Money well spent

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Written by Thea Peorian

OSF Healthcare System will be able to continue work on three new programs, including two of them in Peoria, thanks to a grant from PNC Bank and the PNC Foundation.

The $290,000 grant, presented Thursday during a ceremony at OSF Saint Francis Medical Center, will help fund the pediatric school program at Children's Hospital of Illinois, located at St. Francis in Peoria, and the new Birthing Center at OSF St. Joseph Medical Center in Bloomington.

The grant also will help fund the new Jump Trading Simulation and Education Center now under construction on the campus of OSF Saint Francis Medical Center. The center is a collaborative effort between OSF Healthcare and the University of Illinois College of Medicine at Peoria.

(Photo courtesy of OSF Healthcare System) Doug Stewart, regional president of PNC Bank, presents a grant and check from the PNC Foundation to Keith Steffen, CEO of OSF Saint Francis Medical Center. The grant will help fund three OSF programs in Peoria and Bloomington."The OSF Healthcare System remains at the forefront of patient care and new medical techniques, and PNC's support will ensure that central Illinois continues to offer some of the best health care resources in the nation," said Doug Stewart, PNC regional president for central Illinois.  "PNC is a strong supporter of health care because we know it ultimately makes our communities a better place to live and creates quality jobs that are critical to a strong local economy."

Keith Steffen, president and CEO of OSF Saint Francis Medical Center, said OSF Healthcare is grateful for the gift and that it values its relationship and partnership with PNC.

"The Jump Trading Simulation and Education Center will be one of the beneficiaries and it exemplifies the collaboration that is so important to PNC as we work closely with UICOMP in the development of this training center," Steffen said. "Once completed, JTSEC will be very instrumental in both bending the cost curve and improving quality of care and clinical outcomes, both of which are so fitting to everything going on with health care reform."

The pediatric school program at Children's Hospital serves multiple school districts and grade levels throughout the region, OSF Healthcare said in a news release. The PNC grant will help purchase laptops and iPads making it easier for children to study from their hospital room; give patients access to additional books and online tools offered by the child's school; and allow for expanded opportunities such as offering a weekly program focusing on topics including music, science, and photography, the release said.

In addition, preschool children will have in-room, on-demand access to PNC Grow Up Great educational videos, developed by Sesame Workshop, the creator of Sesame Street. The videos can be used as a component for their learning needs.  

The portion of the grant going to OSF St. Joseph Medical Center will be designated for the family waiting area in the new Birthing Center, to make it a more child-friendly area, OSF Healthcare said. The Birthing Center, which opened in August 2011, includes 12 private Labor/ Delivery/ Recovery/ Postpartum (LDRP) rooms, offering mothers and their babies the latest advances in comfort and care.