UI Health

04/14/2026

Five UI Health leaders were recently honored as Crain's Chicago Business ‘Notable Leaders in Health Care’ for 2026 for their work to strengthen Chicago through innovation, service and leadership. 👏🎉

Our Chief Nursing Officer Tye Hughes-Dillard was named as a result of our Magnet Recognition in 2025, which showcased her commitment to professional nursing practice and an inclusive environment. In the same year, she was honored as the Illinois Nurses’ Foundation Nurse of the Year.

Our Chief Medical Officer Dr. Jonathan Radosta was recognized for his work to spearhead Epic implementation at UI Health, improving patient experience and clinical workflows with a unified electronic health record. He also established UI Health’s post-COVID clinic for patients with long-term COVID-19 effects and conducts research to improve public health measures.

Dr. Shikha Jain, the Associate Director of Oncology Communications and Digital Innovation at our University of Illinois Cancer Center, was honored for her work overseeing institutional initiatives that support National Cancer Institute Comprehensive Cancer Center priorities.

Karriem Watson, Chief Executive Officer of our Mile Square Health Center was named a Notable Leader due to his work to expand access to essential care, enhance behavioral health services, and address social determinants of health at Mile Square.

Finally, Dr. David Chestek, our Chief Medical Information Officer, was named a Notable Leader in Health Care Technology. He leads a team of 35 physicians and information officers who manage UI Health’s electronic health record system, focusing on efficiency and data integrity. He has directed electronic health record and AI governance efforts, including assessments for fair, useful and reliable AI models.

Congratulations to all the UI Health leaders who were honored! Your work helps us continue to deliver on our mission of expert care for all 💚💙

04/13/2026

The third and final phase of our major construction project to calm traffic flow and improve pedestrian safety on our hospital campus will begin Monday, April 13.

Phase 3 construction is anticipated to take 13 weeks. In this final phase, a raised intersection will be constructed at Wood and Taylor Streets, and traffic signals will be installed at the intersection of Wood and Taylor Streets.

During this phase, Taylor Street will be closed to through traffic between Paulina and Wood Streets. Wood Street will be closed to through traffic at Taylor Street.

Valet parking services for the Specialty Care Building will remain on Wood Street, south of Taylor Street, and hospital valet services will operate directly in front of the hospital on Taylor Street. UIC buses will continue to be rerouted as indicated in the UIC Ride app.

04/10/2026

When Luciano Dimas started noticing health changes, like fatigue, nausea, shortness of breath, he ignored them. He knew he hadn’t always lived the most active lifestyle, and figured this was just the next stage of aging.

But when a bout with COVID landed the 39-year old in the emergency room late in 2020, he knew something more serious was happening. The health issues he chalked up to aging were actually early symptoms of liver disease.

After multiple failed organ donation matches, his fiancé Darlene stepped up to the plate.

“All I could think about was the long, happy life I still wanted to have with my husband,” Darlene said. “I started to realize that if I didn’t look into what I could do, I wouldn’t know how much time we’d have together.”

And after months of testing, Luciano and Darlene got the news they’d been waiting for: She was a match!

Read Darlene and Luciano’s story: https://bit.ly/4vddprg

04/08/2026

The academics, training, and research activities led by our seven health sciences colleges are key part of our vision to shape the future of healthcare. And according to U.S. News and World Report, they're showing their strength 💪🎉

The graduate program at our UIC Retzky College of Pharmacy, moved up four places to be ranked 11th nationally and 1st in Illinois. Our UIC Nursing’s doctor of nursing practice rose six spots to 11th in the country. The nursing master’s degree tied for 22nd nationally and is the leader in Illinois. Another state-leading program is the School of Public Health’s graduate-level program, tied for 22nd overall nationally.

Three specialty programs in the College of Nursing earned top-20 status: the psychiatric and mental health nurse practitioner program (tied for sixth), the family nurse practitioner program (tied for ninth) and the midwifery program (tied for 20th).

Congrats to all the UI Health grad programs included in the latest rankings. Your work helps us bring medical breakthroughs to patients in need 💚💙

04/07/2026

Dr. Zahraa Hajjiri is a transplant nephrologist at UI Health and the medical director of our Kidney and Simultaneous Kidney/Pancreas Transplant Programs.

For this April, we sat down with her to learn more about the specialty care she provides and the personal connections she creates with her patients.

04/03/2026

Today, our University of Illinois Cancer Center held their annual Dr. Gary Kruh Cancer Research Symposium to highlight and celebrate the innovations in cancer research and care being delivered every day by UI Health researchers, physicians, and students.

The symposium is named in honor of Dr. Gary Kruh, who served as the Director of our Cancer Center from 2007-2011 and guided the center's research focus toward advancements in screening, prevention, therapeutics, and advanced imaging.

Learn more: https://bit.ly/4v8Ddoj

04/01/2026

As a 6-year veteran of the Northern Illinois University Police Department, Julia Garcia-Martinez is used to putting herself at risk in service of her community. But that experience didn’t prepare her for how she’d feel when her mother, Francisca Garcia, was diagnosed with complex liver failure.

The medical complexity of Francisca’s case complicated her diagnosis and increased the potential risks with transplantation, which is why her Hepatology care team at UI Health referred her to their colleagues in the Liver Transplant program, where the expert surgeons perform liver hepatectomies with minimally invasive robotic techniques.

“UI Health was the first program in the region to apply the techniques of robotic surgery to the solid organ transplant process,” said Dr. Mario Spaggiari, who also serves as the surgical director of UI Health’s Liver Transplant Program. “These capabilities — and our lengthy experience with them — give us the opportunity to tackle complex cases like Julia and Francisca’s.”

This , learn how our Liver Transplant Program gave Julia and Francisca the gift of life: https://bit.ly/4mHmTpr

03/31/2026

When our teams learn new skills, our patients win!

Last week, UI Health care teams participated in Safe Patient Handling and Mobility trainings to reinforce skills and new technology that reduce patient discomfort during transport.

Thanks for helping us level up our patient safety and experience 💚💙

03/30/2026

It’s at UI Health, and we took some time this afternoon to celebrate our amazing physicians.

Does your UI Health doctor go above and beyond? Drop a comment to thank them for their hard work 🩺💚💙

03/27/2026

There were tears and cheers as fourth-year medical students at our learned which residency programs they had been accepted to during last week’s Match Day ceremony at the Isadore and Sadie Dorin Forum.

Ripping open the white envelope containing the name of their residency program was more than a defining moment for these students; it was an opportunity to celebrate their journey with family, friends and mentors.

“This is a win for everyone. For me. For my family. For my mentors,” said Israel Makinde, who matched for an internal medicine residency at his first choice, the University of California, Los Angeles. “It was a long story and journey to get here, but I’m here, and I’m very happy with the results.”

This year, 281 medical students from our three College of Medicine campuses in Rockford, Peoria, and Chicago, were matched with programs nationwide. For our students, the top-matched specialty of 2026 was internal medicine, followed by family medicine, and pediatrics, and the top hospital placement was right here at UI Health!

We can wait to see these future physicians continue advance the health of our community through outstanding clinical care, research, and education 💚💙

Check out all the photos from an unforgettable day: https://bit.ly/41rCbpS

03/25/2026