Press Releases
Year
Champaign-Urbana Public Health District Reminds Residents to Think, Test, and Treat for Tuberculosis
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 20, 2024
Contact
Dawn Carson, Communicable Disease Investigator
217-531-2917 /
Tanya Giannotti, Public Relations
217-531-4939 /
Champaign-Urbana Public Health District Reminds Residents to Think, Test, and Treat for Tuberculosis
World Tuberculosis Day is March 24
CHAMPAIGN, IL – Champaign-Urbana Public Health District (CUPHD) joins the global community in commemorating World Tuberculosis (TB) Day on March 24, 2024. This year’s theme, “Think. Test. Treat TB.” emphasizes the critical steps of considering one’s chance for TB infection, getting tested, and ensuring timely treatment for those affected.
Despite advancements in healthcare, TB remains a global health threat and continues to be a concern in the United States and Champaign County. Over 13 million people in the U.S. are estimated to have inactive, or latent, TB infection, and there are over 8,000 cases of active TB each year. Eighty percent of those active cases arise from reactivated latent TB. In 2023, Champaign County investigated a total of 169 TB cases, with over 95% identified as latent TB. The key to eliminating the threat of TB is screening for and treating latent TB.
- Those at higher risk for tuberculosis infection for which testing is recommended include:
- People born in or who frequently travel to countries where TB is common, including those in Asia, Africa, and Latin America.
- Those who live or used to live in large group settings where TB is more common, such as homeless shelters, prisons, or jails.
- People who have recently spent time with someone with active TB disease.
- People who work in places with high risk for TB transmission, such as hospitals, homeless
shelters, correctional facilities, and nursing homes.
It is recommended that that people discuss with their healthcare providers whether tuberculosis testing and treatment are appropriate for them. People with a weaker immune system because of certain medications or health conditions such as diabetes, cancer, or HIV are at higher risk of progressing to active TB if infected.
Treating latent TB benefits both the general public and the individual. Without treatment, one in 10 people will develop active TB in their lifetime, with the chances higher for those in vulnerable populations. When a person develops active TB, the symptoms may be mild for many months, which can lead to delays in seeking care and transmission of the bacteria to others. Individuals ill with TB have the potential to transmit the infection to approximately 10-15 other individuals through close proximity within a year. With testing and treatment, however, TB is preventable and curable.
Champaign-Urbana Public Health Districts remains committed in its efforts to end TB, ensuring equitable access to TB services, and building a healthier, more resilient community.
For more information, visit https://www.cdc.gov/tb/default.htm
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Champaign-Urbana Public Health District Teams Up with CredibleMind to Expand Local Mental Wellbeing Resources
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 19, 2024
Contact
JR Lill, Community Health Plan Manager
872-212-3413 /
Tanya Giannotti, Public Relations
217-531-4939 /
Champaign-Urbana Public Health District Teams Up with CredibleMind to Expand Local Mental Wellbeing Resources
The partnership provides Champaign-Urbana residents with free digital access to more than 10,000 science-backed self-care resources
CHAMPAIGN, IL – The Champaign-Urbana Public Health District (CUPHD) announces its commercial partnership with CredibleMind, an intuitive platform offering free and local wellness-oriented digital content. This platform enables employees, healthcare providers, and community organizations to support consumer-centric engagement and provide personalized mental health resources. The partnership will make CredibleMind an accessible digital resource for more than 125,000 residents of Champaign and Urbana, IL.
Founded in 2018 by Deryk Van Brunt and Marcos Athanasoulis, CredibleMind provides a comprehensive population-based mental health ecosystem, which includes analytics reporting on service needs, usage, and outcomes. Focused on early intervention and prevention of mental health issues, CredibleMind offers over 10,000 evidence-based and scientifically backed resources, aiming to provide users with credible self-care options to enhance their overall well-being without requiring medical intervention.
“Behavioral Health has long been an area of concern in our Community Health Assessment,” says Administrator Julie Pryde. “While our community has service providers for behavioral health, what we lacked was prevention resources. CUPHD hopes that this resource, which is free and available to all, will help fill that gap”
CredibleMind enables payers, public health departments, employers, insurers, healthcare providers, and community organizations to provide their constituents with a comprehensive and holistic ecosystem for the prevention and early intervention of mental illness. Complete with assessments, education, and interventions that empower users to engage in mental wellbeing, each customized platform offers connections to local community resources and population-level analytics.
For more information about CredibleMind, visit https://www.crediblemind.com. To access the CUPHD CredibleMind site, visit https://c-uphd.crediblemind.com/.
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Champaign County EMA Urges Planning for Severe Weather
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 4, 2024
Contact
John Dwyer, Coordinator / CCEMA
(217) 384-3826 /
Tanya Giannotti, Public Relations
217-531-4939 /
Champaign County EMA Urges Planning for Severe Weather
Severe Weather Preparedness Week is March 4-8, 2024
CHAMPAIGN, IL – The Champaign County Emergency Management Agency (CCEMA) is urging residents to prepare for severe weather as part of Severe Weather Preparedness week, March 4-8, 2024. Illinois had the most tornadoes of any U.S. state last year, with 121. These storms resulted in four fatalities, 54 injuries and caused millions of dollars in property damage. While people cannot stop severe thunderstorms, lightning, or tornadoes from happening, there are steps that everyone can take to minimize the impacts of severe weather on our lives and our families. According to the National Weather Service (NWS), the following precautions can be taken to prepare for severe weather:
- STAY INFORMED. Monitor a weather alert radio, local radio and TV broadcasts, websites, or weather apps on computers and smartphones. DON'T just rely on one method - especially storm sirens - which are NOT designed to be heard indoors by everyone. Have multiple ways to receive information.
- HAVE AN EMERGENCY PLAN. A plan is essential to keeping yourself and those around you safe. Designate places to go to seek safe shelter from a tornado or severe thunderstorm. Pick two places to meet in case you are separated from your family or co-workers. While traveling or when away from home, know the names of the locations you are visiting - especially county and city names.
- HAVE AN EMERGENCY SUPPLY KIT. Some storms have the power to cause power outages that can last for several days. Having an emergency supply kit on-hand will help you cope with the outage while crews work to restore services. A basic emergency supply kit includes:
- Bottled water
- Non-perishable food
- Flashlights and extra batteries
- Extra clothing and blankets
- An extra set of keys and cash
- Medications and a first aid kit
- Personal hygiene items
- Pet supplies
- A weather alert radio or portable AM/FM radio
- PREPARE YOUR HOME FOR AN EMERGENCY. Spend time before an emergency to ensure that you and your home are ready to withstand a storm. This preparation looks like:
- Training. Learn how to use a fire extinguisher, how to administer CPR, and how to turn off the electricity, gas, and water supplies in your home.
- Inspection. Inspect your home for potential hazards such as weakened trees or limbs, cracked windows, or worn roofing.
- Storm proofing. When you build a new structure or renovate an existing one, there are ways to prevent wind damage to roofs, upper floors, and garages. Consider reinforcement of structural elements, such as rafters, trusses, walls, and doors.
Additionally, this year, CCEMA has updated the protocols for warning sirens in the C-U Metro area, which includes the Cities of Champaign, Urbana, the University of Illinois, and the Village of Savoy. Sirens will now be activated for thunderstorm warnings including the term “destructive” in their NWS description. The term destructive warning was used for the storms that left considerable damage to the community on June 29, 2023. The criteria for a threat of destructive damage include hail measuring at least 2.75-inch diameter (baseball-sized) and/or winds meeting or exceeding 80 miles per hour. Warnings with this tag will also automatically activate a Wireless Emergency Alert (WEA) on smartphones within the warned area. Other areas in the county that have update their siren protocols include the Villages of Fisher, Tolono, Sidney and Pesotum.
The Illinois Emergency Management Agency (IEMA) and the NWS have developed a Severe Weather Preparedness Guide which provides information about tornadoes, severe storms, lightning, and flooding, along with recommended actions to take before, during, and after each of these weather events. It is available on the Ready Illinois website at ready.Illinois.gov. The NWS, Lincoln also has Severe Weather Safety information available online at weather.gov/ilx/. For local weather safety information, follow Champaign County EMA on Facebook (facebook.com/ChampaignEMA) and Twitter/X (twitter.com/ChampCoEMA).
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