Written by kate@dcmsdocs.org on . Posted in Uncategorised
The DuPage County Health Department hosted the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new Crisis Recovery Center (CRC). DuPage County officials, state representatives, mayors in DuPage County, and first responders were in attendance.
Deb Conroy, DuPage County Board Chair, remarked that this was “a great day in DuPage County.” She emphasized that the new CRC creates the gold standard for mental health “in our own backyard.”
The CRC is meant to provide an alternative to jails and emergency rooms for people in crisis, either for mental health or substance use. The mental health unit provides crisis care for youth aged 5-17 and adults aged 18 and older. Although clients can stay up to 24 hours, CRC staff expect that most won’t stay that long. At the time of intake, staff will work with clients to determine the next steps in their care.
In addition to mental health services, the CRC also boasts a substance use unit. Instead of taking individuals under the influence to the emergency room, they will instead be treated at the Crisis Recovery Center for up to seven days. As Stephen Holtsford, the Health Department's Substance Use Medical Director, said, “This is a win for the community and a win for emergency rooms.”
"The opening of the DuPage County's Crisis Recovery Center (CRC) later this month will be a historic event! Members of the planning team researched the few similar places which exist around the country - determined to build a facility which would be second to none. We have achieved that goal! It is beautiful, spacious, welcoming, and safe. Our CRC will be open 24 hours a day and 7 days a week to care for children and adults with mental health and/or substance use crises. DuPage County's CRC will be the model for any other counties or hospital systems who have the heart to give hope to patients with such desperate needs," said Lanny Wilson, MD, Vice-President of the Board of Health and DCMS member.
Written by kate@dcmsdocs.org on . Posted in Uncategorised
The DuPage Medical Society Foundation Board of Trustees announces the awarding of twenty-five student scholarships for 2025.
Venkatsai “Shri” Bellala, Aurora, has been named the recipient of the prestigious James P. Campbell, MD, Memorial Scholarship for 2025. Shri holds an undergraduate degree in engineering and turned to medicine after dealing with his own chronic medical condition. He aims to combine his experiences in biomedical engineering with his medical training.
In his application, he wrote, "My pursuit of an MD is rooted in a deep commitment to integrating scientific exploration with compassionate medical care. As I continue my medical education, I will focus on honing my clinical skills and collaborating with interdisciplinary teams of clinicians and engineers to bring innovative breakthroughs to the bedside."
The James P. Campbell, MD, Memorial Scholarship was established in 1998 to honor the memory of a distinguished physician from DuPage County who dedicated 60 years to both medicine and advocacy for organized medicine. He served the DuPage County Medical Society (DCMS) and other branches of organized medicine in several capacities, most notably as the Society’s secretary-treasurer for 29 years. Recipients of the James P. Campbell, MD, Memorial Scholarship must demonstrate an outstanding academic background and exceptional potential for a future in medicine.
Sareena Shah, Bartlett, has been awarded the 2025 William B. Frymark, Sr., MD, Honorary Scholarship. Sareena is in the final year of a challenging six-year BA/MD program at the University of Missouri Kansas-City. She has served on the executive boards of several campus organizations, including the Anesthesiology Interest Group, her chosen specialty, Roo’s on Call (a volunteering group), and Kansas City Miracle Makers, a group that hosts an annual dance marathon for various charities.
Sareena stated, "I have a strong desire to continue using my role as a future physician to improve the communities around me. My work with nonprofit organizations has been particularly informative in helping me recognize that being a physician is a tremendous responsibility with the potential to do significant good."
The William B. Frymark, Sr., MD, Honorary Scholarship honors one of the Foundation’s founders, who was a dedicated supporter and steward of the organization for over half a century. Dr. Frymark served multiple terms as a trustee and president of the Foundation’s Board and held various leadership positions with the DuPage County Medical Society. Recipients of this scholarship are expected to demonstrate superior academic ability, a commitment to service, and significant potential as healthcare providers.
The other recipients of the DuPage County Medical Society Foundation’s 2025 scholarships are as follows:
Subul Ahmad, Aurora - Medicine Rushika Amin, Hanover Park - Osteopathic Medicine Kavya Anjur, Aurora - Medicine Avian Askew, Naperville - Nursing Brooke Bonta, Roselle - Osteopathic Medicine Jaladhija Chalichama, Aurora - Medicine Katy Flannery, Westmont - Osteopathic Medicine Lashawnda Floyd, Addison - Nursing Melissa Gibson, Glen Ellyn - Medicine Christina Harvey, Wheaton - Speech-Language Pathology Annaliesa Herbst, West Chicago - Nursing Baasit Jamal, Aurora - Medicine Susan Jeon, Lombard - Medicine Yanal Kawaleet, Lombard - Medicine Behrad Khamissi, Winfield - Dentistry Robert Luca, Burr Ridge - Medicine Mira Malavia, Aurora - Medicine Hamid Mohiuddin, Lombard - Medicine Jacquelyn Nguyen, Carol Stream - Medicine Natalia Nikolic, Oak Brook - Osteopathic Medicine Julie Paska, Roselle - Medicine/Master of Public Health Vir Patel, Woodridge - Medicine Ann Seward, Wheaton - Nursing
“Once again, we had an outstanding group of student applicants,” said Foundation president Lanny F. Wilson, MD. “In honoring our generous donors, the Foundation takes the evaluation of each candidate seriously based on both need and merit. In this way, we aim to manage our philanthropic resources wisely as we support future health professionals and the care of health in America.”
Each year, the DuPage Medical Society Foundation awards local students 100 percent of the funds received from contributors. With this year’s grants included, the Foundation has awarded over $546,050 in student scholarships.
Written by kate@dcmsdocs.org on . Posted in Uncategorised
President's Perspective
A Review of the Past, and a Look Forward: The Importance of our Work and the Potential of Our Future
The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.
- Martin Luther King, Jr.
Over the past two years we witnessed the greatest challenge to the medical profession in our lifetimes. Physicians across the country, and especially here in DuPage County, should feel great pride in the medical profession's achievements during the COVID-19 pandemic. We made a profound difference.
Led by our incomparable Executive Committee, our DuPage County Medical Society (DCMS) contributed in numerous ways to the benefit of DuPage County and our medical community. Partnering with the DuPage County Health Department and its medical officer and DCMS past president, Rashmi Chugh, MD, our Society dedicated hundreds of hours of work to inform our colleagues and the public about COVID-19 and the benefits of vaccinations.
DCMS also partnered in these efforts with world class physician leaders from AMITA, Advocate, Northwestern Medicine, and Walgreens in a series of webinars. The generous participation of Stuart Marcus, MD, Valerie Phillips, MD, and Chet Robson, DO, along with DCMS leaders, assured that health professionals in our community had access to the most current and correct COVID information.
Chicago Department of Public Health commissioner, Allison Arwady, MD, graciously engaged with hundreds of DCMS members and others during our remarkable "Pandemics Past, Present and Future" webinar. Combined, these efforts helped DuPage County achieve one of the highest vaccination rates in the nation – a welcome success!
During the state legislature's session this year the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association attempted to pass a selfish and destructive medical malpractice bill that would harm not only physicians, but also patient care across the state. Working with the Illinois State Medical Society, our DCMS Governmental Affairs Committee, led by chair Lanny Wilson, MD, galvanized area physicians in a statewide effort that ultimately prevented adoption of the most onerous parts of the proposal. Our success with this and other health-related legislative initiatives stems in great measure from the relationships Lanny and the Committee have established with area lawmakers.
DCMS is now engaged as never before with the Midwestern University/CCOM medical school in Downers Grove, promoting awareness of this important medical education center in our community. The school's dean, DCMS member Thomas Boyle, DO, and his colleagues, helped successfully guide hundreds of medical students through an educational experience unprecedented in modern times. Exceptional physicians practice in DuPage County, and DCMS is dedicated to a collaboration with our county's only medical school that will benefit doctors, future doctors, and county residents.
Over the last five decades our DuPage Medical Society Foundation has raised and donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to support and guide future health professionals. These efforts continue. Nearly all of the Foundation's funding comes from you, our community's physicians. Thank you! I am proud to join you with a $1000 contribution in honor of the DCMS Executive Committee and the outstanding work these leaders undertake on behalf of all of us.
To benefit those in our community facing food insecurity, DCMS continues to forge a relationship with the Northern Illinois Food Bank (NIFB). Through our semi-annual "Physicians Make a Difference" volunteer events, DCMS members have donated hundreds of hours to help advance the NIFB vision – "for everyone in Northern Illinois to have the food they need to thrive." In addition, this month the DCMS executive committee made a major financial donation in support of this important charity.
I have enjoyed the honor of serving as DuPage County Medical Society president for the last two years. I witnessed the best of our profession. During this momentous time in health care history, I saw colleagues, in ways big and small, being heroes and making profound differences in the lives of countless patients and families.
A member of DCMS for over 25 years, I am so proud of the 100+ year tradition of our Society as a guiding force in health care in our county. We enjoy remarkable success thanks to the selfless commitment of generations of physician leaders, men and women who believed, as we do, in the noble profession of medicine. If nothing else, these pandemic years have convinced me of the critical importance of physician leadership for the best future of medicine. We remain the intellectual core of medicine, and the most important advocate for our patients.
As Mitra Kalelkar, MD, takes over as the next president of DCMS, I hope you too become more actively engaged with our DuPage County Medical Society. Help us continue adding strong links to the unbroken chain of leaders who have so capably met the many challenges our profession has faced since our Society was born during the last great pandemic in 1918! As my mother always said, "You will receive much more than you give." Our profession needs physician leadership, now more then ever.
Thank you for helping DCMS thrive and allowing me the privilege of leading the Society.
Leadership is a privilege to better the lives of others.
