July 31, 2006

The Carle Foundation announces new mission

The Carle Foundation Board of Trustees has approved a new mission statement that formalizes the Foundation’s focus on medical research and education. The new statement is as follows: We serve people through high quality care, medical research and education.

“To set ourselves apart, we must look beyond the traditional practice of medicine and we plan to do that through medical research and education,” said James C. Leonard, MD, president and CEO, The Carle Foundation. “While The Carle Foundation has always valued both medical research and education, we are now solidifying that commitment through adding them to our mission statement and establishing funding for both in our strategic plan.”

Dr. Leonard says the Foundation is focusing on medical research and education because those areas spark the ideas that lead to new discoveries, which in turn help medical professionals deliver even better patient care.

At Carle Foundation Hospital, those ideas begin with translational research. Through translational research, physicians and researchers are turning the latest medical knowledge into practical applications for the bedside. Carle Foundation Hospital is now working with Carle Clinic physicians and University of Illinois scientists on 20 to 25 projects related to breast cancer, aging, cardiology, gastroenterology, imaging and genomic research.

The Foundation is focusing its emphasis on education through continuing education programs and management training courses for staff and physicians. Carle Foundation Hospital offers a Colon Rectal Surgery Residency, a Family Practice Residency, an Oral and Maxillofacial Residency, and is a clinical site for the University of Illinois College of Medicine at Urbana-Champaign Internal Medicine Residency. The Hospital also has a nationally accredited Continuing Medical Education department, offers clinical education for nurses, and management education and development training for staff. Carle Foundation Hospital also offers educational classes for the community.

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