Founded by M.K. Pritzker, the Evergreen Invitational® is a premier event that brings the excitement and
pageantry of equestrian Grand Prix show jumping to the greater Chicagoland area.
Proceeds from the event support world-class women's health programs at
Northwestern Memorial Hospital.
Funding from the Evergreen Invitational has enabled Northwestern Memorial healthcare professionals to continue
their notable efforts in pioneering new approaches to women's health issues. Programs selected to
receive grants beginning in October 2008 through September 2010 reflect the objectives of the
Evergreen Invitational to support patient-centered programs that encompass one or more of the following guiding principles:
- Benefit low-income infants, girls and women
of all ages in the Chicago area
- Support programs that are historically under-funded
- Fund programs to further systemic change
- Offer rehabilitation or ongoing healthcare services to women after giving birth or after a gynecologic procedure
- Enable caregivers, energize researchers and empower patients to create and maintain a healthy society
- Create or improve programs that are self-sustaining after initial funding
Grant Initiatives Supported by the Evergreen Invitational, 2008-2010
Barriers to Labor Analgesia in Ethnically and Socio-economically Disadvantaged Populations
PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATORS: Paloma Toledo, MD, fellow, Obstetrics Anesthesiology, Northwestern Memorial Hospital and Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine and Cynthia A. Wong, MD, medical director, Obstetrics Anesthesiology, Northwestern Memorial and associate professor, Anesthesiology, Feinberg School
This program is devoted to researching the choices that women make regarding pain management during delivery of a newborn. Approximately 93 percent of laboring
patients at Northwestern Memorial Hospital's Prentice Women's Hospital receive spinal or epidural analgesia. Of the 7 percent who do not receive these medications, the majority is from ethnic and socio-economically disadvantaged populations.
With funding from the Evergreen Invitational, the "Barriers to Labor Analgesia" project will help develop and administer a survey to determine patients' knowledge of and attitudes about options for pain relief during labor. By administering this survey, healthcare providers at Prentice will better understand the factors that influence a
patient's decision regarding labor pain management and therefore why some women choose not to accept pain relief during labor. This knowledge will guide the development of labor pain educational materials for patients, benefiting women at Prentice Women's Hospital and in other hospitals who serve underrepresented patient populations.
RIC Inner Strength Initiative
PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATORS: Colleen M. Fitzgerald, MD, medical director, RIC Women's Health Rehabilitation and associate professor,
Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Feinberg School, and Cynthia E. Neville,
PT, corporate director, RIC Women's Health Rehabilitation
The RIC Inner Strength Initiative is a joint pilot program between the RIC Women's Health Rehabilitation Program and Prentice Women's Hospital. The RIC Women's Health Rehabilitation Program is comprised of a team of healthcare providers specially trained to recognize and treat conditions specific to women in all stages of life.
Funding from the 2007 Evergreen Invitational is helping to integrate surgical, obstetrical and non-surgical rehabilitation services for women at Prentice. The 2008 supplemental grant will support a pilot study screening postpartum patients for musculoskeletal injuries at Prentice. The data gathered in this study will help to establish the efficacy of early intervention for these injuries in preventing conditions such as pain, pelvic organ prolapse, and bowel and bladder incontinence later in life. Findings from this study hopefully will help advance evidence-based practice in women's health rehabilitation,
training physician and rehabilitation clinicians to provide specialized care for women, and creating educational information and programs for patients.
The First Ever Drug Reference Guide for the Pregnant Patient
PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Catherine S. Stika, MD, attending physician, Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Northwestern and associate professor, Obstetrics & Gynecology, Feinberg School
This drug reference guide will be a Northwestern intranet-based drug information service that assists physicians, fellows, residents, medical students nurses in the appropriate use of medications for women pregnancy and will provide links to current obstetrical
pharmacological research.
Although many resources currently are available to health providers who have questions about prescribing medications for non-pregnant patients, there is no centralized, organized resource for obstetrical pharmacology.
Last year's funding from the Evergreen Invitational enabled preliminary research for this service to be created. In second year of the grant, efforts will be focused on organizing
this information in an easy-to-use website format. A future for the program is to expand from the Northwestern intranet an Internet-wide service, making the information available obstetrical providers in the greater community.
The Healthy Minds/Healthy Moms Program (HM/HM)
PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Patricia Garcia, MD, MPH, founder and director,Women's HIV Program and the Perinatal HIV Program, Northwestern MemorialHospital and associate professor, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Feinberg School
The Perinatal HIV Clinic at Northwestern Memorial utilizes a multidisciplinary team approach to care for pregnant and postpartum women living with HIV/AIDS. Although the clinic provides extraordinary, comprehensive medical and reproductive health and social services to patients, there is a gap in mental health care services for these patients. Funding from the Evergreen Invitational will enable the expansion of these services.
In 2007, nearly half of the patients cared for by the Perinatal HIV Clinic received referrals for mental health services due to depression, anxiety, substance abuse or suicidal thoughts during their pregnancy. Of those who received referrals, 80 percent did not
follow up with a mental health professional, citing barriers such as difficulty accessing off-site services and fear of disclosing their HIV status. The Healthy Minds/Healthy Moms program will provide on-site, integrated mental-health screening, treatment and support services to pregnant and postpartum patients.
Back in Action-Rapid Recovery after Breast Cancer Surgery
PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATORS: Christina Kerger Hynes, MD, attending physician, Women's Health Rehabilitation Program, Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago (RIC) and clinical instructor, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine, and Lauren Welles, MPT, DPT, RIC
Back in Action is a joint initiative with the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago and will promote the education, awareness and proper diagnosis of breast surgery complications. Although the cancer survival rate continues to climb, the aggressive interventions used to treat cancer take a harsh toll on the patient's body, often resulting in physical
weakness and disability. Studies indicate that more than 70 percent of patients suffer from shoulder, neck, arm, rib, mid and lower back pain after treatment for breast cancer. These and other complications such as lymphedema following breast cancer surgical procedures can be devastating to patients and can serve as a physical reminder of their disease.
Funding from the Evergreen Invitational will help develop screening programs for post-operative breast cancer patients in Prentice Women's Hospital. It also will support a physical therapist whowill assess the physical ability of each patient before and after breast cancer diagnosis. The Back in Action program will help women become more aware of potential physical dysfunctions and provide them with resources to address these problems early.
Partnership to Improve Breastfeeding Rates
PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Ann E.B. Borders, MD, MSc, MPH, attending physician, Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology,Northwestern Memorial and assistant professor, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Feinberg School
Each year, the Prentice Ambulatory Care (PAC) clinic provides outpatient women's services to more than 500 uninsured or underinsured obstetric patients in the Chicago
community. Services include routine gynecological, prenatal and postpartum care, including breastfeeding support.
Breastfeeding promotes healthy infant development and prevents a range of acute and chronic diseases. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that infants be exclusively breastfed for approximately the first six months of life and that breastfeeding continue for at least one year. Despite various national initiatives, the Center for Disease Control found that Chicago has lower breastfeeding rates than other metropolitan areas. Furthermore, research indicates that young and underprivileged mothers breastfeed at markedly lower rates than others.
Funding from the Evergreen Invitational will enable the PAC clinic to hire a part time
breastfeeding peer counselor to provide breastfeeding support and culturally appropriate education. The counselor will routinely meet with each patient receiving prenatal care at the clinic to discuss newborn feeding choices and stress the benefits of breastfeeding.
For more information about the new Prentice Women's
Hospital, please visit http://prentice.nmh.org
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2007-2008 Mission Archive
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