State announces more than $1 million in Women's Health Initiative grants

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

[JULY 13, 2006]  PETERSBURG -- On behalf of Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich, Dr. Eric E. Whitaker, director of the Illinois Department of Public Health, announced Wednesday at the Menard County Health Department more than $1 million in Women's Health Initiative grants for nonprofit 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 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," Blagojevich said. "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," Whitaker said. "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 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 Alicia Davis, department administrator.

"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 lifelong 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, including 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 to help women understand perimenopause and menopause and inform them about related health issues.

The governor has made other significant contributions to promote and improve women's health, including the following:

• Increased funding for women's health: 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, the governor allocated $2.1 million in new funding to increase eligibility for lifesaving breast and cervical cancer screenings to women with incomes up to 250 percent of the federal poverty level. Since Blagojevich 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.  

• Signed women's health legislation into law: Last summer, Blagojevich signed several pieces of legislation affecting Illinois women's health. 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, 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: Beginning in 2003, Blagojevich funded the Stand Against Cancer Initiative, 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 2005, the program 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, Blagojevich launched the Hispanic Breast and Cervical Cancer Initiative, which is closely patterned after Stand Against Cancer. Women screened through the Hispanic initiative who subsequently need diagnostic tests are referred to local lead agencies of the Illinois Breast and Cervical Cancer Program.

• Illinois Wisewoman Program: The Wisewoman cardiovascular research program is provided 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 is provided through Women's Health-Line and other informational resources. In fiscal 2006, the state-funded, toll-free Women's Health-Line, 1 [phone], 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 [phone] or TTY [phone], for hearing-impaired use only.

A list of this year's Women's Health Initiative grants for Illinois, outside of Chicago, is below. The grants for Chicago will be announced July 21.

[News release from the governor's office]

Women's Health Initiative grantees for fiscal 2007

Organization	City	Project title	Amount
Bond County Health Department	Greenville	Osteoporosis Prevention for Teens	$4,500
Bureau CHD	Princeton	Heart Smart for Teens	$14,000
Carroll CHD	Mount 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	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 Department	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	Mount 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