Health and Medicine

The future of the Affordable Care Act is up in the air, on the eve of the advent of the Trump administration and with a new Congress sworn in.

Fifteen minutes felt like 15 hours for a group of GROWMARK employees who found themselves in a situation no one would wish for, but they were thankful to be part of - once it was over.

It was an alarming incident that had an inspiring outcome.

The holidays are stressful but nothing is apparently more stressful than Christmas day. That's the day when researchers in the American Heart Association's publication Circulation say there are more deadly heart attacks than any other day of the year, followed by Dec. 26 and Jan. 1.  With that in mind, the Illinois Heart and Lung Foundation is pushing area residents to download the free smart phone app Pulse Point.

A central Illinois HIV/AIDS health educator and advocate is reminding everyone the virus and disease are completely preventable.

Chris Wade, is the HIV project coordinator at the Illinois Public Health Association; director of prevention services for Central Illinois Friends of People With AIDS; and co-chair of the Illinois Alliance for Sound AIDS Policy (ILASAP). He will give the keynote address Thursday, December 1 as World AIDS Day events wind up at Illinois State University.

With the end of Daylight Savings Time, our bodies are expected yet again to adapt to a shift that could disrupt our sleep-wake cycle for days.  Even though the time shift happens only twice a year, many people suffer from ongoing sleep problems that can critically impact our health.

The end of life is automatically a stressful time for those who are dying and their families. And people in today's society are often more removed from death than those in foregoing generations.

A documentary film about medicine and end of life issues shows Tuesday evening at the ISU Alumni Center. It's called "Being Mortal:,Medicine and What Happens at the End."

A battlefield is a noisy place. And that can have long term consequences for soldiers.

An ISU researcher is coordinating a huge study of military personnel and their hearing health after explosions with a group of military scientists in San Diego.

Health care costs are a major concern for everyone, but especially those planning for retirement. While incomes may be fixed, the numbers on medical bills aren't.

Edgar Norton, Director of  Illinois State University's Institute for Financial Planning and Analysis, said the average 65-year old couple will spend about $250,000 on health care. While that may seem like a large amount of money, Norton said there are ways to help reduce the impact.

Bloomington Normal's medical marijuana dispensary is opening in October. The Green Solution held an open house from three to seven on Northtown Road in Normal.

Green Solution principal owner Tanya Griffin said they expect initially there will be a couple hundred customers from the McLean County area.

Proponents of a health care clinic in central Illinois designed to meet the needs of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex population say such a facility could help limit discrimination against those individuals.

Workers are feverishly putting the final touches on the thirty five million dollar Center for Integrated Wellness just north of the airport in Bloomington.

The Center combines several services and business entities in one place, a fitness center managed by Advocate BroMenn, METHOD Sports Performance, and McLean County Orthopedics. Such facilities are becoming a trend across the U.S. 

For the first time hospitals in Bloomington Normal, the McLean County Health Department, and other stakeholders are working together on a community health needs assessment.

GLT's Charlie Schlenker talks with Meredith Nelson of OSF Saint Joseph Medical Center and Health Department Assistant Director Cathy Coverston-Anderson about the plan and why hasn't this happened years ago?

Psst. Hey buddy. Want to buy a butterfly?

The Community Cancer Center is raising money by having people buy monarch butterflies and release them into the gardens at the center in Bloomington in honor or remembrance of loved ones.

The stopgap spending measure approved by lawmakers and the Governor at the end of last month did nothing to fix the structural deficit or the backlog of bills State government owes in Illinois. Take dentists for instance.

There are about 18,000 dentists in Illinois. The state owes them 150 million dollars.

Dementia recently claimed the life of legendary women's basketball coach Pat Summitt. A new case of dementia is diagnosed every four seconds.  It's estimated that the number of people with dementia is expected to increase to 75.6 million by 2030.  With the demand for dementia care rising, there is a need to know more about the treatment, not just of the illness itself, but of those impacted by it.  With an eye towards helping those who help dementia sufferers, the Illinois State University Mennonite College of Nursing recently launched a research project about nursing care knowledge and attitudes towards patients with dementia.

Parents-to-be in central Illinois have a new option available to them when it comes to bringing their new little bundle of joy into the world.