Latest Health News From The Illinois Newsroom Team
Syphilis cases are rising in babies. Illinois has a potential solution
The number of newborns born with syphilis – a serious sexually transmitted infection – has skyrocketed 755% from 2012 to 2021. These babies have congenital syphilis, which is when the infection is passed from mother to baby during pregnancy.
For at least 6 months, state failed to act on Carlinville funeral director that mishandled remains
State regulators allowed a Carlinville funeral director to operate for months despite a complaint filed by a local coroner who found a decomposing body in
Illinois scraps plan for building migrant winter camp due to toxic soil risk
With the coldest winter weather just ahead, hundreds of asylum-seekers are still awaiting placement at airports, police stations and other locations.
The White House is urging schools to address a rise in fentanyl exposure among teens
Narcan, also known by its generic name Naloxone, is a life-saving medication that reverses opioid overdoses. But in two-thirds of adolescent overdose deaths, the medication
The University of Illinois SHIELD saliva test company is winding down. What lessons has the testing team learned?
This winter marks the last stage for one of the most impactful inventions at the University of Illinois in recent years – a saliva-based test for COVID-19.
Trans Americans are fleeing to Illinois. Here’s why:
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.
Lawmakers pass bill aimed at modernizing professional licensing in Illinois
Measure would provide for new online system to speed up paperwork.
How does Illinois compare to other states on transgender rights?
According to the Movement Advancement Project, 21 states have banned gender-affirming medicine for trans youth. In response, Illinois passed a law this year protecting patients and providers who cross into the state for care.
New hospital safety report gives Carle Foundation a ‘C’ and OSF Heart of Mary a ‘B’
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”
Illinois public health director visits Champaign to promote vaccinations ahead of the holidays
Across Illinois, COVID-19 hospitalizations remain relatively low, but the state has experienced a 13% uptick.
After no clean drinking water for 4 years, this Native American tribe wants more than sympathy
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.
More children are being poisoned by e-cigarette liquids. Here’s what parents need to know
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