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| 1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION
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| 2 | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | ||||||
| 3 | Representatives are pleased to recognize
milestone events in | ||||||
| 4 | the lives of Illinois citizens; and
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| 5 | WHEREAS, Dr. Sara Rusch is retiring in May of 2019 after 11 | ||||||
| 6 | years as Regional Dean of
the University of Illinois College of | ||||||
| 7 | Medicine at Peoria (UICOMP); and
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| 8 | WHEREAS, Dr. Rusch became the first women to serve as | ||||||
| 9 | Regional Dean of UICOMP in 2008;
in her first four years, she | ||||||
| 10 | was able to eliminate existing debt and brought campus | ||||||
| 11 | operations out
of deficit spending; she converted UICOMP into a | ||||||
| 12 | four-year institution, which resulted in a vast
increase in | ||||||
| 13 | physician residents and included the establishment of a new | ||||||
| 14 | residency in psychiatry with
UnityPoint Health Peoria; and
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| 15 | WHEREAS, Dr. Rusch created five new fellowship training | ||||||
| 16 | programs with OSF Saint Francis
Medical Center in cardiology, | ||||||
| 17 | gastroenterology, pulmonary critical care, hospice and | ||||||
| 18 | palliative
care, and simulation; and | ||||||
| 19 | WHEREAS, Dr. Rusch oversaw the completion of the 24,000 | ||||||
| 20 | square foot Cancer Research Center
addition at UICOMP as well | ||||||
| 21 | as the extensive remodeling of existing classrooms including | ||||||
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| 1 | the new
human cadaver anatomy lab; and | ||||||
| 2 | WHEREAS, Dr. Rusch's extraordinary dedication to medicine | ||||||
| 3 | and the Peoria community has
been recognized with numerous | ||||||
| 4 | accolades; she was named UIC Woman of the Year and Faculty | ||||||
| 5 | Member of the Year; she received the Athena International | ||||||
| 6 | Leadership Award and the UIC Dean's Award for Excellence in | ||||||
| 7 | Healthcare; in addition, she was inducted into the Laureate | ||||||
| 8 | Junior Achievement Business Hall of Fame and received the | ||||||
| 9 | highest distinction of Mastership in the American College of | ||||||
| 10 | Physicians; and | ||||||
| 11 | WHEREAS, Dr. Rusch was born in Wisconsin and attended | ||||||
| 12 | University of Wisconsin-Madison,
where she received her | ||||||
| 13 | Bachelor of Arts and medical degree; and | ||||||
| 14 | WHEREAS, Dr. Rusch moved to Peoria in 1978 for residency | ||||||
| 15 | training in internal medicine at
OSF Saint Francis Center; | ||||||
| 16 | after she completed her training, she entered private practice,
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| 17 | where she cared for patients while concurrently teaching in the | ||||||
| 18 | residency; and | ||||||
| 19 | WHEREAS, Dr. Rusch became Chair of Medicine for OSF | ||||||
| 20 | HealthCare Saint Francis Medical
Center and UICOMP in 1993; she | ||||||
| 21 | held the role for 15 years before becoming the Regional Dean
of | ||||||
| 22 | UICOMP; and
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| 1 | WHEREAS, Dr. Rusch looks forward to spending her time with | ||||||
| 2 | her husband, Tom Cusack, and
their seven children and 11 | ||||||
| 3 | grandchildren; and
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| 4 | WHEREAS, Dr. Rusch has excelled as a student, professional, | ||||||
| 5 | mentor,
businesswoman, and leader; therefore, be it
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| 6 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | ||||||
| 7 | HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | ||||||
| 8 | we congratulate Dr. Sara Rusch on her retirement and wish her | ||||||
| 9 | the best in all her future endeavors; and be it further
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| 10 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
| 11 | presented to Dr. Rusch as a symbol of our respect and esteem.
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