States Look To University Labs To Help Increase COVID-19 Testing Capacity
As states move toward reopening their economies, officials are emphasizing the need to expand their capacity to test for COVID-19. But many say their…
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Illinois Provides Grants To Homeless Service Providers, Agencies Say More Is Still Needed
Thirty homelessness prevention organizations across Illinois will receive grants totaling a collective $340,000. The money will be distributed by affordable housing advocacy organization Housing Action Illinois, and most of it comes from donations to the Illinois COVID-19 Response Fund. Of the total money granted, $50,000 comes from the National Low Income Housing Coalition, which received…
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COVID-19 Leaves Blind Students Even Further Behind
Amber McKeag says her son Darrin received little braille instruction before the COVID-19 pandemic hit Illinois. Now, she says, he doesn’t receive any. McKeag and her family live in a rural part of Mercer County, on the Iowa-Illinois border. Her son, Darrin, who is about to turn 10, suffers from Bardet-Biedl syndrome. As a result,…
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Champaign County Planning To Offer COVID-19 Testing To All Nursing Home Residents
URBANA – All nursing home employees can now get tested for COVID-19, even if they’re not showing symptoms, thanks to the state loosening testing criteria last week to allow all health care and front line workers to qualify. But Champaign-Urbana Public Health Administrator Julie Pryde says she would like to further expand testing to include…
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Slowed COVID-19 Spread Leaves 1,000s Of Makeshift Beds Empty
SPRINGFIELD — Illinois has spent tens of millions of dollars building makeshift field hospitals to prepare for an anticipated flood of coronavirus cases. But Gov. J.B. Pritzker contends that prevention strategies such as a statewide stay-at-home order have worked so well that the plan for a small city of beds at McCormick Place in Chicago…
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Gov. Pritzker Announces Modified Stay-At-Home Order: What Is Essential/Prohibited?
CHICAGO – Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker has extended the state’s stay-at-home order through the month of May. The order includes modifications, however, and includes some phased re-opening of state parks and non-essential businesses with social distancing guidelines. The governor also announced that people will be required to wear face masks in public places where they…
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Ask The Newsroom: Correctional Facilities, Daily Testing And More
There is a slew of uncertainty surrounding the coronavirus pandemic and its effects on Illinois residents and businesses. We’ve received questions from listeners about everything from the virus and its impact on correctional facilities to daily testing and wearing masks in public. We’ve answered some of the questions we received below. Correctional facilities Q: How many…
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For This Doctor, COVID-19 Deaths Bring Gut-Wrenching Goodbyes
This is part of Essential Voices , a series of interviews with people confronting COVID-19. Hospitals across the Midwest have adjusted policies for the…
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CU Health Care Providers Sanitizing, Reusing Masks To Conserve Supplies
URBANA – In an effort to conserve supplies during the COVID-19 pandemic, some central Illinois health care providers say they are following guidance from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to safely reuse N95 masks and other protective gear. Under normal conditions, protective gear like N95 respirator masks are typically used once and…
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Illinois Nursing Homes With ‘Serious Quality Issues’ Face Coronavirus Outbreaks
URBANA – Four Illinois nursing homes already identified by federal medical authorities as having a history of serious quality issues have suffered outbreaks of the coronavirus in the past two months. Twenty-four nursing homes are listed under the federal Special Focus Facility program, which is overseen by the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Four Illinois nursing…
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Judge Rules Against Gov. Pritzker’s Extended Stay-At-Home Order
CHICAGO — The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) announced 1,980 new cases of COVID-19 Monday. That brings the state’s total to 45,883. The state saw 50 deaths in the last day, bringing total fatalities to 1,983. Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D-Illinois) also responded to news that an Illinois judge had ruled against the extended stay-at-home…
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Hospitals Experiencing Issues Transferring COVID-19 Patients To Nursing Homes
URBANA – Health care providers in central Illinois say they have run into issues with nursing homes not wanting to accept residents back after they’ve been hospitalized for COVID-19. Dr. Robert Healy, chief quality officer of Carle Foundation Hospital in Urbana, says early on in the pandemic, some nursing homes had been requiring proof that…
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In Rural Areas, COVID-19 Not Always Seen As Big Threat
Many of America’s rural counties have just a handful of COVID-19 cases. And health experts say that may be giving residents a false sense of security….
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What’s Closed In Illinois Due To The Virus
STATEWIDE Gov. J.B. Pritzker has ordered the state’s residents to remain in their homes except for essential needs, March 21 at 5:00 p.m.-May 31. Starting May 1, there will be major modifications to the plan, click here to read about them. All schools — Gov. JB Pritkzer’s order closing all schools in the state has…
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Carle Hospital Plans To Launch COVID-19 Antibody Testing In Upcoming Weeks
URBANA – Carle Foundation Hospital is preparing to launch antibody testing for COVID-19. The tests could be available to patients within the next two weeks, says Carle’s Chief Quality Officer Dr. Robert Healy. Not to be confused with COVID-19 testing that is used to diagnose someone who is currently sick, antibody testing determines whether a…
