Good news

Hospital earns recognition

AdventHealth Hinsdale and AdventHealth La Grange have received the American Heart Association’s Silver Plus Get With The Guidelines — Stroke quality achievement award for their commitment to ensuring stroke patients receive the most appropriate treatment according to nationally recognized, research-based guidelines, ultimately leading to more lives saved and reduced disabilities.

With this recognition, the hospitals also received the Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll award, for ensuring patients with Type 2 diabetes, who might be at higher risk for complications, receive the most up-to-date, evidence-based care when hospitalized due to stroke.

Stroke is the No. 5 cause of death and a leading cause of disability in the U.S. A stroke occurs when a blood vessel that carries oxygen and nutrients to the brain is either blocked by a clot or bursts. When that happens, part of the brain can’t get the blood and oxygen it needs, so brain cells die. Early stroke detection and treatment are key to improving survival, minimizing disability and accelerating recovery times.

Get With The Guidelines puts the expertise of the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association to work for hospitals nationwide, helping ensure patient care is aligned with the latest research- and evidence-based guidelines. Get With The Guidelines — Stroke is an in-hospital program for improving stroke care by promoting consistent adherence to these guidelines, which can minimize the long-term effects of a stroke and prevent death.

“AdventHealth is committed to improving patient care by adhering to the latest treatment guidelines,” said Caitlin Huseth, AdventHealth stroke program manager. “Get With The Guidelines makes it easier for our teams to put proven knowledge and guidelines to work on a daily basis, which studies show can help patients recover better. The end goal is to ensure more people in our community can experience longer, healthier lives. This recognition demonstrates our commitment to providing the highest quality of stroke care to our patients.”

MONROE PARTNERS WITH ROTARY CLUB

Monroe School and its Monarch Butterfly Way Station were the backdrop for the signing of a new Pollinator Resolution between Rotary International and Community Consolidated Elementary District 181. The school was already honored as a 2018 Green Ribbon School by the U.S. Department of Education for its environmental curriculum and Outdoor Living classroom.

The signing of the resolution was designed to promote environmental efforts and Rotary International’s Operation Pollination. On hand was U.S. National Parks Ranger Chris Stein, who heads up the national Rotary International Operation Pollination as well as District 181 Superintendent Hector Garcia and representatives from Rotary International Districts 6450 and 6440, the Illinois & Michigan Canal National Heritage Area, the Calumet National Heritage Area and the Bronzeville-Black Metropolis Heritage Area.

BPA TEAM does well at nationals

Hinsdale Central had a strong showing at the national competition organized by the Business Professionals of America, earing nine top 15 finishes in their individual events, including two national championships. Below is a summary of their accomplishments.

• Athena Koulouris, first place/national champion, basic office systems and procedures

• Chris Cavero, Jack Erickson, Sam Chung and Ani Girish, second place, financial analyst team

• Annette Ciupek, sixth place in advanced interview skills

• Cassidy Smith and Samantha Leddy, sixth place, broadcast news production

• Shaahan Shafi, eighth place, ICD-10-CM medical diagnostic coding, 11th place, health insurance and medical billing

• Aira Chaudhary, 10th place, presentation management individual

• Arnima Agrawal and Rama Bhagwat, 11th place, podcast production team

• Zhitong Zhu, 16th place, business law and ethics

Janelle Hoeksema and Ken Shum are the team’s faculty sponsors.

Partner retires from heritage

Heritage Professional Associates LTD has announced the retirement of one of its founding partners, Dr. Keith Baird, on June 1.

Baird served the Hinsdale community for more than three decades in his role as clinical psychologist and business leader. He graduated with a PhD from Loyola University in 1985. In 1990, Dr. Baird, alongside two other psychologists, had a vision of creating a large multidisciplinary group mental health practice to relieve clinicians of the increasing demands of tasks taking them away from what they loved to do.

“Most clinicians are really good at working with people. Not all are very good at business,” he said. “We stepped into the gap, and it worked successfully. We started out with a total of five employees including support staff. Today we are more than 10 times that size across multiple locations in the Chicagoland area.”

Baird has made a significant contribution to the field. In addition to his practice of psychotherapy and psychological testing, he also published in the area of ethics and served 12 years on the ethics committee of the Illinois Psychological Association. He taught advanced ethics and professional issues in the doctoral program at Wheaton College for 12 years and has supervised clinical training of doctoral students throughout his career. He has given numerous lectures locally and nationally and has advocated in Washington, DC, for the profession of psychology and the interests of those living with mental health conditions.

Baird said he will miss working with his clients.

“I’ve seen some terrible suffering that I will long remember. And I have also seen some incredible resilience and heroics as people have overcome adversity, mental health problems, strained relationships and setbacks, losses, and unimaginable grief,” he said. “It has truly been an honor and a deep privilege to be with people through these powerful moments.”