Champaign-Urbana Public Health District

Memo about town hall meeting April... more...

"This is the first year we've had a school participate in Kick Butts Day, so we're hoping this is just a start." -Nikki Hillier, Health Educator, CUPHD

CHAMPAIGN - Champaign Central High School will hold its first "Kick Butts Day" on Wednesday, April 5. Kick Butts Day is a national event designed to give youth a chance to speak out against tobacco use.

Central High School has invited Health District staff to support the event with "give-aways" from REALITY, IL. Participants will receive wristbands, CD holders, visors and bracelets with the anti-tobacco message. Organizers will also gather student signatures on letters thanking restaurant owners for providing a smoke-free environment for their customers and workers. Other letters will ask restaurant owners to consider going smoke-free.... more...

Diabetes is one of the most common chronic diseases in children and adolescents; about 151,000 people below the age of 20 years have diabetes.

When diabetes strikes during childhood, it is routinely assumed to be type 1, or juvenile-onset diabetes. However, in the last 2 decades, type 2 diabetes (formerly known as adult-onset diabetes) has been reported among U.S. children and adolescents with increasing frequency. Also, studies conducted in Europe showed an increase in the frequency of type 1 diabetes, especially in young children. It is unclear whether the frequency of type 1 diabetes is also increasing among U.S. youth.... more...

(Springfield, IL) - As part of a weeklong observance of National Public Health Week, April 3-9, local officials and public health experts in Illinois will sponsor activities in honor of Public Health Week's theme: "Designing Healthy Communities: Raising Healthy Kids".

Communities across Illinois and the country will consider how buildings, roads, sidewalks and neighborhood design are affecting the health of children. For example, children who live close enough to school to walk often do not because they have no sidewalks to walk on. Air pollution has contributed to higher rates of childhood asthma, and the lack of access to fresh foods and avenues for activity in some neighborhoods has contributed to rising rates of childhood obesity. Coordinated by the American Public Health Association, each day will focus on the relationship between the built environment and a core children's health issue, with additional focus on effective solutions based on case studies from model... more...

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... more...

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... more...

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... more...

The Champaign County Public Health Department is offering Health Check Clinics this April in Mahomet, Rantoul, St. Joseph and Tolono. Any Champaign County resident aged 18 or older is eligible for the blood pressure, blood sugar and cholesterol screenings offered at the clinics. Child immunizations and adult and child flu and pneumonia shots are also available.

The County Health Check Clinics will... more...

Public Health to Award Smoke Free Recognition Certificate on March 23

"I'm in the hospitality business, and I wasn't offering the best hospitality". -Harold Allston, Owner, The Great Impasta

Champaign - The Great Impasta, at 114 W. Church St., Champaign, is now a smoke-free restaurant. Owner Harold Allston chose to make his restaurant smoke-free this week, adding his establishment to a growing list of eateries that are getting rid of their smoking sections altogether.

Mr. Allston said several factors contributed to his decision to go smoke-free. First, trying to keep smoke from non-smokers was impossible. "I thought the restaurant was big enough, but you can't keep it from the non-smoking... more...

March 24 is World TB Day, an annual observance meant to draw attention to a disease that causes over 2 million deaths a year worldwide. According to the Centers for Disease Control:

-One-third of the world's population is infected with tuberculosis (TB)
-9 million people become ill with TB each year
-TB is the leading cause of death among HIV infected individuals
-TB causes more deaths among women than all causes of maternal mortality... more...