Northwestern Memorial Hospital partners with Franciscan Health on neurological services

Neurosurgical and Telestroke services in Northwest Indiana aim to improve care, patient outcomes

Franciscan Health announced today that it has entered into a professional services agreement with the department of neurological surgery at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, the No. 1 hospital in Illinois with the highest ranked neurology and neurosurgery program in Illinois by U.S. News & World Report. As part of the agreement, Kevin Jackson, MD, a full-time Northwestern Medicine neurosurgeon, is now offering services at Franciscan Health Crown Point. The agreement also includes Telestroke services at four Franciscan Heath hospitals in the Northwest Indiana area.

“We are pleased to partner with one of the largest health care systems in the Midwest to provide the highest-quality neurological care to patients living in Northwest Indiana,” said Maciej Lesniak, MD, Michael J. Marchese Professor of Neurosurgery and chair of the department of neurological surgery at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. “This unique affiliation will offer enhanced care to residents in areas who may have limited access to leading specialists and cutting-edge clinical trials.”

“Franciscan Health Crown Point is excited about our collaboration with Northwestern Medicine’s Telestroke Platform,” said Daniel McCormick, MD, president and CEO. “It brings university level clinical expertise to our region that will enable us to extend the amount of time we have to treat stroke patients from the start of symptoms, as well as supporting our emergency room physicians via stroke trained neurologists from Northwestern Memorial Hospital. Adding the surgical expertise of Dr. Jackson expands the scope of neurosurgical services available in Crown Point even further. We are proud to continue to provide the most current in evidenced-based medicine in our caring environment to improve the patient experience to all whom we are privileged to serve,” he added.

Kevin M. Jackson, MD, is a board-certified neurological surgeon who is on staff at Franciscan Health Crown Point. He has cross-state licensures in Illinois and Indiana. He also has strong ties to Indiana receiving his undergraduate degree from the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, IN and his residency at Indiana University School of Medicine.

“It is an honor to join the department of neurological surgery at Northwestern Memorial Hospital and provide care at Franciscan Health Crown Point. My goal is to provide comprehensive and minimally invasive surgical treatment options for patients with complex brain and spinal issues," said Jackson. “I’m excited to foster this new relationship with two well-established health systems to provide better patient care coordination across Chicago and Northwest Indiana.”

In addition to the full-time neurological surgeon, Northwestern Memorial is expanding its Telestroke program to four acute care hospitals in Indiana. The Telestroke services will be implemented at Franciscan Health Crown Point, Franciscan Health Dyer, Franciscan Health Hammond and Franciscan Health Munster.

Telestroke uses videoconferencing to connect stroke patients to leading vascular neurologists at Northwestern Memorial Hospital to examine the patient, immediately interpret brain scan results and make treatment recommendations in consultation with Emergency Department personnel at Franciscan Health Hospitals.

Northwestern Medicine health system’s Telestroke program partners with more than a dozen of hospitals across Illinois and Northwest Indiana to offer patients access to world-class physicians at one of the nation’s top neurosciences’ program.