This month, DeKalb, Illinois-based Northwestern Medicine gained three new locations with the addition of Midwest Orthopaedic Institute.
Northwestern Medicine Adds Three Locations

Founded in 1972, Midwest Orthopaedic Institute serves the northern Illinois area from offices in Sycamore and Sandwich. According to its website, its specialists focus on the areas of rheumatology, foot and ankle, hip and knee, shoulder and elbow, hand and wrist, sports injuries, and joint replacement.
The addition of this medical group allows Northwestern Medicine to better serve patients in the DeKalb region. Northwestern Medicine now employs Midwest Orthopaedic Institute’s 11 physicians and over 80 staff members.
Northwestern Medicine West Region President Kevin Poorten commented on the significance of this unity. Poorten said, “Midwest Orthopaedic Institute has built a legacy of orthopaedic innovation and medical excellence in DeKalb and the surrounding communities.”
Poorten continued, “The surgeons, clinicians, and staff have long been our colleagues and friends. Now we call them family.”
The comradery between Northwestern Medicine and Midwest Orthopaedic Institute runs deep. Midwest Orthopaedic Institute’s physicians are part of the Northwestern Medicine Kishwaukee Hospital and Valley West Hospital medical staffs.
Northwestern Medicine Kishwaukee Hospital and Valley West Hospital President Jay Anderson noted this long-standing relationship. Anderson remarked, “The skilled surgeons from Midwest Orthopaedic Institute have been practicing within the walls of Kishwaukee and Valley West Hospitals for nearly 50 years and we are proud to have them join Northwestern Medicine.”
Anderson continued, “Our patients will benefit from the collective experience of this outstanding team of clinicians.”
Unifying Midwest Orthopaedic Institute with Northwestern Medicine will also provide patients greater access to diagnostic and rehabilitative services. This benefit was mentioned by orthopedic surgeon Steven G. Glasgow, M.D.: “Northwestern Medicine shares our values of excellence and putting patients first, and this alliance will afford our patients access to more sophisticated, state-of-the-art diagnostics and treatment.”

Discussion
This is a fascinating development. In my practice we've seen similar outcomes with the revised protocol. The key differentiator seems to be patient selection criteria. Has anyone else noticed the correlation with BMI thresholds?
Great point. I'd push back slightly on the conclusion, the sample size in the cited study is too small to draw population-level inferences. That said, the directional signal is compelling and worth a larger RCT.
We implemented a similar approach last year. Early results are promising but we're still gathering 12-month follow-up data. Happy to share our protocol if anyone is interested.
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