The Illinois Department of Public Health and the Illinois Emergency Medical Services for Children program has announced that nurse Jennifer Radke of Ascension Saint Joseph-Joliet was awarded the Ron W. Lee, M.D. Excellence in Pediatric Care Community Service Award.

It is one of three awards given annually by IDPH and EMSC to recognize healthcare workers in Illinois who are dedicated to pediatric emergency care and childhood injury prevention initiatives.

Radke has worked in the emergency department at Ascension Saint Joseph for the past six years and is known for her expertise, her empathy with patients and their parents and her mentorship to new nurses. During her tenure, she has taken on multiple leadership roles, including serving as the ED representative to the hospital Clinical Leadership Council, the Chair for the Clinical Advancement and Research Impact Team and the Unit-Based Leadership Chair.

The Ron W. Lee, M.D. Excellence in Pediatric Care awards are presented annually in recognition of National EMS Week. 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.

The Illinois EMSC program is currently a collaborative effort between IDPH and Lurie Children’s Hospital. It was established in 1994 to ensure the emergency medical care needs of children are adequately addressed.