News

From HealthTech — Bradley Crotty, MD, president and chief digital officer at Inception Health and chief digital engagement officer at the Froedtert & MCW health network, talked about our digital-first primary care model, through which patients can begin their journeys virtually with AI agents, then be directed to a clinician. There’s also conversational AI in the system’s call center and on its website.

From TMJ4 —  A Grafton runner continues to beat the odds on Valentine's Day, one year after receiving a heart transplant at Froedtert Hospital. Derek shared his story during National Heart Month to encourage others to keep their bodies and hearts healthy. Rajakrishnan Vijayakrishnan, MD, FACC, was one of the cardiologists on Lindstrom's care team. Vijayakrishnan said Lindstrom was the model patient who worked extremely hard to achieve his goals.

From the Ozaukee County News Graphic — Froedtert & MCW Mequon Health Center at 11430 N. Port Washington Road is undergoing expansion on its first and third floors. The project began on Jan. 6 with work on the first floor, which included adding DXA scanning for bone density and five new non-oncology infusion chairs. The space on the third floor is being built out to include a Cancer Center. All specialty clinics, including cardiology, dermatology, endocrinology, neurology and psychiatry, will be moved to the third floor as well. Two new specialties — urology and pulmonary — will also be offered at the Health Center once the project is completed in August.

From Healthcare IT Today — Melek Somai, MPH, vice president, chief technology and chief product officer at Inception Health and the Froedtert & MCW health network, talked about the “clinical technology stack” at Inception Health.

From Telemundo Wisconsin — National Wear Red Day is celebrated on the first Friday in February. The American Heart Association promotes the event to raise awareness about women's heart health. According to the American Heart Association, 44% of women are aware that cardiovascular disease is their top health risk. Jorge Saucedo, Froedtert & MCW cardiologist, spoke about the importance of prevention and early education, and encouraged you to wear red to support the AHA's advocacy efforts.

From Spectrun News 1 — Once a week, Mark Kissinger makes the trip from Jackson, Wis., to Milwaukee to undergo a plasmapheresis treatment at the Froedtert & MCW Lipid Clinic. He has high triglycerides, and the treatment helps cut his number in half. Maya Safarova, MD, Froedtert & MCW cardiologist, talked about how the team determines the best treatment options for patients like Mark.

From Fortune — Froedtert Hospital was included in Premier’s 50 Top Cardiovascular Hospitals 2025 list. Premier uses publicly available data to annually assess performance indicators including patient experience, inpatient mortality and complications, 30-day mortality and readmissions and average length of stay and cost per case. The study combed through the data of 925 short-term, acute-care, nonfederal U.S. medical centers offering comprehensive cardiovascular care. The result is an inventory of not only the nation’s top performers, but also benchmarks to which other hospitals can aspire.

From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel — Sixteenth Street Community Health Centers has finished an expansion of its main clinic on Milwaukee's near south side, designed to improve access to health care for the most needy. The Froedtert & MCW health network has a longstanding relationship with Sixteenth Street and several years ago donated a few million dollars to fund the opening of a clinic on West National Avenue that's focused on behavioral health care and substance abuse services. Community health centers like Sixteenth Street play an important role in reducing health disparities, said David Olson, chief business development officer at Froedtert ThedaCare Health.

From Fox 6 — Gee's Clippers, in partnership with the Froedtert & MCW health network, hosted a hands-only CPR training class on Saturday, Feb. 1. The event also included "stop the bleed" training and instruction on how to administer NARCAN in the event of an opioid overdose. Organizers hope training can help people help others before first responders arrive.

From Chief Healthcare Executive — Healthgrades included Froedtert Hospital in its rankings of America’s 50 Best Hospitals for 2025. To compile the list, Healthgrades examined the performance of hospitals across 31 conditions and procedures, including heart attacks, pneumonia and strokes. Healthgrades analyzed Medicare in-patient data for the years 2021 through 2023.

From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel — In 1980, Milwaukee County Sheriff's Deputy Frank Kumprey received Milwaukee County General Hospital's 500th kidney transplant. After suffering from a kidney infection for a decade and spending months on dialysis, a kidney donation from his older sister Anna allowed Frank to return to normal life."Forty-plus years is remarkable, it's rare," said Beje Thomas, MD, Froedtert & MCW medical director of Adult Kidney and Pancreas Transplant Programs. It's even more rare for someone transplanted in the 1980s. Froedtert Hospital is the successor to County General.

From CBS 58 — The flu is spreading in southeastern Wisconsin right now. Doctors say hospitalizations are up across the state, and flu vaccinations rates are down for the season. Mary Beth Graham, MD, medical director of infection prevention at Froedtert Hospital, says flu season started late in Wisconsin, but numbers have spiked dramatically over the last two weeks.

From TMJ4 — Elm Grove EMS has been recognized by the Wisconsin EMS Association (WEMSA) as the 2024 EMS Service of the Year. According to Michael Robinson, some of Elm Grove EMS’ innovative tools include onboard ultrasounds and nitrous gas, both of which have significantly improved patient care. Robinson is an emergency department nurse at Froedtert Hospital and a transport nurse for Elm Grove EMS. In both roles, he helps bridge the gap between EMS and nursing, fostering collaboration and professional development.

From Becker’s Hospital Review — Money, a personal finance website, included Froedtert Hospital in its 2025 list of the nation's top 75 hospitals. The list was based on an analysis of over 30,000 data points from more than 1,000 hospitals rated four or five stars by CMS. Each hospital was evaluated using multiple criteria, including overall performance, physician quality and price transparency, with rankings and letter grades assigned in each category.

From 620 WTMJ — Wisconsin resident Gavin Scudella had been sick for a long time and was facing a challenging health future as he received weekly dialysis and waited to receive a donor kidney. Kelly Haefs, his next- door neighbor and friend, made the decision to participate in the National Kidney Exchange, a decision which would change Gavin’s story by allowing him to receive a voucher for a donated kidney, one month after Kelly had donated her organ to another recipient. Rima Patel, DO, Froedtert & MCW nephrologist, sat down with Kelly and Gavin on the Scaffidiology Podcast to share their amazing journeys and her expertise on the need for organ donors and how critical the need is for organ donation.

From Wisconsin Health News — Froedtert ThedaCare Health has named a south region president. Dr. Bryce Gartland will oversee legacy Froedtert Health operations, after the southeast Wisconsin health system joined forces with ThedaCare last year. He starts Feb. 3. This story was also covered by Becker’s Hospital Review and Chief Healthcare Executive.

From TMJ4 — The Froedtert & MCW the Medical College of Wisconsin Cancer Network will begin providing an advanced form of cancer treatment later this year. The new Proton Therapy Clinic under construction at Froedtert Hospital is slated to be the first in the state. Proton therapy is a form of radiation that sends a targeted dose to a tumor precisely and stops, helping prevent exposure to nearby critical organs and tissues. This method works to prevent complications and secondary cancers.

From Becker’s Hospital Review — Becker's included the Froedtert & MCW Neuroscience Center in its list of standout hospitals and health systems recognized for excellence in neuroscience and spine programs. These programs are celebrated for their exceptional patient outcomes, advanced surgical techniques and groundbreaking research. They boast visionary leaders, top-tier specialists, robust research initiatives and pioneering clinical trials.

From The Freeman — Srividya Kidambi, MD, Froedtert & MCW endocrinologist, talked about the medications that are used to treat type 2 diabetes and obesity, including brands such as Ozempic and Mounjaro. Dr. Kidambi explained that the medications mimic hormones that are produced by the gut and have an impact on how long food stays in the stomach and appetite sensors in the brain. Dr. Kidambi said in trials for the medication it showed significant weight loss although it is variable from person to person.

From Wisconsin Public Radio — There were more than 46,000 transplant operations in the U.S. last year, yet more than 103,000 people across the country are waiting for a life-saving transplant. The Froedtert & MCW kidney transplant team, a kidney donor and a kidney recipient talked with WPR about organ donation.