June 07, 2018
DeKALB, Ill. -- Northern Illinois University and Northwestern Medicine announced today that they have signed a letter of intent for Northwestern Medicine to provide comprehensive healthcare expertise, by way of staffing, operating and managing health services at NIU.
“Partnering with Northwestern Medicine will allow us to provide our students access to world-class health care here on campus and throughout Northwestern’s expansive network,” said NIU Acting President Lisa Freeman. “As one of the largest and most respected medical systems in the region, Northwestern Medicine has the capacity and capability to provide our students with a much broader range of high quality medical services both here in DeKalb and elsewhere.”
Northwestern Medicine officials are excited to expand their offerings in DeKalb where they already operate Kishwaukee Hospital and specialty care centers for services such as diagnostic imaging, neuroscience, cancer, diabetes and mental health.
“We are pleased to explore how growing a relationship between Northwestern Medicine and NIU can advance the healthcare services for NIU students,” said Jay Anderson, president Northwestern Medicine Kishwaukee Hospital.
With a letter of intent in place, NIU and Northwestern Medicine will begin negotiations on the final agreement related to the potential services that will be provided by Northwestern Medicine. The final agreement, expected to take several months to negotiate, will be subject to all applicable laws and regulations governing state institutions.
It is the hope of both parties that the final agreement will be executed and effective in early 2019. Northwestern Medicine will already assume responsibility for sports medicine services beginning July 1, 2018.
“Northwestern Medicine is very encouraged to partner with NIU Athletics to extend our comprehensive sports medicine program to the NIU student athletes,” said Anderson. “Our experienced team of board-certified and fellowship-trained sports physicians partnered with our full array of sub-specialists looks forward to implementing a premier program to ensure peak performance for the student athletes.”
“Thanks to this new partnership, NIU student-athletes will continue to receive the highest level of healthcare, and will now be able to take advantage of a broad range of specialists offered through Northwestern Medicine,” said NIU Associate Vice President/Director of Athletics Sean Frazier. “The well-being of every student-athlete comes first, and with Northwestern Medicine officially a part of the Huskies’ team, I am confident the level of care NIU students receive, as well as access to the doctors and services they need, will be second to none.”
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Northern Illinois University is a student-centered, nationally recognized public research university, with expertise that benefits its region and spans the globe in a wide variety of fields, including the sciences, humanities, arts, business, engineering, education, health and law. Through its main campus in DeKalb, Illinois, and education centers for students and working professionals in Chicago, Hoffman Estates, Naperville, Oregon and Rockford, NIU offers more than 100 courses of study while serving a diverse and international student body of about 19,000. The 17 NIU Huskie athletic teams compete in the Mid-American Conference at the highest NCAA Division I level. For more information, visit www.niu.edu.