Press Release

July 12, 2006
   

State announces more than $1 million in Women’s Health Initiative Grants for Illinois

Grants will help raise awareness and educate women about the health risks associated with common disease and health conditions

PETERSBURG – On behalf of Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich, Dr. Eric E. Whitaker, Director of the Illinois Department of Public Health, announced today at the Menard County Health Department more than $1 million in Women’s Health Initiative Grants for non-profit organizations, health departments and service agencies in downstate Illinois to institute educational programs about menopause, cardiovascular disease and osteoporosis. The Menard County Health Department is receiving a grant to support a program that educates young women on the risk factors of cardiovascular disease and teaches them the importance of a healthy diet and physical activity.

“Many women spend so much time taking care of their families, they may not take enough time to care for themselves,” said Gov. Blagojevich. “Some diseases that affect women - including heart disease and osteoporosis - can be detected or even prevented through increased awareness. These grants are small investments that can go a long way toward raising awareness and helping communities promote healthy living.”

The Illinois Department of Public Health’s Office of Women’s Health administers the grants, which are awarded to organizations that implement programs that provide guidance on issues related to nutrition, exercise, risk assessment, treatment options and prevention strategies.

“The Office of Women’s Health recognizes the need to educate the public about the benefits of healthy lifestyles and that positive behavioral changes can help improve and prevent a variety of chronic conditions,” said Dr. Whitaker. “We’ve added two new programs this year, Osteoporosis Prevention for Teens and Jump Girl Jump to address the common health condition of bone loss and at the request of grantees to add more programs for young girls.”

The Menard County Health Department received $11,000 for its Heart Smart for Teens program. Heart Smart for Teens is a nine-week program that educates adolescent girls on the risk factors of cardiovascular disease and teaches them the importance of a healthy diet and physical activity.

“The grant will allow the Menard County Health Department (MCHD) to introduce the Heart Smart for Teens program in the Athens School District as well as continue to support/assist the PORTA School District as they continue the Heart Smart for Teens programs,” said MCHD Administrator Alicia Davis.

“We are going to shift our other health classes to continue the Heart Smart for Teens philosophy, thus changing the students over time and developing a life-long attitude towards fitness,” said PORTA Junior High Principal Jeff Hill. “Additionally, our physical education classes are getting ready for the addition of a new center which will allow our students to further the Heart Smart curriculum in a different setting.”

The Women’s Health Initiative Grants are funded through state general revenue funds and include six programs.

  • Heart Smart for Women, a 12-week community-based program designed to change unhealthy behavior while promoting the benefits of exercise and nutrition.

  • Heart Smart for Teens, a nine-week nutrition and exercise curriculum geared to school-aged girls.

  • Building Better Bones, a program for women that offers group education sessions as well as bone density screenings for osteoporosis.

  • Osteoporosis Prevention for Teens, a program targeting high school freshman and sophomore students that includes a presentation on osteoporosis and several activities which include a nutrition demonstration and exercises to promote bone building.

  • Jump Girl Jump, a four-session structured jump rope and nutrition program for grade school girls designed to create awareness of bone health, physical activity, and the importance of calcium intake.

  • Understanding Menopause, a program that offers educational sessions that help women understand peri-menopause and menopause and inform them about related health issues.

Gov. Blagojevich has made other significant contributions to promote and improve women’s health including:

  • Increased funding for women’s health: Governor Blagojevich has consistently made women’s health a priority, allocating $24.1 million in state funding for women’s breast and cervical health programs over the last four years. This year, Governor Blagojevich allocated $2.1 million in new funding to increase eligibility for life-saving breast and cervical cancer screenings to women with incomes up to 250% of the federal poverty level. Since the Governor has been in office, more than 37,000 women, 48 percent of whom are minorities, received free screenings through the Illinois Breast and Cervical Cancer Program (IBCCP).

  • Signed women’s health legislation into law: Last summer, Gov. Blagojevich signed several pieces of legislation affecting women’s health in Illinois. The “Ticket for a Cure” is a new lottery game to raise money for breast cancer research. Senate Bill 12 requires insurance companies to cover screening for breast cancer earlier in a woman’s life if her doctor considers her to be at a higher risk of developing breast cancer.  House Bill 3564 expanded and renamed the Penny Severns Breast and Cervical Cancer Research Fund to include ovarian cancer research. Senate Bill 521 requires insurers to provide coverage for ovarian cancer screening tests for women who are at risk. In 2004, Gov. Blagojevich also signed legislation creating a 12-member Cervical Cancer Elimination Task Force to help educate the public about cervical cancer and develop a statewide comprehensive prevention and control plan.

  • Stand Against Cancer Initiative: Beginning in 2003, Gov. Blagojevich funded the Stand Against Cancer Initiative (SAC), a community outreach and screening program targeting the hardest to reach minority women.  It is conducted by a coalition of neighborhood organizations, churches and Federally Qualified Health Centers. In fiscal year 2005, SAC provided more than 17,000 breast and cervical cancer screenings and reached more than 47,200 other women through educational programs and outreach.

  • Hispanic Breast and Cervical Cancer Initiative: In 2005, Gov. Blagojevich launched the Hispanic Breast and Cervical Cancer initiative, which is closely patterned after the Stand Against Cancer initiative. Women screened through the initiative who subsequently need diagnostic tests are referred to local IBCCP lead agencies.

  • IllinoisWISEWOMAN Program:  Providing the WISEWOMAN cardiovascular research program in both English and Spanish languages in 21 Illinois counties.  The project is targeted toward women enrolled in the Breast and Cervical Cancer Program and helps them reduce heart disease by leading healthier lifestyles. 

  • Women’s Health-Line:  Increased access to services through Women’s Health-Line and other informational resources.  In FY06, the state-funded toll-free Women’s Health-Line responded to more than 2,000 requests, referring women to services and providing more than 600,000 free educational materials to women and community providers. These materials are also available through the department’s website.

  • Illinois Healthy Women program: The Healthy Women program has helped women across the state who are losing their Medicaid eligibility stay healthy and promoted healthy births by providing comprehensive reproductive health care coverage, including annual physicals, Pap smears, mammograms, screening and treatment for sexually transmitted diseases and contraceptives. Over 120,000 women have been offered this program since its inception in 2004.

For more information on women’s health and programs offered through the Illinois Department of Public Health visit www.idph.state.il.us or call the Women’s Health-line at 888-522-1282 or for TTY, (hearing impaired use only) 800-547-0466.

A list of this year’s Women’s Health Initiative Grants for Illinois, outside of Chicago, follows. Women’s Health Initiative Grants for Chicago will be announced July 21, 2006.

Fiscal Year 2007
Women’s Health Initiative Grantees

Organization

City

Project Title

Amount

Bond CHD

Greenville

Osteoporosis Prevention for Teens

$4,500

Bureau CHD

Princeton

Heart Smart for Teens

$14,000

Carroll CHD

Mt. Carroll

Heart Smart for Teens

$20,000

Cass CHD

Beardstown

Heart Smart for Teens

$8,500

Champaign-Urbana Public Health District

Champaign

Heart Smart for Teens

$20,000

Coles CHD

Mattoon

Understanding Menopause

$14,000

Crawford CHD

Robinson

Heart Smart for Teens

$25,000

Decatur Memorial Hospital

Decatur

Understanding Menopause

$20,000

Dewitt-Piatt Bi-CHD

Clinton

Heart Smart for Teens

$18,000

East Side Health District

East St. Louis

Heart Smart for Teens

$35,000

Fulton CHD

Canton

Building Better Bones

$12,000

Good Samaritan Health and Wellness Center

Downers Grove

Heart Smart for Women

$35,000

Greene CHD

Carrollton

Building Better Bones

$7,500

Hancock CHD

Carthage

Heart Smart for Teens

$15,000

Ingalls Wellness Center, Inc.

Homewood

Heart Smart for Women

$25,000

Jasper CHD

Newton

Understanding Menopause

$8,000

Jersey CHD

Jerseyville

Building Better Bones

$17,000

Kane CHD

Aurora

Jump Girl Jump

$25,000

Knox CHD

Galesburg

Heart Smart for Women

$14,000

Lake CHD

Waukegan

Building Better Bones

$30,000

Livingston CHD

Pontiac

Heart Smart for Teens

$30,000

Logan CHD

Lincoln

Heart Smart for Teens

$16,000

Macoupin CHD

Carlinville

Heart Smart for Teens

$25,000

Madison CHD

Wood River

Heart Smart for Teens

$40,000

Marion CHD

Salem

Heart Smart for Women

$16,000

Marshall CHD

Lacon

Building Better Bones

$13,500

McHenry CHD

Woodstock

Understanding Menopause

$25,000

McLean CHD

Bloomington

Heart Smart for Teens

$30,000

Memorial Hospital of Chester

Chester

Heart Smart for Women

$14,000

Menard CHD

Petersburg

Heart Smart for Teens

$11,000

Mercer CHD

Aledo

Heart Smart for Women

$17,000

Montgomery CHD

Hillsboro

Heart Smart for Teens

$13,000

Morgan CHD

Jacksonville

Heart Smart for Women

$11,000

Oak Park DPH

Oak Park

Heart Smart for Women

$21,000

Peoria City/CHD

Peoria

Building Better Bones

$16,500

Perry CHD

Pinckneyville

Jump Girl Jump

$10,000

Pike CHD

Pittsfield

Building Better Bones

$20,000

Provena St. Joseph Medical Center

Joliet

Heart Smart for Women

$25,000

Rock Island CHD

Rock Island

Heart Smart for Women

$20,000

Salem Township Hospital

Salem

Jump Girl Jump

$15,000

Sangamon CHD

Springfield

Heart Smart for Teens

$22,000

SIU School of Medicine

Springfield

Heart Smart for Teens

$30,000

Southern Illinois HealthCare

Carbondale

Building Better Bones

$23,000

Southern Seven Health Dept.

Ullin

Heart Smart for Women

$20,000

Stephenson CHD

Freeport

Understanding Menopause

$17,000

Tazewell CHD

Tremont

Heart Smart for Women

$17,000

Wabash CHD

Mt. Carmel

Heart Smart for Women

$15,000

Washington CHD

Nashville

Understanding Menopause

$6,000

Whiteside CHD

Rock Falls

Heart Smart for Teens

$18,000

Winnebago CHD

Rockford

Understanding Menopause

$20,000

Woodford CHD

Eureka

Heart Smart for Teens

$28,000

Xilin Association

Naperville

Building Better Bones

$25,000

YMCA of Alton

Alton

Jump Girl Jump

$25,000

 





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