Press Releases
Year
Safe Kids Champaign County, AAA, Dorel, and IDOT Urge Parents and Caregivers to Have Their Child Safety Seats Inspected
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 24, 2010
Contact
Reagen Bradbury, Safe Kids Coordinator
(217) 531-4268
Amy Roberts, Public Relations
(217) 531-4264 /
Safe Kids Champaign County, AAA, Dorel, and IDOT Urge Parents and Caregivers to Have Their Child Safety Seats Inspected
Champaign-Urbana Public Health District Hosts “National Seat Check Saturday” on September 25th
Champaign, IL – According to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for children ages 3 to 6 and 8 to 14. That is why Safe Kids Champaign County is urging parents and caregivers to make sure their child safety seats are properly installed. As part of Child Passenger Safety Week (September 19-25, 2010), Safe Kids will have certified technicians available to provide free hands-on child safety seat inspections and advice on Saturday, September 25th, “National Seat Check Saturday”, from 9 a.m. – 12 p.m. at the Champaign-Urbana Public Health District (CUPHD), 201 W. Kenyon Road, Champaign. This event is sponsored by AAA, Dorel, the Illinois Department of Transportation’s Division of Traffic Safety (IDOT/DTS), and Safe Kids Champaign County.
“It is the responsibility of every parent and caregiver to ensure their children are safely restrained – every trip, every time,” said Safe Kids Coordinator at CUPHD, Reagen Bradbury. “We are urging everyone to have their child safety seats inspected. When it comes to the safety of a child, there is no room for mistakes.”
Research shows that child restraints provide the best protection for all children up to age eight. From 1975 to 2008, 8,959 lives have been saved by the proper use of child restraints according to NHTSA. In 2008, among children under age five in passenger vehicles, an estimated 244 lives were saved by child restraint use (child safety seats and adult seat belts).
For maximum child passenger safety, parents and caregivers can visit their local inspection stations and refer to the following 4 Steps for Kids guidelines that determine which restraint system is best suited to protect children based on age and size:
- For the best possible protection, keep infants in the back seat in rear-facing child safety seats as long as possible up to the height or weight limit specified by the seat manufacturer. At a minimum, keep infants rear-facing until at least age one and 20 pounds.
- When children outgrow their rear-facing seats (at least age one and 20 pounds), they should ride in forward-facing child safety seats in the back seat until they reach the upper weight or height limit of the particular seat (usually around age four and 40 pounds).
- By Illinois law, once children outgrow their forward-facing child safety seats (usually around age four and 40 pounds), they must ride in booster seats in the back seat until the age of eight. All children should ride properly restrained in the back seat.
- Children are not ready for a safety belt until they are 4’9” tall and over the age of eight. They can use the adult safety belts in the back seat, if they fit properly. Safety belts fit properly when the lap belt lays across the upper thighs and the shoulder belt fits across the chest (usually at age eight or when they are 4’9” tall).
Remember: All children younger than 13 years of age should ride in the back seat.
Safety belts are required in all seating positions in all cars, light trucks, and vans. It is illegal for anyone under the age of 18 to ride in the bed of a pickup truck.
For more information on Child Passenger Safety Week and to find the child seat inspection station nearest you visit http://www.nhtsa.gov/Safety/CPS , http://www.facebook.com/childpassengersafety or www.buckleupillinois.org. For additional information regarding CUPHD services, visit the web at www.c-uphd.org.
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“CATCH” the Spirit of Good Health
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 13, 2010
Contact
Nikki Hillier, Program Coordinator
(217) 531-2916
Wendy Starwalt, PE Teacher Carrie Busey Elementary School
(217) 351-3811
Amy Roberts, Public Relations
(217) 531-4264 /
“CATCH” the Spirit of Good Health
Champaign-Urbana Public Health District Helps the Students of Carrie Busey Elementary School
Champaign, IL – Carrie Busey Elementary School has partnered with the Champaign-Urbana Public Health District (CUPHD) to implement the Coordinated Approach To Child Health (CATCH) Program. The CATCH Program is a multi-component program that promotes positive healthy behaviors in students and emphasizes the need for a healthy lifestyle to improve both living and learning. CATCH has three core components – nutrition, physical activity, and health education. This is Carrie Busey’s second year implementing the program.
Each year, CATCH schools offer a family event to reinforce the CATCH philosophy. On Saturday, September 25, 2010 from 9:00-10:30am, Carrie Busey Elementary School will be kicking off this year’s CATCH program with a CATCH celebration including a family 3K walk/run. The CATCH celebration will encourage the students and families at Carrie Busey to engage in physical activity by making physical activity FUN! Families will be able to participate in a variety of activities including yoga, Zumba, and active video games. The CATCH celebration is open to the community and will take place at Carrie Busey, 1605 West Kirby in Champaign.
“CATCH is a fun, well-rounded program that affords students the ability to excel through a series of consistent messages from a variety of sources,” said Nikki Hillier, Program Coordinator of Health Promotions for CUPHD. “CATCH builds an alliance of children, parents, faculty, staff, and community members to teach skills and behaviors associated with maintaining healthy lifestyles.”
For more information about CUPHD's programs and services, visit www.c-uphd.org.
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Whooping Cough is on the Rise
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 10, 2010
Contact
Brandon Meline, Director of Maternal & Child Health
(217) 531-4297 /
Amy Roberts, Public Relations
(217) 531-4264 /
Whooping Cough is on the Rise
Champaign-Urbana Public Health District Encourages Pertussis Vaccination
Champaign, IL – Pertussis, also known as whooping cough, is a highly contagious respiratory disease that is caused by the bacterium Bordetella pertussis.
According to the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH), over 445 cases of pertussis have been reported in Illinois to date, with 65 percent of those reported since May 2010. Of the cases reported since May 2010, 45 percent have occurred among school-aged children; over 30 percent have occurred in children under five years-of-age.
Pertussis is a highly infectious illness that is easily transmitted through coughing and sneezing and may persist among a population for weeks to months. Symptoms of pertussis usually occur five to 10 days after exposure, but can take up to 21 days to appear. Initially symptoms are similar to a common cold: a runny nose, low-grade fever, and a mild occasional cough. However, the cough can become severe and spasmodic - with a distinctive “whooping” sound - and can progress to vomiting between bouts of coughing.
Patients with pertussis must be isolated from daycare, school, work, and public gatherings for at least five days after the start of appropriate antibiotic therapy to limit further transmission. Although most people recover completely from pertussis, complications from the disease can be severe in high-risk groups, especially infants under one year, and children who have not been fully immunized against the disease.
Most children are immunized against pertussis disease by receiving a series of vaccine doses of DTaP vaccine; however, immunity wanes as they reach adolescence. Since 2005, there has been an adolescent/adult pertussis booster vaccine (Tdap) that can be used for prevention and control of pertussis. Tdap vaccine is recommended to be routinely given at ages 11-12 years.
In addition, IDPH recommends that all close contacts to a person with pertussis disease receive antibiotic treatment even if they have been vaccinated recently against pertussis. Close contacts include household members and persons who have had direct contact with respiratory, oral, and/or nasal secretions from a person with pertussis or have been within three feet of that person for at least 10 minutes.
The Champaign-Urbana Public Health District (CUPHD) is offering free pertussis booster vaccine (Tdap) to those who meet certain federally-mandated guidelines. Adolescents 11 to 18 and participants 15 to 25 years-of-age enrolled in the Department of Human Service’s WIC supplemental nutrition program are eligible to receive the vaccine at no charge. Those WIC participants who have infants in the home less than one year-of-age may also bring household contacts and family caregivers to CUPHD for this free vaccination as well. Many infants who get pertussis are infected by older siblings, parents, or caregivers who might not even know they have the disease. The vaccine is funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. For those adults that do not meet the eligibility requirements, the pertussis vaccine is available for $65.00 at the health district.
Appointments are available Monday through Friday and can be scheduled by calling (217) 531-4317.
For more information, visit CUPHD on the web at www.c-uphd.org.
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