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Swimming for Cancer Research at Rush

May 15, 2012 by Rush University Medical Center

Swim Across America’s 20th annual Chicago swim will benefit research at the Rush University Cancer Center.

Swim Across America (SAA), a national nonprofit organization dedicated to raising money for cancer research, prevention and treatment through swimming events across the country, is hosting its 20th annual Chicago open-water swim event Saturday, Aug. 4, at Ohio Street Beach in Chicago.

The fundraiser benefits the Rush University Cancer Center, which comprises all of the clinical, research and educational efforts at Rush University Medical Center. The Chicago swim aims to raise $250,000 through the participation of 350 swimmers, including former Olympians.

“What Swim Across America has achieved in Chicago and around the country is incredible,” said David McClellan, SAA Chicago event chair. “We always set our sights high, but we expect a record-breaking 2012 event in hopes of funding groundbreaking cancer research at Rush.”

McClellan expects more than 10 former Olympians to swim in the event, including SAA president Janel Jorgensen McArdle, a silver medalist at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, Jamie Rauch, a silver medalist at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, and Craig Beardsley, a 1980 Summer Olympian and former world-record holder in the men’s 200-meter butterfly.

Swimmers must raise a minimum of $500 in order to participate in the ½-mile, 1-mile, 1.5-mile or 3-mile course. They may swim individually or as part of a team to honor friends and family who have been touched by cancer.

Read the entire news release. To register for the swim or make a donation, visit www.swimacrossamerica.org.

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Rush Provides $220 Million in Community Benefits

May 9, 2012 by Rush University Medical Center

The majority of Rush’s community investment, more than $143 million, covered costs for unreimbursed but much needed care that Rush provides to its patients.

Rush University Medical Center and its affiliated Rush Oak Park Hospital provided more than $220 million in community benefits in fiscal year 2011 — an increase of roughly $20 million from the previous year.

The majority of Rush’s investment in the community, more than $143 million, covered costs for unreimbursed but much needed care that Rush provides to its patients. That includes charity care and financial assistance, which totaled more than $18 million, and subsidized care for Medicare and Medicaid patients, which totaled more than $86 million. Rush is among the top 10 hospital providers of Medicaid days in the state. Nearly $39 million were attributed to expected payments that were not made for health services provided by Rush, also known as forgiven or bad debt.

Rush provided nearly $43 million to support the education and training of future physicians, nurses and allied health workers since tuition and grants do not cover all the costs. In addition, the Medical Center provided more than $18 million to subsidize the costs of biomedical research not covered by private and federal grants.

Rush is able to provide this level of community benefits because it is a not-for-profit organization. Rush reinvests any revenues in excess of expenses back into the organization for needed facilities, equipment and new program support, as well as the activities described above and in its Community Benefits report.

Read the entire news release and Rush’s 2012 community benefits report.

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Purpose in Life May Benefit Alzheimer’s Patients

May 7, 2012 by Rush University Medical Center

Patricia A. Boyle, PhD

Greater purpose in life may help stave off the harmful effects of plaques and tangles associated with Alzheimer’s disease, according to a new study by researchers at Rush University Medical Center. The study, published in the May issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry, is available online.

“Our study showed that people who reported greater purpose in life exhibited better cognition than those with less purpose in life even as plaques and tangles accumulated in their brains,” said Patricia A. Boyle, PhD.

“These findings suggest that purpose in life protects against the harmful effects of plaques and tangles on memory and other thinking abilities. This is encouraging and suggests that engaging in meaningful and purposeful activities promotes cognitive health in old age.”

Boyle and her colleagues from the Rush Alzheimer’s Disease Center studied 246 participants from the Rush Memory and Aging Project who did not have dementia and who subsequently died and underwent brain autopsy. Participants received an annual clinical evaluation for up to approximately 10 years, which included detailed cognitive testing and neurological exams.

Participants also answered questions about purpose in life, the degree to which one derives meaning from life’s experiences and is focused and intentional. Brain plaques and tangles were quantified after death. The authors then examined whether purpose in life slowed the rate of cognitive decline even as older persons accumulated plaques and tangles.

Read the entire news release.

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Mayor Joins Dedication for New Hospice Unit at Rush

May 2, 2012 by Rush University Medical Center

Rush University Medical Center and Horizon Hospice and Palliative Care are opening the first inpatient hospice unit at a major medical center in Chicago in order to provide patients with comfort, dignity and compassionate care during their final days. The new, 13-bed unit ,called the Ada F. Addington Inpatient Hospice Unit in honor of Horizon Hospice’s founder, is expected to open by early June and will accommodate infants, children and adults.

A dedication ceremony was held on Monday, April 30 to unveil the new facility. Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and more than a hundred guests joined Rush CEO Dr. Larry Goodman, as well as doctors, nurses, staff and leadership from Rush and Horizon Hospice to tour the new unit.

Read the entire news release and check out a slideshow of photos from the dedication below.

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19th-Century Therapy for Parkinson’s Disease May Help Patients Today

April 19, 2012 by Deborah Song

Charcot's vibratory chair (fauteuil tr´epidant) constructed in the nineteenth century and the vibration chair (NexNeuro) with headphones, CD player, and amplifier utlized by Rush researchers.

In the 19th century, Jean-Martin Charcot, the celebrated neurologist, developed a “vibration chair,” to relieve symptoms of Parkinson’s disease. Charcot reported improvements in his patients, but he died shortly thereafter and a more complete evaluation of the therapy was never conducted. Now, more than 100 years later, a group of neurological researchers at Rush University Medical Center have replicated his work in a study to see if Charcot’s observation holds true against modern scientific testing.

Results from the study indicate that while vibration therapy does significantly improve some symptoms of Parkinson’s disease, the effect is due to placebo or other nonspecific factors, and not the vibration. The findings are published in the April issue of Journal of Parkinson’s Disease.

“We attempted to mimic Charcot’s protocol with modern equipment in order to confirm or refute an historical observation,” explains lead investigator Christopher G. Goetz, MD, director of the Parkinson’s disease and Movement Disorders Center at Rush. “Both the treated group and the control group improved similarly, suggesting other factors had an effect on Parkinson’s disease motor function.”

Continue Reading »

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Tower Sets Green Milestone With LEED Designation

April 19, 2012 by Rush University Medical Center

Rush’s Tower is the largest new-construction health care facility in the world to to receive LEED Gold certification.

One of Chicago’s most distinctive new buildings has now been certified as among the greenest.

Rush University Medical Center’s innovative new hospital building, the Tower, which opened in January, has earned LEED Gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council and verified by the Green Building Certification Institute. It is the largest new construction healthcare project in the world to be LEED Gold certified.

The new hospital building, located at 1620 W. Harrison Street, is the only full-service green hospital in Chicago. Perkins+Will designed the new hospital. LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is the nation’s preeminent program for the design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings.

From the outset of our facilities planning, we made a commitment to sustainability because in the long run it is good for our patients, our employees and the entire community,” said Peter Butler, president and chief operating officer of Rush.

Rush earned high marks for green design, construction and operation. Rush achieved LEED Gold certification for energy use, lighting, water and material use as well as incorporating a variety of other sustainable strategies. Hundreds of energy savings ideas have been incorporated into the planning, construction and design.

Read the entire news release and take a look at the video below for an overview of the Rush Transformation’s environmentally friendly efforts.

 

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Any type of physical activity may reduce risk of Alzheimer’s disease

April 18, 2012 by Deborah Song

Actical device study participants wear to measure levels of physical activity.

Results from new research by neurological experts at Rush University Medical Center suggests that elderly people who move around more — even gardening or puttering around the house — are less likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease than more sedentary seniors.

Results from the study are published in the online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology on April 18. 

The study, which is called the Study on Frailty in Aging (SOFIA) is a sub-study of a larger research project called the Rush Memory and Aging Project.  

The results of our study indicate that all physical activities including exercise as well as other activities such as cooking, washing the dishes, and cleaning are associated with a reduced risk of Alzheimer’s disease,” said Dr. Aron S. Buchman, lead author of the study and associate professor of neurological sciences at Rush. “These results provide support for efforts to encourage all types of physical activity even in very old adults who might not be able to participate in formal exercise, but can still benefit from a more active lifestyle.”

To measure total daily exercise and non-exercise physical activity, researchers from Rush asked 716 older individuals without dementia with an average age of 82 to wear   a device called an actigraph, which monitors activity, on their non-dominant wrist continuously for 10 days. 

All exercise and non-exercise physical activity was recorded.  Study participants also were given annual cognitive tests during this ongoing study to measure memory and thinking abilities. Participants also self-reported their physical and social activities.

Over a mean of 3.5 years of follow-up, 71 participants developed Alzheimer’s disease.

The research found that people in the bottom 10 percent of daily physical activity were more than twice as likely (2.3 times) to develop Alzheimer’s disease as people in the top 10 percent of daily activity.

The study also showed that those individuals in the bottom 10 percent of intensity of physical activity were almost three times (2.8 times) as likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease as people in the top percent of the intensity of physical activity.

“Our study shows that physical activity, which is an easily modifiable risk factor, is associated with cognitive decline and Alzheimer’s disease.  This has important public health consequences,” said Buchman. 

Read the entire news release. 

Rush is still actively recruiting participants for the SOFIA study.  For those interested in becoming part of the Rush Memory and Aging Project and SOFIA, contact study coordinator Tracey Nowakowski at 312-942-2214.  Participants must be 65 years of age or older with no previous diagnosis of Dementia.

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