Loyola University Health System (LUHS) is a private, Jesuit Catholic provider based in the western suburbs of Chicago, and is a nationally recognized leader in providing specialty and primary health-care services and in conducting groundbreaking research in the treatment of heart disease, cancer, organ transplantation and neurological disorders.

Through its hub, Loyola University Medical Center (LUMC), located on a 61-acre campus in Maywood, Ill., Loyola has provided skilled, compassionate care to patients for 35 years.

• The Loyola University Hospital is a teaching, tertiary-care, 523 licensed-bed facility that includes a Level I trauma center and a Burn Center. LUMC also operates an aeromedical service, Loyola LIFESTAR.
• Ronald McDonald ® Children’s Hospital of Loyola University Medical Center (a hospital within a hospital) provides a network of general and specialty services throughout Chicago’s western suburbs at Loyola’s primary care and family health centers.
• Cardinal Bernardin Cancer Center was the first freestanding facility in Illinois to combine cancer research, diagnosis, treatment and prevention under one roof.
• Center for Heart & Vascular Medicine brings together cardiologists, cardiovascular surgeons, radiologists, peripheral vascular and other specialists to provide patients comprehensive heart care from the latest in medications, lifestyle habits and risk assessment to heart surgery and transplants.
• The Loyola Outpatient Center located at LUMC is equipped with general and specialized examination and treatment rooms for 14 clinical departments, clinical laboratories, radiation oncology, a diagnostic radiology department, ambulatory surgery suites and a healing garden.

The health system also includes:

• An extensive network of primary and specialty care centers conveniently located in the western suburbs of Chicago
• Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine, which is a national role model in reinventing medical education to prepare students for today’s health-care environment. Stritch also supports several research efforts:
• Burn and Shock Trauma Institute – focuses upon prevention, treatment, education and research issues relevant to trauma and injury.
• Oncology Institute – coordinates Loyola’s interdisciplinary approach to cancer research and treatment.
• Cardiovascular Institute – unites investigators who have backgrounds in a variety of disciplines to foster cardiovascular disease research to advance clinical care and to enhance post-graduate education.
• Neuroscience and Aging Institute – focuses on degenerative diseases and diseases of aging.
• Neiswanger Institute for Bioethics and Health Policy – focuses on ethics in the practice of medicine.

LUHS employs more than 6,800 people and has 1,324 faculty members, 458 residents, 117 fellows and 552 medical students (FY’05).

Loyola University Health System Statistics (FY’05):

• 31,476 discharges (includes 23-hour admissions)
• 609,818 outpatient visits
• 49,626 emergency room visits
• 792 aeromedical service transports
• 1,593 births
• 11,376 inpatient surgeries
• 8,632 outpatient surgeries

Cancer Care
The Cardinal Bernardin Cancer Center (CBCC) provides comprehensive and integrated research, patient care and education in a single setting. The CBCC was the first freestanding facility in Illinois to combine cancer research, diagnosis, treatment and prevention under one roof. More than 70,000 patient visits are made to the CBCC each year. With its focus on research and success in pioneering new treatments, the CBCC has given new hope to cancer patients, enabling them to participate in more than 500 clinical trials and receive treatments that may not be available elsewhere. The cancer center offers a full continuum of care for patients with cancer, providing a holistic approach that fosters the physical, mental and spiritual well-being of the patient, family members and caregivers.

• Specialized services include the Breast Care Center, the Bone Marrow Transplant Program and the High Dose Outpatient Infusion Program/Day Hospital.

Cardiac Care
Loyola University Health System ranks as the top heart hospital in Illinois by U.S.News & World Report, recording some of the highest volumes and success rates for heart surgery in the region as well as offering leading-edge technology and procedures resulting in patient survival rates that exceed national averages. By pioneering less invasive procedures, Loyola has advanced heart care and given new hope to patients. New procedures for heart patients are now on the horizon, thanks to the Cardiovascular Institute where patients can participate in ongoing clinical trials and have access to investigational therapies.

• More than 5,000 heart catheterization procedures (with more than 1,200 being interventional) annually
• A leading heart transplant center in Illinois and among the top in the nation for both volume of patients (more than 600 transplants since inception) and survival rates
• Performs among the most open-heart procedures in the state (greater than 1,000 cases per year)
• One of the largest heart failure centers in the country with an active infusion program and left ventricular assist device program

Neonatal Care
Loyola is home to a specially designed 50-bed neonatal unit, the largest in Illinois and one that serves as a national model for other hospitals planning new facilities.

• Maintains the lowest infant mortality rate in Illinois
• Delivered and cared for the world’s two smallest surviving infants

Neuroscience Care
Loyola University Health System’s neurosciences program weaves together neurological surgeons, neurologists, otolaryngologists and neuropsychiatrists, with their supporting colleagues, to detect subtle changes in neurology patients that might otherwise go unnoticed. Specialized inpatient units dedicated to neurology and neurological surgery intensive care, neurosciences, and acute stroke and epilepsy help speed patients’ recovery times.

• Neurointerventionalists perform catheter-based, non-invasive outpatient procedure to treat cerebral aneurysms and arteriovenous malformations
• First health system within 150-mile radius using minimally invasive shaped-beam radiosurgery technology to treat tumors, preserving healthy tissue, eliminating lengthy hospital stays, speeding recovery and helping patients return quickly to daily routines.

Pediatrics
The Ronald McDonald ® Children’s Hospital of Loyola University Medical Center is a 100-bed hospital within a hospital. It is a regional referral center for complex pediatric cases, offering one of the region’s largest pediatric burn centers, a comprehensive pediatric emergency room and pediatric trauma program, a state-of-the-art pediatric intensive care unit, advanced cardiovascular care, a pediatric kidney transplant program, multidisciplinary spina bifida and cystic fibrosis centers, 24-hour epilepsy monitoring and other specialty services.

• Recognized as a children’s hospital by the National Association of Children’s Hospitals and Related Institutions; underscores Loyola’s leadership role in pediatric health care and research.
• Provides specialty care for children with common and uncommon health problems
• Home to Chicago area’s third Ronald McDonald ® House, the Caring Place at Loyola

Burn and Trauma Care
Loyola’s Trauma Center, the first in Illinois to gain Level I status and one of only two trauma centers serving Chicago’s western suburbs, cares for more than 3,000 critically injured patients each year. The Burn Center serves a four-state area, is one of the busiest nationwide and treats more than 540 patients annually. LIFESTAR, Loyola’s aeromedical transport system, extends the Trauma Center’s coverage as far as 150 miles away.

• Recognized by the University HealthSystem Consortium for providing the best in burn care
• Verified by the American College of Surgeons and the American Burn Association
• Designated as a Pediatric Critical Care Center by the Illinois Emergency Medical Services for Children program

Loyola University Health System has been involved in clinical research since 1972. Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine receives more than $38 million annually in extramural support of research in areas such as heart disease, trauma and burns, oncology, neuroscience and infectious disease.

Clinical research areas of focus include:

• Heart failure
• Organ transplantation
• Autologous bone marrow transplantation
• Pacemakers/electrophysiology
• Hemostasis and cardiovascular surgery
• Renal transplantation
• Pelvic medicine
• Prostatic cancer therapy
• Burns, trauma and immuno-stimulator therapy
• Hemostasis and cardiac angioplasty
• Alzheimer’s disease
• At-home electro-encephalographic monitoring
• All forms of therapeutic apheresis, including photopheresis and LDL-apheresis
• Vaccines for melanoma

Loyola specializes in the following therapeutic areas:

• New drugs in heart failure
• Stem cell collection enhancement
• Photopheresis for allograft rejection and graft vs. host disease
• Evaluation of new pacemakers
• Evaluation of novel anti-coagulants
• Evaluation of novel antibiotics, antifungal agents, antiviral agents and treatment of HIV/AIDS

Loyola has worked with most pharmaceutical, biotech companies and device manufacturers.

Gastroenterological Research
The division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Clinical Nutrition comprises 13 full- or part-time physicians, who practice medicine at Loyola University Health System, and two Ph.D. scientists.

Basic research is conducted in the areas of colon and liver cancer biology. A recently established program focuses on the discovery of new serum markers for hepatocellular cancer. This project is supported by a VA merit review and is carried out at the Edward Hines Jr. Veterans Affairs Hospital.

Clinical strengths and opportunities for clinical research exist in the following areas:

• Liver disease: acute and chronic hepatitis (including hepatitis C, alcoholic and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis and other metabolic liver diseases), cirrhosis and its complications, hepatocellular cancer and liver transplantation
• Nutrition (including enteral and parenteral nutrition and obesity treatment)
• Biliary endoscopy
• Endoscopic ultrasound
• Gastroesophageal reflux disease (including Barrett’s surveillance and esophageal cancer)
• Colonic polyp screening and surveillance
• Chronic inflammatory bowel disease

Clinical Trials Program
Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine has developed a complete program of clinical trials funded by pharmaceutical industry research. The clinical trials program assists any member of the medical staff to obtain and execute sponsored clinical research by providing all logistical, infrastructure and administrative support.

The clinical trials department is staffed with dedicated registered nurses who pride themselves on accuracy and timeliness. These nurses review the protocols and prepare all regulatory documents as directed by the Institutional Review Board and the sponsor within a timely fashion. The clinical trials program nurses work cohesively with the nurses on the floor to maintain the standards of the study. The research nurse will do educational in-services for staff and describe their participation in the study process. This also ensures that the study is performed properly and without any protocol violations.

Past trials include studies involving HIV, antifungals and antibiotics, DVT, PE, CMV, solid organ transplant, rheumatology, dermatology, ADHD, ENT, asthma and cystic fibrosis.

Scott Jellish, MD Albert Davis, MD: Anesthesiology
Alain Heroux, MD, Michelle Montpetite, MD: Cardiologists: Cardiac Transplantation Program and Heart Failure Program
John Moran, MD, Keith Mc Lean, MD, Ivan Pacold, MD, Thomas McKiernan, MD: Cardiology, general
David Wilber, MD, Peter Santucci, MD, Niraj Varma, MD, Joseph Akar, MD: Electrophysiology; Evaluation of pacemakers
Fred Leya, MD, Bruce Lewis, MD, Lowell Steen, MD: Interventional Cardiology
Mamdouh Bakhos, MD, Jeffrey Schwartz, MD, Jeanine Walenga, PhD: Cardiothoracic Surgery
James Swan, MD: Dermatology, psoriasis and acne
Pauline Camacho, MD: Endocrinology
David Hecht, MD, Paul O’Keefe, MD, Stuart Johnson, MD, Jorge Parada, MD: Infectious Disease: Evaluation of new antibiotics, anti-fungals and antiviral agents, HIV/AIDS
Claus Fimmel, MD, Sonu Dhillon: Liver disorders or cancer
Michael Klamut, MD, Jack Leya, MD, Sobarhan, MD: Gastrointestinal disorders
Thomas Schnell, MD, Rani Chintam, MD: GI, esophageal, stomach, colon and reflux diseases
Edward Gurza, MD: General Internal Medicine, deep vein thrombosis, pulmonary embolisms
Jose Biller, MD, Jasvinder Chawla, MD, Gregory Gruener, MD, Michael Schneck, MD: Neurology; Central Nervous System Infections, Alzheimer's Disease, Stroke
Russell Nockels, MD, Douglas Anderson, MD : Neurological Surgery
Patrick Stiff, MD: Hematology: Allogenic bone marrow transplantation
Amir Toor, MD, Tulio Rodriguez, MD, Sucha Nand, MD, Scott Smith, MD, Nada Sherman, MD, Kevin Barton, MD: Hematology Oncology
Joseph Clark, MD: Oncology; Head and Neck Cancer, Lung Cancer and Melanoma
Kathy Albain: Oncology; Lung and Breast Cancers
Ellen Gaynor, MD: Oncology; Lung and Breast Cancers; Urological Cancer
Kenneth Micetich, MD: Oncology; Gastrointestinal Cancers
Ricarchito Manera , MD : Oncology, pediatric
Linda Brubaker, MD, Mary Pat Fitzgerald, MD, Kim Kenton, MD, Elizabeth Mueller, MD ; Obstetrics and Gynecology - Urogynecology
Michael Zinaman, MD: Obstetrics and Gynecology; Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility; HRT: Osteoporosis
Ronald Potkul, MD: Obstetrics and Gynecology: Cervical and Ovarian Cancer
William Hopkinson, MD, Michael Pinzur, MD, Guio Marra, MD : Orthopaedic Surgery and Rehabilitation
Walter Jay, MD : Ophthalmology
Phillip Dechristopher, MD, PhD, Mitchell Denning, PhD : Pathology
Youngran Chung, MD, Jonathan Muraskas, MD, Miriam Bar-on, MD: Pediatrics
Richard Cooper, MD, Lean Hatchett, Amy Luke, PhD, Xiaofeng Zhu, PhD: Preventive Medicine and Epidemiology
Anna Ivanenko, MD, PhD: Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences
Charles Alex, MD: Pulmonary/Critical Care: Lung Transplantation
Sean Forsythe, MD: Pulmonary; Asthma, Cystic Fibrosis
Guan Chen, MD : Radiation Oncology
Vinod Bansal, MD : Nephrology
Ruth Kadanoff, MD: Rheumatology
Fred Luchette, MD, David Holt, MD, Katharine Yao, MD, Diane Dado, MD, Beatrice Probst, MD, William Baker, MD: Surgery
Richard Gamelli, MD: Surgery: New therapeutic approaches in burn and trauma
David Hatch, MD: Urology
Robert Flanigan, MD: Urology: Prostate Cancer

Loyola University Health System investigators, research nurses and clinical coordinators are certified by the institution to conduct research. The Clinical Trials Office provides investigators with the expertise required to expedite a protocol through the Institutional Review Board process. The CTO will coordinate the trial with other departments to ensure GCP.

CenterWatch is listing the following trials that are actively recruiting patients at this center.

• A multicenter trial of adjuvant chemotherapy in organ-confined Bladder Cancer based on p53 status

For more information, please contact:

Cathy Kalnicky, BSN, CCRP
Acting Associate Director of Clinical Trials
Loyola University Medical Center Clinical Trials Office
2160 South First Ave.
Building 54, Room 067
Maywood, IL 60153 USA
Phone: 708-216-0291
Main: 708-216-9000
Fax: 708-216-2059
E-mail:

If you are interested in contacting this center to discuss placing a clinical trial there, please complete and send the E-mail form below. A representative from the research center will then follow up with you.

Name:
Address:
City:
State:
Zip:
Phone:
Email address:
Message:

Please note: A number of commercial online services display an error message after you click on Send. Please be assured that your message has been received.

Last updated on August 21, 2008