Trans Americans are fleeing to Illinois. Here’s why:
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Trans Americans are fleeing to Illinois. Here’s why:

ByOwen Henderson

While Illinois has moved to protect access to gender-affirming care and enshrined civil rights for the LGBTQ+ community overall, four of the five states that border Illinois have all seen a massive rise in bills that target the queer community, especially transgender youth. According to the ACLU’s anti-LGBTQ legislation tracker, Missouri’s state legislature has considered 48 bills in 2023 alone that would negatively impact the queer community in areas ranging from healthcare to education to free speech and expression.

New hospital safety report gives Carle Foundation a ‘C’ and OSF Heart of Mary a ‘B’

New hospital safety report gives Carle Foundation a ‘C’ and OSF Heart of Mary a ‘B’

ByIllinois Student Newsroom

The Leapfrog Group issued its Fall 2023 Hospital Safety Grades on Monday. The report looks at metrics for patient safety and care quality and assigns an “A” to “F” rating to nearly 3,000 U.S. hospitals. Among those hospitals: OSF HealthCare Heart of Mary Medical Center in Urbana received a B grade, and Carle Foundation Hospital in Urbana received a C…

After no clean drinking water for 4 years, this Native American tribe wants more than sympathy

After no clean drinking water for 4 years, this Native American tribe wants more than sympathy

ByHarvest Public Media

Over the hills of northern Nebraska and along the banks of the Missouri River lies the village of Santee on the Santee Sioux Nation Reservation. Home to fewer than 1,000 residents, it’s isolated from Nebraska’s major population centers and almost an hour from the nearest Walmart in Yankton, South Dakota. For the past four years,…

More children are being poisoned by e-cigarette liquids. Here’s what parents need to know

More children are being poisoned by e-cigarette liquids. Here’s what parents need to know

BySide Effects Public Media

Dr. Hannah Hays has seen what exposure to the liquid used in vapes and electronic cigarettes can do to children. One child who had ingested a large amount of liquid from a vape pen “developed loss of consciousness, muscle jerking, repeated vomiting and had to be placed on a ventilator or breathing machine,” Hays, the…

Scammy Medicare ads and unsolicited calls bombard seniors shopping for health insurance. Will federal efforts help them?

Scammy Medicare ads and unsolicited calls bombard seniors shopping for health insurance. Will federal efforts help them?

BySide Effects Public Media

New regulations designed to crack down on misleading marketing of Medicare insurance plans face their first big test when seniors begin shopping for coverage on Oct. 15. One minute last December Leslie Montgomery was a medieval warlord pillaging a nearby kingdom. The next she was a retiree drowning in a flood of confusing Medicare sales…

Farm-based activities can support mental wellness. Why aren’t there more care farms in the U.S.?
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Farm-based activities can support mental wellness. Why aren’t there more care farms in the U.S.?

BySide Effects Public Media

Care farms are agricultural places for people with physical or mental health challenges to process their emotions, while performing farming tasks and working with animals. Participants are able to receive formal or informal care to address things like anxiety, depression and grief. It’s a popular concept in Europe that hasn’t gained as much traction in…

Ozempic hype forces employer calls on obesity coverage

Ozempic hype forces employer calls on obesity coverage

BySide Effects Public Media

Spending on a new class of diabetes and weight loss medications hit nearly $7 billion in the first half of the year, as people are clamoring for these highly effective drugs. Employer health insurance plans are shouldering the bulk of that financial burden as half of Americans get their coverage through work. “The cost of…

Champaign County Community Coalition hosts first Black Mental Health conference to dispel stigmas

Champaign County Community Coalition hosts first Black Mental Health conference to dispel stigmas

ByIPM News

The Champaign County Community Coalition hosted the first Black Mental Health and Wellness Conference at Parkland College in Champaign on Sept. 30. The goal of the conference, according to the coalition’s website, is to provide awareness, information and solutions to people facing mental health issues and discuss the challenges of mental health in the Black community.  Donna Tanner-Harold…