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 The
2012-2016 Kane County
Community Health Improvement
Plan (CHIP) reflects the
understanding that the
quality of the communities
where we live, work, and
play is as important to
achieving good health as
going to the doctor for
regular checkups, proper
nutrition, and adequate
physical activity. There are
many factors that affect our
health and have a tremendous
influence on health
outcomes. The physical
environment, social and
economic factors, and
clinical care all play a
role in an individual’s
health and are all
incorporated into the plan.
You can view the draft CHIP
by clicking
here.
To watch a webinar providing
a short overview of the
Plan, click
here. Also available is
an interactive map (click
here) that you can
access providing detailed
health information about
Kane County residents.
We know that prevention of
disease starts in our
communities and at home. The
CHIP provides a blueprint
for working towards a
healthier Kane County. The
CHIP offers our healthcare
providers, communities,
schools and other partners a
holistic approach to
improving the health our
residents. The data
contained within is
available to everyone to
help them make healthier
choices. We can improve the
quality of life for all Kane
County residents by
eliminating health
disparities.
“This is truly the
community’s plan, designed
to be implemented by
community agencies,
partners, and residents
across the county,” said
Paul Kuehnert, Executive
Director of the Kane County
Health Department.
The Community Health
Improvement Plan was
developed based on the
results of the Community
Health Assessment. The
assessment led to the
identification of six top
threats to community health
across Kane County.
The threats are:
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1. Obesity
2. Chronic
Diseases
3. Infant
Mortality |
4. Childhood
Lead Poisoning
5.
Communicable Disease
6. Poor
Social & Emotional
Wellness |
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The Health Department has
been accepting public
comments on the draft CHIP
throughout the month of
February and will do so
until March 16. The comments
received will be used to
revise the plan and
presented to the Board of
Health for Adoption in
April. |
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It’s too bad the flu bug
doesn’t follow a strict
schedule. Preventing illness
would be much easier if it
did.
The truth is, the timing of
flu seasons is unpredictable
in terms of when the season
starts, when it peaks and
when it ends. The flu season
can begin as early as
October and last as late as
May. This year is one of
those unpredictable years.
On Feb. 10, the CDC issued a
statement saying that this
year’s flu season of
2011-2012 off to the latest
start in years. |
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More
information
about the
flu,
including
local flu
activity
reports, is
available
here. |
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How do they know? Typically
flu season is said to begin
when certain key indicators
remain elevated for a number
of consecutive weeks. One of
these indicators is the
percent of respiratory
specimens testing positive
for flu. When this exceeds
10 percent, this is one
marker that flu season is
beginning. For the week
ending Feb. 4, the
percentage of specimens
testing positive nationally
rose to 10.5 percent from
7.6 percent the prior week.
In the past three decades,
the percent of positive
tests has remained below the
10 percent mark until
February only once before
(1987-1988).
 So,
what does this mean? The
most important step you can
take to protect yourself and
your family from the flu is
to get vaccinated. It’s not
too late to get your flu
shot, especially given this
season’s tardy start. And,
you can follow the three
simple but tried-and-true
prevention methods, which we
remember as “The Three C’s”:
Cover your cough,
Clean your
hands and
Contain the
disease by staying home when
you’re sick.
CDC estimates that in the
United States the flu
results in an average of
more than 200,000 related
hospitalizations, and
between 3,300 to 49,000
deaths each year, depending
upon the severity of the
influenza season. Let’s all
work together to keep those
statistics on the low end,
this year and every year. |
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 Valentine’s
Day has long been known as a
celebration of the heart and
the reason why February was
chosen as American Heart
Month. Valentine’s Day 2012
is now history, but we hope
that by focusing attention
on heart health during one
month of the year, we can
impart the importance of
maintaining a healthy heart
year-round. After all,
heart disease and stroke are
the No. 1 and No. 3 leading
causes of death in Kane
County.
The recently completed
Community Health Assessment
shows that heart disease is
the leading cause of
hospitalization in Kane
County, accounting for 23
percent of total patients;
further, as much as 4
percent of the Kane County
population reported ever
having a heart attack. |
Throughout February, the
Health Department has been
emphasizing five themes via
social media:
♥ Wear
Red Day, Feb 3, highlights
the need to focus on women’s
heart health.
♥ Know
Your Numbers, your weight,
blood pressure, heart rate,
cholesterol and
body mass index (BMI), is the first step in keeping
your heart healthy.
♥ Smoking
cessation classes
♥ Staying
active and eating a healthy
diet are two of the best
things you can do for your
heart.
♥ Million
Hearts is a national
initiative that aims to
prevent 1 million heart
attacks and strokes
in the U.S. over the next five years. |
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March 24 is World TB
Day, commemorating the day
in 1882 when Dr. Robert Koch
astounded the scientific
community by announcing that
he had discovered the cause
of tuberculosis, the TB
bacillus. At
the time of Koch's
announcement in Berlin, TB
was raging through Europe
and the Americas, causing
the death of one out of
every seven people. Koch's
discovery opened the way
towards diagnosing and
curing TB.
The Stop TB Partnership has
adopted the theme of “Stop
TB in My Lifetime.” Did you
know…?
• TB drugs have not
changed for decades.
• Basic diagnosis of TB
has not changed for more
than a century. New genetic
tests for TB make it
possible to rapidly identify
people who need TB
treatment. But a simple
quick test of the sort
already available for
diseases like HIV and
malaria is needed urgently.
• There is no effective
vaccine against TB.
• In 2010 8.8 million
people worldwide became ill
with TB and 1.4 million
people died from the
disease.
More information about TB
and World TB Day can be
found by visiting the
CDC’s website and the
Stop TB Partnership’s
website. |
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