Oak Park physician awarded prestigious honor

R. Kannan Mutharasan, MD, of Oak Park, has been named an inaugural recipient of the St. George Foundation Distinguished Physician Award. This is a prestigious and rare honor as only 12 other Northwestern Medicine physicians hold the title of Distinguished Physician. Dr. Mutharasan, medical director, Northwestern Medicine Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute (BCVI) at Palos Hospital, received the Cardiology award.

These awards recognize physicians who achieve the highest personal and professional achievements in their respective fields, as well as individuals who serve as role models for medical students, residents and attending physicians. The St. George Foundation is a private foundation dedicated to promoting the general health of the community in the southwest suburbs of Chicago.

“We believe that world-class care should be available close to where people live and that the continuum of disease prevention, early detection and expert treatment are all critical elements for the community,” said Terrence Moisan, MD, president of The St. George Foundation. “Our St. George directors proudly support these extremely talented recipients of the St. George Foundation Distinguished Physician honors.”

Dr. Mutharasan was promoted to medical director of BCVI in the south suburbs in 2021. Under his leadership, cardiology and vascular services at Northwestern Medicine Palos Hospital, Northwestern Medicine Orland Park, and Northwestern Medicine Mokena have seen significant growth. Since the merger of Palos Health with Northwestern Medicine in Fiscal Year 2020, new outpatient visits for cardiology, cardiac surgery, vascular surgery and the heart and lung clinic have seen an average annual growth rate of 65%. Total outpatient visits are expected to reach nearly 18,000 in FY24.

Three additional Palos Hospital physicians were honored with the St. George Foundation Distinguished Physician Award. Franjo Siric, MD, surgical director, Northwestern Medicine Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute (BCVI) at Palos Hospital, received the Cardiac Surgery award. Drew Spencer, MD, medical director of neurosurgery at Northwestern Medicine Palos Hospital, is the inaugural recipient in Neurosurgery. They join Timothy Kuzel, MD, medical director of the Northwestern Medicine St. George Cancer Institute, who was honored with the Oncology award last fall.

For more information, please visit nm.org.