Urbana and Champaign fire departments complete joint high-rise fire training

Urbana and Champaign fire departments complete joint high-rise fire training

For the Urbana and Champaign fire departments, extinguishing fires in multi-story buildings will be a breeze after the departments completed their joint high-rise training last week at Sherman Hall in Champaign.    The bi-annual training took place from July 14 to 16. During it, the departments split into smaller crews and rotated through three stations…

OSF HealthCare won’t cover fertility treatments for LGBTQ employees, report says

OSF HealthCare won’t cover fertility treatments for LGBTQ employees, report says

PEORIA — OSF HealthCare’s insurance policy bars its LGBTQ employees from fertility treatment coverage. That’s according to a new report by Bloomberg Law. Reporter Shira Stein told WCBU that while most health plans use the CDC’s definition of infertility, OSF’s stated policy covers fertility treatments only for married, opposite-sex couples. Stein said while neither federal…

217 Today: New clinics aim to help patients suffering from long-term COVID-19 symptoms

217 Today: New clinics aim to help patients suffering from long-term COVID-19 symptoms

Wednesday, July 20, 2022 Today’s headlines: Illinois Governor JB Pritzker has tested positive for COVID-19. Another county resident – a man in his 70s – has died from COVID-19.  This is the fifth COVID-19-related death in July and brings the countywide death toll to 301. Governor JB Pritzker ended COVID-19 vaccine mandates for higher education…

Patients seeking help for long COVID are getting more options for treatment

Patients seeking help for long COVID are getting more options for treatment

SPRINGFIELD — While COVID may not be top of mind for people anymore, the pandemic isn’t over. And for some who have had COVID, neither is their illness. Many patients with long COVID experience symptoms for weeks or months after their initial infection has passed. https://cpa.ds.npr.org/s4780019/audio/2022/07/20220719-secovid2wayweb-edit.mp3 Listen to this story here.  Nationwide, 1 in 5…