Alderman O'Connor » Health and Care

3 Easy Steps to Fight Flu

admin — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 13:58:53 +0000

Everyone 6 months and older should get a yearly flu shot
Don’t spread germs: Wash your hands & cover your cough/sneeze
Take flu medications, if your doctor prescribes them

Getting vaccinated is the best way
to prevent the flu.

We recommend that everyone over the age of 6 months get a flu vaccination. The 2011-2012 flu shot offers protection against three different flu viruses: an H3N2 virus, an influenza B virus and the H1N1 virus that began circulating in 2009.

For more helpful advice and a national perspective on preparations for the 2011-12 flu season, visit the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as well as www.flu.gov.

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Download the Washing Your Hands flyer in English

Download the Cover Your Cough flyer in English and Spanish

For more information visit the Chicago Department of Public Health website…

ALERT: Vaccines Are Safe and Effective

admin — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 20:30:21 +0000

CDPH Commissioner Bechara Choucair, M.D. reminds residents about safety and efficacy of vaccinations, to promote and protect health of children, adults

January 6, 2011

As the Commissioner of the Chicago Department of Public Health, my hope is that this week’s headlines about vaccine safety serve to remind Chicago residents that vaccines available today are safe and effective. They prevent disease and save lives.

The take-away message for parents should be to ensure that their children, starting at birth and continuing through their teen years, are vaccinated on time, every time. Further, vaccinations protect the health and well being of adults—all the way through their senior years.

Anti-vaccine misinformation among parents has in some cases in the US, the UK and elsewhere kept vaccine coverage levels at sub-optimal levels, which has repeatedly opened the door for resurgence of vaccine-preventable diseases that frankly could have and should have been eliminated by now.

At the same time, we must continue to do all we can to ensure vaccine safety—conducting research that is rigorous, peer-reviewed, and complete.

Vaccination is one of the great public health success stories of the 20th century. May we do all we can to replicate that success in this century, as well.

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Chicago Senior Services Information

admin — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 21:11:43 +0000

Assisted Living Information
from the City of Chicago’s Senior Services website

Assisted Living/Shared Housing Licensed Establishment

Assisted Living: private pay alternative for people needing assistance with activities of daily living but wishing to live as independently as possible. Residents are not able to live by themselves but do not require constant care either. Help with eating, bathing, dressing, laundry, housekeeping, and assistance with medications is available. Many also have centers for medical care. The care is not as intensive as that offered at a nursing home.

Click on the following link for Assisted Living/Shared Housing Listing Chicago Assisted Living/Shared Housing Licensed Establishment Listing

Supportive Living

Supportive Living: for low-income older seniors under Medicaid. Combines apartment-style living with personal care and other services. Residents live independently and take part in decision-making. Personal choice, dignity, privacy and individuality are emphasized.

Click on the following link for Supportive Living Listing Chicago Supportive Living Listing

Nursing Homes

Nursing Homes: also called intermediate care, provide long-term care for people who cannot be cared for at home or in other types of facilities. They provide care for individuals who need nursing care without being in a hospital. A doctor supervises this type of care. Costs for long-term nursing homes generally run around $50,000 a year. A substantial portion of these costs may be covered by Medicaid or private insurance.

Click on the following link to view Long Term Care Facilities in the CDFSS Regions

Central West Region Long Term Care Facilities

Northwest Region Long Term Care Facilities

Northeast Region Long Term Care Facilities

Southwest Region Long Term Care Facilities

Southeast Region Long Term Care Facilities

Additional Links

For information on Independent Living assistance through the Department of Community Development click on the following link: HRAIL Program

For additional information on the Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program click on the following link www.state.il.us/aging

For additional information on Assisted Living and Shared Shared Housing Establishments, click the following link to Illinois Department of Public Health,www.idph.state.il.us

For additional information on Supportive Living facilities, click the following link to the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services, www.hfs.illinois.gov

For additional information on Assisted Living, Nursing Homes and choosing an Alzheimer’s/ Dementia Facility, click the following link, www.AgingSolutions.info

For additional information on Nursing Homes/Skilled Nursing: www.aging-parents- and-elder-care.com/pdf/NursingHomeChk.pdf

For more information on this program, call 312.744.7836.

Neighborhood Healthcare Improvement

admin — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 22:32:00 +0000

Our community will soon have greater access to quality healthcare, thanks to the State’s capital plan dollars for community health centers and the top notch organizations that provide service here. Governor Quinn announced yesterday that 14 health care centers have been awarded $30.5 million to both improve health outcomes for medically under-served residents and reduce health care costs. 2 of the 14 winners of the competitive process are based in our community:

Asian Human Services Family Health Center will build a new facility adjacent to its current West Ridge site; and
Heartland International Health Center will build a new health center in Rogers Park and renovate the Uptown Community Health Center.

These two nonprofit health care providers ensure the very diverse population that resides in our neighborhoods receives quality, preventive care; many thanks to both organizations for their excellent service and expansion of care they will be providing.

For more information regarding Asian Human Services Family Health Center, please visit the AHS website, and for more information regarding Heartland International Health Center, please visit the Uptown Community Health Center website.

Nutrition.gov Website

admin — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 06:11:08 +0000

Keeping with our goal to help and guide users to information they may seek, we strive to shape the Daily Gazet as a comprehensible guide to governmental and public health and information resources available across the maze of the larger internet.

Resource: Nutrition.gov
Main Site Link: http://www.nutrition.gov

The Best Nutrition Information at Your Fingertips

Nutrition.gov provides easy access to the best food and nutrition information from across the federal government. It serves as a gateway to reliable information on nutrition, healthy eating, physical activity, and food safety for consumers.

Providing science-based dietary guidance is critical to enhance the public’s ability to make healthy choices in the effort to reduce obesity and other food related diseases. Since dietary needs change throughout the lifespan, specialized nutrition information is provided about infants, children, teens, adult women and men, and seniors.

Users can find practical information on healthy eating, dietary supplements, fitness and how to keep food safe. The site is kept fresh with the latest news and features links to interesting sites.