On May 27th we kicked off our monthly walking tours of the District. Each month IMD team members will partner with local elected officials and representatives from District organizations will be out on foot walking throughout the IMD to assess what's going well and what is needed. All are welcome - please let Karen Ewing know if you'd like to come along on our next walk or if you have an area of the District that you'd like us to tour.

Lastly, I would like to thank two longtime IMD staff who recently have left the IMD. Patricia Hayden, our Administrative Services Manager, was instrumental in maintaining our office environment and bringing together events both large and small, and she served the IMD for nearly 25 years with integrity, diligence, and kindness. We wish her well in retirement. Ryan Gage, who was our Director of Marketing and Communication for over six years, expanded our reach and transformed the way we present ourselves and engage with the world, ensuring we are consistent and impactful in our messaging and visibility. He will be continuing his good work with the City of Chicago.

1.      Nature’s Fynd will be located at 2250 W. Campbell Park Dr. The facility will serve as the research and development lab for Nature’s Fynd food products.

2.      Lakril Technologies will be located at 2225 W. Harrison Street. Lakril is working to develop a biobased acrylic acid that is more sustainable and has less unwanted byproducts compared to conventional acrylics.

3.      Dispatch Health is a current IMD partner working toward its vision to build “the world’s largest in-home care system.” Dispatch Health is expanding operations at its current facility located at 2225 W. Harrison Street.

IMD Guest House will hosts its annual Summer Swing golf outing and fundraiser event on June 21 at Bolingbrook Golf Club, located at 2001 Rodeo Drive in Bolingbrook, IL. Individual and group rates are available for the event, which will start at 11 AM.

For more information or to register for the golf outing, click here.

Two full days each week, pediatric patients at Cook County Health will be able to engage with a Snow City Arts (SCA) Teaching Artist to explore their ideas, create new works of art, and express their creativity all while learning. SCA's offerings will initially feature visual arts and music providing young learners with opportunities to draw, paint, sculpt, photograph, play the ukulele, drum, make digital beats, and learn sound mixing.

“All of us at Snow City Arts are so pleased to be returning to work with the Pediatric population at Cook County Health. Our Teaching Artists bring our expertise in providing live, one-on-one arts learning opportunities as well as being able to leverage the virtual tools we've developed over the last two years to ensure we can reach young people who may be isolated due to a diagnosis,” said Executive Director Carrie Spitler.

The American Red Cross hosts regular blood drives at their Chicago headquarters (2200 W Harrison St) in partnership with Rush University. Come out and donate! Each blood donation can help save up to three lives. Upcoming drives are on June 27 and July 18. Make your appointment online here.

Our Catalyst newsletter exists in part to promote the great work of our IMD partners and friends. If you have news, events or information about your organization that you'd like us to include in a future edition of The Catalyst, please reach out to IMD Chief of Staff Kate Schellinger.

UAS 10^TH ANNIVERSARY CARROTS & COCKTAILS EVENT

Urban Autism Solutions (UAS) will commemorate its 10^th anniversary with its Carrots & Cocktails event to be held at UAS’ 1.2-acre urban farm in the Illinois Medical District on Wednesday, June 22 from 5 pm to 7 pm. The farm is located at 2250 W. Campbell Park Drive.

To register and buy tickets, click here.

The IMD would like to congratulate Urban Prairie Waldorf School (UPWS) for being awarded the Green Ribbon School designation from The U.S. Department of Education. The designation is awarded to educational institutions that develop innovative approaches to environmental improvements, health & wellness, and sustainability education. 

“We are so proud to stand among a select group of schools across the U.S. who together prioritize sustainability in the face of the climate crisis,” said UPWS Head of School Sharla Paul.

Congratulations to Dr. Omar Lateef, who will serve in the system-wide role of president and CEO of RUSH, while continuing as president and CEO of RUSH University Medical Center, effective July 1, 2022.

Select Medical and Rush University System for Health held a ceremonial ground-breaking on May 25th to celebrate the new RUSH Specialty Hospital being built at 516 S Loomis. The 100-bed facility will be a combined critical illness recovery and inpatient rehabilitation hospital on the RUSH University Medical Center campus. The hospital is slated to open in 2024 and will feature 44 critical illness recovery and 56 inpatient rehabilitation beds.

Prior to joining the IMD, Kate worked in public health emergency preparedness at several local health departments, planning and responding to public health emergencies and leading the development of a community preparedness and resilience program. Kate can be reached via email here.

Everyone 5 years of age and older is eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine and a COVID-19 booster shot. To find a COVID-19 vaccine near you, click here.

Current local risk in Chicago based on CDC COVID-19 Community Levels is: High.