NorthStar Anesthesia Expands Chicago Footprint to Combat Staffing Crisis

The anesthesia sector faces a volatile period as surgical demand surges while the workforce shrinks. With labor costs climbing 15–25% since 2020 and nearly 40% of anesthesiologists weighing an exit from the profession, hospitals are moving away from traditional staffing models. NorthStar Anesthesia is responding by embedding clinical leaders directly into facilities like UChicago Medicine AdventHealth and Rush Copley Medical Center.

At the Hinsdale and La Grange campuses, administrators report that a consistent leadership presence has stabilized teams and improved surgical coordination. Meanwhile, at UChicago Medicine AdventHealth Bolingbrook, the strategy focuses on reducing coverage variability to tighten financial performance. Rush Copley Medical Center has prioritized team continuity to boost operational efficiency, a move CMO Stephen Kelanic describes as a necessary shift toward viewing anesthesia through an operational rather than purely clinical lens. By mentoring on-site leaders to manage surgeon relationships and local culture, the firm aims to prove that national scale can mitigate the effects of the current labor shortage.