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Illinois Department of Public Health Recognizes Three Physicians During National EMS Week

News – Wednesday, May 19, 2021

Ron W. Lee, M.D. Pediatric Care Awards

SPRINGFIELD– The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) and the Illinois Emergency Medical Services for Children (EMSC) program honored three physicians this week for their contributions to pediatric emergency and critical care medicine.   The Ron W. Lee, M.D. – Excellence in Pediatric Care Awards are given annually by IDPH and EMSC to recognize those dedicated to pediatric emergency care, critical care and childhood injury prevention initiatives.  Individuals or organizations can be nominated in one of three award categories - Lifetime Achievement, Clinical Excellence, and Community Service.

Recipients include:

  • CLINICAL EXCELLENCE - Paul Severin, MD, Pediatric Critical Care Medicine, John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County, Chicago
  • LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT - Mary Clyde Pierce, MD, Pediatric Emergency Medicine and Pediatric Child Abuse, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago
  • LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT - Girish Deshpande, MD, Pediatric Critical Care Medicine, Children’s Hospital of Illinois at OSF Saint Francis Medical Center, Peoria

The Ron W. Lee, M.D. Excellence in Pediatric Care awards are presented each May.  Dr. Lee was the medical director for the Division of Emergency Medical Services and Highway Safety at IDPH, as well as the director of emergency medicine at Loyola University Medical Center and was instrumental in establishing and fostering the EMSC program in Illinois.  He passed away in 1998.

Illinois EMSC is a statewide program within IDPH that has a collaborative partnership with Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago.  It was established in 1994 to ensure the emergency medical care needs of children are adequately addressed.