LTHS announces 2013 Hall of Fame inductees

       The health field dominates this year’s eclectic group of Lyons Township High School Hall of Fame Inductees. The honorees will be recognized at a banquet on Friday, November 8, at the LaGrange Country Club.

       The deadline for purchasing banquet tickets is November 1. Call the Community Relations office at LTHS for more information at 708-579-6483, or send your check made payable to LTHS Hall of Fame to: Hall of Fame Committee, LTHS 100 S. Brainard Ave., LaGrange, IL 60525. Indicate the number of tickets desired, at $35 each, and your choice of entree: chicken, beef or fish. Tables of 10 may be reserved.

       The LTHS Board of Education established the Hall of Fame to recognize the accomplishments of some 65,000 graduates, faculty and friends of LT and to provide role models to students. The Hall of Fame is organized by a volunteer member committee of alumni, faculty, staff, students and citizens.

Thomas W. Burke, M.D., graduated from Lyons Township High School in 1971. He is one of the pre-eminent experts in the world in the treatment of cancer in women. Specializing in gynecologic oncology and reproductive medicine, Dr. Burke has been a practicing physician for more than 35 years. Today, he serves as the Executive Vice President and Physician-in-Chief at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, in Houston, Texas. He is responsible for patient care delivery throughout the hospital, clinics and outreach programs. Under Dr. Burke’s leadership, MD Anderson has advanced the study of cancer economics and patient safety and quality improvement. He has worked to deliver on MD Anderson’s mission to eliminate cancer in Texas, the nation and the world by developing outreach programs that include a network of cancer care providers dedicated to providing quality cancer screening, prevention and care within Houston, throughout the United States and abroad. He continues to engage in cancer research, as well as train the next generation of oncology care providers. His clinical and educational activities have been recognized through national and international presentations. He has written or contributed to chapters for several textbooks and has authored or co-authored more than 180 original medical articles. Dr. Burke is a member of the Society of Gynecologic Oncologists, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the American College of Surgeons, the Felix Rutledge Society, and the American Society of Clinical Oncology. He now serves as a board member of the American Hospital Association. Dr. Burke received his undergraduate degree in Biology summa cum laude and his medical degree from Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana.

David A. Hyman, M.D., J.D., graduated from Lyons Township High School in 1979. He is the H. Ross and Helen Workman Chair in Law and Professor of Medicine at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, where he directs the Epstein Program in Health Law and Policy.  His research centers on healthcare financing and delivery, medical malpractice, and empirical law and economics.  He has written more than a hundred articles and book chapters on a wide range of medical and legal issues. From 2001-2004, he served as special counsel to the Federal Trade Commission, where he was the principal author and project leader for the first joint report ever issued by the Federal Trade Commission and Department of Justice, “Improving Health Care: A Dose of Competition.” He is also the author of “Medicare Meets Mephistopheles,” which was selected by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce/National Chamber Foundation as one of the top ten books of 2007. Hyman received a B.A., M.D., and J.D. from the University of Chicago.

Alexander C. Wilson is a 1987 graduate of Lyons Township High School. He has committed his life’s work to making the world a better place for those suffering from chronic mental illness. He serves as the executive director of The Carriage House in Fort Wayne, Indiana, which uses the evidence-based Clubhouse Model recovery program, a non-traditional approach where members work side by side with staff on meaningful activities to build confidence and skills to reclaim their lives. Clubhouse programs are the gold standard of treatment for mental illness, assisting the most chronic participants to live and work in the community – independently and with dignity. Thanks to Wilson’s leadership, The Carriage House survived a major state funding crises, and he made an indelible mark on mental health social policy in Indiana as the founder of the Indiana Clubhouse Coalition. His influence extends beyond the boundaries of Fort Wayne, Indiana, with the construction of Chad’s Guesthouse and Teaching Center, a $500,000 facility at The Carriage House used to train professionals and consumers interested in developing Clubhouse programs in their community. Wilson is also a member of the Clubhouse International Faculty, a select group of colleagues responsible for accreditation of Clubhouses around the world, and he is a member of the Clubhouse International Advisory Board, which helps guide global efforts of Clubhouse programs. He has established himself as an expert in his field, sought after nationally and internationally to advise people on how to establish efficient and effective recovery centers for some of the most stigmatized and disenfranchised members of our communities.