Daniel Ivankovich

Daniel Ivankovich

Dr. Daniel Ivankovich, standing almost seven-feet tall

Daniel Ivankovich
Born Zagreb, Croatia
Residence Chicago, Illinois
Other names Chicago Slim
Reverend Doctor D
Education Glenbrook South High School
Northwestern University Honors Program in Medical Education
Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
Occupation Orthopedic Surgeon
Media Personality
Blues Musician
Organization OnePatient-Global Health
Known for Healthcare Advocate
Ethnomusicologist
Athlete
Notable work Operation Spinal Cord Rescue
Haiti Earthquake Relief
Website OnePatient-Global Health Initiative

Daniel Anthony Ivankovich, MD (born 1963) is an American orthopedic surgeon, humanitarian, media personality and blues musician with the Chicago Blues All-Stars. He is from Chicago, Illinois, where he is known for his advocacy on behalf of the underserved in Chicago's inner city via the Bone Squad.[1][2][3] He is the medical director and a co-founder of OnePatient–Global Health Initiative, a nonprofit foundation created “to treat patients...who have musculoskeletal health disorders, regardless of their ability to pay.”[1][4] OnePatient is based in Chicago.[1]

Early history

Ivankovich was born in Zagreb, Croatia, on November 23, 1963. His family defected from the former Yugoslavia and moved to Chicago in 1965.[5]

Basketball career

Ivankovich was an All-State and All-American prep basketball player from Glenbrook South High School in 1981.[4][6] During his senior year, he was invited to the Chicago Sun-Times all-area travel team.[6] He represented Chicago in the Boston Shootout, a streetball invitational tournament, in 1981.[6] During the tournament he suffered a career-ending injury in an on-court collision.[4] He received offers of athletic scholarships from 500 colleges. He attended Northwestern University[2][6] but retired from basketball after his freshman year.[6]

Medical training

Ivankovich was accepted into Northwestern University’s Honors Program in Medical Education in 1981.[4] He received his Doctor of Medicine degree from Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine in 1995.[4] His postgraduate training in orthopedic surgery was completed at Rush University Medical Center, John H. Stroger, Jr. Hospital of Cook County (formerly known as Cook County Hospital), and Shriner's Hospitals for Children in Chicago.[7][8] Ivankovich completed additional fellowship training in adult joint reconstruction.[7] His research emphasis was osteonecrosis and hip replacement in medically co-morbid populations.[9] He also completed additional fellowship training in reconstructive spine and traumatology at Northwestern Memorial Hospital and spinal cord rehabilitation at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago.

Radio career

From 1981 to 1987, Ivankovich worked as a radio announcer, production engineer, and graduate advisor at WNUR-FM in Evanston, Illinois.[4] He produced several shows at the CMJ-awarded station, notably “Out of the Blue”, featuring Chicago blues music, performances, and interviews.[4] The show was picked up by KOST Broadcasting for syndication and ran in over sixty markets from 1985 to 1987.[4] Ivankovich also worked as an announcer and producer for WCKG, the top-rated rock music station in the Chicago market.[10] While there, he met Stephanie Miller, who was then the morning host at WCKG. When Miller went to New York to work mornings at WQHT, Ivankovich partnered with her and produced the Hot 97 Morning Show with Stephanie Miller and Howard Hoffman.[10] Ivankovich has subsequently appeared as a guest host on Miller’s talk and music shows.

Medical career

Ivankovich tending to a Haitian boy's tibia fracture in the aftermath of the 2010 earthquake

Ivankovich is an orthopedic surgeon best known for caring for patients regardless of their ability to pay or insurance status.[1][2][3][7] He is leader of the Bone Squad, "a consortium of surgeons, primary-care doctors, and other medical professionals who treat the city’s low-income population.”[5]

After the 2010 Haiti earthquake, Ivankovich and his team airlifted thousands of tons of medical supplies to Port-au-Prince.[5][11] He collaborated with Team Rubicon USA to set up mobile forward-assist surgical teams (F.A.S.T.) to treat hundreds of Haitians with severe injuries.[5] While making rounds through the multiple tent-city medical camps, he and colleagues from Handicap International discovered nearly fifty patients with severe spinal cord injuries. Ivankovich came upon two such patients, Bazelais Suy and Josette Delisca, who managed to survive despite life-threatening injuries.[5][11][12][13][14] With the assistance of AirMed International and MedEvac, he escorted Suy and Delisca to Chicago, where they received care at Northwestern Memorial Hospital and the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago.[1][5][11][12][13][14][15] For his work during the aftermath of the Haitian earthquake, Ivankovich was named one of Chicago Magazine’s Chicagoans of the Year for 2010 and the National Association of Social Workers Chicago Chapter’s 2010 Public Citizen of the Year.[5][14]

In 2010, Ivankovich was featured on the CBS Evening News with Katie Couric in a segment called "The American Spirit".[8] After his appearance on the program, he was contacted by ”Massive” Mike Williams, former power forward for the Atlanta Hawks, who had been shot and paralyzed while working as a security guard at an Atlanta nightclub in 2009.[6][16][17] Williams remembered Ivankovich from their high school years in Chicago, when both were All-State & All-American basketball players.[6][16][17] Williams asked Ivankovich for help in receiving treatment for his injuries.[6][16][17]

Ivankovich agreed to treat Williams,[6][16] who subsequently regained limited use of his legs.[18][19][20] Ivankovich and Williams partnered with Berkeley Bionics to fit Williams with eLegs electronic prostheses.[18][19]

In 2013, Ivankovich won a wrongful termination settlement from the Cook County Health and Hospitals System (CCHHS).[21] In 2007, Ivankovich, who had been employed as an orthopedic surgeon by Provident Hospital of Cook County from 2002 to 2007, had made public statements that were critical of proposed budget cuts at the hospital.[22][23] He also supported organizing activities by a physicians' union.[21] He and two other doctors were laid off in April 2007, in a reduction of labor resulting from budget cuts.[22][24] Ivankovich filed suit against the hospital for wrongful termination and alleged that the hospital had terminated his employment due to his critical statements and union activity.[21][23][24] The Cook County Health and Hospitals System agreed to an out-of-court settlement with Ivankovich and the two other doctors in April 2013.[21][23]

Reverend Doctor D (Daniel Ivankovich) in Chicago.

Musical career

Ivankovich and his musical partner, "Killer" Ray Allison, are founding members of the Chicago Blues All-Stars and are the group's principal instrumentalists and vocalists.[25] In 2010, Allison was inducted in the Blues Hall of Fame as a Great Master Blues Artist. Ivankovich has played alongside many Chicago blues and rock musicians, such as Chuck Berry, James Cotton, Bo Diddley, Buddy Guy, Homesick James, Magic Slim, Hubert Sumlin, Eddie Taylor and Junior Wells.[4][25] He also had a stint as bandleader for Otis Rush.[4][25] He also performs and records as a solo artist under the name Chicago Slim.[26]

In 2013, the Chicago Blues All-Stars released the album Red, Hot & Blue.[27]

Ivankovich is also a guitar historian and ethnomusicologist who specializes in guitars made in Chicago.[28] He is endorsed by Carparelli Guitars and GHS Strings.[26][29]

Personal life

Ivankovih’s father, Anthony D. Ivankovich MD, is an anesthesiologist, former military doctor, and Chairman Emeritus of the Department of Anesthesia at Rush University.[6][30][31] His mother, Olga Ivankovich MD, is the Clinical Director of the Rush University Pain Center and a primary care doctor.[30][32]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Dawn Turner Trice (March 7, 2012). "Clinic sees people, not dollar signs". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved November 19, 2013.
  2. 1 2 3 "Seven-Foot Surgeon Helps The Needy". News Channel 5. September 15, 2011. Retrieved November 19, 2013.
  3. 1 2 Laura Miller (December 23, 2010). "Orthopedic and Spine Industry Leader to Know: Dr. Daniel Ivankovich of Chicago's The Bone Squad". Becker's Spine Review. Retrieved November 19, 2013.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Barbara Mahany. "Bigger Than Life". Northwestern Magazine. Retrieved November 19, 2013.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Esther Kang (December 22, 2010). "Chicagoans of the Year 2010: Daniel Ivankovich, The Bone Squad". Chicago Magazine. Retrieved November 19, 2013.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Brandon Sneed (October 12, 2011). "Nobody walks alone". ESPN. Retrieved November 19, 2013.
  7. 1 2 3 "This Week Orthopedics" (PDF). Ry Publications. Retrieved November 19, 2013.
  8. 1 2 Cynthia Bowers (March 3, 2010). "Chicago Doc Administers Tall Dose of Heart". CBS News. Retrieved November 19, 2013.
  9. ↑ Ivankovich DA; Rosenberg AG; Malamis A. (2001). "Reconstructive options for osteonecrosis of the femoral head." 16. Techniques in Orthopaedics. pp. 66–79.
  10. 1 2 "Chicago Slim". Chicago Talent Magazine. May 1, 2012. Retrieved November 19, 2013.
  11. 1 2 3 "Local Surgeon To Be Honored For Work In Haiti". CBS Chicago. October 19, 2010. Retrieved November 19, 2013.
  12. 1 2 Michelle Gallardo (January 28, 2010). "2 injured Haitians treated in Chicago". ABC Chicago. Retrieved November 19, 2013.
  13. 1 2 Lindsey Tanner (September 7, 2010). "Haiti quake survivor returns home after 6 months". Washington Times. Retrieved November 19, 2013.
  14. 1 2 3 "Dr. Dan Ivankovich, Bone Squad, & Bazelais Suy's Recovery". Haitian Congress. Retrieved November 19, 2013.
  15. ↑ Dawn Turner Trice (January 28, 2010). "Surgeon helps Haiti quake victims defy odds". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved November 19, 2013.
  16. 1 2 3 4 Dawn Turner Trice (December 6, 2010). "Ex-NBA player relearns to walk with help from friend". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved November 19, 2013.
  17. 1 2 3 "Former NBA player fights paralysis with an old Chicago teammate by his side". WBEZ. December 17, 2010. Retrieved November 19, 2013.
  18. 1 2 Bob Dotson (February 21, 2011). "Robot legs may reunite teammates on basketball court". Today. Retrieved November 19, 2013.
  19. 1 2 "Doctor Seeks Bionic Legs For Ex-NBA Player". CBS Chicago. December 30, 2010. Retrieved November 19, 2013.
  20. ↑ Lindsey Tanner. "Tragedy And A Dream Reunite Ex-Basketball Buddies". South Florida Times. Retrieved November 19, 2013.
  21. 1 2 3 4 John Byrne (April 18, 2013). "Cook County to pay $2.6 million to 3 fired doctors". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved November 19, 2013.
  22. 1 2 Lorraine Bailey. "Chicago Doctors May Press Free-Speech Claim". Courthouse News Service. Retrieved November 19, 2013.
  23. 1 2 3 Molly Gamble (April 19, 2013). "Cook County in Illinois to Pay $2.6M to 3 Fired Physicians". Becker's Hospital Review. Retrieved November 19, 2013.
  24. 1 2 Ron Shinkman (April 19, 2013). "Cook County settles physician lawsuits for $2.6M". Fierce Healthcare. Retrieved November 19, 2013.
  25. 1 2 3 Matt Marshall (April 6, 2011). "Doctor Dan Ivankovich – Big Bluesman, Bigger Heart". American Blues Scene Magazine. Retrieved November 19, 2013.
  26. 1 2 "Daniel Ivankovich – Chicago Blues All-Stars". Carparelli Guitars. Retrieved November 19, 2013.
  27. ↑ Barry Kerzner (July 11, 2013). "Chicago Blues All-Stars Are "Red, Hot & Blue"". American Blues Scene Magazine. Retrieved November 19, 2013.
  28. ↑ Chris McMahon (October 17, 2013). "24 Windy City Gems". Premier Guitar. Retrieved November 19, 2013.
  29. ↑ "Chicago Blues All-Stars". ghs strings. Retrieved November 19, 2013.
  30. 1 2 Mike Colias (November 9, 2009). "ONE-MAN SAFETY NET; Robin Hood of poor hospitals treats patients few others will". Crain's Business Chicago.
  31. ↑ "Rush Department of Anesthesiology". Rush Anesthesia. Retrieved November 19, 2013.
  32. ↑ "Olga Ivankovich, MD". University Pain Centers. Retrieved November 19, 2013.

External links

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