Helping Trinity excel:
Giving to Trinity Hospital's area of greatest need provides additional resources and flexibility to respond quickly to new ideas and programs that support the hospital's strategic directions.

Helping asthmatics breathe easier:
A chronic disease that causes pain, loss of productivity and even death, asthma is a problem that can be self-managed. Gifts to this program help educate emergency room patients how to recognize triggers and avoid attacks. Goals include reduction of the number of 48-hour repeat emergency room visits attributable to asthma; adoption of the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute's guidelines for management of asthma; development of an asthma registry database, a free medication program, an outreach program to selected schools and research regarding the importance of initial treatment with steroids. Trinity also trains clinical staff to communicate better with patients to encourage compliance with treatments.

Facilitating care and support for women at risk:
Gifts to this program ensure that South Side women of all ages have access to early diagnoses for breast cancer. This program educates women on the importance of early detection and strives to decrease the length of time between an abnormal mammogram, final diagnosis and treatment planning - for better mental health as well as faster recovery.

Reaching out to improve community health:
In a recent community outreach screening in Chicago, Advocate Trinity Hospital health care workers screened 194 men between the ages 16 to 82 for kidney disease. Shockingly, only 12 percent of those men had normal kidney function. When associates reviewed 100 patient records last winter in another study, only 38 percent of the patients had normal kidney function and the remaining 62 percent showed evidence of kidney disease. The frightening thing is that so many of those people don't even know they have a health problem. In response to this community health need, Trinity Hospital has established a chronic kidney disease management program. Your gift will help Trinity offer free kidney screenings, intervention and education that will empower people to take care of their kidney health.

Multidisciplinary treatment for underserved populations:
This program partners health care providers and community members to improve the treatment and outcomes for people with diabetes, to promote early diagnosis and ultimately to prevent the onset of diabetes. Advocate Trinity Hospital has developed a comprehensive approach including classes for newly diagnosed individuals, an ongoing support group and diabetes screening and risk assessment activities. Gifts to this program provide educational tools and resources, particularly to address the needs of Latino and African-American populations.

Giving patients access to state-of-the-art diagnostics:
Funds contributed to this priority enable the renovation and expansion of the southwest corner of the hospital campus to create a new diagnostic imaging center in this under-served community. Plans include a center that will support the needs of 90,000 patients per year.

Reaching out into the community to serve at-risk individuals:
Funds contributed to this priority support the ongoing program needs of a wide variety of community health programs in the area surrounding Trinity Hospital. Most programs included in this initiative are preventive outreach to address the needs of underserved populations on the south side of Chicago. These are often offered in partnership with faith communities, schools and other community organizations.

Bringing health services to the community:
Asthma, diabetes, high cholesterol, kidney disease and hypertension-these are all serious but common health issues that need to be addressed. We are committed to helping families reduce their health risks and better identify and treat these conditions. In continuing with its mission of community service, your gift will help purchase and equip "Mobile Trinity," a Trinity community health action van. The van will transport staff, educational materials, screening tests and supplies to neighborhood schools, churches, senior center and health centers.

Giving new knowledge to those who care:
Nurses want and need to grow professionally. The center will be a place for gaining the information and capabilities they need to serve their patients.

Getting patients to their doctors:
Trinity Hospital's free van service provides transportation for seniors from the communities we serve to the hospital campus. Your gift to maintain this service makes health care accessible to seniors whose limited mobility could keep them from the care they need.