Radio career From 1981 to 1987, between undergrad and medical school, Ivankovich worked as a radio announcer, production engineer, and graduate advisor at
WNUR-FM in Evanston. He produced several shows at the
CMJ-awarded station, most notably as host (under the moniker The Right Reverend, Doctor D) of
Out of the Blue, which featured Chicago blues music, live performances and interviews. The all-night show was picked up by
KOST Broadcasting for syndication and ran in over 60 markets across the country from 1985 to 1987. While there, he met
Stephanie Miller, who was then the station's morning host. When Miller went to New York to work mornings at
WQHT, Ivankovich partnered with her and produced the
Hot 97 Morning Show with Miller and
Howard Hoffman. In 2013, he and his wife Karla Ivankovich started hosting the radio show
Life & Love With Karla & Dan on
WVON.
Medical career While working at Cook County Hospital and after 20 years as a doctor, Ivankovich observed patients being ignored and waiting months or even years for surgeries and had difficulty getting basic orthopedic services, while their injuries worsened. One day while treating a 48-year-old woman with knee arthritis, he realized that fixing her knees would not fix her poverty issues, and he had the idea to start a clinic that would help bring the patient "from disability to functionality." In 2009, Ivankovich and his now-wife Karla Carwile founded the Chicago-based nonprofit OnePatient Global Health Initiative, with a mission to treat patients from all over Illinois who have musculoskeletal health disorders, regardless of their ability to pay and without prejudice. The initiative has three clinics around Chicago. The full-time staffers call themselves the Bone Squad, "a consortium of surgeons, primary-care doctors, and other medical professionals who treat the city's low-income population." The name was inspired by the television show
The Mod Squad (1968–73). Ivankovich runs three OnePatient clinics in Chicago's most underserved areas. OnePatient does not turn away patients, and treats patients regardless of their ability to pay. Ivankovich performs 600 to 800 surgical procedures per year. He also spends time helping aging local blues musicians navigate the healthcare system, providing many of them and their families with free care and financial assistance. Ivankovich also founded the Chicago Musculoskeletal Initiative, which has a goal of making healthcare for the poor population in the US a basic human right. He collaborated with
Team Rubicon USA to set up mobile forward-assist surgical teams (F.A.S.T.) to treat hundreds of Haitians with severe injuries. While making rounds through the multiple tent-city medical camps, he and colleagues from
Handicap International discovered nearly 50 patients with severe spinal cord injuries. Ivankovich came upon two such patients, Bazelais Suy and Josette Delisca, who managed to survive despite life-threatening injuries. With the assistance of
AirMed International and MedEvac, he escorted Suy and Delisca to Chicago, where they received care at
Northwestern Memorial Hospital and the
Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago. For his work in the aftermath of the Haitian earthquake, Ivankovich was named one of
Chicago magazine's 2010 Chicagoans of the Year, In 2010, Ivankovich was featured on
CBS Evening News with
Katie Couric in a segment called "The American Spirit". Ivankovich and Williams partnered with
Berkeley Bionics to fit Williams with electronic prostheses. In April 2017, for his efforts in providing medical services to everyone, Ivankovich was named a "Harvey's Hero" by
Steve Harvey on his
Steve Harvey talk show.
Hospital work Ivankovich is an orthopedic surgeon at multiple hospitals in Chicago, including Methodist Hospital, He also supported organizing activities by a physicians' union, and criticized Cook County for spending too little on patient care and too much on administrative salaries and non-patient costs. Ivankovich filed suit against the hospital for wrongful termination and alleged that the hospital had terminated his employment due to his critical statements and union activity. ==Music==