6/19/08...153 Vermilion County women signed up in March to make their lives healthier by increasing the number of steps they take each day. 137 actually started the program, and after 12 weeks, the 108 who finished had walked a total of 69,019,606 steps, or the equivalent of 34,509.8 miles. 

With the theme “Leave the Couch Behind and Walk for Your Life”, participants used pedometers to record the number of steps they took each day for 12 weeks. ‘That’s a long time to stay committed to a program like this, and we applaud the efforts these women made,” says Linda Bolton, who coordinated the program for the Vermilion County Health Department.  Participants ranged in age from 13 to 80. The program was funded by a grant to the health department from the Illinois Department of Public Health’s Office of Women’s Health. 

Health officials say they were amazed by the amount of interest the program generated, and the enthusiasm participants maintained throughout the 12 week program.  Bolton says 79% of the women who began in March completed the program May 31st. “That is a fairly high completion rate for a program like this,” Bolton says. The program’s goal was to encourage women to pay more attention to how much they walk each day and increase the amount of steps they take, “Everyone significantly increased the amount they are walking,” Bolton says. Participants were encouraged at the end of the program to keep walking for their lives.   

Education and information sessions were held at kickoff and again at the mid point, providing participants with ideas about exercising, stretching, heart health and healthy snacking and cooking. Local partners for the program provided information and prizes, including the Danville Family YMCA, Provena United Samaritans Medical Center, and the University of Illinois Extension Office. 

“This was about changing lives, not competition, but we wanted to give them some extra incentive,” Bolton says. Donated prizes included a heart scan from Provena, gift baskets from Berry’s Garden Center and the U of I Extension, 3-month family memberships from the YMCA, and a gift certificate from Escape Spa and Salon. Winners came from teams across Vermilion County and included Connie Bechtold, Jane Comrie, Connie Spicer, Fairet Sanchez, Heather Yerem, Deb Martin, and Judy Wilford, Muriel Black, and Stacey Henson.  

6/10/08....Public health officials in states
across the country continue to work with
the Food and Drug Administration to contain
a Salmonella outbreak that has sickened nearly 200 people in 17 states. Vermilion County officials say they are working at the local level to ensure food businesses are aware of the problem. “We have been calling
restaurants, grocery stores, bars that
serve food, hospitals and nursing homes
to ensure they are aware of the potential
for danger,” says Environmental Health
Director Kolby Riggle.  Riggle says the
Illinois Department of Public Health was
originally notifying local vendors, but
local health officials worry some
establishments may not have gotten the information. “We are finding out that
some local vendors were not aware of
the recall and had not yet pulled tomatoes
from their shelves or food inventory,”
he says. Riggle says consumers who may
have purchased tomatoes recently should
contact the store where they made the
purchase to find out the source of the
tomatoes. “The list of “safe” tomato
sources is changing by the hour, so it is
hard for us to keep up with this right
now,” he says.  But Riggle says he is
advising people to use caution, check
the source of any tomatoes they have
recently purchased, and if in doubt throw
it out. “Right now, we just want to make
sure more people do not get sick,” Riggle
says. So far, health officials say cherry,
grape and on-the-vine tomatoes are safe
to eat.
The investigation into the outbreak
continues at the federal and state levels. According to the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention, most persons
infected with Salmonelladevelop diarrhea,
fever, and abdominal cramps 12–72 hours
after infection. Infection is usually
diagnosed by culture of a stool sample.
The illness usually lasts 4 – 7 days. Although
most people recover without treatment,
severe infections may occur. Infants, elderly persons, and those with impaired immune systems are more likely than others to
develop severe illness. IDPH and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are recommending people take the following steps:

According to state and local data, young people between the ages of 20 and 29 report the highest incidence of Sexually Transmitted Diseases in Vermilion County; youth ages 10-19 make up the second highest rate .
For more information about STDs, visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  

January 1, 2008, the state of Illinois went smoke free.
Smoking is now prohibited in public places, places of employment, and within 15 feet of any entrance to a public place or place of employment unless there is an exemption.
Information about the requirements ofthe law is available from the
Illinois Department of Public Health.Along with information, you can download samples of required signs, which are required to be posted at every entrance used by the public and employees.
Now that the law is in effect, complaints about smoking in areas where you believe smoking is not allowed under the new law can be filed on the Iliinois
Department of Public Health's website (by clicking here)
Or you may file your complaint by calling the state at 1-866-973-4646. The state will forward the complaint information to us, and we will then followup on the information. We are not accepting complaints at the Vermilion County Health Department, unless they have been filed with the Illinois Department of Public Health. If you have questions about the new law, please call 431-2662.
Additional information is also available from the
Illinois Liquor Control Commission site,
For help quitting, call us at 431-2662, or call the
Illinois Quitline at 1-866-784-8937

6/5/08...

The Illinois Department of Public Health is providing you with a way to check the quality of water at beaches in the state this summer. Click here........