Famed author, actor and Iraq War veteran delivers inspirational speech at Advocate Christ Medical Center's annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. birthday celebration on Jan. 21.
Dancing With the Stars champion, actor and army veteran J.R. Martinez will be the keynote speaker at the annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration at Advocate Christ Medical Center on Jan. 21. Martinez won the hearts of millions of television viewers nationwide after placing among the top celebrity elites on season 13 of Dancing With the Stars. Championship dancing has been just one of many achievements for the Iraq War veteran who was severly injured in combat. After overcoming his injuries, Martinez became a successful actor and for three years played the role of Brot Monroe on the Emmy Award-winning soap, All My Children. Martinez is a highly-sought and popular motivational speaker, as well as a New York Times-best selling …
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CSX Transportation's plan to increase traffic on the Grand Trunk line through Evergreen Park hold almost no upside for the village and its 'downtown.'
I had hoped that someday more trains would run along the Grand Trunk Western Railroad tracks – the ones that cross 95th Street and Kedzie Avenue near where those two streets intersect. Freight traffic, however, wasn't what I had in mind. A hundred years ago, there was a rail station in Evergreen Park, on 95th Street, just east of Kedzie. That's according to this map from 1911. The Grand Trunk Western Railroad line ran from the old Dearborn Station down toward Blue Island and then southeast toward the state line. Passenger trains stopped here. How great would it be to be able to catch a train at 95th and Kedzie and go downtown or, in the opposite direction, points east? In my mind I fantasized about the Grand Trunk becoming a passenger rail…
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Physicians will present free educational sessions on atrial fibrillation and screenings in area throughout September.
Don’t let your heart skip a beat. Talk to heart rhythm specialists – cardiac electrophysiologists – at Advocate Christ Medical Center’s Heart and Vascular Institute and receive a free heart-disease and stroke-risk assessment at the same time. The physicians will be presenting a series of free educational sessions to answer some of the most commonly asked questions about atrial fibrillation, or AFib, a disorder in which the heart beats irregularly and unusually fast. Those who attend any of the lectures also will be able to take advantage of free screenings, including a blood pressure check, electrocardiogram, pulse oximetry and a stroke risk assessment. Two million people in the United States have AFib, and the odds of developing it …
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Dr. Rajat Prakash was put on leave last month after it was alleged he fondled a patient.
Criminal and civil investigations are mounting against an Advocate Christ Medical Center doctor accused of touching a female patient inappropriately. Oak Lawn Police Division Chief Mike Kaufmann said a second woman has come forward to make a report against Dr. Rajat Prakash, but no charges have been filed. “It’s her word and without anything else to corroborate it we don’t have anything to go forward with,” he said. “It’s still a matter of investigation.” Prakash, 46, of Oak Brook, appeared in court Tuesday on a misdemeanor battery charge alleging he fondled a 32-year-old woman being treated for multiple sclerosis in a semi-conscious state. Rick Murphy, an attorney representing at least five women, said he and others have been working on …
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10:43 pm on Saturday, May 12, 2012
What a sick human being. Hope they get to the bottom of it and put him away. more ›
Advocate Christ physician recommends the ‘A’ list for preventing holiday depression.
As much as we love Elvis Presley’s version of Blue Christmas, for many people the holidays can trigger sadness, stress and even depression. Gary Stuck, a family practitioner at Advocate Christ Medical Center and president of the medical center’s physician partners in Oak Lawn, says a number of factors can contribute to the “holiday blues” or even a serious depression at this time of year. “Holiday depression is a very real problem for some people,” Dr. Stuck said. “There may be unreasonable expectations that something good will happen.” Stuck said adult realities cannot live up to the feelings shaped in early childhood “when the holidays truly were a magical time.” Other factors contributing to feelings of sadness around the holidays, as …
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Founded by an Evergreen Park resident, Christmas Without Cancer is sponsoring three families this year, and will present them with gifts this weekend.
When a local nurse made a few phone calls to help the family of her recently-diagnosed cancer patient have a Merry Christmas, she never dreamed it would turn into a full-blown non-profit organization. In 2003 Advocate Christ Medical Center nurse Gerri Neylon’s 26-year old patient who was diagnosed with lung cancer, found out she had the disease just before Christmas and that it had spread to her brain. “That day I went home from work and called friends. Within a matter of days, we had a van full of stuff,” said Neylon. She thought to herself, “next year, I’m going to do this for somebody else.” Soon after, Christmas Without Cancer was born. Run out of Neylon’s Evergreen Park home, the organization accepts donations throughout the year in …
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9:38 am on Thursday, December 15, 2011
God Bless you Gerri Neylon! Thank you for lifting the spirits of these families. What an awesome story. At this time of year angels are really busy so God uses regular people. more ›
The Evergreen Parker considers new hospital buildings in Evergreen Park and Oak Lawn and ponders healing as it relates to construction.
New hospital buildings are rising in Evergreen Park and Oak Lawn. Soon we will be bookended by shiny new wings at Little Company of Mary here in our village and Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn. The latest medical technology and hospital construction advances will be within easy reach. And yet lately I find myself wondering what do these new buildings have to do with healing? Earlier this year, my father had a stroke and spent a week in the hospital near the home he shares with my mom outside Portland, Oregon. The stroke was the latest—and thankfully to-date the last—in a series of medical problems he and my mom faced over the past two years. There were many trips to the hospital, twice in ambulances. Now, the hospital by my …
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6:45 am on Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Did someone at some in sensitive hospital forget to tell him about "Penny Medical". Also If you aren't employed and have no means of paying for treatment the hospital will file the form and get reimbursed by medicaid. more ›
Josh Garza might have died after he was shot in the head by Gary Amaya, but instead he exceeded doctors’ expectations in his recovery.
Josh Garza is able to laugh now. The 20-year-old can also sit up, dress himself, walk without help from other people and sing. Garza said he laughed at the doctors who at one time told him that he may not even live through the night, after he was shot in the head about a year ago. Garza was attacked by Gary Amaya, the man police linked to shootings and attempted robberies in Illinois and Indiana, and was often described as the honeybee killer. On Oct. 5, 2010, Garza was rehabbing a house in Beecher with his longtime friend Matt Burton, now 21, and 45-year-old Rolando Alonso, when Amaya walked up to them and made idle small talk, mentioning honeybees before opening fire. Garza was hit by a bullet near his right eye. While Burton dodged the …
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12:38 pm on Sunday, December 11, 2011
Thank you, Rene. I certainly want to do more follow ups like this, so if you hear of anything in such a regard, please let me know. more ›
Nurses from neighboring Endoscopic laboratories take to the sand to claim victory in a case of friendly 95th Street rivalry.
While praising the work of nurses at the different Endoscopic teams of Evergreen Park’s Little Company of Mary Hospital and Health Care Centers and Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, little did Dr. Michael D’Astice know he’d set off a case of friendly 95th Street rivalry. “Since many Gastroenterology specialists work at both hospitals, naturally, they often compared the routines of the different teams. After a while, the nurses grew tired of the comparison,” said D’Astice, Medical Director of the Endoscopy Center at Little Company of Mary. The Endoscopy nurses at Advocate Christ Medical Center took matters in their own hands, and threw down the gauntlet--Team GI vs Little Company of Mary's Bombers--to determine the better team …
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Local community group comes together in a collaborative effort to provide support to families in need with loved ones who suffer from cancer.
Each year millions of Americans suffer from the consequences of cancer. From the emotional stress to the financial strains, the effects of cancer extend far beyond the patients into their families and wallets. Because providing treatment can be extremely expensive, it may seem impossible to offer the appropriate care necessary to counteract this illness. A local group called Christmas Without Cancer is making strides against cancer to help families in the southwest suburbs with loved ones who suffer from the disease. As a non-profit organization, Christmas Without Cancer has been providing emotional and financial support to families in Evergreen Park for the last five years. What started out as a small outreach program initially …
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10:17 am on Monday, July 11, 2011
Gerri Neylon is a wonderful and caring person. She would put a smile on my mom's face everytime she saw her while she was receiving treatment for breast cancer. My mom loved Gerri and looked forward to her visits with her even though it meant that she was coming into the hospital for treatment. I attended the benefit and could clearly see all the thought and hard work that was put into making it … more ›
Kenny Williams
9:07 am on Monday, January 21, 2013
Hero! more ›