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Central Illinois Neuro Health Sciences brings wealth of expertise to Carle system

Central Illinois Neuro Health Sciences brings wealth of expertise to Carle system
Carle Health is focused on being intentional in the ways we continue to evolve as an organization and much of that stems from identifying which opportunities provide the best value to the patients we serve. Growing the depth of expertise at the Carle Neuroscience Institute (CNI) and bringing more services close to home for families in the region is exactly why conversations to bring Central Illinois Neuro Health Sciences (CINHS) into the health system began.  
 
Effective June 20, 2021, Carle will acquire the assets of Central Illinois Neuro Health Sciences and two additional limited liability companies (LLC) that operate in delivering neurosurgical, imaging and physical therapy services to patients in McLean County and surrounding regions. Work to integrate members of the practice, physicians and staff, who will become part of the Carle Health team, is fully underway.
 
Carle BroMenn Medical Center (CBMC) brought an already warm relationship with CINHS when the hospital integrated with Carle Health in July 2020. Their shared commitment to bring the best quality care to families in west central Illinois sparked an interest for collaboration.
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“BroMenn has had a long-standing partnership with the team at CINHS,” Colleen Kannaday, Carle BroMenn Medical Center and Carle Eureka Hospital president said (pictured left). “We collaborate within our neurosurgery residency program and through patient care. The neurosurgeons are excellent clinicians and outstanding teachers and mentors. CINHS neurosurgeons provide leadership within our medical staff, serving in key leadership roles, and they are very engaged in strategic and growth planning.”
 
Current CINHS physicians and the CBMC Continuing Education program began the neurosurgery residency program 15 years ago. It has now trained 26 neurology residents. 
 
In addition to a shared emphasis on cultivating the next generation of neuroscience providers, CINHS brings a combined 95 years of specialized neurological care experience in the region. We are happy to welcome three full-time physicians to the CNI team along with 18 team members and other care practitioners.
 
“We are fortunate to see this partnership realized,” Luke Sullivan, Carle Specialty Care Services vice president said (pictured right). “The team is extremely experienced, accomplished and has a long-standing and respected reputation in the community and region.”
 
The collaboration and extended reach of bringing CINHS into the system supports the strategic direction Sullivan and his colleagues at CNI are working toward for the institute.
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“The integration of CINHS within CNI is positioned to create one of, if not the, largest neurosurgical groups south of I-80 with a total of nine neurosurgeons – once openings in the Urbana-based team fill,” Sullivan said. “With the skills and expertise of this team, there is very little that they can’t take care of. Patients living within the Carle service area should feel confident they are receiving equivalent levels of care locally as they would in Chicago, St. Louis or Indianapolis.”
 
Part of the CNI strategy is exactly that, offering new services that patients previously had to leave the area for.  The epilepsy program, offering neuropsychology and neuro-ophthalmology services, and the brain tumor and comprehensive stroke programs are all examples of services that CNI differentiates itself from other community providers.  The team is actively evaluating additional service offerings that would be new to Carle and the region.
 
To facilitate a smooth integration experience for the joining team members, work streams in nearly every discipline are working closely together to prepare for the multifaceted considerations of adding a practice to the health system. The process takes several months to complete.
 
“Given the history that has been in place over the years, I believe we have established a deep level of trust and open communication, which is the foundation for our expanded partnership,” Kannaday said. “This will help facilitate a smooth transition and allow us to partner together to focus on the growth of services to best serve our community and our region.”
 
While CINHS will continue to provide patient care out of Bloomington-Normal, the scope of the added team will impact the system overall.
 
“We want to be the preeminent provider of neurological care to patients in all downstate Illinois and the broader region. With the skills and experiences the CINHS team brings, we move one step closer to that vision, especially when it comes to neurosurgical care,” Sullivan said.

Categories: Community

Tags: Bloomington-Normal, BroMenn, integration, Neuroscience