Rush University Medical Center, founded in 1837, has done a remarkable job of staying true to its core mission of educating physicians and nurses, while at the same time developing a magnificent nationally renowned orthopedics and spine program.
Here are six things to know and thoughts on Rush itself and its orthopedic and spine program.
1. Ranked Sixth Nationally in Orthopedics and Spine. US News and World Report ranks the orthopedic program at Rush sixth in the nation and number one in Illinois.
Peter Butler, president of Rush University Medical Center, comments on the leadership position in orthopedics and spine. Here, he focuses in part on the collaboration between Rush itself and the physicians at Rush.
"The leadership position for orthopedics at Rush has required a commitment to supporting the new treatment frontiers coupled with leadership that is willing to embrace collaborative, innovative partnerships and delivery models that serve patients in the best way possible," says Mr. Butler. "Said another way, an academically-based group which is also able to pursue entrepreneurial opportunities has been critical to being able to recruit the very best talent in the country."
2. Core Background. Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, affiliated with Rush University, is a nonprofit healthcare, education and research enterprise comprising Rush University Medical Center, Rush University, Rush Oak Park Hospital and Rush Health.
The medical center is a 669-bed general medical and surgical facility with 30,810 admissions in the most recent year reported. They are ranked nationally in seven adult specialties and are high-performing in four adult specialties. The medical center performed 10,780 annual inpatient and 9,537 outpatient surgeries, and its emergency room had 55,519 visits. Rush's total revenue for the 2015 fiscal year, ending June 30, 2015, was $2 billion.
Rush University, founded in 1973, is also home to one of the first medical colleges in the Midwest and includes one of the nation's top-ranked nursing colleges, as well as offers more than 70 residency and fellowship programs in medical and surgical specialties and subspecialties.
3. An Academic Medical Center Combined with Great Leadership in Orthopedics and Spine. "For academic medical centers to thrive in the next decade, they need to have a clear plan as to what they want to be," says Scott Becker of Becker's Hospital Review and Becker's Healthcare. "In some AMCs, this will include picking areas where they can really stand out. Rush, a terrific institution, has made itself a leader in the area of orthopedics and spine. Its leadership in this area has been built side by side with nationally renowned physicians most often affiliated with Midwest Orthopaedics at Rush. Some of the biggest names in the world practice through Midwest Orthopaedics at Rush."
Rush received the University HealthSystem Consortium's Quality Leadership Award, ranking second among 100 academic medical centers. The 2015 study focused on mortality, effectiveness, safety, patient centeredness and equity of care. Rush was also among the 13 institutions to receive a five-star ranking in UHC Quality and Accountability study.
4. A Top Flight Orthopedic Practice Side by Side with Rush. Midwest Orthopaedics at Rush, the primary orthopedic practice providing service at Rush University Medical Center, is nationally recognized as a leader in comprehensive orthopedic and spine services. Here is what Charles A. Bush-Joseph, MD, professor at Rush University Medical Center and head team physician of the Chicago White Sox, says about the situation:
"The longstanding partnership between Rush University Medical Center and Midwest Orthopaedics at Rush has allowed both entities to rise to national clinical and research prominence, yet maintain operational independence and flexibility. Rush and MOR continue to challenge each other in our rapidly-changing marketplace to find new synergies and efficiencies, yet maintain our national leadership position. We continue to invest in information infrastructure to enhance the clinical and research mission."
He continues, "With 48 physicians and over 80 advanced practitioners, MOR is striving to achieve size and scale to match the expanding Rush network in the Chicagoland region. Expanding programs in outpatient joint replacement and spine surgery and bundled pricing require integration between an academic medical center and a private practice rarely achieved. MOR's core strategy as a private practice is to be the 'must have' orthopedic provider supported by national leadership in the musculoskeletal field. With recent AAOS President Josh Jacobs, MD, leading the research mission for 2016-17, MOR/Rush will have three current members in the presidential line of national orthopedic specialty societies: American Orthopaedic Society of Sports Medicine (Bush-Joseph), American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons (Anthony A. Romeo, MD) and American Association of Hip and Knee Surgeons (Craig J. Della Valle, MD)."
5. The Leadership of Rush. Here are some of the members of the leadership management team at Rush:
- Larry Goodman, MD, Chief Executive Officer
- Peter W. Butler, President
- Michael J. Dandorph, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer
- Brent J. Estes, Senior Vice President of Business and Network Development
- John P. Mordach, CFO and Senior Vice President of Finance
6. Rush Medical Center Leadership from Midwest Orthopedics at Rush. The physician practice, Midwest Orthopaedics at Rush, is the key practice for much of the orthopedic and spine leadership at Rush Medical Center. Their physicians include:
- Howard S. An, MD, The Morton International Endowed Chair Professor of Orthopedic Surgery
- Brian Cole, MD, Associate Chairman and Professor of the Department of Orthopedics and Section Head, Cartilage Restoration Center at Rush
- Anthony A. Romeo, MD, Director of the Section of Shoulder and Elbow
- Frank M. Phillips, Director of the Section of Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery and Co-Founder of the Midwest Orthopaedics at Rush Minimally Invasive Spine Institute
- Bernard R. Bach Jr., MD, The Helen S. Thompson Endowed Chair of Orthopedic Surgery
- Mark S. Cohen, MD, Director of the Section of Hand and Elbow Surgery
- Christopher J. DeWald, MD, Director of the Section of Spinal Deformity
- Steven Gitelis, MD, Vice Chairman of the Department of Orthopedic Surgery
- George B. Holmes, Jr., MD, Director of the Section of Foot and Ankle
- Richard A. Berger, MD, Assistant Professor at Rush University Medical Center
- Nikhil N. Verma, MD, Director of Clinical Research of the Section of Sports Medicine
- John J. Fernandez, MD, Assistant Professor at Rush University Medical Center
- Gunnar Andersson, MD, Chairman Emeritus, Department of Orthopedic Surgery