With many Illinois communities struggling to find doctors, nurses and behavioral health providers, leaders in medicine, law and public policy will convene on October 15 in Springfield for the 2025 Illinois Rural and Small-Town Health Summit.

Dr. Kalyan Kandra was honored with two international awards at the Association for Academic Psychiatry Annual Meeting in Milwaukee on September 10-14.

Dr. Kalyan Kandra was honored with two international awards at the Association for Academic Psychiatry Annual Meeting in Milwaukee on September 10-14.

Dr. Kalyan Kandra was honored with two international awards at the Association for Academic Psychiatry Annual Meeting in Milwaukee on September 10-14.

A young girl sits in a chair in the corner of a hospital room. She watches as a nurse quietly adjusts her grandfather’s oxygen tube and smooths the blanket at his side. A physician kneels to explain the next steps to her worried parents, his voice calm and measured. A nurse offers a reassuring hand and a few words of comfort that seem to ease the moment. From her seat, Meredith Flamm sees how small gestures of compassion can bring strength and calm into a room heavy with uncertainty. This was her realization: she wanted to help others like the healthcare providers who helped her grandfather.

A young girl sits in a chair in the corner of a hospital room. She watches as a nurse quietly adjusts her grandfather’s oxygen tube and smooths the blanket at his side. A physician kneels to explain the next steps to her worried parents, his voice calm and measured. A nurse offers a reassuring hand and a few words of comfort that seem to ease the moment. From her seat, Meredith Flamm sees how small gestures of compassion can bring strength and calm into a room heavy with uncertainty. This was her realization: she wanted to help others like the healthcare providers who helped her grandfather.

A young girl sits in a chair in the corner of a hospital room. She watches as a nurse quietly adjusts her grandfather’s oxygen tube and smooths the blanket at his side. A physician kneels to explain the next steps to her worried parents, his voice calm and measured. A nurse offers a reassuring hand and a few words of comfort that seem to ease the moment. From her seat, Meredith Flamm sees how small gestures of compassion can bring strength and calm into a room heavy with uncertainty. This was her realization: she wanted to help others like the healthcare providers who helped her grandfather.

A young girl sits in a chair in the corner of a hospital room. She watches as a nurse quietly adjusts her grandfather’s oxygen tube and smooths the blanket at his side. A physician kneels to explain the next steps to her worried parents, his voice calm and measured. A nurse offers a reassuring hand and a few words of comfort that seem to ease the moment. From her seat, Meredith Flamm sees how small gestures of compassion can bring strength and calm into a room heavy with uncertainty. This was her realization: she wanted to help others like the healthcare providers who helped her grandfather.

A young girl sits in a chair in the corner of a hospital room. She watches as a nurse quietly adjusts her grandfather’s oxygen tube and smooths the blanket at his side. A physician kneels to explain the next steps to her worried parents, his voice calm and measured. A nurse offers a reassuring hand and a few words of comfort that seem to ease the moment. From her seat, Meredith Flamm sees how small gestures of compassion can bring strength and calm into a room heavy with uncertainty. This was her realization: she wanted to help others like the healthcare providers who helped her grandfather.

A young girl sits in a chair in the corner of a hospital room. She watches as a nurse quietly adjusts her grandfather’s oxygen tube and smooths the blanket at his side. A physician kneels to explain the next steps to her worried parents, his voice calm and measured. A nurse offers a reassuring hand and a few words of comfort that seem to ease the moment. From her seat, Meredith Flamm sees how small gestures of compassion can bring strength and calm into a room heavy with uncertainty. This was her realization: she wanted to help others like the healthcare providers who helped her grandfather.