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

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Download 2005-09-06-evacuees-PR

Ned Kelly’s Hosts C-U Smoke Free Alliance Fundraiser

On August 15, Ten Percent of Proceeds Will Go to Smoke Free Workplace Effort

“We came to feel that the best thing to do for our management, our staff and our non-smoking guests was to provide a healthy environment at all locations. This isn’t about them (smokers) and us (non-smokers). This is about health.”

-- John Schmitt, Managing Partner, Ned Kelly’s Steakhouse

Ned Kelly’s Steakhouse, at 1601 Cunningham Avenue in Urbana, will host a fundraiser for the C-U Smoke Free Alliance, a group dedicated to ensuring that workers, bartenders, musicians and all members of the public can work, play, eat and drink in healthy indoor environments.

On August 15, from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., any diner at Ned Kelly’s who mentions the fundraiser will receive a 10 percent discount on his or her meal. And 10 percent of the cost of the meal will go to support the C-U Smoke Free Alliance.

Ned Kelly’s first went smoke free on February 1, 2005. Mr. Schmitt said management chose to eliminate its smoking section after getting a lot of smoke-related complaints on comment cards from customers.

His own health problems added to his resolve, said Mr. Schmitt. In September, 2004, he was diagnosed with acute bronchitis. His doctor asked him if he was a smoker, and when he said no the doctor suggested that his workplace exposure to smoke was contributing to his health problems.

“The doctor said, ‘Anything you can do to remove yourself from second-hand smoke is a good thing,’” Schmitt said.