MAYWOOD, Il. -- Loyola University Health System will provide advanced oncology services to Kishwaukee Community Hospital in DeKalb under a new clinical affiliation agreement.
Loyola President and CEO Paul K. Whelton, MB, MD, MSc., said Loyola's academic research and care will complement the high-quality care at Kishwaukee. The affiliation will further Loyola's mission of broadening access to its world-
class services and leading-edge research. "Now, patients from the DeKalb area can enjoy the comforts of their home hospital as they benefit from the evidence-based care brought by specialists from Loyola," Whelton said.
Kishwaukee patients will see benefits of the Loyola affiliation within the next two months. "The goal of the relationship is to enhance our oncology program by bringing additional oncology services to the community to reduce the need for patients to travel to other facilities or universities," said Joseph Dant, KishHealth System vice president of business development.
The Loyola Center for Cancer Care & Research at Kishwaukee Community Hospital will be located in the existing Kishwaukee Cancer Care Center on Health Services Drive until the new facility is open. Cancer patients will have access to clinical trials conducted by Loyola faculty through a Clinical Trials Office at Kishwaukee Hospital, and Loyola subspecialists will consult on cancer patients.
Kishwaukee Hospital and Loyola are investigating the feasibility of a telepresence collaboration, in which Loyola specialists would consult with Kishwaukee physicians over the Internet. Using a robot equipped with a full-color, high definition camera and microphone, a Loyola specialist would be able to talk to the patient and the patient's family, doctors and nurses. Lab results and images such as CT scans would be transmitted over a secure Internet connection. Telepresence provides access to academic medical care with reduced wait times and travel.
"Bringing subspecialists to Kishwaukee Community Hospital will facilitate more timely consultations and keep patients in the community for treatment," said Debra Bemis, director of oncology services for KishHealth System. (Subspecialists are oncologists and surgeons with specialized training in such areas as leukemia treatment or thoracic surgery for lung cancer.)
Kishwaukee's oncologists, Dr. Sabet Siddiqui, medical director of medical oncology and hematology services; Dr. M. Ishaqe Memon, medical oncologist and hematologist; and Dr. Bharate Bhati, medical director of radiation therapy services, are looking forward to the affiliation.
"The relationship with Loyola will provide access for our patients to specialties that are not currently available here which will allow us to implement a greater multi-disciplinary approach to their cancer treatment," Dr. Bhate said
On March 2, the Illinois Health Facilities and Services Review Board unanimously approved a certificate of need for Kishwaukee hospital's new $15.8 million cancer center. Construction of the facility between Health Services Drive and Sycamore Road on the hospital campus is underway. The 26,500 square-foot building, which will bring outpatient cancer services under one roof, is expected to open by the end of the year.
Services will include medical oncology, radiation therapy, infusion therapy, hematology, PET and CT diagnostic imaging, a laboratory, a resource center, complementary medicine such as massage therapy and image-renewal services such as wigs and prostheses.
Loyola University Health System (LUHS) is a member of Trinity Health. Based in the western suburbs of Chicago, LUHS is a quaternary care system with a 61-acre main medical center campus, the 36-acre Gottlieb Memorial Hospital campus and more than 30 primary and specialty care facilities in Cook, Will and DuPage counties. The medical center campus is conveniently located in Maywood, 13 miles west of the Chicago Loop and 8 miles east of Oak Brook, Ill. The heart of the medical center campus, Loyola University Hospital, is a 569-licensed-bed facility. It houses a Level 1 Trauma Center, a Burn Center and the Ronald McDonald® Children’s Hospital of Loyola University Medical Center. Also on campus are the Cardinal Bernardin Cancer Center, Loyola Outpatient Center, Center for Heart & Vascular Medicine and Loyola Oral Health Center as well as the LUC Stritch School of Medicine, the LUC Marcella Niehoff School of Nursing and the Loyola Center for Fitness. Loyola's Gottlieb campus in Melrose Park includes the 264-licensed-bed community hospital, the Professional Office Building housing 150 private practice clinics, the Adult Day Care, the Gottlieb Center for Fitness, Loyola Center for Metabolic Surgery and Bariatric Care and the Loyola Cancer Care & Research at the Marjorie G. Weinberg Cancer Center at Melrose Park.