From Aron’s Desk

Friends, 

Over the last 100 days or so, I have had the chance to learn about many amazing projects and programs at RFU. None is more crucial or unique in the state than the RFU Children’s Advocacy Center Medical Clinic in partnership with the Lake County Children’s Advocacy Center (LCCAC) and founded about a year ago under Dr. Rheault. With support from the state and Schreiber Philanthropy, the RFU Health Clinics and the LCCAC created a medical clinic to care for area children who are survivors of sexual abuse. Previously, these children were sent into Cook and Lake County emergency departments, where they faced long wait times and often required recounting their experiences multiple times, potentially re-traumatizing these children.

Tragically, our team expects to see between 35 and 45 children from the area each month. The scale of atrocity is simply shocking. The partnership between the university, the county, Schreiber Philanthropy, and Senator Morrison has been resilient, dedicated, and impressive. I am deeply grateful to all of our partners and the people of RFU who have been working to operationalize this clinic.

Starting a clinic is one thing, making it sustainable is another. It has taken a lot of work by our RFU Health Clinic team, the LCCAC team, and calls to the state from our state senator, Julie Morrison. Now, the RFU Children’s Advocacy Center Medical Clinic is fully integrated into the state system to provide vouchers for future medical and specialty care needed by these children, regardless of their ability to pay. We’ve been able to care for some children over the last year thanks to the state support resulting from Senator Morrison’s advocacy and the generosity of Schreiber Philanthropy. With the final bureaucratic issues resolved, the clinic will be able to fully support these families. 

From the LCCAC:

• Eric Rinehart, LC State's Attorney, LCCAC
• Lauren Walker, Asst. LC State's Attorney, LCCAC
• Carrie Flanigan, Executive Director, LCCAC
• Sara Hammock, Program Director, LCCAC

From RFU:

• Brenda Affinati, MD, (LCCAC Board Member), Assistant Dean for Medical Student Education, Phase III
• Julie Creaden, DNP, Medical Director, RFUHC / RFUCAC MC
• Mara-Beth Israel-Uebe, RN, SANE Manager, RFUCAC MC
• Alex Kichka, RN, SANE Coordinator, RFUCAC MC
• Maribel Lopez, CORCM, Manager, RFUHC Revenue Cycle
• Brian Nicholson, RN, BS, MHA, RFUHC Director of Clinical Practice Operations

As you would expect, a clinic like this needs a special kind of workforce. These children are often referred to the clinic by law enforcement. Once the survivor comes to the LCCAC, they are interviewed by a forensic interviewer and referred to additional services including a well-being examination and the collection of any relevant physical evidence by a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE). The SANE nurses are core to our clinical team and lead the medical side of the work. SANE nurses have extensive education and training requirements for their role, which helps bridge the medical needs of the child and the chance to collect evidence that can bring them justice. Because there were so few resources available for children, many did not get the treatment they needed and no evidence was collected thereby preventing much of their access to justice. 

This is the only clinic of its kind in the state, which is stupefying to me. Because of our partnerships and the work our teams have done, we have the opportunity to help expand this kind of resource around the state and nation. To begin, we will have the opportunity to be a site for educating SANE nurses and other professionals who will work with childhood survivors of sexual abuse. Beyond the educational work we can do, our clinical team now knows the path to help other communities create similar clinics and programs. My thanks to the whole team and our leader, Vice President for Clinical Services, Jeff Espina, MBA. 

Not everything this week was quite so serious or momentous - my office now has some art. Most people at the RFU campus walk down the Basic Science Building (BSB) hallways pretty frequently. If you want information (the Boxer Library) or food (the DNA Cafe) you are probably kicking down one of those avenues. If you do, you may look into my office/fishbowl, which has been pretty spare since I arrived. Well, I have some art on the walls. Our marketing team made a big wall sticker of Dr. Rosalind Franklin Polychromatic and worked with campus facilities to install it. Dr. Dabrowska used an NIH image of Dr. Franklin to create this digital piece as a graduation present for one of her PhD students and also as an entry in the Spring 2025 issue of Synapses: A Creative Journal of the Chicago Medical School. My first inclination was to have a huge version of Photo 51 on that wall, but the resolution is not good enough for a big image. Besides, Photo 51 is monochrome, and no one needs more monochrome during a midwestern winter. I love the piece, and each time I look up from my desk is a joy.

Improving the wellness of all people with you, 

Aron