Latest news with #Naperville-area
Chicago Tribune
11-04-2025
- Health
- Chicago Tribune
Naperville-area children have high measles vaccination rates but local experts urge immunization for all
Though Naperville-area schools across the board have high measles vaccination rates, local experts still urge the importance of immunization as outbreaks of the highly contagious respiratory disease crop up in other states. 'The more prepared we can be, the less concerned and less severe outcomes we would experience,' said Dr. Rashmi Chugh, medical officer with the DuPage County Health Department. So far this year, the U.S. has had more than double the number of measles cases than it saw in all of 2024, with 712 reported cases as of April 10, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Texas is reporting the majority of those cases, but outbreaks have also been reported in New Mexico, Kansas, Ohio and Oklahoma. Three people with measles in the U.S. have died this year. All three were unvaccinated. Indiana health officials announced a measles outbreak Wednesday, while Michigan had its fourth confirmed case this week, per news reports. Illinois has not had any reported cases of measles yet this year. With measles spreading across the country, the Illinois Department of Public Health has unveiled a new online tool that allows people to look up measles vaccination rates for schools throughout the state, from pre-kindergarten through 12th grade. The Measles Outbreak Simulator Dashboard, rolled out Wednesday, also uses school vaccination data from 2023-2024 to predict, project and estimate the size and spread of a measles outbreak at individual schools. Dashboard data reflects high immunization and low risk of outbreak in Naperville-area schools. Between Naperville School District 203 and Indian Prairie School District 204, most vaccination rates range from 96% to 99%. When more than 95% of people in a community are vaccinated, most people are protected from infection through what's called 'herd immunity,' the CDC says. Indian Prairie Health Services Coordinator Linda Herwaldt said in an emailed statement that the district is 'committed to the health and safety of our students.' As of April 9, Indian Prairie had a 98.66% compliance rate for measles immunizations district-wide, she said. 'While recent measles outbreaks in other states have prompted renewed attention nationwide, our district has maintained a proactive approach to immunizations throughout the year,' she said. Still, the district is 'continuing our outreach to families — especially those who are new to the district — to support them in meeting immunization requirements and accessing local health resources,' Herwaldt said. In March, the DuPage County Health Department put out a news release promoting vaccination. According to IDPH data, 96% of DuPage-area school children were vaccinated against measles as of the 2023-24 school year. Over the past 10 years, that number has dipped slightly, down from 97.5% in the 2014-15 school year. 'We can take steps to protect ourselves, our families and those around us by being vaccinated,' Chugh said. The best protection against measles is the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine. The first shot is recommended for children between 12 and 15 months old and the second for those who are 4 and 6 years old. Two doses of the MMR vaccine are about 97% effective, according to the CDC. One dose is about 93% effective. DuPage hasn't had a case of measles since last year, when one county resident tested positive for the illness in April 2024. Before that, measles hadn't been identified in DuPage since 2009, Chugh said. Speaking to activity seen so far this year, she said, 'We are certainly concerned that measles could be in Illinois and DuPage County any day.' Jonathan Pinsky, medical director of infection control and prevention at Edward Hospital in Naperville, tied activity to travel. 'To me, it's travel to areas of the world where there are measles actively in some countries and (it being) brought back to communities that have low vaccination rates,' he said. 'And then it's just the perfect storm for transmission.' Like Chugh, Pinsky urged vaccination. 'Thinking about 97% (protection), what that means is … if there's a measles exposure and 100 unvaccinated people in the same room develop measles, only three people would have developed measles if (the room) were fully vaccinated,' he said. 'And with that being said, even if (someone who was vaccinated) were to get infected, it's likely to be very mild … compared to somebody who is not.' Common symptoms of measles, which generally appear seven to 14 days after coming into contact with the virus, can include high fever, runny nose, cough, sore throat and a rash, according to the CDC. More dangerous are the serious complications that can arise out of measles, including pneumonia and encephalitis (inflammation of the brain). People can check their vaccination status by contacting their health care providers or looking at their medical records. Or they can use the Illinois Department of Public Health's online portal, Vax Verify, to check their immunization status.
Yahoo
28-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
$360k grant to Naperville's Conservation Foundation to bolster its farm-to-pantry program
A $360,000 grant to the Conservation Foundation will allow the Naperville nonprofit to invest in new equipment and grow more for produce for local food pantries. Thanks to the funding awarded by Endeavor Health, the nonprofit will make much-needed upgrades at McDonald Farm off Knoch Knolls Road, where its farm-to-pantry program is based, said Jennifer Hammer, the foundation's vice president of land and watershed programs. 'Having the right equipment for the work that we do is going to make growing the food easier,' Hammer said. The money was awarded through Endeavor's Community Investment Fund (CIF). Founded in 2022, CIF distributes grant dollars to community organizations and initiatives with the intent of addressing social drivers of health and removing barriers to care, according to a news release announcing the 2025 grant recipients. This year, Endeavor awarded $8.8 million in CIF dollars to 44 organizations and partnerships across the Chicago area. In addition to the Conservation Foundation, other Naperville-area awardees included 360 Youth Services, Alive Center, Haymarket Center, Indian Prairie School District 204, KidsMatter, Loaves & Fishes, NAMI DuPage and Naperville Education Foundation. The health system's goal in conceiving CIF three years ago was for it 'to be a true catalyst for change by putting our talent, our unique capabilities and our resources to work for the benefit of our communities, especially those who are underserved and economically disadvantaged,' Jeff Zakem, Endeavor's system program director of community impact and equity, said in an emailed statement. Since 2002, McDonald Farm has been producing organic vegetables, though the operation has evolved over the years. Farm property, which totals some 60 acres, was donated to the Conservation Foundation in 1992. The organization officially made the site its home in 1997. At that point, it was contracting out the land to farmers, Hammer said. But in the early 2000s, longtime foundation member Steve Tiwald proposed starting a community-supported agriculture program out of the farm. Foundation officials agreed, and the Green Earth Institute was born. For 16 years, the institute operated as a separate 501(c)3 charitable organization at the McDonald Farm. It was essentially a shareholder program, where people would buy 'shares' of McDonald farmland in exchange for a season of crops. By 2018, though, Tiwald took a step back from the institute and the foundation absorbed the venture into its own programming. It rebranded the initiative as the Green Earth Harvest organic vegetable farming program. More than a name change, the organization also expanded the venture to supply fresh organic produce to the community through both a 'farmshare subscription' service and partnerships with area food pantries. With subscriptions, patrons sign up to receive a weekly — or biweekly — batch of vegetables. Subscriptions are offered on a seasonal basis. There are three to choose from: a four-week spring season, a 20-week main season and a four-week fall season. The foundation serves about 800 families through subscriptions, according to Hammer. As for its farm-to-pantry initiative, the organization for the past two years has supplied produce to six different food pantries, including one in Will County and six in DuPage. Annually, they provide about 20,000 pounds of produce to pantries, Hammer said. With the funding from Endeavor, the Conservation Foundation hopes to address food insecurity to an even greater extent. The idea is that with the new, modern equipment, farming will be streamlined, increasing crop yields and lowering production costs. That, in turn, will allow the foundation to do more with available resources, Hammer said. Currently, they rely on grant money to finance the farm-to-pantry program, which can be a challenge to secure, she said. Equipment purchased through Endeavor's award will make pantry dollars 'go farther in the future,' Hammer said, noting that some existing equipment is 'as old as the program (itself).' 'The more efficient we can be with how we get things done,' she said, 'the more we're going to be able to get done with the same number of people. … That's going to help us, again, make more use of the funds that we have available for the farm-to-pantry program.' Equipment the foundation plans to purchase includes a new tractor and rotavator, a cultivating tractor for mechanized weeding, a compost/mulch spreader, a utility vehicle to help move crops around the farm, and new tools for washing and storing harvested vegetables. The organization has been unable to replace aging equipment because in recent years it has prioritized investing in its staff 'getting a better, more livable rate of pay,' Hammer said. Doing so, however, 'hasn't left us a whole lot of room to invest in equipment,' she said. Alongside new equipment, the foundation will also be using a portion of the Endeavor funding to devise a fundraising and marketing plan to help identify more reliable funding streams in years to come, Hammer said. One of the options the organization is considering is an endowment fund for its farm-to-pantry program. 'I think that's going to be the only sustainable way to be able to grow for the pantries where we're not scrambling every year to know that we have the grant funds,' she said. Addressing food insecurity is important, Zakem said, speaking to Endeavor's interest in partnering with the organization. 'There is not enough food to go around to help those who need it,' Zakem said. 'The Conservation Foundation is helping address this food supply need, growing fresh, healthy (organic) food right here in our community.' tkenny@
Chicago Tribune
28-02-2025
- Business
- Chicago Tribune
$360k grant to Naperville's Conservation Foundation to bolster its farm-to-pantry program
A $360,000 grant to the Conservation Foundation will allow the Naperville nonprofit to invest in new equipment and grow more for produce for local food pantries. Thanks to the funding awarded by Endeavor Health, the nonprofit will make much-needed upgrades at McDonald Farm off Knoch Knolls Road, where its farm-to-pantry program is based, said Jennifer Hammer, the foundation's vice president of land and watershed programs. 'Having the right equipment for the work that we do is going to make growing the food easier,' Hammer said. The money was awarded through Endeavor's Community Investment Fund (CIF). Founded in 2022, CIF distributes grant dollars to community organizations and initiatives with the intent of addressing social drivers of health and removing barriers to care, according to a news release announcing the 2025 grant recipients. This year, Endeavor awarded $8.8 million in CIF dollars to 44 organizations and partnerships across the Chicago area. In addition to the Conservation Foundation, other Naperville-area awardees included 360 Youth Services, Alive Center, Haymarket Center, Indian Prairie School District 204, KidsMatter, Loaves & Fishes, NAMI DuPage and Naperville Education Foundation. The health system's goal in conceiving CIF three years ago was for it 'to be a true catalyst for change by putting our talent, our unique capabilities and our resources to work for the benefit of our communities, especially those who are underserved and economically disadvantaged,' Jeff Zakem, Endeavor's system program director of community impact and equity, said in an emailed statement. Since 2002, McDonald Farm has been producing organic vegetables, though the operation has evolved over the years. Farm property, which totals some 60 acres, was donated to the Conservation Foundation in 1992. The organization officially made the site its home in 1997. At that point, it was contracting out the land to farmers, Hammer said. But in the early 2000s, longtime foundation member Steve Tiwald proposed starting a community-supported agriculture program out of the farm. Foundation officials agreed, and the Green Earth Institute was born. For 16 years, the institute operated as a separate 501(c)3 charitable organization at the McDonald Farm. It was essentially a shareholder program, where people would buy 'shares' of McDonald farmland in exchange for a season of crops. By 2018, though, Tiwald took a step back from the institute and the foundation absorbed the venture into its own programming. It rebranded the initiative as the Green Earth Harvest organic vegetable farming program. More than a name change, the organization also expanded the venture to supply fresh organic produce to the community through both a 'farmshare subscription' service and partnerships with area food pantries. With subscriptions, patrons sign up to receive a weekly — or biweekly — batch of vegetables. Subscriptions are offered on a seasonal basis. There are three to choose from: a four-week spring season, a 20-week main season and a four-week fall season. The foundation serves about 800 families through subscriptions, according to Hammer. As for its farm-to-pantry initiative, the organization for the past two years has supplied produce to six different food pantries, including one in Will County and six in DuPage. Annually, they provide about 20,000 pounds of produce to pantries, Hammer said. With the funding from Endeavor, the Conservation Foundation hopes to address food insecurity to an even greater extent. The idea is that with the new, modern equipment, farming will be streamlined, increasing crop yields and lowering production costs. That, in turn, will allow the foundation to do more with available resources, Hammer said. Currently, they rely on grant money to finance the farm-to-pantry program, which can be a challenge to secure, she said. Equipment purchased through Endeavor's award will make pantry dollars 'go farther in the future,' Hammer said, noting that some existing equipment is 'as old as the program (itself).' 'The more efficient we can be with how we get things done,' she said, 'the more we're going to be able to get done with the same number of people. … That's going to help us, again, make more use of the funds that we have available for the farm-to-pantry program.' Equipment the foundation plans to purchase includes a new tractor and rotavator, a cultivating tractor for mechanized weeding, a compost/mulch spreader, a utility vehicle to help move crops around the farm, and new tools for washing and storing harvested vegetables. The organization has been unable to replace aging equipment because in recent years it has prioritized investing in its staff 'getting a better, more livable rate of pay,' Hammer said. Doing so, however, 'hasn't left us a whole lot of room to invest in equipment,' she said. Alongside new equipment, the foundation will also be using a portion of the Endeavor funding to devise a fundraising and marketing plan to help identify more reliable funding streams in years to come, Hammer said. One of the options the organization is considering is an endowment fund for its farm-to-pantry program. 'I think that's going to be the only sustainable way to be able to grow for the pantries where we're not scrambling every year to know that we have the grant funds,' she said. Addressing food insecurity is important, Zakem said, speaking to Endeavor's interest in partnering with the organization. 'There is not enough food to go around to help those who need it,' Zakem said. 'The Conservation Foundation is helping address this food supply need, growing fresh, healthy (organic) food right here in our community.'
