Leadership award honors Northwest Community Healthcare (NCH) manager

NCH Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation Manager Anne Gavic-Ott is the recipient of a newly established leadership award named in her honor.

The Anne Gavic-Ott Award will be given annually to an individual and member of the Illinois Society of Cardiopulmonary Health & Rehabilitation (ISCHR) who has made clinical contributions in the field of cardiac and/or pulmonary rehabilitation. ISCHR is affiliated with the American Association of Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Rehabilitation (AACVPR).

“Anne is a visionary leader, mentor, and friend,” says Donna Serlin, ISCHR Pulmonary Chair. “I can’t think of any better way to honor her legacy than to establish this award in her name.”

Gavic-Ott was at an ISCHR meeting when details about the award were announced.

“I was completely overwhelmed since it was a total surprise,” she said. “I am so very honored and humbled to be recognized by my peers.”

Gavic-Ott was one of the founding members of ISCHR and has served on the board since the 1980s. She served two terms as president of the organization and worked on various committees. ISCHR now has over 200 members.

Gavic-Ott believes there is exceptional value in networking and education to enhance patient care. ISCHR members share experiences and successes as well as registry data to gauge how they are performing as a state and identify areas of improvement.

“I always learn so much from colleagues in the field,” she explains. “There’s nothing like sharing experiences, information and data with one another to move everyone toward best practices.”

ISCHR not only named the award after Gavic-Ott, they also waived her 2019 annual AACVPR/ISCHR membership dues as well as the registration fee for this year’s AACVPR annual meeting to be held in September in Louisville, Kentucky.

“This organization has helped me grow professionally and provided wonderful leadership opportunities, but also the friendships that I’ve made through this organization have been invaluable,” Gavic-Ott says. “It has been really rewarding.”

Gavic-Ott heads the Cardiopulmonary Rehab Unit at NCH which provides patients with cardiovascular or pulmonary disease the opportunity to improve exercise capacity, reduce risk for future events and improve management of their disease through exercise, education and counseling. The program is held at the NCH Wellness Center, 900 West Central Road, and requires a physician’s order to begin. For more information, call 847-618-7910.