SPRINGFIELD, IL – As a result of reduced state and federal funding, jails and prisons have become de facto mental health facilities at both local and national levels. Staff members at these institutions are sometimes unable to manage this population’s specific needs. With help from SIU School of Medicine staff, Sangamon County Court Services received two grants to develop services provided to persons with mental illness (MI) or co-occurring substance abuse (CMISA) who are arrested and jailed for minor offenses. The purpose of the $750,000 Justice and Mental Health Collaboration Program

The Sangamon County Jail’s inmate population has exceeded its 285-beds capacity every year since 2002. For the past 16 years, the jail’s population has averaged 336, due in part to a significant increase in the proportion of court-involved individuals with mental illness (MI) or co-occurring substance abuse (CMISA). Sangamon County’s legal system does its best to handle the growing numbers of the mentally ill population. According to the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts (AOIC), 22% of all mental health cases filed in Illinois counties outside of Cook County/Chicago in 2015 and 17%

8.27.19. News Channel 20 . Rebecca Howard, Center for Family Medicine – Springfield. SIU Medicine offers mobile health care to District 186 students. 9.3.19. WAND . Dr. Stephen Hazelrigg, Surgery. Specialty lung surgery at MMC recertified. 9.10.10. WSIU . SIU Medicine, mental health partners create suicide awareness at first suicide prevention conference. 9.12.19. The Southern . SIU offers free medical care to vets at first-ever Veterans Summit. 9.18.19. WCIA . Dr. Marc Garfinkel, Surgery. Memorial, SIU transplant 1,000 th kidney.

Paul Kuehnert, DNP, RN, FAAN is President and CEO of Public Health Accreditation Board (PHAB), where he oversees all aspects of PHAB’s mission and work, including accreditation-related strategies, partnerships, long-range planning, PHAB’s Board of Directors, committees/think tanks, and student opportunities. Immediately prior to joining PHAB in January 2020, Dr. Kuehnert served for seven years at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) in Princeton, NJ, most recently in the role of Associate Vice President for Program. Prior to joining RWJF in 2012, he spent five years as the County Health

SPRINGFIELD, IL - Nausea, hair loss, fatigue, appetite loss, pain. This list of common cancer treatment side effects doesn’t include “financial toxicity,” but maybe it should, according to organizations like American Cancer Society, AARP and The American Journal of Medicine. Financial toxicity, or the cost of cancer treatment, is often a major burden to cancer survivors. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, cancer care in the U.S. cost $157 billion in 2010. By 2020, the figure is estimated to reach more than $174 billion. Simmons Cancer Institute at Southern Illinois

SPRINGFIELD, IL - Family physicians in nine Illinois communities are hosting students from Southern Illinois University School of Medicine through September 27. The students are participating in the school’s Family Medicine Preceptorship Program. The experience provides an opportunity for students to use their medical knowledge in an office setting under the supervision of an experienced physician. The students choose from more than 160 family practice physicians in Illinois for their preceptorship experience. They will graduate from medical school in May 2021, then pursue advanced training in

SPRINGFIELD, IL - Family physicians in nine Illinois communities are hosting students from Southern Illinois University School of Medicine through September 27. The students are participating in the school’s Family Medicine Preceptorship Program. The experience provides an opportunity for students to use their medical knowledge in an office setting under the supervision of an experienced physician. The students choose from more than 160 family practice physicians in Illinois for their preceptorship experience. They will graduate from medical school in May 2021, then pursue advanced training in

SPRINGFIELD, IL - Family physicians in nine Illinois communities are hosting students from Southern Illinois University School of Medicine through September 27. The students are participating in the school’s Family Medicine Preceptorship Program. The experience provides an opportunity for students to use their medical knowledge in an office setting under the supervision of an experienced physician. The students choose from more than 160 family practice physicians in Illinois for their preceptorship experience. They will graduate from medical school in May 2021, then pursue advanced training in

CARBONDALE, ILLINOIS – Seventy-six medical students from the Class of 2023 have begun their academic medical training at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine in Carbondale. The students participated in a White Coat Ceremony on Friday, August 16, in Shryock Auditorium. (Editor’s note: See list below for a list of students from your hometown.) SIU Medicine Dean and Provost Jerry Kruse, MD, MSPH, and Associate Dean for Student Affairs & Admissions Erik Constance, MD, welcomed the students. Wendi El-Amin, MD, associate dean for equity, diversity and inclusion, and Elizabeth Cavanagh, MD

The latest edition of Best Doctors includes listings for 18 SIU physicians. Founded in 1989 by Harvard Medical School, Best Doctors are selected by impartial peer review in more than 450 medical specialty/subspecialty combinations, with review of their diagnosis and treatment plans. Congratulations to Dr. Buescher, Dr. Stone, and Dr. Flack! Lucinda Buescher, dermatology Stephen Stone, dermatology John Flack, internal medicine Jeffrey Cozzens, neuroscience Tom Ala, neuroscience Rodger Elble, neuroscience James Gilchrist, neuroscience Ricardo Loret de Mola, OB-GYN Casey Younkin, OB-GYN Ranjiv