Hospitals

OSF HealthCare launches innovation lab at University of Illinois at Chicago

The lab and the course it offers will look at creating new tools and technologies to serve vulnerable and underserved patient populations.

OSF HealthCare in Peoria, Illinois, has revealed its OSF Innovation Laboratory at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

The lab, which is part of UIC’s Innovation Center, will look at creating new tools and technologies to serve vulnerable patient populations.

In a news release, Sarah de Ramirez, CMO of clinical innovation and vice president of OSF Innovation for OSF HealthCare, said:

We are excited about this partnership with UIC. Our work is taking a spotlight on the areas that have not typically been addressed. By placing these interdisciplinary teams from across the university with our complex solutions team at OSF Innovation, we will have a unique opportunity to solve for healthcare for those most challenged by the current environment.

The new laboratory has already started educating students. At the beginning of June, 12 doctoral students were working with six professors. This fall, the lab will bring in 40 more graduate-level students, who will embark on a year-long course studying ways to assist underserved patients. The class will focus on everything from food insecurities to statewide wellness services.

“The course will bring together students from across the [U of I] system — from medicine, design, engineering and business — to work toward creating a system that provides connected, precision-guided healthcare delivery for Illinois,” Tim Killeen, president of the University of Illinois system, noted in a news release.

The health system has a history of striving for innovation. In an effort to help startups, OSF Innovation signed an agreement to be a sponsor of PULSE@MassChallenge, a program that aids digital health entrepreneurs.

Last fall, OSF’s corporate investment arm, OSF Ventures, invested in PatientWisdom, whose platform helps clinicians and members of the care team learn about their patients. More recently, it took part in a financing round of Level Ex, a tech company that develops video games for doctors.

Photo: 9amstock, Getty Images

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