UChicago Medicine Crown Point celebrates one year of care

After receiving a tongue cancer diagnosis about a year ago, Larry Colee sought treatment at the University of Chicago Medicine. He underwent six surgeries to remove the cancer and reconstruct his tongue at the health system’s main medical campus in Hyde Park.

Since then, his treatment continued closer to home at UChicago Medicine’s new multispecialty care facility in Crown Point, Indiana.

Colee, 80, is among the first patients treated at the Crown Point facility, which opened April 29, 2024. After receiving six weeks of daily low-dose radiation, Colee is back on the golf course, enjoying the food he loves and staying active.

Having a care team in Northwest Indiana has saved Colee and his wife, Sharon, about 200 extra hours of driving to appointments. “The medical center in Crown Point is a true blessing,” Colee said.

And it’s just one of many good stories taking shape since UChicago Medicine has brought its academic medicine capabilities to Northwest Indiana, giving area residents easy access to world-class clinical trials, leading experts and the latest technology. All that combined with the strength of community medicine’s personal touch.

As UChicago Medicine Crown Point notes its many firsts since opening, the number of specialties has nearly doubled, with plans in the works to add more in the coming year.

“I’m exceptionally proud of the team for their ongoing and demonstrated commitment to support our patients. Their results have resulted in impressive steady growth coupled with strong community support,” said Krista Curell, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer for the University of Chicago Health System and President of UChicago Medicine Northwest Indiana.

“We’re already moving forward with plans to expand services while investing in the technology and people needed to meet the needs of Northwest Indiana for years to come.”

Expanded expertise and services

At 132,000 square feet, the Crown Point multispecialty care center is UChicago Medicine’s largest offsite facility. The features include:

• An ambulatory surgery center
• Eight inpatient beds
• A 24-hour emergency department
• Multiple physician specialists for kids and adults in hematology, digestive diseases, heart and vascular, neuroscience and orthopaedic surgery, allergy and liver disease, among others
• One of only two comprehensive cancer centers in Indiana

Residents might be surprised by the breadth of care offered at the facility, said Blase Polite, MD, Physician-in-Chief for Northwest Indiana. He cited the expansion of the transplant program for liver and kidneys as key additions.

“I think these patients probably would have had a much harder time navigating and getting into the system or being able to go locally to receive treatment that you can only receive at a handful of centers around the country,” Polite said.

The first year saw the expansion of gynecology oncology specialists, GI specialties and pediatric care — including allergy testing, hematology-oncology and primary care.

UChicago Medicine Crown Point also introduced child life services to Indiana, with an expert team that works to empower its youngest patients to have positive healthcare experiences and to better understand their treatments with age-appropriate conversations.

A wider availability of innovative hand and spine orthopaedic procedures will be guided by Jennifer Wolf, MD, PhD, the new Chair of the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and Rehabilitation Medicine for the health system, who is on site for evaluations and surgeries.

Polite expects to see the growth of multidisciplinary teams that give patients access to different specialties all in one place. One of the first teams has been a multi-disciplinary breast cancer team with Nan Chen, MD, who brings oncology expertise in high-risk breast cancer, along with Betty Fan, DO, a breast cancer surgery specialist, and Lavinia Anzai, MD, an expert in breast reconstruction along with radiation oncology services.

Elevated patient experience

Community response to the Crown Point facility has been highly positive, Polite said. He and other staff hear compliments about the variety of medical services, the attentive care teams and even the building’s sleek design.

“I hear from patient after patient who are so happy that they have academic level of care closer to their home,” Polite said.

The care teams are a key point of pride for Lauren Hull, Chief Administrative Officer for Northwest Indiana. Their focus, she said, is on providing outstanding care and elevating the patient experience at every step in a person’s care journey.

“One of the most exciting parts about opening this new facility has been selecting the team to be a part of this journey,” Hull said. “It’s amazing to me how many positive stories I hear from patients, physicians and other leaders from our enterprise about their experience when coming to Crown Point.”

The latest patient experience scores, available for the Emergency Department and inpatient hospital, bear this out: 9 out of 10 patients rate their care in those areas as “very good.”

“Everyone constantly tells me how nice everyone is here. I think while providing excellent patient care we can sometimes lose sight of how important kindness is, and that’s definitely not lost on everyone you come in contact with here in Crown Point,” Hull said.

Polite said the team at Crown Point is constantly asking themselves, ‘how do we make things easier for patients.’ That work includes cutting wait times and making it easier to book screenings and appointments.

Same-day appointments are available for some specialties, and residents can now self-schedule mammograms without a physician’s order. Screening colonoscopies also are available without the delays that patients might find elsewhere, Polite said.

Colee and his wife, Sharon, remain impressed by their experience. “I've never been in a hospital where they showed as much respect as Crown Point and Chicago,” he said.

The couple, who live in DeMotte, Indiana, know that others also will benefit and share their experiences often. “Hospitals like the University of Chicago Medicine are so drastically needed in our area,” Sharon Colee said.

Forging community connections

Fittingly, the reach of UChicago Medicine Crown Point extends beyond the facility walls.

Later this summer, employees will volunteer at St. Jude House for its first annual Day of Service.

“Our team here is so committed to caring for the community, outside of just taking care of our patients every day,” Hull said, noting the work of Crown Point’s employee engagement committee to find community outreach opportunities for the staff.

Among the community efforts:

• A $300,000 three-year partnership with Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Northwest Indiana to increase mental health resources and social supports available to the youth the organization serves, which includes more than 5,000 members;
• A partnership with Valparaiso University Athletics to become the largest corporate sponsorship in its history;
• Hosting regular Northwest Indiana Food Bank mobile food pantries, as well as an employee-run food drive for the holidays;
• Support for local events, including those held by the Crown Point Corn Dogs, a Class D pre-professional baseball team.