ROCKFORD

SwedishAmerican opens new Heart Institute

After a 15-year relationship with Midwest Heart Specialists, SwedishAmerican is charting a new course that will provide improved service and enhanced treatments in cardiac care.

Last week, the SwedishAmerican Heart Institute opened and features an expanded team of highly-skilled cardiologists including familiar faces, Dr. Andrew Kotis and Dr. Mukesh Singh, as well as nurse practitioners Kim Christenson, Lisa Larson, Laura Padron and Elissa Russell

The SwedishAmerican Heart Institute will be housed in the same space, Renaissance Pavilion, 1340 Charles Street, Suite 300, Rockford. The new clinic will be renovated and expanded to provide a more spacious and comfortable experience for everyone.

“As the preferred leader in cardiology services in the region, SwedishAmerican values our patient’s trust and looks forward to providing the community with an even higher level of care at The SwedishAmerican Heart Institute,” says SwedishAmerican President and CEO Dr. Bill Gorski.

For more information or to schedule an appointment at The SwedishAmerican Heart Institute, please call (779) 696-5888.

ROCKFORD

Bus drivers accept RPS contract offer

Following negotiations that began almost a year ago, Rockford Public Schools’ Bus Drivers union, AFSCME Local 1275, has voted to accept a Rockford School Board contract offer dated Nov. 15, 2016.

While approved by the union’s membership, the contract must yet be ratified by the Board of Education at its next scheduled meeting; the board voted Jan. 24 to implement its last, best, final offers to AFSCME Local 692 (paraprofessionals), AFSCME Local 1275 (bus drivers) and AFSCME Local 3210 (nutrition services).

The agreement is a three-year contract that will continue through June 30, 2019.

“In our contract proposal, we went to great lengths to balance what was fair and equitable for our employees and being good stewards of our taxpayers money,” said School Board President Ken Scrivano. “We will continue to bargain with each labor union in good faith.”

The union’s action cancels the School Board’s June 1 vote on a contract with First Student to outsource transportation services. The School Board voted May 9 to begin negotiating a contract with First Student.

“I am pleased that we have reached an agreement with our AFSCME Local 1275 bus drivers’ union,” said Superintendent Ehren Jarrett. “We understand how difficult this process has been for our staff, students, families and our community. We look forward to continuing  our work together of making Rockford Public Schools the first choice for all families.”

Negotiations continue with paraprofessionals and nutrition services. 

ROCKFORD

New RU athletic director brings extensive experience

Jason Mulligan, Rockford University’s new Director of Athletics, brings an extensive background in coaching and administration at both the college and high school level including 11 years at two top-tier NCAA Division III institutions, Wabash College in Crawfordsville, Ind., and the University of New England in Biddeford, Maine.

Mulligan assumed duties overseeing the Regent’s NCAA Division III athletics programs last week.

Mulligan has spent the past five years as the athletic director at Western Boone High School, located just north of Indianapolis, Ind. During his tenure, the program claimed 22 conference, sectional and regional championship titles in both girls and boys programs. Mulligan also helped oversee improvements on nearly all of the Western Boone athletic facilities.

“I am truly honored and humbled to join the Rockford family” said Mulligan. “I am impressed with the vision and contagious energy the University clearly has for supporting their student-athletes and for growing its athletic programs. I am excited to get started.”

Rockford University is home to approximately 920 undergraduate students, with an average of 25 percent of the full-time undergraduate population participating in intercollegiate athletics each year. Rockford sponsors 14 intercollegiate varsity teams (seven men’s teams and seven women’s teams) and several junior varsity teams. Many Regents student-athletes compete in multiple sports.

Mulligan is a graduate of Olivet Nazarene University in Bourbonnais, Ill., where he was a four-year member of the basketball team, a program that made four consecutive appearances at the NAIA Division I National Tournament and earned a berth in the 2000 national semifinal. In that same year ONU broke a school record for wins (30) and Mulligan was named Most Improved Player. He and his teammates were inducted into the ONU Athletics Hall of Fame in 2016.

He earned his Master of Science in Education from Nova Southeastern University in Ft. Lauderdale, Fl. Jason and his wife, Kara, have two children. 

–Winnebago County News Briefs–