Community health worker Nicol Moore met Amber Hinkle, 41, during a 2021 neighborhood celebration in Comer Cox Park. Amber had chronic leg pain and had become discouraged with her physician. “I’d bring things to my doctor’s attention but they were always getting swept under the rug, or they were misdiagnosed,” Hinkle says. Moore told her about SIU’s Access to Care program and offered to find her a new physician. Within a week, Moore had connected her with Dr. Patrick Long, a resident physician at SIU’s Center for Family Medicine in Springfield. He examined Hinkle and enlisted the help of SIU

Community health worker Nicol Moore met Amber Hinkle, 41, during a 2021 neighborhood celebration in Comer Cox Park. Amber had chronic leg pain and had become discouraged with her physician. “I’d bring things to my doctor’s attention but they were always getting swept under the rug, or they were misdiagnosed,” Hinkle says. Moore told her about SIU’s Access to Care program and offered to find her a new physician. Within a week, Moore had connected her with Dr. Patrick Long, a resident physician at SIU’s Center for Family Medicine in Springfield. He examined Hinkle and enlisted the help of SIU

It’s a question I often get asked by my patients during my clinics at Family Medicine. The most straightforward answer is that Physician Assistants (PAs) are medical providers, like Nurse Practitioners (NPs), that function very similarly to our Physician colleagues in that we prescribe medications, manage chronic medical conditions, and work-up acute complaints. Quickly following that question is, “when do you graduate and become a doctor?” I chuckle at this because I have no intention of going back to school for another seven years (at the very least), and also because being a PA is the best

Helping those with dementia express themselves through artistic creativity will flourish thanks to a recent donation. Art Express received a $3,000 donation from the 2023 Fat Ass 5K & Street Party for Charity , an event that raises funds for charitable causes in the Springfield area. Art Express is one of the Beyond the Medical Center programs hosted by the Dale and Deborah Smith Center for Alzheimer’s Research and Treatment, helping those with Alzheimer’s and related dementia through art expression. The weekly program is designed to give people an outlet to creatively express themselves

Tickets and sponsorships are available for this year's Denim & Diamonds benefiting Simmons Cancer Institute at SIU Medicine on Saturday, October 14 at the Crowne Plaza.

Tickets and sponsorships are available for this year's Denim & Diamonds benefiting Simmons Cancer Institute at SIU Medicine on Saturday, October 14 at the Crowne Plaza.