Presence Saint Joseph Hospital Physician Inducted to Chicago Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame

Submitted by Presence Saint Joseph Hospital

Presence Saint Joseph Hospital is proud to announce the induction of long-time attending physician Ross A. Slotten, M.D., (pictured at right) into the Chicago Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame for a lifetime career dedicated to serving patients with HIV and AIDS.

Dr. Slotten first started working with the HIV/AIDS population in 1981 as a volunteer at the Howard Brown Memorial Clinic during his residency in Family Practice at Presence Saint Joseph Hospital. After his residency, Dr. Slotten became part of the Saint Joseph Hospital Family Medicine Residency faculty and joined a medical practice with special emphasis on gay men’s health and care of patients with HIV infection. Between 1989 and 2009, he helped bring HIV research and life-saving investigational medications to the community as an investigator and founding member of AIDS Research Alliance – Chicago. His work eventually led to helping spearhead the dedicated unit at the hospital for patients with HIV and AIDS, established in 1988.

Being at the forefront of managing the HIV/AIDS epidemic and learning how to treat patients suffering with an unknown disease, Dr. Slotten has become a leader in the field. “At the time, family practice medicine was not geared towards this population. Some expertise was needed, but the disease was so new nobody had the experience, and we were doing everything we could to understand and treat this new condition,” said Dr. Slotten, attending physician in the Department of Family Practice at Presence Saint Joseph Hospital. “We were managing a horrific epidemic, wearing masks, gowns and gloves, because we didn’t know what we were dealing with. We were doing something nobody else wanted to do, and as terrible as it was, it felt good to be doing important work.”

In the early 1980’s, when Dr. Slotten started working with HIV and AIDS patients at the Howard Brown Memorial Clinic, where hundreds of men would seek treatment for sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) or symptoms related to HIV/AIDS every week. Once the medical community better understood the disease, Dr. Slotten was among those who started educating patients on safe sex practices and soon after only a handful of men were seeking treatment for STDs each night at the clinic.

“The Chicago Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame inducts individuals dedicated to improving the quality of life for the city’s LGBT community, and the city as a whole, and Dr. Slotten has made significant long-term contributions to our city and our hospital for 33 years,” said Roberta Luskin-Hawk, M.D., regional president and CEO of Presence Saint Joseph Hospital and Presence Saint Francis Hospital. “We are very proud and fortunate to have Dr. Slotten on staff.”

Dr. Slotten continues to serve the LGBT community in his private practice, Klein & Slotten Medical Associates at Presence Seton Medical Center, 711 W. North Ave., Ste. 209, in Chicago and at Presence Saint Joseph Hospital.