Advocate Aurora Health discharges 25,000th COVID-19 patient

The milestone represents tireless work from team members for more than a year.

Jorge Reyes of Burbank, Ill., became the 25,000th Advocate Aurora Health COVID-19 patient discharged when he was released Tuesday from Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn after six days of hospitalization.

Advocate Aurora Health Executive Medical Director of Infectious Disease and Prevention Dr. Robert Citronberg released the following statement upon the system’s discharge of its 25,000th COVID-19 patient this week:

"We treated our first COVID-19 patient about 15 months ago, and we surpassed another milestone in this difficult journey this week discharging our 25,000th patient from the hospital. Getting to this point required our team members to adapt, sacrifice, and be the leaders our communities needed them to be during this unprecedented health crisis. Discharging a 25,000th patient this week just shows the remarkable scale of their accomplishments. We’re so proud of them and grateful for their work.”

“Of course, the fact that we’re still discharging patients is a reminder that COVID-19 remains a risk to people, especially those who aren’t vaccinated. The safe, effective vaccines are now widely available, so now is the time to get your shot if you haven’t yet. The vaccines are our way out of the pandemic.”

“The pandemic has taken our purpose to help people live well to a new level and gave it heightened meaning. As safe, effective vaccines have started to ease the danger of COVID-19 and we return to something closer to normal life, our team members will continue in that purpose. Moving forward, we’re taking the lessons learned from the pandemic and applying them to the excellent care we provide on a daily basis, such as routine, lifesaving cancer screenings and management of chronic diseases. The pandemic may be waning, but our commitment to our communities’ health never will.”