Champaign-Urbana Public Health District

Safe Kids Champaign County reminds parents this Halloween that October 31 is the most dangerous day of the year for child pedestrians. Children are four times more likely to be killed while walking on Halloween than on any other night of the year. It is essential for parents to prepare their children properly to stay safe while having fun.

Daylight Savings Time means that children are more likely to be trick-or-treating in the dark, when it is harder for drivers to see them and the excitement of the holiday can make everyone less cautious. To keep kids safe, parents must remind them about the rules of the road and ensure that they will be seen by drivers this... more...

Health District Received Full Shipment of Child Flu Vaccine This Week

The Champaign-Urbana Public Health District yesterday received a total of 400 doses of pediatric flu vaccine, its full order for the season. Parents of children needing flu shots may now call Public Health at (217) 531-4317 to schedule an appointment.

All of the flu shots for children are in single-dose vials, and contain no thimerosal (a preservative that contains... more...

American Red Cross Volunteers to Post "Stock 2 for Flu" Tags on Store Shelves in Champaign and Rantoul IGA Stores

Champaign County IGA stores have joined the "Stock 2 for Flu" campaign, which urges citizens to prepare for an emergency by stockpiling two weeks of food, water and other necessities. American Red Cross volunteers will help IGA staff post "Stock 2 for Flu" shelf tags on store shelves, to encourage shoppers to pick up two extra items for their emergency stockpiles each time they go to the store. The shelf tags will go up at the IGA stores on Round Barn Road and Kirby Avenue in Champaign, and at the IGA store on Route 136 in the Modern Mart Shopping Center in... more...

Two-Day Clinic Will Offer Flu and Pneumonia Shots to Adult Drivers and Passengers

Public Health will offer a drive-in flu shot clinic in the parking lot of First Christian Church on Staley Road in Champaign on October 26-27. Nurses will give the shots from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. both days.

This clinic will help meet the local need for adult flu and pneumonia shots, while also allowing Public Health staff to practice emergency mass immunizations. The clinic will utilize portable nursing stations, generators, refrigerators, radios and other equipment that might be needed in an event that required Public Health staff to provide vaccines, antibiotics or other preventive medicines to large numbers of Champaign County... more...

October 19th A Woman's Fund Anniversary Event to Feature Fine Food, Performances and Local Artworks for Sale

A Woman's Fund, the maverick local non-profit that opened the first shelter for battered women in Illinois (and one of the first in the nation), celebrates its 35th anniversary this Thursday evening with a dinner theater and silent auction at the Historic Lincoln Hotel in Urbana.

The evening will begin at 6 p.m. with a social hour and opportunity to view - and bid on works of art by local artists, gift baskets and other items. Presentations and awards begin at 7 p.m., with dinner and a theatrical performance at 7:30... more...

Volunteers will plant 1,500 red tulip bulbs in Champaign County during Red Ribbon Week, a national drug prevention awareness week, October 23 - 30, 2006. The Red Ribbon Campaign began in 1985 after drug traffickers in Mexico City murdered DEA agent Kiki Camarena, and his family began wearing red ribbons in his honor. In this event, known as "Plant a Promise," red tulip bulbs are planted to celebrate those who have chosen to be tobacco-free and to honor those whose lives have been touched by a tobacco-related disease. Each spring a spectacular bloom of "tobacco-free red" highlights the issue... more...

The Champaign-Urbana Public Health District website (www.cuphd.org) and the Champaign County Public Health Department website (www.champaigncountyhealth.org) each now link to a calendar of all flu shot clinics in Champaign County that are open to the... more...

Three Groups Partner to Meet the Need

Many families in Champaign find it difficult to meet state requirements for annual physical exams for kindergarten, fifth and ninth graders. Without documentation of a school physical, children will not be allowed attend classes this Fall.

To help meet the need, the Champaign Unit 4 Schools Family Information Center, the HeRMES Clinic (a medical student-run volunteer organization), and the Champaign-Urbana Public Health District are offering the last of a series of free school physical clinics on Thursday evening October 12 from 5 - 8:30 p.m. at the Champaign Unit 4 Schools Family Information Center, 405 E. Clark Street, in... more...

A Woman's Fund Commemorates 35 Years of Service With a Lineup of Events in October

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and A Woman's Fund marks the observance with a series of events designed to draw attention to the persistent problem of domestic violence in Central Illinois. 2006 also marks the 35th Anniversary of A Woman's Fund, which first opened its shelter for battered women in 1971. The shelter, A Woman's Place, was the first in Illinois and one of the first in the U.S.

The month of observances will begin OCTOBER 1, with "AN EVENING TO REMEMBER," a candlelight vigil featuring wine and chocolate tasting to raise funds for A Woman's... more...

Safe Kids Champaign County Offers Sleep Safety Tips

Champaign - October is Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) Awareness Month, and Safe Kids Champaign County urges parents and caregivers to remember the phrase "back to sleep": babies need to sleep on their backs, face up, to minimize the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. SIDS is still not fully understood, but it is estimated that 900 cases each year involve soft bedding and suffocation in a crib or other sleeping environment. Soft bedding and mattresses have also been linked to more than 100 cases of fatal suffocation in playpens since... more...