January 5, 2015 Meeting
Normally our Sergeant-At-Arms has to struggle to find interesting tidbits on our members to highlight, but this week was different. Past President Brian Wegryzn gladly paid his fine this week when a Prospect Heights Journal article highlighting his work mentoring high school students interested in finance was mentioned. And if the copies Brian brought to the meeting himself to pass around, and the framed photo from the article in his office are any indication, he may have been a little too glad. Well deserved, nonetheless. Brian is doing great work helping these students get an early understanding of his business and the students definitely benefit from Brian’s expertise and experience.
Our speakers today were Kathi Grummel and Terry Younglove from the Northwest Community Hospital Foundation. The hospital is a 501c3 non-profit organization which is relatively rare for a hospital these days. It’s also independently operated, which is even more rare. The hospital’s status gives them the freedom to establish new services that might not initially be profitable. The Atherton Heart Failure Clinic is a good example (if not the best name). It is designed to serve as a stopgap option for heart patients who are discharged from the hospital, but have to wait a few weeks for their first appointment with their doctor. The center gives them somewhere to go, other than the emergency room, to address concerns and track progress.
Keeping people out of the emergency room is a primary goal for the hospital. ER visits are very expensive and can often be prevented if care is made available sooner. For that reason, they’ve started a mobile dental clinic that travels to low income neighborhoods to provide free/low cost dental check-ups and cleanings. They also have a cadre of nurses and volunteers working with seniors, helping them to be and stay healthy through free screenings, and other services.
The hospital is community funded with a large portion of that funding coming from the Foundation. One of the Foundation’s focuses is buying equipment that is needed, but not critically so. Kathi talked about their new 4D CT Scanner which does …. cool medical things that I didn’t really understand. Needless to say, though, it saves lives every time it is used. Kathi said the hospital would have bought one eventually – likely 4-5 years down the road. Now that the Foundation has purchased it ‘early,’ it’s good works has started all the sooner.
Even with 4,000 employees, the hospital wants to do more than its resources would otherwise allow. For that reason, they actively seek to develop partnerships that allow them to do more, better. They’ve embedded with Harper’s Career Center to help students earn their desired medical certificates. They’re also partnering with Linden Oaks Behavioral Center in Naperville to provide better mental health care.
We’re very fortunate have the Hospital serving our community. It was gratifying to hear about all the good works the Foundation enables them to do.