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It’s harvest time at the city of Springfield’s community gardens, and a new SIU Medicine program has produced some robust results. SIU’s Office of Community Care (OCC) launched ‘Operation Taproot’ earlier this summer to provide fresh vegetables and herbs for residents in neighborhoods around the Mid-Illinois Medical District, while offering new routes for communication and access to care. Community health worker Kaye Barnes designed and spearheaded the project to raise awareness of nutrition and health services available within Springfield. As the crops matured, she and teammates have been

Patients with irregular heart rhythm called atrial fibrillation, or AFib, have an increased risk of blood clots, which can lead to a stroke. A new device aims to help reduce that risk. Implanted into the heart in a one-time procedure, the Watchman™ Device is designed to close off an area of the heart known as the left atrial appendage, where blood tends to pool and cause clots in patients living with AFib. According to SIU Medicine structural heart experts Abdul Moiz Hafiz, MD , and Giselle Baquero, MD , most patients can stop taking warfarin, or similar blood thinning medications, within 45

No one ever said medical school was easy. The prevalence of mental health struggles in medical school is well-known, and studies show that medical students experience disproportionately higher rates of depression and burnout. Stress can accumulate and undermine confidence in abilities and, if left unchecked, grow into something detrimental. Results from an Elsevier Health survey released in November 2023 showed a quarter of medical students considered quitting school, and 60 percent were worried about their mental health. Students face growing challenges each year as they advance through the

Abdul Swied, MD , an advanced endoscopist in SIU’s Division of Gastroenterology, has begun using the world’s first single-use duodenoscope approved by the FDA. The Boston Scientific EXALT Model D is a disposable ErCp scope used to examine the pancreatic and bile ducts and treat severe, often life-threatening conditions. Dr. Swied is the first physician in Illinois and Missouri to use the revolutionary scope. Its single-use design eliminates the need for reprocessing and repairs, and minimizes infection risk to patients. “We have come to another technological crossroad in health care that will

Nathalie Foray, DO is a pulmonologist in SIU’s Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine. She completed her residency and pulmonary medicine fellowship at Southern Illinois University in Springfield, IL and completed further subspeciality training in Critical Care Medicine at The University of Tennessee Health Sciences Center in Memphis, TN. Upon graduating, she joined on as faculty at SIU. In addition to providing care in the intensive care setting, Dr. Foray also sees pulmonary patients in the outpatient setting. She treats a myriad of patients in pulmonary medicine, including but not

The family of the late John (Jack) Navins, MD, bestowed a pair of $100,000 gifts to Southern Illinois University School of Medicine on March 1.

In August 2019, SIU Medicine unveiled a new state-of-the-art clinic and teaching facility at 300 W. Oak Street in Carbondale, Illinois. The 40,000-square-foot space is now home to SIU Center for Family Medicine–Carbondale and SIU Medicine’s Physician Assistant Program. The construction plan was developed as SIU’s family medicine clinic began to outgrow its space in the professional office building connected to SIH Memorial Hospital of Carbondale. The Physician Assistant Program was previously housed on the SIU Carbondale campus. Since its opening in 1974, health care professionals at SIU

Small groups of internal medicine residents and African Americans discuss implicit bias, health care barriers and meaningful solutions

SIU Medicine is offering care to qualifying families through Nurse-Family Partnership of Sangamon County.

According to the USDA, 10 percent of U.S. households and 12.5 percent of households with children have limited or uncertain access to nutritionally healthy food. Pediatric cardiologist Enas Shanshen, MD, has led efforts to establish a new partnership at SIU Medicine to help combat food insecurity in children. The Illinois Partnership for Childhood Nutrition Security brings together the holistic expertise of SIU Medicine with the guidance of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and its Illinois chapter (ICAAP). The group will provide screening tools to health care providers in the community