Articles tagged with 'COVID19' | OSF HealthCare

COVID-19 has become the most deadly pandemic in American history, with deaths at more than 650,000, surpassing the estimated deaths from the 1918 Spanish flu. But a lead infectious disease doctor for Peoria, Illinois-based OSF HealthCare says over th...

A highly contagious virus that can seriously impact infants and the elderly has arrived earlier than usual. Respiratory syncytial virus, otherwise known as RSV, is hitting at the same time health leaders are worried about the flu and COVID-19.What’s ...

As the pandemic wears on and employers attempt to forge ahead in this new environment, mental health concerns in the work force are becoming more commonplace. Peoria, Illinois-based OSF HealthCare is making sure employers are aware of a free, 24-7 su...

As the delta variant becomes more common, now making up 99% of cases in the U.S., OSF HealthCare frontline doctors are seeing more and more cases of pregnant women admitted to the hospital because they’re infected with the virus. At some hospitals in...

The nation’s leading infectious disease doctor and White House medical advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci urges physicians to make more use of monoclonal antibodies for treatment of COVID-19 at a time when OSF HealthCare has been leading in their use.Mark Mee...

The federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved allowing a third, supplemental dose of two COVID-19 vaccines for certain immunocompromised individuals who need extra protection. The supplemental vaccines are currently approved for Pfizer ...

Older adults are more vulnerable to hospitalization and death from COVID-19, and those in long-term care settings were among the first groups to experience restrictions on face-to-face contact.So for a year-and-a-half, older individuals had the doubl...

The American Academy of Pediatricians says COVID-19 cases among children and teens jumped 84% in one week’s time with more than 72,000 kids acquiring the disease between July 22 and July 29. That’s alarming pediatricians and medical providers includi...

Drug overdose deaths spiked dramatically during the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), nationwide a record 93,000 people died from a drug overdose in 2020, a 29% increase over the previous year. The ...

A weekly national survey finds broad awareness and concern about the emerging COVID-19 delta variant. But people's behaviors really aren't changing in the face of that threat. According to the latest Axios-Ipsos poll, people who are vaccinated are co...

While many states are seeing COVID-19 cases level off or even decrease, that’s not happening everywhere, particularly in more rural areas. That’s raising concerns among health care leaders who say many people wrongly believe they no longer have to wo...

In May, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said it was okay for people who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 to stop wearing a mask in most situations. But for people living with cancer, rheumatoid arthritis or other autoimmune ...

This might be one of those studies that results in people responding, “They spent money on that? I could have told them that!”The study by Indeed, one of the largest online websites for employers and job seekers, found alarmingly high levels of emplo...

Parents with young children are seeing a variety of regressive behavior that pediatricians and therapists are tying to the trauma of the COVID-19 pandemic. These behavioral changes are taking a variety of forms depending on the age of the child and t...

OSF Innovation and its partners at the University of Illinois College of Medicine Peoria (UICOMP) and Illinois State University (ISU) in Normal, Illinois, have received a federal Human Resources & Services Administration (HRSA) grant of $10,000 to co...

There are stories of people diagnosed with lung cancer who never smoked a day in their life. It happens, and unfortunately, in most of those cases, the cancer isn’t caught early enough because it’s only found when symptoms become serious enough for s...

New research has found that nearly one person in five diagnosed with COVID-19 also suffers with a psychiatric disorder such as anxiety, depression or insomnia within three months. Sam Sears, MD, director of physician services for OSF Behavioral Healt...

Many people who are COVID weary and fully vaccinated might be a little disappointed by the latest guidelines from the federal government but one OSF HealthCare leader supports the cautious approach.Stephen Hippler, M.D. is the chief clinical officer ...

Despite the availability of free routine immunizations for low-income families through a federal program, many children are not vaccinated, vaccinated late for their age, or don’t complete the course of the immunization schedule. OSF HealthCare wants...

Safety data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows allergic reactions to COVID-19 vaccines are rare – including the most severe – anaphylaxis shock – which occurred in 2 to 5 people for every one million doses of the Pfizer v...

Peoria, Illinois-based OSF HealthCare is proud to have four hospitals recognized as Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois (BCBSIL) Blue Distinction® Centers (BDC) for Maternity Care designation. OSF HealthCare St. Mary Medical Center in Galesburg, St. J...

Lisabeth Pongracz has been helping to manage one of the COVID-19 vaccination clinics operated by OSF HealthCare across its 14 locations throughout Illinois and the UP of Michigan.The days may be long, but the appreciation is immeasurable.“I’ve never ...

Model Naomi Campbell recently talked about how she wears goggles while travelling on airplanes because you can catch COVID-19 through your eyes. Technically, she is correct according to Lori Grooms, OSF HealthCare director of Infection Control and Pr...

Thirteen research projects are sharing nearly $970,000 in funding through the Jump ARCHES research and development program. The Jump Applied Research for Community Health through Engineering and Simulation (Jump ARCHES) program is a partnership betwe...

Implementing safe, secure and easy-to-use telehealth solutions is becoming increasingly important, especially as rural hospitals strive to provide expert care with limited resources. Hospitals face challenges to adopting new technology, but recent co...

Suicide and addiction were the two biggest factors bringing down the average life expectancy in the U.S. before the pandemic and it’s only gotten worse with the need for physical distancing and closures of public places. COVID-19 mitigation efforts h...

A recent report by AARP found that fewer than 1% of Americans live in long-term care facilities, but 40% of COVID-19 deaths have occurred there. The report details a multitude of reasons why this has happened, especially in the early days of the pand...

The room erupted in applause after the first COVID-19 vaccine was given to an OSF HealthCare St. Joseph Medical Center critical care advanced practice nurse in Bloomington, Illinois Friday afternoon.Kristin Wilkins, APRN, APN Pulmonology, works with ...

Teenagers are more comfortable reaching out to each other, rather than the adults in their lives because they feel their peers are more likely to understand what they’re going through, according to high school senior Catherine Fuller. Fuller attends ...

The phrase “emergency use authorization” is becoming part of our talk about COVID-19 vaccines that are awaiting final government approval for distribution. But, what constitutes emergency use?Sandy Salverson, vice president of Pharmacy Operations for...