Press Releases
Year
Update Hurricane Katrina Relief Effort
MEMORANDUM
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TO: |
Local Health Departments and Regional Offices of the Illinois Department of Public Health, Hospital Infection Control Practitioners, Hospital Emergency Departments, Hospital Administrators, Infectious Disease Specialists and Illinois Chapters of the American Red Cross |
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FROM: |
Kathleen Kelly-Shannon, Assistant Chief Communicable Disease Control Section Karen McMahon, Chief Immunization Section |
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DATE: |
September 8, 2005 |
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SUBJECT: |
Update Hurricane Katrina Relief Effort |
This is to inform you the Illinois Department of Public Health’s (IDPH) Division of Communications has updated the Department’s web-site (www.idph.state.il.us/hurricane/index.htm) to contain guidance on the diverse topics involved with response to Hurricane Katrina. The website will be updated to reflect any changes or additional recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or the IDPH. This information will be of special importance since many Illinois communities are providing shelter for persons displaced by the hurricane.
Historically, widespread outbreaks of infectious disease following hurricanes in the United States are not common but surveillance for clusters of infectious disease should be encouraged especially among persons living in community shelters.
Surveillance for infectious diseases or conditions should include the following:
- Gastrointestinal Illness
- Influenza-Like Illness
- Chronic Cough
- Wound Infection
- Sore Throat
- Febrile Illness
Health Care Providers are asked to rapidly report to their local health department any infections required to be reported to the Department in addition to any unusual cluster of illnesses identified among persons displaced from their homes especially those living in community shelters.
We thank you for your continued support of this community effort. Questions regarding the hurricane Katrina relief effort may be directed to your local health department, your regional office of the Illinois Department of Public Health or this office at (217) 782-2016.
Public Health to Increase or Add Fees for Some Services
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 7, 2005
Contact
Diana Yates, Communications Coordinator
217-531-4275
Public Health to Increase or Add Fees for Some Services
New Fees Comparable to Those of Other County Health Departments;
No One Will Be Turned Away for Inability to Pay!
On October 1, the Champaign-Urbana Public Health District and the Champaign County Public Health Department will increase or add fees for some medical and prevention services.
The divisions of Family Health, HIV/STD/TB Prevention & Management and Community Health Nursing will increase or introduce new fees for services such as adult vaccines, school and sports physicals, well child and sick child visits and the administration of flu and pneumonia shots and other vaccines.
Why is Public Health charging these fees?
After many months of study, surveys of some Public Health clients and a comparison of Champaign County fees with those charged by other health departments, the administration, division directors and both the C-U and County Boards of Health agreed that a fee increase was an acceptable move at this time. Here are some of the reasons for the change:
Most Public Health fees have been lower than those of other health departments and lower than the amounts reimbursed by Medicaid. If Public Health does not charge a fee for a service to clients who are Medicaid-eligible, it cannot collect any of the available revenue for that service from Medicaid. (More than 90 percent of Family Health clients are Medicaid eligible.)
Public Health resources are extremely limited, but the demand for services keeps increasing. Here are the sources of Public Health funding:
* GRANTS 61 percent
* TAXES. 28 percent
* FEES. 11 percent
Tax revenues received by Public Health are capped and so only rise with inflation. The agency is always looking for new grants, but most grants are tied to specific programs and cannot be used for other purposes. If Public Health is to continue to provide and expand its services, it must recover more of its expenses through fees.
Will the fee increase hurt or discourage our clients?
Public Health has always and will continue to make it very clear to patients and clients that they may receive any service offered, regardless of their ability to pay. Public Health staff will hand each client a bill at the time of service, but will not mail reminders to clients or remind them about unpaid bills when they return for other services.
Every fee sheet and every bill and every announcement about the fees will include this message:
NO ONE WILL BE DENIED ANY SERVICE DUE TO AN INABILITY TO PAY!
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Health and Safety Officials Prepare for Arrival of Gulf Coast Evacuees
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 6, 2005
Contact
Julie Pryde, Director Division of HIV/STD/TB Prevention & Management
217-239-7827
Diana Yates, Communications Coordinator
217-531-4275
Health and Safety Officials Prepare for Arrival of Gulf Coast Evacuees
American Red Cross, United Way, Law Enforcement, Transit and Health and Social Service Providers to Open Service Center for Evacuees
Gulf Coast evacuees are already arriving Champaign County, and health and safety officials are opening an Evacuee Service Center tomorrow to help the new arrivals find shelter, food and other essential services. The Service Center will be open to all Gulf Coast evacuees in Champaign County, even those who are already housed.
The Katrina Evacuee Service Center will open tomorrow at 8 a.m. in Room #403 of the Champaign-Urbana Mass Transit District Illinois Terminal, 45 E. University, in Champaign. The Center will be open every day from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. – until the flow of newcomers displaced from areas affected by Hurricane Katrina begins to ebb. The Center will remain open as long as the need continues.
At the Service Center, evacuees from the Gulf Coast will receive assistance from the Central Illinois Chapter of the American Red Cross, the United Way of Champaign County, local medical personnel, Public Health nurses, Salvation Army volunteers and community social workers and mental health providers. Here are some of the services to be provided at the Center:
- The local chapter of the American Red Cross will help evacuees find shelter, food, clothing and referrals to other services.
- Doctors and other medical personnel (from Planned Parenthood, Frances Nelson, Carle Clinic, Carle Foundation Hospital, Christie Clinic, Hermes Medical Student Clinic and others) will offer medical screenings, emergency medicines and prescriptions.
- Nurses from the Champaign-Urbana Public Health District will offer TB tests, Hepatitis A, Tetanus and Diptheria vaccines as needed, as well as referrals to other Public Health services.
- The United Way of Champaign County will provide assistance and referrals to many other community services.
- The local chapter of the Salvation Army and the Champaign County Convention and Visitors’ Bureau will provide information about other community resources.
- Evacuees from the Gulf Coast and others seeking information about services provided locally may call the local chapter of the American Red Cross at (217) 351-5861.
A Champaign County Emergency Response website is also available at: www.cuphd.org/katrinahelp