Greenwood ’02 selected as honorary degree recipient

Dr. Corryn Greenwood, a 2002 Ripon College graduate and neonatologist and medical director of the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Silver Cross Hospital in New Lenox, Illinois, will be presented with an honorary degree at Ripon’s commencement ceremony May 18.

She is the founding medical director of the Silver Cross NICU, the first and only facility of its kind in Will County, dedicated to caring for the area’s most vulnerable newborns. She is a clinical assistant professor at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and an associate clinician in the Division of Neonatology Outreach for Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago.

“This is a tremendous honor,” Greenwood said. “I’m excited and grateful that I’m being recognized. Our team’s dedication to building this local neonatology program has significantly impacted our community, establishing it as a top-tier unit with excellent outcomes.”

Until 2022, the nearest level III NICU was over 30 miles away. Greenwood said she is lucky to care for babies in need in Will County.

“Some babies that are born early or need specialty care may spend weeks, months or even longer in the NICU,” Greenwood said. “That’s a long time for families to be commuting, so we’re proud that we’re able to keep many of our patients right here at home. When time is all that our families may have, keeping them close to home is important.”

Within the past year, Greenwood helped care for a baby born at 22 weeks. She said it is remarkable to have a baby go home at six months thriving and meeting expected milestones. Her team was featured on Good Morning America for their work.

“In the Silver Cross NICU we work closely as a team with physicians, neonatal nurse practitioners, nurses, respiratory therapists, physical therapists, occupational therapists, feeding therapists, pharmacist, dietician, lactation and social work,” Greenwood said. “It is our privilege to have all hands on deck to work with this vulnerable population. As a multidisciplinary team we value our families and encourage them to join us on rounds as the best advocates for their babies.”

As the medical director of the NICU, Greenwood tackles administrative hurdles and champions advancements, ensuring that all practices are evidence-based and in the best interest of the patient.

“I lead our team of neonatologists and neonatal nurse practitioners while collaborating closely with our nursing director,” Greenwood said. “Together our goal is to be sure we follow all regulatory and accreditation standards, keeping patient safety at the center of all we do. We want our team to have the resources, tools and procedures in place to provide an exceptional level of care.”

Greenwood said her work is very rewarding. The privilege of being a part of formative moments in a human being’s story is not taken lightly and is the catalyst for her dedication to this priceless mission.

“There’s nothing greater than the satisfaction of seeing a baby who was less than a pound when they were born leave the hospital six months later with parents that are so happy and grateful,” Greenwood said.

In this work, the emotional weight is immense. In spite of her team’s best efforts, some infants will not survive. These are the biggest challenges of the job but they are also some of the most important. Every challenge and loss is a learning opportunity, leading to improved processes and a better understanding of balancing medicine with the human condition.

She was recently honored with the Excellence in Outreach Care Award by Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine’s Department of Pediatrics.

At Ripon, Greenwood majored in chemistry-biology and participated in golf, Alpha Delta Pi / Pi Tau Pi, student government, College Days, tutoring, peer mentorship, student admissions ambassadors club and volunteered for the orientation committee, reunion committee, career connection, alumni board and was a class agent. She was recently elected vice president of the alumni board of directors.

“When I visited Ripon College as a sophomore in high school, I knew that this was my place,” Greenwood said. “I love the people, the community and what it stood for. I felt very prepared for anything that I did after college. There were things I did at Ripon that I’m not quite sure I would have been able to fit in at a different school.”

As a first-year medical student, she was introduced to the NICU by Jonathan Muraskas ’78, honorary degree recipient and commencement speaker in 2007, who brought underclassmen to the NICU. He’s known for participating in the care of (at the time) one of the smallest babies ever to survive.

“I think it was fairly unheard of to bring first-year medical students into the NICU, and Jon did,” Greenwood said. “When he showed me his patients in this great giant room with rows of babies, some very sick, some convalescing, he would take us through the pathology of what this baby was experiencing, what kind of testing he was doing and always tried to bring that back to what we were studying in school. I was hooked at a very early age on becoming a neonatologist.”

Greenwood’s advice for current students is to take a variety of classes, even the hard ones you might not be good at, and enjoy your time.

“Make sure you wear your sunscreen early because the sun can age you, and the sun can also cause cancer,” Greenwood said. “Two things that you should really guard with your life are your time and your health.”

Greenwood said that it’s important for women in STEM, and every field, to find a mentor. She said sometimes that mentor doesn’t look like you.

“Get yourself out there and remember that, especially for women in leadership, the rules may be different than if you were a man,” Greenwood said. “You have to be aware that you’re being judged by a different rule book and playbook. As you get older and more established, mentor other people and check your own biases.”

After Ripon, she received a medical degree from Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine and a master’s degree in medical education from the University of Cincinnati. She also completed a pediatric residency at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, and pursued a fellowship in neonatal-perinatal medicine at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital.