The Proctor Health Care Foundation will host “A Night with the Hit King” on Saturday, October 5 at 6:00 p.m. at the Peoria Marriott Pere Marquette. The new event includes dinner, an exciting Q & A session with Pete Rose, and the largest silent and live sports auction in the area, a must-see for any sports fan. An exclusive VIP party is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. where guests will have the opportunity to get up close and personal with “Charlie Hustle” himself.

The event is part of a new, exciting time for the Proctor Health Care Foundation, as they raise the dollars needed for projects such as facility upgrades and additional programs for the Addiction Recovery Center and state-of-the-art curriculum and technology upgrades for the Hult Center for Healthy Living.

For more information or to purchase tickets and sponsorships, please visit www.proctorgiving.comor call 309-689-8635.

(BRIMFIELD, IL) – August 3, 2013, Brimfield will be closing down streets to showcase some the Tri-County’s finest vehicles in the area. Brimfield is proud to sponsor the exciting 7h annual Super Cruise In for Diabetes for the American Diabetes Association.

The day of the Cruise In will start with a bags tournament at 3:00 p.m. Team register for $20 and will start at 2:00 pm behind the Brimfield American Legion. There will be cash prizes for the winners. From 4:00 – 8:00 p.m., the streets will be lined with vehicles shining with pride showing their support for the American Diabetes Association. There will be a People’s Choice and a Committe’s Choice awarded to selected participants. Please contact Joe Arbogast at (309) 678-3639 with any questions regarding the Cruise In.

Downtown Brimfield will be full of activities for the whole family. There will be food (pork chop sandwiches, etc) available for purchase and an Ice Cream Social at Brimfield’s historic L.L. Guyer Cabin, which will also be available for tours, fun filled activities for the kids including a dunk tank and games, and fire prevention awareness provided by the Brimfield Fire Protection District. The event has grown drastically since its inaugural Cruise In 7 years ago. Last year, over 125 vehicles entered the event, while hundreds of people came out for entertainment, food, and to support the great cause. This family event has something for everyone!

There will be silent auction items available for everyone to bid on throughout the day, featuring an 8 person poker table made out of wood form the Brimfield High School Gym floor that was demolished 2 years ago, with the winners being announced at 7:00 p.m.

(Peoria, IL / July 29, 2013) –OSF Saint Francis Medical Center has been re-designated a Level I Trauma Center by the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH), the highest level possible. OSF Saint Francis was first designated a Level I Trauma Center in October 1972 and has maintained that status for 41 years.

There are only sixteen Level I Trauma Centers in the state designated by IDPH. OSF Saint Francis is the only Level I Trauma Center in the central Illinois region which covers 18 counties.

Among the strengths of the OSF Saint Francis trauma program and emergency department cited by IDPH:
– Timely response of surgeon and trauma team for activations
– Large and well planned trauma bays with accessible radiographic equipment
– High volume and high acuity program
– Direct involvement and oversight by the Trauma Medical Director
– Sub-specialty physician resource for EMS Region 2

The American College of Surgeons Committee on Trauma classifies a Level I facility as a regional resource trauma center that is a tertiary care facility central to the trauma care system. The facility must have the capability of providing leadership and total care for every aspect of injury, from prevention through rehab. In its central role, the Level I center must have adequate depth of resources and personnel.

As a Level I Trauma Center, OSF Saint Francis provides ALL essential services, in-house 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to provide optimal care for the trauma patient.

Washington, DC – Congressman Aaron Schock (IL-18) has announced he will host a series of listening sessions throughout his congressional district during the month of August. The listening sessions will be held in a town hall style setting that Congressman Schock has organized so that he can hear directly from his constituents about their opinions and thoughts on the challenges facing the country.

The full list of locations can also be found on his website:
http://schock.house.gov/constituentservices/2013listeningsessions.htm

Monday, August 5
9:30am CT: Coffee with your Congressman
Woodford County Farm Bureau Bldg
117 W. Center St., Eureka, IL

3:30pm CT: Ice Cream with your Congressman
City Hall
108 S. Buchanan St., Heyworth, IL

6:00pm CT: Ice Cream with your Congressman
Foreman Center
308 S. Harrison, Manito, IL

Wednesday, August 7
10:00am CT: Coffee with your Congressman
Heritage Homes Senior Housing, Community Room
524 Carole St., Hanna City, IL

2:30pm CT: Ice Cream with your Congressman
YMCA
RR 99, Mt. Sterling, IL

Friday, August 9
9:30am CT: Coffee with your Congressman
Norma’s North Star Cafe
211 E. Court St., Jacksonville, IL

Saturday, August 10
1:00pm CT: Ice Cream with your Congressman
Fulgenzi’s Trattoria
214 W. Chestnut, Chatham, IL

3:30pm CT: Ice Cream with your Congressman
Petersburg, IL

Tuesday, August 13
9:30am CT: Coffee with your Congressman
Macomb City Hall, Community Room
232 E Jackson St., Macomb, IL

Thursday, August 15
9:30am CT: Coffee with your Congressman
Mama’s Arcade Cafe
513 Pulaski St., Lincoln, IL

[Editor’s Note: I found this quote. I’m not going to reveal the author or the topic. But, really folks …. let’s try to make sense … especially when you know you’re being quoted!]

“The income will be closer to a businesses if we can do it operative by an existent trickery doing roughly accurately what we wish it to do. I consider it’s only going to advantage everybody in a prolonged run.”

Peoria, Illinois (July 29, 2013)—UnityPoint Health Iowa/Illinois, including UnityPoint Health – Methodist, is one of three recipients of the 2013 Circle of Life Awards presented by the American Hospital Association.

The award recognizes innovations in palliative and end-of-life care. UnityPoint Health Palliative Care Program is noted for having “a system-wide approach to ensure palliative care is part of the full spectrum of patient care services, from inpatient to outpatient care and home visits, and has made palliative care a system-wide priority.” Patients and families are actively involved in advance planning and determining the goals of care. With their symptoms being effectively managed, patients avoid unnecessary emergency room visits and readmission to the hospital.

The awards were presented this week at the Health Forum and American Hospital Association Leadership Summit in San Diego.

UnityPoint Health is one of the nation’s largest integrated health systems with 29 hospitals, more than 280 clinics and home health services working together to coordinate care across rural and metropolitan communities in Iowa and Illinois.

PEORIA, IL – Any City of Peoria resident interested in being considered to fill the vacant At-Large City Council seat should send a cover letter and resume to Chayne Chamberlain at cchamberlain@peoriagov.org or the following mailing address:

Office of the Mayor/Council, Suite 207L
Attention: Chayne Chamberlain
419 Fulton Street
Peoria, IL 61602

All submissions should be received by end of business on Friday, August 9, 2013. The Mayor and Council have 60 days after the vacancy occurs to appoint a person to the office for the balance of the unexpired term.

[Editor’s note: It’s not often we asked for our opinions. Here’s a great opportunity to share! DLA]

Washington, DC – Congressman Aaron Schock (IL-18) has announced he will host a series of upcoming listening sessions throughout his congressional district during August. The listening sessions will be held in a town hall style setting that Congressman Schock has organized so that he can hear directly from his constituents about their opinions and thoughts on the challenges facing the country. The list below reflects the town hall meetings happening between August 5-August 10th, 2013.

More information on additional listening sessions will be releases in the coming days.

(Peoria, IL – July 26, 2013) The Peoria chapter of Mended Hearts will meet Thursday, August 8, 2013 at 6:00 PM at the RiverPlex in Peoria.

Mended Hearts, a national nonprofit organization affiliated with the American Heart Association, has been offering the gift of hope to heart disease patients, their families and caregivers for more than 50 years.

Because Mended Hearts is made up of the very kinds of people it serves—heart patients, their families, and others impacted by heart disease, its members draw on personal experience as they help others. Recovery involves not only physical healing, but emotional and psychosocial healing as well.

For more information about Mended Hearts, contact nurse practitioner Tammy Sarmiento at OSF Saint Francis Medical Center at 309.655.7292.

More than six years after Red Cross workers voted to form their union with the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Council 31, Red Cross management remains in violation of federal labor law and refuses to agree to a fair union contract. To raise awareness and garner public support in their fight for fairness, Red Cross employees will march this Sunday afternoon from the Peoria Labor Temple to Red Cross headquarters, where they will hold an informational picket.

“These workers save lives every day, collecting blood and serving their community, but Red Cross management treats them with utter disrespect,” AFSCME Council 31 staff representative Tim LaVelle said. “Workers are fed up with management’s stalling, foot-dragging and failure to follow the law.”

WHAT: March from Peoria Labor Temple to Red Cross headquarters; informational picket of Red Cross
WHO: Red Cross employees, other union members and community supporters
WHERE: Meet at Peoria Labor Temple (400 NE Jefferson Ave.), march to Red Cross headquarters (405 W John Gwynn Jr. Ave.)
WHEN: Sunday, July 28; march begins at 2:30 p.m., picket to follow

Although workers voted for AFSCME representation in a June 2007 union election, Red Cross management kept ballots from being counted until September 2010, then refused to recognize the union until January 2011. Bargaining for a contract began soon thereafter, but in November 2011, the National Labor Relations Board found Red Cross had broken the law by unilaterally changing workers’ wages, benefits, hours and working conditions. Red Cross has refused to comply with the ruling and employees still have no contract.

“Collecting blood requires these workers to work irregular hours, any day of the week, without regular days off, and requires them to follow strict federal safety guidelines,” AFSCME’s LaVelle said. “Yet Red Cross refuses to give these workers the respect and fair treatment they deserve. Enough is enough.”