Community Corner

Presence Saints Mary and Elizabeth Hosts Open House for New FertilityCare Center

Chicago, Ill. – April 14, 2014 – Physicians and employees at Presence Saints Mary and Elizabeth Medical Center (PSMEMC) attended a recent open house for the new FertilityCare Center to learn more about its services, meet the staff and tour the facility.

More than 75 individuals attended the event, which included a blessing of the center by Rev.  Thomas Aschenbrener, pastor, Saint Mary of Perpetual Help, and Creator, One in Christ Marriage Preparation, Chicago. 

The facility is located at Presence Saint Elizabeth Hospital, 1431 N. Claremont Ave., Chicago, fourth floor. The center features a team of specialists, including a certified fertility care practitioner, medical consultant and other physicians at PSMEMC. 

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The center offers patients the Creighton Model FertilityCare™ System (CrMS), which helps couples understand when they are naturally fertile, and infertile, which can help them manage efforts to avoid or achieve pregnancy. The fertility-awareness based program relies upon standard observation and charting of biological markers to understand a woman’s health. Fertility awareness is an alternative to hormonal birth control or other medications to treat disorders. The approach is consistent with Catholic teaching.

“Although the entire program takes about a year, I meet with couples more frequently during the early learning process to allow them to quickly gain confidence in their charting and use of the system right away,” said Lisa M. Jurski, MSPT, COMT, certified fertility care practitioner (CFCP) who helped to open the center last October. “Women learn how to monitor menstrual cycles and characteristic patterns of cervical mucus. We teach couples how to chart and understand patterns from both the fertility and women’s-health perspective.”

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According to Jurski, CrMS also is used in conjunction with NaProTechnology (Natural Procreative Technology) – an innovative approach used to assess and treat underlying conditions in women’s reproductive and gynecological health, such as hormonal abnormalities, infertility, cramps, ovarian cysts, endometriosis, repeat miscarriages, postpartum depression and other disorders.

By evaluating biomarkers, staff may determine a patient’s need for additional testing, such as targeted hormonal evaluations, hormonal assessment during pregnancy, ultrasound assessment of ovulation, referral to a fellowship-trained NaProTechnology physician for surgical diagnostics – or make a referral to a PSMEC specialist.

A physical therapist, Jurski personally became interested in CrMS over 10 years ago and was so intrigued and impressed by the approach that she wanted to learn more about it to share it with others. She became a certified fertility care practitioner about 4 1/2 years ago. Jurski, who is mother to a 4-year-old and currently pregnant, said she has worked with more than 300 patients.

“NaProTechnology and Creighton work hand in hand to diagnose dysfunctional fertility and women’s health issues,” said Jurski, noting that identifying conditions can help restore a woman’s health and reproductive function. Jurski works closely with Medical Consultant Erin Malone McCann, MD, an internist and pediatrician in Bucktown, who is trained in CrMS and NaProTechnology.

“When patients understand their options, they can make the right health care choices,” she said. “Patients will receive personalized care – and find our program safe, easy and effective.”

For information, call 877-737-INFO (4636) or visit presencehealth.or/stmary-elizabeth fertility.

Parking is free in the lot next to the medical office building at 1431 N. Western Ave., Chicago.

About Presence Saints Mary and Elizabeth Medical Center

Presence Saints Mary and Elizabeth Medical Center (PSMEMC) is a premier medical center on Chicago's near northwest side and includes the Saint Mary Campus, 2233 W. Division St., and Saint Elizabeth Campus, 1431 N. Claremont Ave. The Saint Mary Campus is certified as a Primary Stroke Center and accredited as a Chest Pain Center. The hospital specializes in cardiac care, digestive diseases, emergency services, neuroscience services, obstetrics, primary care, behavioral health and wound healing. PSMEMC ranks No. 18 in the 2013-14 U.S. News & World Report's "Best Hospitals" in the Chicago metro area. Visit our website at http://presencehealth.org/stmary-elizabeth

About Presence Health

PSMEMC is part of Presence Health, the largest Catholic health system based in Illinois, created in November 2011 through the merger of Provena Health and Resurrection Health Care. With over 150 sites of care, including 12 hospitals, Presence Health has 22,000 employees, 4,000 medical professionals and a revenue base of nearly $3 billion. Visit presencehealth.org to learn more.


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