Beginning January 1, the state of Illinois will require hospitals, health departments and other agencies to change the way they report HIV positive test results to the state. Until now, health care personnel have reported HIV positive test results to the state without including the names of the individuals who test positive, but the state is now making the change to name-based reporting.

The change is part of a national effort to increase the accuracy of HIV reporting. States that fail to switch to name-based reporting risk losing federal funding.

State and local health officials say the change will not affect patient confidentiality. Illinois has used name-based reporting of those diagnosed with AIDS since the early 1980s. The state “has strong security and confidentiality practices in place, which have protected the confidentiality of AIDS cases,” health officials say.

Public Health will comply with the state mandate for names-based reporting, and will also continue to offer anonymous HIV tests, which are not reported to the state.

“We are confident that patient confidentiality will be protected with names-based reporting,” said Julie Pryde, director of the Division of Infectious Disease Prevention and Management. “No local or state health official can disclose a person’s HIV status without that person’s written consent.”

“For those who wish to keep their identity secret even from health care providers, we will continue to offer anonymous HIV testing,” she said.

Those seeking more information may visit the Public Health website: www.cuphd.org (Click on Infectious Disease) or call 217-239-7827 and ask for Karla.

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Download 2005-12-30-Names-Reporting-PR

Public Health to Provide Exams and Preventive Dental Care in Champaign–Urbana Schools

Program Will Reach Out to All Champaign-Urbana School Children

“Rather than hiring another company to do this work, as we have in the past, we’ve decided to bring these dental services to the schools ourselves.”
– Interim Public Health Administrator Garry Bird.

Starting January 10, 2006, Champaign-Urbana Public Health District dentists and dental hygienists will go directly to area schools to offer exams and preventive dental services to all schoolchildren who opt to take advantage of the program.

The dental health visits will help children in Kindergarten, 2nd and 6th grades get their required dental exams by a May 1 deadline. But the program will also provide exams to children in other grades, along with fluoride treatments to all children who opt to take advantage of the program.

And school children who qualify for the schools’ free or reduced lunch program will be eligible for dental sealants.

Cavities are a common problem for children – and the problem begins when they’re quite young. Tooth decay affects nearly a fifth of 2–4-year-olds, more than half of 8- year-olds, and more than three-fourths of 17-year-olds.

Dental exams can catch problems early and fluoride treatments are effective at preventing tooth decay.

Dental sealants are a plastic coating applied to the chewing surfaces of the back teeth. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, sealants are a safe,