WELLNESS FOR OUR WORLD
With a firm focus on healthcare quality, equity, and innovation, the University of Illinois System works to continually improve the health and wellness of the people of Illinois. Turning research into action plays a key role in human health and the health of our communities and our planet.
Rural healthcare solutions
With partners across the state, the U of I System helps drive efficient and effective healthcare delivery. System leaders, healthcare experts, and community advocates explored the roles artificial intelligence can and should play during an impassioned roundtable in Cuba in Fulton County.
“In rural Illinois, there aren’t enough (obstetricians), not enough people to deliver cancer care. One of the most important ways AI and machine learning can improve lives is through healthcare,” said Mark Rosenblatt, executive dean of the University of Illinois College of Medicine and interim CEO of University of Illinois Hospital. “Many disciplines are required to solve these problems, but we have the combined expertise to do it, to use the insight we gain to drive improved care for patients."
What's next: Partner with our universities to gain better understanding of rural opportunities through enhanced analysis of aggregated and de-personalized UI Health data. Plus, continue this important conversation to maintain momentum.
A roadmap for rural health
The system is committed to bolstering rural healthcare across the state via programs like the Dixon Rural Training Track. Resident doctors split their time between Rockford and Dixon for their first year and complete their next two years' core rotations at KSB Hospital.
Our University of Illinois College of Medicine Rockford and KSB partnership helps improve the quality of healthcare for communities and families in the Dixon area.
System President Tim Killeen said the exciting challenge is to build more programs across the state using Dixon as the template to advance rural healthcare and reduce health inequalities.
What’s next: Identify additional opportunities for partnerships among UI Health, Illinois Extension, and Dixon-area hospitals, and create a blueprint for improving rural healthcare that can be implemented in other rural Illinois areas.
Protecting our natural resources
The U of I System places great value on connecting natural resources and a region’s ability to thrive. Havana puts environmental expertise and legislative policy to work in all the best ways, serving as a model for other communities.
Forbes Biological Station and the Illinois River Biological Station represent our system so well in this region. Run by Prairie Research Institute at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, the sites monitor and share expertise on waterfowl in the wetlands ecosystem and large fish in Illinois rivers, respectively. The information benefits hunting- and fishing-related businesses and tourism in the region.
What’s next: PRI’s long-term impact on Illinois — including on graduates of the system’s universities who now work there — serves as a source of pride. Sharing its many stories will help even more people across the state see and appreciate hands-on research that changes lives and communities.
