships is a high priority for Northwestern Medicine,” said Kristin Ramsey, MSN, MPPM, RN, chief nursing officer, Northwestern Memorial HealthCare.  “These efforts in conjunction with providing thoughtful, innovative nursing education models is helping to create a very strong future for our nurses, who are essential in serving our patients with the highest level of care.”

By investing in the future of healthcare professionals while alleviating the financial burden on students, both institutions are setting a precedent for innovative educational models that prioritize community needs and professional growth. Together, they are addressing the urgent demand for skilled nurses and cultivating a generation of healthcare leaders dedicated to serving their community with excellence and compassion.

About Northwestern Medicine Palos Hospital

With 425 licensed beds and more than 600 affiliated physicians, Northwestern Medicine Palos Hospital, located in Palos Heights, Illinois, serves the city’s south and southwest suburbs. Palos Hospital offers advanced technology in a scenic, healing environment. Accredited by The Joint Commission, Palos Hospital is continually recognized as a premier healthcare provider by healthcare rating systems.

For more information, please go to nm.org.

About Trinity Christian College

Trinity Christian College, based in Palos Heights, Ill., is an accredited Christian liberal arts college offering more than 70 programs through bachelor's, master's, and adult degree completion courses of study. Founded in 1959, the College is a community of Christian scholarship committed to shaping lives and transforming culture. U.S. News and World Report recently ranked Trinity among the Top Regional Colleges—Midwest and named a Top Value in the Midwest.

To learn more, visit trnty.edu.

CHICAGO – November 15, 2024 – Can lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic help treat cancer? A new study led by researchers at the Northwestern Medicine Canning Thoracic Institute and published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation has revealed a connection between COVID-19 infection and cancer regression. The team’s discovery could pave the way for novel cancer treatments.

In an unexpected twist, researchers observed that the RNA from the SARS-CoV-2 virus – responsible for COVID-19 – triggered the development of a unique type of immune cell with anti-cancer properties. These cells, dubbed “inducible nonclassical monocytes (I-NCMs),” were found to attack cancer cells and could potentially be harnessed to treat cancers that are resistant to current therapies. These findings possibly explain the mechanism behind the reported regression of certain cancers following COVID-19 infection.

“This discovery opens up a new avenue for cancer treatment,” said Ankit Bharat, MD, chief of thoracic surgery and director of the Canning Thoracic Institute. “We found that the same cells activated by severe COVID-19 could be induced with a drug to fight cancer, and we specifically saw a response with melanoma, lung, breast and colon cancer in the study. While this is still in the early stages and the effectiveness was only studied in preclinical animal models, it offers hope that we might be able to use this approach to benefit patients with advanced cancers that have not responded to other treatments.”

The study, conducted using both human tissues and animal models, found that these unique immune cells could be pharmacologically stimulated using small molecules, potentially creating a new therapeutic option for cancer patients. This discovery could have significant implications, particularly for patients with aggressive or advanced cancers who have exhausted traditional treatment options such as immunotherapies.

How the Body’s Response to COVID-19 Could Help Fight Cancer
The researchers discovered that during COVID-19, a special subset of immune cells can be stimulated in the body. This process begins when the RNA from the virus activates certain signals in the immune system. These signals cause the transformation of common monocytes – an ordinary type of white blood cell – into I-NCMs. These newly formed cells have the ability to move into both the blood vessels and the surrounding tissue where tumors grow, something most other immune cells can’t do.

“What makes these cells so special is their dual capability,” said Dr. Bharat, who is also professor of surgery at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. “Typically, immune cells called non-classical monocytes patrol blood vessels, looking for threats. But they can't enter the tumor site itself due to the lack of specific receptors. In contrast, the I-NCMs created during severe COVID-19 retain a unique receptor called CCR2, allowing them to travel beyond blood vessels and infiltrate the tumor environment. Once there, they release certain chemicals to recruit body’s natural killer cells. These killer cells then swarm the tumor and start attacking the cancer cells directly, helping to shrink the tumor.”

What’s Next?
While this research is promising, Dr. Bharat cautions that more work is needed before this approach can be used in clinical settings.

“We are in the early stages, but the potential to transform cancer treatment is there. Our next steps will involve clinical trials to see if we can safely and effectively use these findings to help cancer patients,” added Dr. Bharat.

The team hopes that, with further research, they can develop therapies that specifically target these cells to treat cancers that are currently difficult to manage. This could lead to new treatment options for patients who have exhausted all other possibilities.

The research could potentially play an important role with the Canning Thoracic Institute’s Double Lung Replacement and Multidisciplinary Care (DREAM) Program, a first-of-its-kind clinical initiative at Northwestern Medicine that provides double-lung transplants to select patients with advanced lung cancers who are not responding to conventional treatments. To date, more than 40 patients have received double-lung transplants through the DREAM Program.

“While the program has been highly successful, we do anticipate that some patients might have recurrence. Since we’re using monocytes with our research, we could potentially treat DREAM patients without risking rejection of their new lungs,” said Dr. Bharat.

The research was funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Canning Thoracic Institute, and conducted by a team of scientists from Feinberg School of Medicine and clinicians at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. For more information about Northwestern Medicine, visit nm.org. 

CHICAGO – November 12, 2024 – At six years old, Luke Bucciarelli already knows he wants to be a surgeon when he grows up. But not just any surgeon – a thoracic surgeon; someone who operates on organs in the chest, including the lungs, esophagus, trachea and heart.

“I want to be a thoracic surgeon because we need lungs to breathe, and when the lungs get sick, I want to help make people feel better,” said Luke.

The kindergartner from Brentwood, Tenn., loves watching surgical videos on YouTube and when he stumbled across an “Inside the OR” video of Sam Kim, MD, a thoracic surgeon at Northwestern Medicine Canning Thoracic Institute, performing robotic lung cancer surgery, Luke couldn’t stop watching. In fact, Luke started performing “surgery” on a banana with surgical tools he borrowed from a retired surgeon and family friend, and was able to attend an educational event where he could test out a surgical robot. (Photos of the banana and surgical robot linked here.)

“The da Vinci? surgical robot that Dr. Kim uses for his cancer cases has different joystick levers, so it’s like watching a video game, which is very cool,” Luke said. 

“We created that ‘Inside the OR’ video several years ago for our patients who have lung cancer, because many patients get scared and don’t know what’s going to happen inside the operating room,” explained Dr. Kim. “With the video, we’re able to demystify the process and make patients feel more comfortable before surgery.”

Dr. Kim Surprises His Biggest (Little) Fan

Wanting to thank Dr. Kim for inspiring her son to become a thoracic surgeon, Luke’s mom, Katherine Bucciarelli, called Northwestern Medicine and left a message – anticipating maybe an email response. To her shock, not only did Dr. Kim want to talk to Luke, but he had a very special surprise for him.

“Dr. Kim called Luke via FaceTime and took him virtually inside his operating room, letting Luke see the surgical robot up close and personal. Dr. Kim also told us that if we’re ever in Chicago, we need to stop by Northwestern Memorial Hospital and he would give us a personal tour,” said Katherine. “Dr. Kim went above and beyond. Luke still hasn’t stopped talking about it!”

“It was so neat to see Dr. Kim’s operating room, and now I know how to wash my hands for surgery – you have to scrub past the elbows!” said Luke.

“I don’t have a lot of fans who are six years old, but when I heard that a kindergartner from Tennessee was watching our robotic lung cancer surgery video and it inspired him to one day become a thoracic surgeon, I knew I wanted to do something special for him,” said Dr. Kim. “Many kids want to grow up to be rockstars or athletes, but working in health care is a very fulfilling, rewarding job that does good for a lot of people. I hope videos like this inspire even more kids out there and demonstrates that if you apply yourself and are dedicated to your work, someday you can join me inside the operating room.”

Thoracic Surgeons in Demand

As the population grows and ages, demand for cardiothoracic surgeons is expected to increase. By 2035, the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) projects 900 cardiothoracic surgeons will retire while demand for surgeries will increase by 20 percent, resulting in a 31 percent shortfall of surgeons within the specialty, which is the largest projected shortfall of any physician specialty.

“The demand for cardiothoracic surgeons is why it’s so important to inspire and invest in the next generation – like Luke,” added Dr. Kim. “While we’ve made strides in treating lung cancer, the disease is still the most commonly diagnosed cancer, and we need more surgeons who are willing and wanting to help these patients.”

Lung Cancer Awareness Month

November marks Lung Cancer Awareness Month. Lung cancer is the third most common cancer in the United States, and cancers of the lung are the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the U.S. in both men and women with more people dying of lung cancer than colon, breast and prostate cancers combined.

While smoking is a major risk factor for developing lung cancer, it can also affect those who have never smoked. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in the U.S., about 10 to 20 percent of lung cancers (20,000-40,000 cases) happen in people who have never smoked or smoked fewer than 100 cigarettes in their lifetime. Exposure to secondhand smoke, radon, air pollution, asbestos and having a family history of lung cancer are all contributing risk factors.

Symptoms of lung cancer can include:

-        Frequent cough

-        Shortness of breath

-        Chest pain

-        Coughing up blood

-        Wheezing

-        Feeling tired or not well all the time

Those at high risk for developing lung cancer should ask their primary care physician about scheduling a low-dose chest CT scan. For more information about lung cancer treatment options and scheduling a low-dose chest CT scan, visit nm.org.

CHICAGO – After serving 21 years in the U.S. Army, Louis Smith’s heart only functioned at 10 percent. The father of three from Country Club Hills, Ill., had been visiting the Advanced Heart Failure Clinic at the Jesse Brown Veterans Affairs Medical Center (JBVA) for about one year before his symptoms suddenly got worse. Just before Thanksgiving 2023, the then 65-year-old was told he needed a new heart.  

Louis was transferred to Northwestern Memorial Hospital where he waited just two weeks for his new heart. Before his transplant surgery on December 31, 2023, he wasn’t nervous, wasn’t scared, but did have one request for his surgeon.  

“Can you do me a favor? When you cut me, can you try to save the tattoo on my chest?” said Smith. “It’s a saying that me and my late father used to say. We would listen to ‘I did it my way’ by Frank Sinatra. That’s our saying. If you can please not destroy the tattoo, I’ll be just fine.” 

Benjamin Bryner, MD, a cardiac surgeon at Northwestern Medicine Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute, made sure both the incision and stiches would preserve every inch of Smith’s tattoo.  

“Mr. Smith had some tattoos that we were eager to save as best we could,” said Dr. Bryner. “There’s no way to do a transplant without leaving a scar behind, but we did our best to make sure the tattoos would at least line up and we were happy with the final results.”

Serving His Country and Needing a New Heart

Smith enlisted in the Army when he was just 17 years old, following in the footsteps of his father. His more than two decades of service took him through tours in Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Germany, and Korea, but feeling his heart begin to fail was something this soldier was not prepared for.  

“I used to wake up every morning around two o’clock,” said Smith. “It felt like somebody was either choking me or standing on my chest. And I couldn’t breathe. It was like somebody just turned off my air.” 

Smith suffered from cardiac amyloidosis, an underdiagnosed disease that causes heart failure. It occurs when protein builds up and is deposited in tissues where it isn’t supposed to be. This can lead to organ damage, notably in the heart. Cardiac amyloidosis impacts up to 25 percent of people over the age of 80, with African American patients at a higher risk.  

During his time in the Army, Smith was active and never had any issues with his health. He was 63 years old by the time he learned about the genetic condition he’s had since birth. Because his case was so advanced, not only did he need a heart transplant, but Sarah Chuzi, MD, a heart failure and heart transplantation specialist at Northwestern Medicine Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute and JBVA, recommended he be moved up on the list.  

“I went to visit him in the hospital and noticed he was short of breath just walking from his bed to the bathroom,” said Dr. Chuzi. “That was so out of character for him, so unlike him. I could tell that he really felt like things were changing rapidly. So, we recommended that he not only be listed for heart transplant but that he be listed at a very high status which gave him priority on the heart transplant list.”

Almost one year later, Smith is doing well and is back to his old routine. He enjoys spending time with his wife of 47 years, Jacquelyn, his three children, six grandchildren, and one great-grandchild. Smith is an avid biker, and often takes cross-country trips with friends on his motorcycle. He’s even taken one trip with his new heart.  

“I’m a soldier and a heart transplant survivor,” said Smith. “And I love my new heart.” 

More about the Advanced Heat Failure Clinic at the Jesse Brown Veterans Affairs Medical Center 

For more than 77 years, Northwestern Medicine has partnered with the Jesse Brown Veterans Affairs Medical Center (JBVA) in Chicago. Medical residents from the hospital system rotate through the VA clinic during their medical training, and it’s the longest-running academic affiliation in the VA system.  

In 2022, Sarah Chuzi, MD, a heart failure and heart transplantation specialist at Northwestern Medicine Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute, established an Advanced Heart Failure Clinic at JBVA. Dr. Chuzi rotated through JBVA during her medical training and since then, she’s dedicated her career to helping veterans.

“The JBVA is very unique,” said Dr. Chuzi. “We serve about 62,000 veterans and about 70 percent of those veterans identify as Black. That is a population that is very underserved for a number of reasons. They face a lot of health barriers but also a lot of structural barriers to health like systemic racism, a lot of trauma, and PTSD. The combination of all these factors really does adversely affect their health.”

The clinic offers evidence-based heart failure care that includes medical therapy, devices, and other diagnostic tests and procedures. Patients from the heart failure clinic are often referred to Northwestern Medicine for specialized surgeries and treatments. Dr. Chuzi and her team will soon participate in heart failure clinical trials out of JBVA, including ones looking at new medications to improve patient outcomes.

To learn more about heart failure treatment options, visit nm.org. 

Chicago – October 24, 2024 – Northwestern Medicine has announced a major new center focused on leveraging insights from artificial intelligence (AI) for rapid discovery in Alzheimer’s disease research.

 A $25 million gift from Wendy and Jim Abrams and the Eleven Eleven Foundation will endow the The Abrams Research Center on Neurogenomics at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, with a mission to drive scientific innovations and develop effective interventions for Alzheimer’s disease. The new center, led by David Gate, PhD, assistant professor of Neurology in the Ken and Ruth Davee Department of Neurology, will integrate AI and other leading-edge genomics technologies, computational approaches and strategic international collaborations.

 "We are thrilled to support the world-class research team at Northwestern Medicine. Through collaboration and technological innovation, we are optimistic that their efforts will bring us closer to finding a cure in the near future," said Wendy and Jim Abrams.

Through the establishment of the center, the Northwestern team will create a suite of new AI tools and analysis methods that allow neuroscientists to interrogate the genes and cell types affected by Alzheimer's disease. The success of these efforts will help fill the chasm between the current understanding of Alzheimer's disease at the level of genes and their functions, with the ultimate goal of developing novel clinical applications.

"This gift has the potential to be transformational in the way we care for and treat patients suffering from Alzheimer’s disease,” said Howard B. Chrisman, MD, president and chief executive officer, Northwestern Memorial HealthCare. “This act of kindness and generosity by Wendy and Jim Abrams and the Eleven Eleven Foundation will have a global reach on patients, caregivers and those impacted by this deadly disease.”

The center will build on established collaborations and work with international scientists to analyze the volumes of data that are currently incomprehensible, but through modern tools can identify key pieces of information that further the science and mystery behind Alzheimer’s disease. These human data sets, provided through clinical and research partnerships, will make the information more accessible to other scientists and foster collaboration within the field. By facilitating agreements with pharmaceutical and AI industry partners, the center aims to streamline research processes, accelerating the pace of discoveries becoming therapeutics.

 About Eleven Eleven Foundation

Eleven Eleven Foundation is dedicated to a healthier, more sustainable world.

About Northwestern Medicine

To learn more about Northwestern Medicine, please visit NM.org.

GENEVA, IL — October 21, 2024 —  Northwestern Medicine is teaming up with Lombard-based Valqari to test drone deliveries on the campus of Northwestern Medicine Delnor Hospital. The pilot-project is the first step in determining the feasibility of using drone technology for safe and efficient deliveries of specimens and medical supplies. Northwestern Medicine Delnor is among the first hospitals in the United States to trial drones for inter-site deliveries.

Lab testing capabilities vary across Northwestern Medicine’s campuses and often require blood samples to be sent to different lab locations. These deliveries affect turnaround time for results and can delay care.

“Traditionally, this type of delivery has been done through hired courier services or clinicians walking the specimens across the campus on a set schedule,” said Sylvester Dazzo, vice president of administration at Northwestern Medicine. “If proven feasible, drone delivery has the potential to create an on-demand option that doesn’t require staff to walk across campus, keeping our caregivers doing what they do best – providing world-class patient care.”   

The drones currently fly between Delnor Hospital’s south entrance and the cancer center across the street from two drone stations. It flies over the grass lawn and walkways and crosses the street and sidewalks when no people or cars are nearby. While the drone flies entirely on its own, a pilot is nearby to supervise the drone flight.

"We have a significant number of patients who require same-day blood product transfusions who have benefited from the service the drone is providing,” said Megha Shah, RN, oncology infusion charge nurse at the Delnor Cancer Center.  “It allows us to obtain our blood products outside our scheduled courier times - significantly reducing wait times for patients.”

Operations of the drone are overseen by Valqari, a recognized leader in drone deliveries headquartered just down the street from Delnor’s Geneva campus. Every morning before drone flights commence, Valqari’s team secures Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) approval to fly for the day. No patient information is visible to the flight team at any point during the delivery process. The drones are not equipped with cameras.

“When ready for transport, hospital staff makes an on-demand delivery request with Valqari’s app notifying the flight team of an inbound package,” explained Ryan Walsh, CEO and founder of Valqari. “The package is placed in a designated locker on the nearest Valqari DronePort and is then loaded onto an elevator that attaches the package to the drone. The drone ensures the airspace is clear before taking off then flies to the designated landing station to drop it off. An FAA-certified Part 107 pilot is within line of sight that can take over the controls at all times to ensure we are always meeting the current FAA requirements."

Without drones, most deliveries on the Delnor campus are made during four scheduled courier trips each day. For an on-demand delivery, staff walk the items out of the building and across the street something that occurs 40+ times per month.

"Prior to the drones, nursing staff walked back and forth between the cancer center and hospital sometimes several times per day,” said Kristen Goldsmith, RN, oncology infusion nurse at the Delnor Cancer Center. “Having the drones make deliveries helps because it keeps me at the chairside with my patients. In the cancer center, treatment decisions are based on bloodwork, so with this on-demand option, we are able to expedite care, and the quicker turnaround time takes some stress off our patients who are anxiously awaiting their results."

Current FAA guidelines require drones to operate within a line of sight, have 20 ft radius of open space around it, and to remain on the Delnor campus. Drones cannot operate within the city of Chicago or within five miles of an airport. However, drone regulations are expected to expand in 2025 opening the opportunity to further the use of drone deliveries to other sites in the Northwestern Medicine Health Network.

“If this project continues to validate drones as a safe and quick delivery option, we’ll explore where else in the health system drones may be beneficial,” said Dazzo. “We are particularly interested in how drones can potentially improve treatment times at our rural locations by providing a fast, efficient delivery option where one doesn’t currently exist.”

For Valqari, partnerships like the one with Northwestern Medicine present an opportunity to develop and refine solutions that drive innovation and efficiency in the field of drone deliveries.

"We are grateful to be able to work towards our company mission, which is to use our technology to improve people's lives,” said Walsh. “Getting the opportunity to do that alongside such an amazing company as Northwestern Medicine to be able to improve patient treatment times is a big step in our mission. Our collective efforts are instrumental in shaping the future of drone delivery, ensuring that this transformative technology evolves to meet the demands of a dynamic landscape.”

Northwestern Medicine is committed to rapidly finding, evaluating and activating internal and external innovative solutions for challenges affecting patients and care teams today and to optimize future care delivery. The Northwestern Medicine Mansueto Innovation Institute connects innovators and collaborators to an extensive network of leaders with expertise in medicine, innovation, data, business and more within Northwestern Medicine and across the healthcare industry. To learn more, visit the Mansueto Innovation Institute website.

CHICAGO – October 13, 2024 – A Northwestern Medicine patient is celebrating one year cancer-free by running his second Chicago Marathon.

At age 60, Batbayar Tserendorj from Round Lake Beach, Ill., had been on the transplant waitlist for months. In early 2023, a liver cancer diagnosis likely caused by chronic hepatitis B and D infections left the husband, father and avid runner with a lot to process. With his medical team’s support, Tserendorj decided to move ahead with training for his first marathon.

“Running can improve cardiovascular function, which may support the body’s ability to recover from surgery,” said Northwestern Medicine transplant surgeon Juan Carlos Caicedo, MD. “After Batbayar finished radiation to shrink his liver tumor, we were supportive of him training while he waited on a match for a new liver."

“This was my chance,” said Tserendorj. “I wasn't sure if I would ever be able to run again, so I took up training for a marathon as a way to persist through the challenges I was facing.”

On Oct. 8, 2023, Tserendorj crossed the finish line of the Chicago Marathon. Nineteen days later, on Oct. 27, he returned to downtown Chicago to receive his liver transplant from the Northwestern Medicine Organ Transplant Center at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. He calls that day his second birthday. He’s been cancer-free ever since.

“Batbayar’s entire medical team could see his drive to run the marathon, so we were happy to support his training and even happier to see him reach his goals," said Northwestern Medicine transplant hepatologist Amanda Cheung, MD. 

After his surgery, Tserendorj was determined to get back to running. With permission from his doctors, he ramped up his weekly mileage and finished the 2024 Chicago Marathon on Oct. 13.

“Like the marathon, my journey with cancer has been about ordinary people doing extraordinary things, and I see that in everyone from my donor to my incredible Northwestern Medicine medical team," said Tserendorj. "Liver transplantation is not a death sentence. It’s a second chance at life.”

Born in Mongolia, Tserendorj is from a part of the world with one of the highest rates of liver cancer, as chronic infection with hepatitis B, C, and D are key factors in developing the disease. These infections are highly prevalent in the country, and since they can be transmitted from mother to child during birth, many people are exposed to the viruses early in life, leading to long-term liver damage and increased cancer risk.

Each year, more than 800,000 people are diagnosed with liver cancer throughout the world and it is the second leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide.

CHICAGO – October 4, 2024 – Long COVID occurs in approximately a third of COVID-19 survivors, with the CDC estimating 1 in 13 adults in the United States have long COVID symptoms such as brain fog, shortness of breath and chest pain. In a new study published in Nature Immunology, pulmonologists at the Northwestern Medicine Comprehensive COVID-19 Center (CCC) noticed that many patients referred to the CCC for long COVID symptoms had persistently abnormal CT scans of their lungs. Some patients would recover, while others would remain with scar tissue. They called this respiratory post-acute sequelae of COVID-19 (PASC) with radiographic abnormalities (RPRA). In collaboration with Brigham and Women’s Hospital, The Ohio State University and Duke University, Northwestern Medicine researchers combined state-of-the-art gene expression technology and CT scan analysis to determine which cells and molecules were responsible for radiographic abnormalities in long COVID patients, which could help inform future treatment options.

“Our understanding of long COVID is still in its early stages and there are no FDA-approved or even widely agreed-upon treatments for long COVID,” said Marc Sala, MD, co-director of the Northwestern Medicine Comprehensive COVID-19 Center and a pulmonary and critical care specialist with the Northwestern Medicine Canning Thoracic Institute. “The underlying cells and molecules that contribute to radiographic abnormalities in long COVID patients are now better established, and equally important, it appears to be the same biological processes responsible for other types of lung injury that result in pulmonary fibrosis. This common denominator explanation may help not only in developing treatments for long COVID as it continues to evolve in the future, but also contributes to our understanding of pulmonary fibrosis due to other conditions.”

The team evaluated 35 patients who had long COVID at the CCC between November 2020 and May 2022. These patients had respiratory symptoms such as cough and shortness of breath, but also had abnormal lung tissue on their CT scans. Researchers focused on this group to better understand what was causing some cases of radiographic abnormalities to worsen or improve. 

AMONG THE PATIENTS TESTED

-        Median age was 62 (range from 32 to 83)

-        43% were female

-        66% were white, 17% were Black and 20% were Hispanic

-        All patients had respiratory symptoms on presentation with shortness of breath being the most common symptom (97%) followed by cough (69%)

-        Nine patients had never been hospitalized; and of the 26 who had been hospitalized, 17 were admitted to the intensive care unit

-        Two patients ultimately required lung transplantation after their COVID diagnosis

-        43% of patients required oxygen therapy, including the two patients who required lung transplantation

Researchers compared patients within this cohort whose lungs improved on subsequent imaging to patients who did not improve. In additional analyses, data were compared between RPRA and previous studies involving patients who required lung transplantation after COVID, healthy control specimens, and samples from patients who had idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.

KEY FINDINGS

1.     CT scans done an average of 145 days after COVID infection were analyzed and showed 39% pulmonary fibrosis and 22% inflammatory changes in the 35 patients tested.

2.     Samples from lung fluid on a subset of these patients an average of 5.3 months (but up to 1.5 years after COVID infection), showed high levels of pro-inflammatory molecules leading to ongoing immune cell migration into their lungs.

3.     There was a persistent migration of white blood cells (including neutrophils and monocytes) into the lungs of people with radiographic abnormalities that was correlated with the severity of CT scan changes. In particular, monocyte-derived alveolar macrophages (MoAM) have been found in both mice and humans to be involved in the progression to pulmonary fibrosis.

4.     The MoAMs did not appear to switch to a “repair mode.” Patients with radiographic abnormalities that improved, worsened or remained the same all had similar-appearing MoAMs. This was supported by comparing their molecular characteristics to samples from patients who had end-stage pulmonary fibrosis from COVID and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.

“What surprised us the most was the ongoing influx of pro-inflammatory and pro-fibrotic immune cells from blood into lungs even one year after the COVID infection. Historically, we assume infection-related lung inflammation resolves by this point. The highly overlapping biological processes involving radiographic abnormalities and other non-COVID conditions that lead to fibrosis is an important finding,” said Dr. Sala.

NEXT STEPS

According to researchers, understanding the underlying drivers for protracted lung inflammation in radiographic abnormalities is an important step in addressing long COVID, which can involve nearly any organ system. Steroids were given to many patients in this cohort, but it remains to be determined whether this strategy is helpful in some patients more than others. The study serves as a step forward in understanding pulmonary fibrosis in general to aid investigations in the discovery of better medical treatments.

“The more invisible manifestations of long COVID, such as brain fog, shortness of breath, rapid heart rate and fatigue, may well involve similar prolonged inflammation and this study is an important step forward in supporting this idea,” said Dr. Sala. “The study also supports a broader point that understanding COVID and its ongoing impacts can serve to inform our understanding of other chronic respiratory illnesses that lead to pulmonary fibrosis.”

To date, the CCC has treated more than 4,000 patients since May 2020 with neurology, pulmonology and cardiology being the most commonly sought specialties. For more information on the CCC, visit nm.org and to schedule an appointment, please call 312.926.9900.

CHICAGO – September 25, 2024 – In a pioneering medical breakthrough at Northwestern Medicine, surgeons have successfully performed a double-lung transplant on a patient with stage 4 colorectal cancer who had limited time to live. The procedure was achieved through the Double Lung Replacement and Multidisciplinary Care (DREAM) Program, a first-of-its-kind clinical initiative that was designed for select patients with advanced lung cancers that do not respond to contemporary treatments.

The patient, 42-year-old Amanda “Mandy” Wilk of Savage, Minn., had been battling stage 4 colorectal cancer since 2017, which had initially spread to her liver. After undergoing cancer treatments and receiving a liver transplant from her brother, the cancer returned – this time in her lungs. Facing few options for survival, Wilk sought out the DREAM program at Northwestern Medicine.

On June 3, Wilk received new lungs and was discharged from Northwestern Memorial Hospital one week later on June 10 – her 42^nd birthday. In a moment she had been waiting eight years for, Wilk rang the bell signaling she had completed cancer treatment. She currently has no signs of cancer in her body and doesn’t require any further cancer therapy.

“This is a first-of-its-kind surgery at Northwestern Medicine where a patient with stage 4 colorectal cancer has successfully received a double-lung transplant,” said Ankit Bharat, MD, chief of thoracic surgery and director of the Northwestern Medicine Canning Thoracic Institute. “Our surgical team meticulously removed Mandy’s cancer-ridden lungs without allowing any cancerous cells to spill into her bloodstream, and then we transplanted new lungs. Based on all the testing that’s available to us – CT scans, PET scans, and molecular analyses of circulating cancer DNA in Mandy’s blood – we don’t see any remaining signs of cancer in her body. While we’re optimistic about her future, it’s important to approach this with cautious optimism as further research is needed to understand the long-term outcomes.”

A Journey of Resilience and Innovation

Colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer diagnosed in both men and women in the United States, with increasing numbers of people being diagnosed under the age of 50. When it metastasizes, it typically spreads to the liver or lungs, leaving few options for possible survival. Cancers of the lungs or those that travel to the lungs result in the most cancer-related deaths in the U.S.

Originally from Lake Zurich, Ill., Wilk moved to Minnesota where she works with the kindergarten through fifth grade teaching staff of Bloomington as an elementary curriculum and instruction specialist. In her spare time, Wilk enjoys running, the arts and attending sporting events with her partner and brothers.

In 2017, at the age of 34, Wilk thought she had food poisoning, but persistent symptoms led to a diagnosis of stage 4 colorectal cancer that had already spread to the liver. Wilk was given approximately two years to live. Treatments included a partial colon resection, chemotherapy, liver ablations and radiation beads on the liver, before receiving a liver transplant from her younger brother, Adam, in 2020. But six months later, the cancer returned – this time to the lungs.

“I traveled to almost every major health system across the country, and they all told me there was nothing more they could do,” said Wilk. “I believe in forward-thinking and was not going to take ‘no’ for answer, so when I inquired about the DREAM program at Northwestern Medicine, I was ecstatic that they were ready and eager to help me live.”

Wilk’s partner, Chris Withers, is a television producer for the Chicago White Sox, so Chicago was already like a second home to the couple. During the offseason, they live in Minnesota, but for Mandy, much of the summer is spent between Minnesota and Chicago. In March 2024, Wilk traveled to Chicago for a lung transplant evaluation and was then listed the day after Memorial Day. On June 3, Wilk received new lungs and one week later, she was doing so well that she was discharged from Northwestern Memorial on June 10 – which happened to be her 42nd birthday.

“Throughout my eight-year journey of battling cancer, the one thing I’ve always wanted to do was ‘ring the bell,’ signaling my completion of cancer treatment,” said Wilk. “Many doctors told me I’d never be able to ring it, so when my lung transplant social worker made it happen on my birthday, there was no greater feeling. I was finally able to celebrate being cancer-free.”

A New Chapter for Patients Facing Terminal Diagnoses

Wilk was recently given the “green light” by her lung transplant pulmonologist to start running again. While she continues to recover in Chicago for the next several months, Wilk can be found walking and jogging along Chicago’s lakefront trail. Her new goal is to one day run a marathon.

“Mandy has flown through the recovery process. Typically, lung transplant patients require several days, if not weeks, in a rehabilitation center, but because Mandy was young and made exercise a priority before transplant, rehab wasn’t needed,” said Catherine Myers, MD, lung transplant pulmonologist with the Northwestern Medicine Canning Thoracic Institute. “When Mandy asked me about being able to run again, I told her to start slow and gradually build up speed. Her determination has no limits, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see Mandy cross another finish line in the near future. As a runner myself, if Mandy decides to run the Chicago Marathon someday, I would love to run alongside her.”

Giving Back and Inspiring Others

Beyond her medical journey, Wilk is passionate about art and uses the skill to help pay it forward. Four years ago, her brother Adam started Mandy’s Foundation which has raised more than $60,000 for the art therapy program at the Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital in Chicago. Since Mandy’s career has been dedicated to helping children, the goal is to provide positive experiences to children who are hospitalized during cancer treatment.  

“I have been given a new gift of life not once, but twice – first with my new liver, and now with my new lungs,” said Wilk. “When you’re diagnosed with cancer, often times you’re treated like a number and not a person, but my team at Northwestern Medicine, from the nurses, doctors, respiratory therapists and even the food service workers, all saw and treated me as Mandy. I hope my story inspires others to continue advocating for themselves.”

About the DREAM Program

The Northwestern Medicine Canning Thoracic Institute is currently the only clinical site in the nation offering this treatment for lung cancer patients without any options. Using lessons learned from pioneering COVID-19 lung transplantation in the United States, surgeons developed the novel surgical technique to clear the cancer during surgery while minimizing the risk of spread that has plagued prior such attempts at other hospitals.

“Unlike the conventional technique of sequential transplants, this innovative technique involves putting the patient on full heart and lung bypass, delicately taking both cancer-ridden lungs out at the same time along with the lymph nodes, washing the airways and the chest cavity to clear the cancer, and then transplanting new lungs,” said Dr. Bharat. “These patients can have billions of cancer cells in the lungs, so we must be extremely meticulous to not let a single cell spill into the patient’s chest cavity or blood stream. We believe this technique can help reduce the risk of recurrence.”

To date, surgeons have performed more than 40 successful lung transplants for cancer patients under the DREAM program. The outcomes of the program’s patients are being tracked in a research registry also called DREAM.

“While we are encouraged by success stories like Mandy's, it's important to recognize that this is a highly specialized procedure that may not be suitable for all patients with metastatic cancer,” added Dr. Bharat. “Careful evaluation and selection are key to ensuring the best possible outcomes.”

Patients interested in being evaluated for a lung transplant can contact the referral line at 844.639.5864. 

For more information about Northwestern Medicine’s lung transplant programs, as well as advanced therapies, visit nm.org. 

A new study by Northwestern Medicine in today’s issue of JAMA Oncology suggests that using an alternative approach, a percutaneous, transperineal prostate biopsy, is as effective at detecting cancer as the transrectal approach, but without the risk of infection or need for prophylactic antibiotics.

“While the potential advantages to the transperineal approach have been suggested, high-level Category 1 evidence was limited,” said primary investigator Edward Schaeffer, MD, PhD, The Harold Binstein Professor and Chief of Urology at Northwestern Medicine. “This study shows that transperineal prostate biopsy without antibiotic prophylaxis significantly is associated with a lower risk of infection compared to transrectal biopsy with targeted prophylaxis. Our data supports a transperineal approach to prostate biopsy as a new standard of care.”

The paper reports the results of the PReclude infection EVEnts with No prophylaxis Transperineal (PREVENT), a 10-center randomized controlled trial that compares the infectious complications of clinic-based transperineal biopsy without antibiotic prophylaxis versus transrectal biopsy with targeted prophylaxis. The primary outcome of the study was infection, but researchers also considered outcomes including cancer detection, urinary retention and bleeding.

In the trial, 875 participants with suspicion for prostate cancer were randomized with 382 undergoing transperineal prostate biopsy without antibiotics and 370 participants undergoing transrectal biopsy with antiobiotics. Zero infections were reported in the transperineal arm compared to six, or 1.6%, transrectal biopsy infections. There was no compromise in the detection of high grade cancer with the Transperineal approach (55% vs. 52% of TP and TR biopsies)  and rates of other complications were very low and similar.

“Antibiotics are a limited, but essential resource. The more widely antibiotics are used, the less likely they will be effective in the future. With this in mind, we have a responsibility to find alternative approaches to patient care that limit risk of infection while decreasing reliance on antibiotics.” said Dr. Schaeffer, who is also a member of the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center at Northwestern University. “By transitioning to the transperineal approach as the primary technique to prostate biopsy, we can effectively and safely detect cancer while eliminating the need for antibiotics and improving antibiotic stewardship.”

Northwestern Medicine is consistently recognized as a national leader in urology at the forefront of research and medical advancements in prostate cancer. The Northwestern Medicine Polsky Urologic Cancer Institute of the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center at Northwestern University's prostate cancer program offers personalized, integrative and innovative care for the diagnosis, treatment and management of prostate cancer. The Prostate cancer program at NM offers a multidisciplinary access point for prostate cancer treatments, such as surgery, chemotherapy and radiation, as well as resources, including genetic counseling. Bolstering promising, active research while strengthening advanced tracking and diagnostic techniques, the program offers precision diagnosis and treatment, groundbreaking innovation in treatment and prevention and sustained wellness beyond diagnosis and treatment through survivorship and follow-up care services.

For more information on prostate cancer care at Northwestern Medicine, visit nm.org/urology or call 833-7-POLSKY (833-776-5759) to make an appointment. To learn more about Northwestern Medicine, visit news.nm.org.

CHICAGO – Sept. 18, 2024 - While cochlear implants have been around since the mid-1980s to improve hearing, a vast majority of the eligible population does not have one. A recent research letter published in JAMA Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, co-authored by Kevin Zhan, MD, director of Northwestern Medicine’s Cochlear Implant Program, found that less than five percent of potential candidates in the Chicagoland area have received a cochlear implant.

 Until recently, Sabur Ajao was one of them.

 Ajao’s hearing issues began after high school. He initially used hearing aids, but his hearing continued to decline as he moved to the United States for graduate school.  As a student at the Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management, he found that hearing aids were no longer sufficient for his needs.

 “What I didn’t realize about hearing aids is that they also amplify unnecessary sounds,” said Ajao. “This often led to headaches from prolonged conversations and background noise, causing me to avoid unnecessary interactions.”

 He was referred to Lindsay Kandl, AuD, audiologist at Northwestern Medicine. Kandl determined Ajao was a good candidate for cochlear implants, with only 20 percent hearing in his left ear and 22 percent in his right ear.

 “The cochlear implant is an electrode that is placed into the cochlea during an outpatient surgical procedure,” said Alan Micco, MD, Chief, Section of Otology and Neurotology at Northwestern Medicine. “The electrodes replace the hair cells, the tiny little cells in the cochlea that pickup vibrations so that we can hear. We are repairing the organ by putting this electrode in. The electrode then stimulates the nerve and patients can hear again."

 To install a cochlear implant, surgeons make an incision just behind the ear and open the mastoid bone to create a path to get underneath the eardrum and expose the cochlea to place the cochlear implant. The surgery takes about an hour. Patients return 10 days later to get their processor to start stimulating the implant. And about 10-12 days after surgery, patients are starting to learn how to hear again. 

 “We typically tell patients that it can take about six months before they hit a nice plateau to see where they’re at,” Dr. Micco said. “But Sabur was day one off the charts. The first day he got his processor on, he was asking when he could get the other ear done. Most patients nowadays with hearing loss will eventually get the second side if the hearing is poor on the other side because binaural hearing is just like your vision. If you close one eye, you lose depth perception. There is depth to hearing as well.” 

 For Ajao, the improvement was life changing. He recalls a friend noticing the change when he could immediately respond to a joke.

 “Understanding and responding to jokes instantly was a new experience for me,” Ajao said. “I told my friend, ‘The difference now is I can get your jokes immediately and respond right away.’”

 Ajao had his first cochlear implant surgery in his left ear four months before a summer internship at a major consulting firm in downtown Chicago. His hearing improved to 60-70 percent in his left ear. He later received a second implant in his right ear in August 2023. After graduating with his MBA in Winter 2024, he started working full-time at the firm where he had interned.

 "Anything I say would be an understatement,” Ajao said about the impact of cochlear implants. “I really cannot compare what it used to be to what I have now. It’s like comparing going somewhere on a horse to flying on a plane. It’s just different.”

 For more information or to make an appointment with a Northwestern Medicine otolaryngologist, call 312-695-8182 or visit nm.org.

GENEVA, IL — September 16, 2024 —  Northwestern Medicine has named Emily Jakacki as President of Northwestern Medicine Delnor Hospital, a 159-bed community hospital serving the Kane County area. Jakacki brings more than 16 years of healthcare experience, most recently serving as vice president of operations at Advocate Aurora Health.

“With her wealth of operational and strategic leadership experience, Emily is well-suited to lead Delnor Hospital in its continued pursuit to deliver top-decile care and an exceptional patient experience,” said Howard Chrisman, MD, president and chief executive officer, Northwestern Memorial HealthCare. “Under Emily’s leadership, Delnor will build upon its long legacy of providing world-class care at the highest levels of safety, quality and patient engagement to the communities we serve.”

Prior to joining Northwestern Medicine, Jakacki held a regional leadership role at Advocate, overseeing ambulatory and service lines across three hospitals, managing more than 900 physicians and clinicians and leading key areas such as cancer, neurosciences, and cardiology. She also held leadership positions at Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center, where she led service lines in cancer, neurosciences, orthopedics, cardiology, and more.

“I am excited to join Northwestern Medicine and honored to lead a hospital with such a strong connection to the community,” said Jakacki. “Delnor’s dedication to providing exceptional healthcare is inspiring and I look forward to building on this foundation. Together, we will continue to deliver high-quality, compassionate care, innovate and grow Delnor’s reputation as a destination for clinical excellence in Kane County.”

Originally from the Detroit area, Jakacki earned both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Pennsylvania. She played lacrosse all four years at Penn, a sport near and dear to her heart which she continues to coach today.  She and her husband, Tom, have lived in Chicago for more than 20 years and have three daughters. In her spare time, Jakacki enjoys traveling, and spending time outdoors with her family.

Northwestern Medicine Delnor Hospital provides comprehensive services in cancer care, cardiology, orthopaedics, neurosciences, metabolic health, women’s health and primary care. Delnor is a leader in clinical excellence, boasting a 5-Star Rating from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), a Fifth Magnet? Recognition for nursing excellence, and Blue Distinction? Center + honors for Maternity Care and Bariatric Surgery.

According to a federal report, the number of adults struggling with mental illness went from about 17% in 2008 to more than 20% in 2019. That jump represents an increase of about 11 million Americans. Today, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports more than 1 in 5 adults live with a mental health illness.

Funding from the Women’s Board has directly addressed this issue by allowing Northwestern Medicine Lake Forest Hospital to expand its psychotherapy and psychiatry teams. This includes the addition of roles such as a licensed clinical social worker, case manager, and a psychiatry registered nurse to provide a comprehensive program. 

With the extra staff, the hospital can treat about 800 more behavioral health patients each year.

“The need for mental health care has increased since COVID-19,” said Juliet Spelman, MD, psychiatry at Lake Forest Hospital. “There are resources in and near downtown Chicago, but there aren’t as many psychiatrists in Lake County. So, we’re able to reach patients in Lake County and northern Cook County who need help, and our team is growing. The more providers we have, the more patients we can serve.”

Dr. Spelman says the expansion of case management has been crucial in providing care that extends beyond hospital walls.

“Our case manager can get people referrals for housing, financial, or legal help,” said Dr. Spelman. “Just touching base with patients to make sure they’re not lacking any social support. We were able to hire her because of the generosity of the Women’s Board.”

Over the past two years, Lake Forest Hospital has also launched a neuropsychiatry team and expanded access to mental health screening and resources in both primary and specialty outpatient settings. Investments in behavioral health care, like those from the Women’s Board, will continue to connect patients with the behavioral health care they need and help fight the stigma of mental health.

“With the continual increase of behavioral health needs across the area, the Women’s Board responded to raise funds to help grow the program at Lake Forest Hospital,” explained Ellen Verlen, Chairperson. “Support from the additional staff members has allowed for more patients to receive care and treatment.”

To learn more about Northwestern Medicine, visit nm.org.

“The award is basically indicative of the care that you're providing to people,” said Christoper Berry, MD, an interventional cardiologist at the Blum Cardiovascular Institute at Kishwaukee Hospital. “By achieving a certain level of quality in this program, this will, in turn, lead to improved outcomes in our patients.”

The Get With The Guidelines? - Heart Failure quality achievement award is earned by hospitals that demonstrate a commitment to treating patients using the latest guidelines from the AHA. This is done by consistently entering baseline and patient data into an AHA Registry Tool and following the recommended treatment plans.

“Managing this patient population is very labor intensive,” said Dr. Berry.  “It really does take a village.  In addition to making sure they are on the appropriate medical therapy and offered the appropriate medical devices, a lot of attention is given to diet, activity, and symptom management.  Follow-up visits and phone calls are frequent. So, a lot goes into receiving an award like this.”

In addition to Gold Plus status, Northwestern Medicine Kishwaukee Hospital was recognized on the American Heart Association’s Honor Roll for Heart Failure and Type 2 Diabetes treatments.

• 2024 award - Gold Plus, Target: HF Honor Roll, and Target: Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll Award
• 2023 award - Gold Plus, Target: HF Honor Roll, and Target: Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll Award
• 2022 award - Gold Plus, Target: HF Honor Roll, and Target: Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll Award
• 2021 award - Gold Plus, Target: HF Honor Roll, and Target: Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll Award

Marsha Royalty, 68, of DeKalb has been a patient at Northwestern Medicine for over two decades. She started seeing Dr. Berry for heart failure in 2016.

“He’s always been very attentive and willing to listen to me as a patient. I’ve had an absolutely wonderful experience with him,” said Royalty. “I have not had one single nurse or doctor that I wasn’t fond of there. I’ve loved them all.”

For more information about The Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute at Northwestern Medicine, as well as advanced therapies, visit nm.org.