Health

The Mid-Illinois Medical District is a one-square mile designation in the heart of Springfield just to the north of downtown. The district is anchored by the area’s two major hospitals, Springfield Memorial and HSHS St. John’s Hospital, as well as the Southern Illinois University School of Medicine and Springfield Clinic, the second largest multi-specialty physician group in Illinois.

Established in 2003, the medical district serves to promote the orderly development and expansion of health care facilities and medical-related industries.

Throughout the last decade, more than $600 million of capital investment has been made in the medical district to support patient care, bio-medical research, new medical technologies and advanced medical-related activities.

Cutting-edge medical procedures have put Springfield on the map within the medical industry.

• The Prairie Heart Institute at HSHS St. John’s Hospital was among the first 10 hospitals in the country to perform a Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement (TAVR) procedure. Prairie Heart is also the first in the United States and the seventh in the world to successfully complete a procedure to implant a medical device, known as a Lotus™ valve, in a patient with an existing artificial heart valve.
• Springfield Memorial is one of eight hospitals in the United States that is accredited for Lung Volume Reduction Surgery by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations.
• Simmons Cancer Institute (SIU) consistently undertakes unique research in cancer
  treatment, such as serving as the exclusive site for a bladder cancer clinical trial in 2015. The trial combined the current use of drug therapy placed inside the bladder with a new, intravenous drug that increases the response of the immune system.
• The Institute for Plastic Surgery at Southern Illinois University (SIU) School of Medicine conducted the first clinical hand transplant program in Illinois and is one of only eleven hand transplant programs in the country.

Springfield’s high level of medical care is ensured to continue for generations thanks to the ongoing dedication to education.

In addition to treating acute care needs, local health organizations are training the next round of doctors, nurses, radiology technicians, physical therapists, pharmacists and other professionals through a variety of advanced, hands-on methods.

SIU Medicine is a publicly assisted medical school and a clinical practice focused on the health care needs of downstate Illinois. The School of Medicine is part of Southern Illinois University in Carbondale. For more than 50 years, SIU Medicine has been an innovative leader in medical education and a key player in the development of the regional academic medical center in Springfield. Set amid the city's growing Mid-Illinois Medical District, the school is a driving force in improving the population's health. 

In 2015, Memorial’s Center for Learning and Innovation opened its doors to provide advanced technology and state-of-the-art simulation training for its staff and clinical partners.

Simulated settings include a nurses station, operating room, ambulance and outdoor environment, emergency treatment and trauma rooms, and a patient home with a kitchen, dining room, living room, bedroom and restroom. A Surgical Skills Center enables learners to stay on the cutting-edge of practice and technology through surgical skills sessions, and degree/certification programs are offered in conjunction with academic partners.

Just down the street, St. John’s College of Nursing offers two masters programs as well as upper-division baccalaureate nursing degree programs focused on immersion in nursing theory and practice.

In 2016, the college opened its Simulation Center to offer students a realistic experience in preparing for routine and unexpected events they will encounter in a clinical nursing environment. The center includes an operating/obstetrics room, emergency room, patient room, pediatric room, exam room and skills lab.

In these practice settings, each interaction with the patient mannequin can be recorded so the student and faculty can debrief and review what went well and what should be done differently in the future.

These education and training resources allow medical professionals to mimic real-world scenarios to test new workflows, equipment and safety initiatives - all of which have become a cornerstone in delivering the best possible care in the Springfield and Sangamon County community.