Press Releases
Year
Public Health to Hold Town Hall Meetings Throughout Champaign County
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 29, 2006
Contact
Diana Yates, Communications Coordinator
(217) 531-4275
Public Health to Hold Town Hall Meetings Throughout Champaign County
Initiative Will Spotlight Existing Programs and Invite Participants to Share Ideas About the Future of Public Health
Beginning April 6, the Champaign-Urbana Public Health District and the Champaign County Public Health Department will host a series of four Town Hall meetings to highlight health programs available throughout the county and to get community ideas about the future of Public Health.
Newly appointed Public Health Administrator Vito Palazzolo, representatives of the Champaign County and Champaign-Urbana Boards of Health, and Public Health division and program directors will be on hand to describe the many public health services available in Champaign County and to discuss future goals of Public Health.
Public Health officials will make a short presentation on all the programs and services offered, and will devote the remaining time to brainstorming sessions during which community members will list their top Public Health priorities for coming years. Their ideas will be organized into a report that will be made available to the public and mailed to all Town Hall participants. The report will also outline how community ideas will be incorporated into a Strategic Plan for Public Health in Champaign County.
The Town Hall meetings will be:
- U R B A N A - T h u r s d a y , A p r i l 6
Lincoln Square Village, 300 S. Broadway Ave. (for best parking, use south entrance on High Street)
- R A N T O U L - T u e s d a y , A p r i l 1 8
Northern Champaign County Community Service Center 520 E. Wabash St.
- P H I L O - T h u r s d a y , A p r i l 2 7 Philo Township Bldg., 106 S. Harrison
- C H A M P A I G N - T h u r s d a y , M a y 4 Parkland College, Rm. D-244
All events are 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.
Refreshments will be served.
For more details: www.c-uphd.org or (217) 531-4275.
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April is National STD Awareness Month
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 28, 2006
Contact
Sonya Kuykendall, RN, BSN, PHN – STD Nurse Division of Infectious Disease Prevention & Management
(217) 239-7827
Diana Yates, Communications Coordinator
(217) 531-4275
April is National STD Awareness Month
April is National STD Awareness Month, an observance sponsored by the American Social Health Association. The Champaign-Urbana Public Health District and the Champaign County Public Health Department encourage all Illinois health care providers to alert clients to the increasing problem of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) in the community. STDs are one of the state’s most persistent (yet preventable) health problems. Public awareness about STDs remains critically low throughout the U.S., and STDs are occurring at epidemic levels, particularly among 15-29 year-olds. Education and testing are critical to the effort to reduce the spread of STDS, as some show few, if any, outward symptoms.
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- Preliminary data from 2005 indicate that over 46,000 cases of chlamydia and over 18,000 cases of gonorrhea were reported to Illinois Department of Public Health.
- In 2005, Champaign County had 1,130 chlamydia cases and 415 gonorrhea cases.
- During 2005, 72 percent of all chlamydia cases occurred in adolescents and young adults between 15-24 years of age.
- Preliminary data for early syphilis cases in Illinois demonstrated a 32% increase (708 to 937) in reported cases from 2004 – 2005.
In observance of this month, Public Health would like to offer Champaign County citizens and health care providers resources to assist in STD education, screening, diagnosis, and treatment. Public Health also offers three weekly STD clinics for Champaign County residents:
Mondays: Rantoul clinic (720 E. Wabash - 893-0832) 1:00 – 5:00 p.m.
Tuesdays: Champaign clinic (710 N. Neil - 531 -4317) 1:00 – 5:00 p.m.
Thursdays: Champaign clinic (710 N. Neil - 531-4317) 9:00 – 11:00 a.m., and 1:00 – 3:00 p.m.
Public Health is part of a national effort to reduce STD incidence and prevalence. Nurses in the Division of Infectious Disease Prevention & Management perform outreach and testing at local jails, juvenile detention centers, schools and homeless shelters. Testing for gonorrhea and chlamydia is available via a “Wellness on Wheels (WOW)” Mobile Clinic (at the Catholic Worker House (317 S. Randolph Street, Champaign – Fridays – 11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.) and “Teen Wellness on Wheels (Teen WOW)” (alternating between Central and Centennial High Schools every Wednesday from 2:00 – 4:00 p.m). Educational presentations about STDs are also provided each month in a variety of outreach settings.
For more information, please contact the Division of Infectious Disease Prevention and Management at (217) 239-7827.
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Get Your “Health Check” in Champaign This April
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 1, 2006
Contact
Chronic Disease Prevention & Management
(217) 373-7900
Diana Yates, Communications Coordinator
(217) 531-4275
Get Your “Health Check” in Champaign This April
The Champaign County Public Health Department and the Champaign-Urbana Public Health District are offering the following Health Check Clinics in Champaign in March. Any Champaign County resident aged 18 or older is eligible for the blood pressure, blood sugar and cholesterol screenings offered at the clinics. Flu and pneumonia shots are also available.
The Health Check Clinics in Champaign will be:
- Wednesday, April 5, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the Champaign-Urbana Public Health District main building, 710 N. Neil St., Champaign.
- Wednesday April 19, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the Champaign-Urbana Public Health District main building, 710 N. Neil St., Champaign.
- Thursday, April 13, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the Hays Center, 1311 W. Church St., Champaign.
Flu shots cost $18.70. Pneumonia shots are $29.70. Blood pressure screenings are free. Blood sugar tests cost $2 and cholesterol checks cost $4. No one will be turned away for inability to pay.
For clinics in Mahomet, Rantoul, St. Joseph or Tolono, or more information, please call the Health Check Hotline at (217) 531-4252.
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