Saturday, April 20, 2013
Flooding can happen for any reason, not just torrential rain.
We've probably all been there. It's been raining outside for hours and you go into your basement to find a soggy, wet mess. Or, you can't get into the basement without putting on special clothes and boots to wade through the water. Maybe it wasn't even a storm outside, but a burst water heater or another house specific mini-disaster. No matter what caused the flooding, the ways to clean up and stay safe are the same. We consulted the web and called Vic Riato, Media Services Manager at the Will County Health Department. Water can find its way into the basement in any number of ways. So that means that it can come in through a window or a garage or it could have come up through a drain or backed up from the sewer. "The more important issue (…
Friday, November 30, 2012
World AIDS Day is Dec. 1. The disease is no longer a death sentence, but the county health department says the need to be tested is especially important for 15- to 24-year-olds.
Vic Riato has worked at the Will County Health Department since 1981. He remembers when the AIDS epidemic exploded in the mid-'80s. "I can recall during that timeframe, if you were diagnosed with AIDS, you were dead; that was a death sentence," he said. The statistics for today show that is no longer the case. As of June 30, 2012, there are 309 Will County residents living with HIV. "These are people who have been diagnosed with HIV and they are living with HIV," said Riato, health department media services manager. And they are living with AIDs, too -- 352 in Will County -- thanks to treatments for both the early and more advanced version of the disease. "I think it illustrates how far we have come that you have that many people living …
Monday, November 19, 2012
Will County public officials spoke at Romeoville High School last week at a community heroin forum hosted by Valley View School District 365U and Will County HELPS.
In 1998, Will County officials were surprised if they saw one or two deaths from heroin overdoses, Will County Coroner Pat O’Neil told those gathered for a community forum on heroin Nov. 14. Now Will County is on track to have 48 deaths from heroin overdoses in 2012. It’s a heroin epidemic, Will County officials said. A public health crisis. Heroin is in your community. It’s readily available. It's very powerful, very addictive and incredibly dangerous. It’s cheap and easy to get. Several circumstances have occurred to create a “perfect storm” for the heroin epidemic, Nash said, and he expects it to get worse. “The holidays in regards to heroin are quite grim,” Nash said. “It’s not unusual to lose six or seven people (to heroin overdoses…
Sunday, October 28, 2012
The Will County Health Department has revised its weekly hours of operation in Joliet.
The Will County Health Department's walk-in immunization clinic (1106 Neal Avenue in Joliet), is revising its weekly hours of operation. Effective October 29, the clinic will operate on the following schedule: Mondays, from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m., Tuesdays, from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m., and 1 to 6 p.m., Wednesdays, from 1 to 4 p.m., Thursdays, from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m., and 1 to 6 p.m., and Fridays, from 8:30 a.m., until 12 Noon. Routine immunizations for children and adults are available at the clinic and no appointments are needed. Please bring previous immunization records with you to the clinic. Medicare and Medicaid are accepted; please bring your card with you if applicable. Children must be accompanied by their parent/ legal guardian. Children…
Thursday, October 25, 2012
The 12th case was discovered in Elwood and confirmed by the state this week, county health officials said.
Will County's rabid bats certainly get around -- the record-setting 12th infected one for 2012 was found in Elwood. Of the previous 11 rabid animal cases documented by the Will County Health Department this year, four were in Joliet, three in Plainfield, two in Manhattan and one each in Romeoville and Naperville. The county's high water marked for confirmed rabies cases was 11 in 2007, a health department news release said. The Elwood bat was trapped beneath a light pole ourside a residence and confirmed as being rabid Tuesday. No humans were exposed to the disease, and the two cats that live at the home are current on their rabies vaccinations, the release said. Rabies is a vaccine-preventable viral disease that is almost fatal if post-…
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
Breast cancer isn't age specific. Here's how to cope with treatments and augmentations if you are diagnosed earlier in life.
- BREAST CANCER AWARENESS
- Erin Sauder
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Tuesday, October 23, 2012
Generally speaking, a woman in Illinois has a one in 124 chance of getting breast cancer, according to this breast cancer statistics chart from komen.org. An American woman in her 30s has a one in 232 chance of getting the disease, and a woman 20 years her senior has a one in 42 probability, according to the website. “Although we aren’t certain, the cause of breast cancer in younger women is likely caused by a genetic predisposition,” says Ann H. Partridge, M.D., M.P.H., the medical oncologist director of the Adult Survivorship Program at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Brigham and Women’s Hospital. While breast cancer treatment in young women is often effective, the chance of recovery tends to be worse in women under 40. Breast tissue is…
Monday, September 10, 2012
Seven locations throughout the county have been selected as sites where residents can receive influenza vaccinations in September and October.
Adult-only flu shot clinics are being offered by the Will County Health Department and Joliet’s Senior Services Center of Will County. The clinics will be offered at seven locations this month and next. Medicare part B and Medicaid are accepted. Anyone with HMO insurance coverage must go to their primary care physician for the shot; pregnant women need a letter from their OB-GYN physician, according to a media release issued by the health department. Seasonal influenza is a contagious upper respiratory infection capable of causing widespread illness during fall and winter months. Influenza complications kill about 36,000 Americans annually and are responsible for 200,000 hospitalizations a year. Common flu symptoms include fever, headache…
Friday, August 31, 2012
A woman in her 40s was hospitalized Aug. 7 and discharged Aug. 15 after contracting the disease.
A Romeoville woman is the first confirmed human case of West Nile virus (WNV) in Will County, according to the Will County Health Department. The woman, who is in her early 40s, reportedly experienced a range of symptoms, including a fever, stiff neck, rash, acute sensitivity to light and confusion. She was hospitalized Aug. 7 and discharged Aug. 15. No other information on the woman's condition was available Friday. As of Friday, the Illinois Department of Public Health had reported 59 human WNV infections and two fatalities in the state this year. Will County is one of seven Illinois jurisdictions reporting human WNV activity this year. Since 2005, Will County has totaled 59 human infections and two fatalities. Last week, health …
Thursday, August 30, 2012
Bats from Plainfield and Naperville have also tested for positive for rabies this year.
The Will County Health Department recommended rabies treatment for a Joliet woman Tuesday, after one of two live bats taken from her apartment was confirmed rabid. Joliet Township Animal Control trapped both bats in the living room of an apartment in the St. Pat's neighborhood of Joliet The apartment is an older structure and although it is not known how the bats gained access, it was probably a structural issue. "It's our understanding that these bats had been seen around there previously," Vic Reato, Will County health media Services manager said. "That suggests that there may be a structural issue." The bats were taken to Will County Animal Control for shipment to the Illinois Department of Public Health. On Tuesday, Will County …
Friday, August 10, 2012
Health experts are urging parents to ensure their children are vaccinated; booster shot proof required for sixth- and ninth-graders.
The number of Will County whooping cough cases in 2012 has already surpassed the total number reported for all of 2011. There have been 34 cases this year, versus 28 in 2011. As a result, the Will County Health Department is joining with the Northern Illinois Health Consortium to urge parents to make sure their children's vaccinations are up to date so they can prevent them from contracting the illness. This year, the state of Illinois has a new requirement that for sixth- and ninth-grade students must show proof of having received a single dose of Tdap, the whooping cough (also known as pertussis) booster vaccination. “Diseases that have been practically eliminated in the U.S. are just a plane ride away, so while we are seeing near …
Dawn Aulet
2:44 pm on Sunday, April 21, 2013
Thanks for that tip! Important to remember as well. Dawn more ›