The last few years have marked the busiest years in our program’s history. We have the largest surgical volume in the 8-county region for the 11th straight year. This has been largely fueled by additional dedicated academic faculty, and the growth of programs in, spine surgery, functional and brain tumor surgery. Although we are pleased by the growth in volume, our primary focus will always remain on quality. University Health Consortium (UHC) data on outcomes has routinely placed some of our programs among the top performers in outcome in the nation. Vizient ranked our spine outcomes as #1 in the nation among academic medical centers. U.S. News and World Report ranked Rush neurology/neurosurgery #4 in the nation.
This has been largely fueled by additional dedicated academic faculty and the growth of programs in vascular neurosurgery, spine surgery and brain tumor surgery. Although we are pleased by the growth in volume, our primary focus will always remain on quality. University Health Consortium (UHC) data on outcomes has routinely placed some of our programs among the top performers in outcome in the nation.
Our academic and research missions continue to grow each year. The members of the Rush Department of Neurosurgery are participating in over 24 clinical trials and/or basic science projects and over 20 academic projects. In 2020, we were awarded 2 NIH grants with a total funding of
Our training program has continued to thrive. The RRC has granted us a resident complement of 18 total accredited residents, or a 3 - 2 - 3 - 2 - 3 - 2 – 3 schedule. We also manage fellowships in spine surgery, endovascular surgery and starting in 2022, stereotactic and functional neurosurgery. The Department has also strengthened our affiliation with John H. Stroger Hospital, involving a collaboration as the primary academic partner of the Stroger Division of Neurosurgery. This partnership has been developed with the intent to enhance the collaboration of our departments over the next few years. In the spirit of the larger institutional Rush/Stroger academic affiliation, we plan to offer more subspecialty clinical services and improve the educational experience for neurosurgery residents. Our residents also have outstanding rotations at Chicago Lurie Children’s Hospital and Lutheran General Hospital.
Over the past 5 years, our residents have routinely gone on to do top fellowships and most have gone on to accept primary academic positions across the US. Recent graduates in the past 5 years are now on faculty at UCSF, University of Tennessee, Case Western, University of South Florida, University of South Carolina, Rush (2), Loma Linda, and UT Southwestern.
In January 2012, Rush opened a state-of-the-art hospital building. This brand new 14-story hospital holds 304 adult acute and critical care beds, as well as a dedicated 28-bed Neuro-ICU. There are 28 operating rooms accommodated with specialized equipment and technology including intraoperative imaging, microsurgery and robotics. In addition to the operating rooms, there are 14 interventional procedure rooms. Our Emergency Department expanded greatly and now holds 60 treatment rooms, which attributes to Rush being one of the busiest ED’s in Chicago. These improvements provide the Rush Department of Neurosurgery with all of the tools necessary to remain at the forefront in patient care and resident education.
As a team, we offer an excellent experience in operative neurosurgery, a firm background in neuroscience, a commitment to innovative research, and a dedication to professionalism. Our goal at Rush is to train tomorrow’s leaders in neurosurgery.
Richard W. Byrne, MD
Roger C. Bone Chair Professor and Chairman
Department of Neurosurgery, Rush Medical College