Illinois Medicine

I L L I N O I S M E D I C I N E | 9 HEN AN AIRLINE PASSENGER FALLS ILL and a doctor steps forward to help — even if it's just food poisoning from the fish served on board — he or she is often stepping out of their comfort zone in terms of medical specialty. To address this dilemma, Raymond Bertino, MD, a clinical professor of radiology and surgery at the College of Medicine Peoria, has spurred creation of a mobile app called AirRx that provides guidance to doctors called upon to assist with in-flight emergencies. Peoria-based CSE Software laid down the actual code. AirRx, available in the respective stores of Apple and Android for $4.99, provides basic information about evaluating and treating 23 common in-flight medical emergencies, ranging from cardiac arrest and strokes, to delivery of a newborn, as well as how to handle an in- flight death. It also provides information about liability, assuring physicians that they are well- protected. The app is designed to be used while a mobile device is in "airplane mode." Rockford Campus Reports Total Economic Impact, Additional Bump from M1s HE COM ROCKFORD AND ITS SISTER COLLEGES on the Health Sciences Campus — Nursing and Pharmacy — had a combined $58.2 million economic impact on the four-county Rockford Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) in fiscal year 2015, effectively supporting 898 jobs. This is according to a report by Emsi, a leading provider of economic impact studies to educational institutions, which quantified the $58.2 million figure based on $30.7 million in campus expenditures, $25 million in alumni and volunteer spending, and $2.5 million in student and visitor spending. In addition, capital projects on the campus will generate an estimated $10 million in spending for construction and renovation from 2014 to 2024, which in turn will create $7.9 million in added income between 2014 and 2035 — equivalent to 128 jobs. The impact of capital spending on the newly arrived M1 students in Rockford will mean added income of $33.9 million from 2016 to 2035, the equivalent of 475 jobs. In preparation for the first-year students, the college is transforming the curriculum, recruiting new faculty and staff and renovating facilities with a $2.2 million approximate annual impact beginning in 2017. The M1 expansion also has garnered a $250,000 gift for the Rockford campus from SwedishAmerican, a division of University of Wisconsin Health. "We are extremely proud of the education, research and community activities that define the campus and are delighted to see that this translates into a meaningful fiscal impact for our region," says Alex Stagnaro-Green, MD, MHPE, regional dean of the COM Rockford. Technology-rich classrooms and updated anatomy labs will be new features added to accommodate the curricular transformation that will now include M1 courses in Peoria and Rockford. W T RADIOLOGIST FROM COM PEORIA DEVELOPS APP FOR IN-FLIGHT EMERGENCIES

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