Wabash General Hospital Wins Excellence Award for Patient-Experience

Wabash General Hospital was honored by NRC Health as a recipient of its 2020 Excellence Award, which recognizes top-performing hospitals and health systems in overall patient-satisfaction ratings.

This year’s elite award winners all exhibit an exceptional commitment to improving the care experience, and have earned top satisfaction ratings from patients and their families. Their desire to better understand patient needs, and their aspiration to design experiences that inspire loyalty, embody the NRC Health mission to bring human understanding to healthcare. Winners were selected from the extensive database of NRC Health hospital clients for their performance over the last four quarters. Wabash General Hospital was selected for its first-place ranking in Excellence of Patient Experience of small hospitals (hospitals under 100 beds).

“We are proud to recognize another year of Excellence Award winners, all of whom have shown an unrelenting commitment to their patients over the last year,” said Helen Hrdy, Chief Growth Officer at NRC Health. “Despite the pandemic, these healthcare organizations have continued to deliver exceptional results—and we are so impressed by their passion to make the care experience better for everyone involved. Congratulations, Wabash General Hospital, for this well-deserved award.”

WGH’s President & CEO Karissa Turner stated, “We strive to provide high-quality, cost effective health care to enhance the quality of life for Wabash County and surrounding communities. Our “people you know, helping people you love” motto is our focus and dedication to make sure you receive personalized health care with a loving, compassionate staff to service you and your loved ones. I am proud of the WGH leadership, staff, and medical staff for their commitment to work as a team striving to deliver excellent care to our service area. We are very blessed to have such a great group of individuals working for WGH. We could not expect anything better!”

For nearly four decades, NRC Health has helped healthcare organizations illuminate and improve the moments that matter most to patients, residents, physicians, nurses, and staff. Excellence Award winners were publicly announced on Monday, August 24, during the virtual 26th Annual NRC Health Symposium.

Illinois Extends Unemployment Benefits An Extra 20 Weeks

The Illinois Department of Employment Security has extended state unemployment eligibility for an additional 20 weeks. 

Illinois is one of 19 states that have extended the time period for people who have lost their jobs to claim benefits.

Analyst Mark Glennon of Wirepoints said many people in Illinois are in dire straits and that Illinois had no choice but to do what it can. Illinois will have to borrow $5 billion from the federal government to pay for the unemployment benefits extension – adding to the state’s financial challenges. 

“This is a choice between two evils. If the state did not do this, obviously people would be much worse off and it would damage the economy,” Glennon said. 

More than 1.4 million people in Illinois have applied for unemployment claims since March.
Until the extension was declared, the average unemployment insurance coverage in Illinois provides 26 weeks of payments. Since the COVID-19 shutdown in mid-March, thousands of people’s eligibility is due to expire. The 20-week extension is a lifeline, but not enough to keep many afloat. 

The checks are “pretty thin,” Glennon said, not enough to pay for housing and basic necessities. 

The $600 supplemental unemployment checks from the federal government had been keeping many solvent, Glennon said. Without additional benefits from the federal government, thousands of people could face financial challenges.

Glennon blamed Democrats in Congress for tying the extension of federal unemployment benefits to a host of other items that pad out the Democrats’ $3 trillion stimulus package proposal that President Trump and Republicans have refused to sign.

Glennon said he hopes both Republicans and Democrats will “get more reasonable” about focusing on “the critical need that is at hand.” 

Glennon said both parties have complicated the passage of another stimulus relief bill by loading up their versions with things that are unrelated to the pandemic, aid to states and unemployment. 

He said he hoped they will pass a smaller bill that will give direct relief to people who have lost their jobs and cannot pay their bills. 

Illinois had not taken any action as of Tuesday in response to the federal Lost Wages Assistance program, which offers an additional $300 to unemployment checks for those who qualify, according to a CNBC report and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

STATE UDPATES GUIDELINES FOR RESTAURANTS AND BAR ESTABLISHMENTS

CHICAGO—The State of Illinois today announced revised guidelines for restaurants and bar establishments statewide to operate safely and help prevent the spread of COVID-19.  Based on a recent increase in cases, these latest guidelines will require patrons to wear a mask during any interaction with wait staff, food service workers and other employees at bars and restaurants. Face coverings must be worn over the nose and mouth when patrons are approached and served by staff, including but not limited to when employees take patrons orders, deliver food and beverages, and service tables. This guidance will also apply to other facilities with food services areas that are currently subject to the Restore Illinois guidance, such as indoor recreational facilities, museums and entertainment venues.

New guidelines go into effect Wednesday, August 26th and will require face coverings to be worn both in indoor and outdoor dining settings in all eleven regions in the state. Full guidelines may be found on the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) website.

"Illinois residents continue to take important steps to protect the safety of our loved ones and neighbors. However, due to a recent uptick in cases, we must take additional precautionary steps when we are out in public," said Governor JB Pritzker. "Based on conversations and input from industry and business leaders, the State of Illinois is implementing updated guidelines which will allow restaurants and bars across the state to stay open while helping protect the health and safety of patrons and staff."

The revised guidelines announced today build on both the statewide Restore Illinois guidelines as well as the tiered mitigation strategies that are implemented when a region sees consistent increased test positivity or hospital admissions. The latest data on regional test positivity and hospitals can be found on the Illinois Department of Public Health(IDPH) website.  More information about the Restore Illinois guidelines and tiered mitigation measures can be found on the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) website.

"Going out for food and drinks should not be a reason or an excuse to let our guards down in the fight against COVID-19," said Dr. Ngozi Ezike, Director of IDPH. "IDPH and DCEO are updating current guidance to make it clear that face coverings should be worn in any situation where we are interacting with those outside of our immediate circles.  We will continue to adapt our guidelines and institute additional precautions to help protect all residents that make up our communities."

Patrons are currently required to wear a mask whenever on premises, except while eating and drinking at the table or bar. The new guidelines ensure that while seated, interactions between business staff and patrons can happen safely to prevent possible spread of the virus.

The Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) has worked with industry leaders, who have requested heightened measures to protect the safety of workers in light of the recent increase in cases, and to further reduce the risk of spread that could harm business operations.

"From the beginning, DCEO has worked closely with our colleagues at IDPH as well as industry leaders to create guidance that business owners can implement and use to keep employees and customers safe, and that will ultimately help guide the reopening of our economy," said DCEO Acting Director Michael Negron. "In partnership with industry leadership at IRA and employee protection organizations representing hospitality staff across the state, our latest guidelines will put the health and safety of our hospitality industry employees first and allow consumers to have confidence that Illinois bars and dining establishments are taking all precautions to allow a safer experience."

"The state's updated guidelines for face coverings reinforce the message our Association has been driving home for months - 'Covered Faces Keep Open Places,'" said Sam Toia, President & CEO of the Illinois Restaurant Association. "Face coverings will protect both diners and team members during this critical time. If we want to stay on a steady path with reopening, it is up to every individual to work collectively toward this common goal."

Phase 4 regulations remain in effect in ten out of the eleven regions across the state. Currently, bars and restaurants remain open with capacity restrictions to allow for social distancing - with seated parties of 10 or less, tables spaced 6-feet apart, and standing areas at no more than 25 percent capacity indoors. Region four is currently operating under increased mitigations following a sharp increase in its COVID-19 positivity rate, and Region seven will soon institute additional mitigation measures to take effect Wednesday August 26 in order to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

"On behalf of the thousands of restaurant workers that we serve in Illinois and across the country, we strongly support Gov. JB Pritzker's initiative to enforce restaurant guidance during this unprecedented public health crisis. This is significantly critical for the safety and health of our restaurant workers and customers—and the gateway for workers to get their jobs back and revive the economy," said Sekou Siby, president and CEO of the Restaurant Opportunities Centers (ROC) United. "The restaurant industry employs nearly 14 million workers or 10% of the entire U.S. workforce. This updated guidance, which can be a model for other states, underscores the need for a vital policy on how restaurant businesses should reopen safely, equitably and responsibly."

To assist bars and restaurants with implementing new safety measures, DCEO has provided an updated industry toolkit on their website. The toolkit provides revised health guidelines materials, including new signage that may be displayed at restaurants and bars to encourage compliance.

Pritzker's Restore Illinois plan is a phased, data-driven approach to reopening the state. Illinois is currently in Phase 4 of the reopening plan, with recent updates made to create 11 public health regions and allow Illinois to introduce additional mitigations to fight against a resurgence in our state. From the beginning, Restore Illinois has contemplated changes to guidance as progress is made, or as public health data suggests increasing rapid spread. DCEO has worked with IDPH to develop extensive public health guidelines since May, providing information and resources to help protect businesses and communities in reopening safely. For more on industry guidelines, visit DCEO's website at https://dceocovid19resources.com/restore-illinois.

City Council Meets In Renovated Chambers

The Mt. Carmel City Council met in regular session Monday evening and it was the first meeting held in the renovated portion of City Hall at 631 Market Street. Council meetings have been held in the lobby of City Hall since the pandemic began in March and the subsequent renovation started. Commissioner Chandler Madden oversees City Hall and he said it was good to finally be meeting in the new space…

City government was relocated from the former City Hall to its’ current location in July of 2019 when a water leak made the building uninhabitable for city operations.

District #348 To Return To Blended Learning Monday

At a special Wabash District #348 school board meeting this morning, Superintendent Dr. Chuck Bleyer said the district will return to blended instruction on Monday, August 31st.

District #348 went to full remote learning on August 17th after COVID-19 cases spiked in Wabash County.

New Dialing Procedure for Customers Within 217 Area Code

The Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) today reminded residential and business customers served by the 217 area code to prepare for the introduction of the new 447 area code. The 447 area code will be added as an overlay to the region currently served by area code 217 to ensure continuing supply of telephone numbers for the area. An overlay is the addition of another area code (447) to the same geographic region served by an existing area code (217).

The ICC ordered an area code overlay for the 217 Area Code on August 15, 2006, to be implemented upon the exhaust of available, unassigned 217 prefixes. An overlay does not require customers to change their existing area code or telephone number.

A six-month permissive dialing period will begin on August 29, 2020, to give consumers adequate time to adjust to the changes. During that period, local calls can be made with either 7 or 10- digits.  However, customers are encouraged to dial 10- digits. Local calls will remain local even though you dial 10-digits.

Beginning February 27, 2021, mandatory dialing will occur where all local calls made within the Illinois 217 Area Code will have to be placed using the 10-digit telephone number (area code + the 7-digit telephone number).

Beginning March 27, 2021, new telephone lines or services may be assigned numbers using the new 447 area code.

The most important facts for consumers to know about the upcoming 217/447 area code overlay are:

• Your current telephone number, including current area code, will not change.

• If you seek new phone service after March 27, 2021, you may be assigned a phone number with the 447 area code.

• You will need to dial area code + telephone number for all local calls.

• You will continue to dial 1 + area code + telephone number for all long distance calls.

• What is a local call now will remain a local call.

• The price of a call, coverage area, or other rates and services will not change due to the overlay.

• You can still dial just three digits to reach 911. You can also dial three digits to reach 211 and 811, as well as 311 and 511, where available.

Please remember to identify your telephone number as a 10-digit number (Area Code + 7-digit telephone number), and include the area code when giving the number to friends, family, business associates and customers, etc.

Customers should ensure all services, automatic dialing equipment, applications, software, or other types of equipment recognize the new 447 area code as a valid area code. Examples include life-safety systems, fax machines, Internet dial-up numbers, alarm and security systems, gates, ankle monitors, speed dialers, mobile phone contact lists, call forwarding settings, voicemail services, and similar functions. Be sure to check your business stationery, advertising materials, personal checks, and your personal or pet ID tags to ensure the area code is included in your telephone number.

Important safety and security equipment, such as medical alert devices, and alarm and security systems must be programmed to use 10-digit dialing. Many systems operate on 10-digit dialing by default but some older equipment may still use 7 digits. Please contact your medical alert or security provider if you are not sure whether your equipment needs to be reprogrammed to accommodate the upcoming change to 10-digit local dialing. Any needed reprogramming of alarm and home security equipment should be done between August 29, 2020 and February 27, 2021.

Remember that all local calls must be programmed using 10-digits and you need to add ‘1' for all long distance calls.

For additional information, please visit the ICC website at www.icc.illinois.gov/ or contact your local telephone service provider.

Can parents leave pre-teens home alone for remote learning?

(IRN) More than 430,000 Illinois households with children under 14 may not have a parent who could stay home to supervise their online learning.

For parents who decide their pre-teen is responsible enough to stay home alone and learn, a murky state statute could get create confusion.

More Illinois school districts are opting to start the school year with only remote learning, sometimes with little notice, because of concerns about COVID-19 outbreaks, leaving working parents to either reduce hours or quit jobs or find another place their kids can go during the school day. The latter option can cost parents thousands of dollars. 

Consumer advocates at Smart Dollar used 2018 Census data to tabulate what percentage of single-family households with kids under 14 years of age had full-time working parents. 

Illinois matched national figures, showing 41 percent of the state’s more than 1 million single-family households didn’t have a parent who didn’t work full time. 

Those thousands of parents who might think their young student is responsible enough to be home alone during the workday may be right, but the Department of Children and Family Services deems a neglected minor as “any minor under the age of 14 years whose parent or other person responsible for the minor’s welfare leaves the minor without supervision for an unreasonable period of time without regard for the mental or physical health, safety or welfare of that minor.”

The state statute says “for more than a period of 24 hours,” but an incident could remain on a parent’s record for years. In other states, school officials have reported dozens of families to state social workers after the children fail to log on for virtual classes.

Illinois' law has a higher age than other states, partly because of a high-profile case in 1992. In that case, David and Sharon Schoo, in 1992 left their 9- and 4- year-old daughters alone in their home near St. Charles over Christmas while they vacationed in Mexico. The movie “Home Alone 2” was in theaters at the time and the story generated national headlines. A judge later sentenced the parents to two years of probation as part of a plea deal. 

Efforts to change the law in recent years have stalled, but state Rep. Joe Sosnowski, R-Rockford, plans to take another run at putting the age in the state law in line with other states.

“There’s inconsistent language and, according to our statutes, anybody under the age of 14 really needs to have an adult or supervision,” he said. “When we’re talking about virtual school and not having five days of school, it’s especially pertinent that the Legislature make sure that the laws that we have are consistent and allow parents that flexibility for those kids who are obviously mature enough to stay home.” 

Kyle Hillman, director of legislative affairs at the National Association of Social Workers, Illinois Chapter, said it is legal to leave a minor home alone during the workday because of the phrase “for an unreasonable period of time” in the state law.

“Under Illinois law, that is perfectly legal to leave that child home alone as long as it’s a reasonable amount of time and you took care of their health and wellbeing,” he said. 

Hillman said he opposed Sosnowski’s bill. He said the bill removes a weapon in a prosecutor’s arsenal to properly punish negligent parents. A better solution, he said, would be for the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services to clarify what is safe and what isn’t safe.

“A parent wants to know ‘as long as I leave my 12-year-old to do homeschool and I’ve taken care of all of these different things, I’m gonna be in the clear?’” he said. “That’s where I don’t think it needs a statutory change, I think it needs a DCFS advisory change.” 

Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart sponsored the bill during his time as a state representative. When asked about his view of the legislation in light of widespread virtual learning, his office responded.

"The safety and well-being of children have always and will always be a priority for Sheriff Tom Dart. Now more than ever, children need to feel safe and secure with so much uncertainty with the pandemic," a spokesperson said.

Off Campus Activities Concerning To College/University Officials

College and universities across the state – and across the country – are attributing coronavirus outbreaks on campuses to off-campus social events.

Michigan State University, Notre Dame and the University of North Carolina all walked back or delayed reopening plans after infection rates increased.

School officials at Illinois Wesleyan University in Normal announced 9 cases of the virus were linked to off-campus parties where the school said consistent use of face masks and social distancing did not occur.

Illinois State University spokesman Eric Jome said it is difficult to police off-campus events.

“For simply attending parties, we can’t hand out any sort of punishment or any sort of discipline for that, but really encouraging and urging people to avoid these large gatherings,” Jome said.

Illinois State, which received just over $16 million from the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund, decided to go mostly online to begin the fall semester.

A dozen Bradley University students recently tested positive for COVID-19. School officials determined the outbreak stemmed from an off-campus gathering in which attendees didn’t wear masks or practice social distancing.

The mayors of both Champaign and Urbana, the home of the University of Illinois, have issued orders requiring bar and restaurant patrons to to stay seated most of the time. In Champaign, Mayor Deb Feinen issued an order limiting customer seating at Campustown restaurants and bars to outdoors areas only now through Labor Day. Emergency orders from the two mayors also set crowd limits and require face masks and social distancing at private parties on and near the U of I campus.

At Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, the virus has not been much of a problem.

Less than a week after students moved back to campus to begin the fall semester, only two cases of the COVID-19 were reported. The cases were identified Aug. 21, an employee and one student, according to NIU’s campus dashboard.

Mt. Carmel Woman Arrested On Meth Possession Warrant

On 8/21/2020, Mt. Carmel Police arrested Caitlin A. Burke, age 29, of Mt. Carmel, on a Wabash County Warrant for Possession of Methamphetamine. Burke was located in the 900 block of North Walnut Street, where she was taken into custody. Burke was transported to the Wabash County Jail, where she was issued the warrant and held pending the posting of bond.

Driver Cited Following Head-On Crash At 3rd & Walnut

This morning at 9:18, Mt. Carmel Police responded to a two vehicle head-on collision at 3rd & Walnut Street. Upon arrival, it was discovered Stacy G. McCoy, age 28, of Mt. Carmel, was attempting to turn her 2019 Dodge left onto 3rd Street from the 200 block of North Walnut when she collided with Andrea M. Bailey, age 52, of Mt. Carmel who was traveling south on Walnut from the 300 block of North Walnut in her 2001 Ford. All occupants declined medical treatment. McCoy was cited for Failure to Yield-Turning Left at Intersection. Mt. Carmel Police were assisted at the scene by Mt. Carmel Fire Department, Wabash General Ambulance Service, and Glenn’s Towing.