PEORIA, IL— Peoria Riverfront Museum, previously Lakeview Museum of Art and Sciences is the recipient of an Award of Merit from the American Association for State and Local History (AASLH) Leadership in History Awards. The AASLH Leadership in History Awards, now in its 68th year, is the most prestigious recognition for achievement in the preservation and interpretation of state and local history.

Channy Lyons, local Peoria historian, served as guest curator of the exhibition for Lakeview Museum. Lakeview Museum hosted the exhibition from October 1, 2011 through April 15, 2012. The exhibition then traveled to the Quincy Arts Center and the Tarble Arts Center at Easter Illinois University in Charleston, IL.

This year, AASLH is proud to confer eighty-eight national awards honoring people, projects, exhibits, books, and organizations. The winners represent the best in the field and provide leadership for the future of state and local history. Presentation of the awards will be made at a special banquet during the 2013 AASLH Annual Meeting in Birmingham, Alabama, on Friday, September 20. The banquet is supported by a generous contribution from the History Channel.

The AASLH awards program was initiated in 1945 to establish and encourage standards of excellence in the collection, preservation, and interpretation of state and local history throughout the United States. The AASLH Leadership in History Awards not only honor significant achievement in the field of state and local history, but also brings public recognition of the opportunities for small and large organizations, institutions, and programs to make contributions in this arena.

Peoria, IL – The 7th Annual Kids’ Day, presented by RLI, will take place on Saturday, July 27 from 10;00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. at The Shoppes at Grand Prairie (a rain day has been scheduled for Sunday, July 28). Attractions for the day include informational booths, a balloon artist, face painting, inflatables, on going family friendly entertainment and much more. All proceeds from the event go to benefit Crittenton Centers’ Crisis Nursery. For more information regarding the event, call Crittenton Centers at 674-0105.

Crittenton Centers has been serving the Peoria community for 121 years. Our mission is to protect and nurture children and families in the Peoria community. Crittenton Centers’ services include: The Crisis Nursery, Child Development Center, and Family Services. To learn more about Crittenton Centers, please visit our website at www.crittentoncenters.org.

Everyone loves a good story and this August some of the best story tellers in the country are going to gather in Peoria for a conference.

On Thursday and Friday evenings, August 8th and 9th, the public is invited to a free concert of telling by some of these tellers. The place is Living Waters Lutheran Church, 7229 N. Knoxville Ave., from 7:00 – 9:00 p.m.

You can get more information at www.csc2013@weebly.com about the conference, the tellers, and the concerts.

Wednesday, July 17, 4:00 – 8:00 p.m.

Beat the Heat! ! Come enjoy a cool snack at Culver’s on Jyly 17th from 4:00 to 8:00 pm. and help the book program!

LIMB will receive a portion of the proceeds which we will use to buy books for District 150 students.

William Pack presents, “Houdini, His Life & His Legend. Join us on Wednesday, July 10 at North Branch from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. or at Main Library from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. Both shows are free and are appropriate for ages 8 through adult.

Thrill to the excitement generated by the world’s most famous magician – the one and only Houdini! Join William Pack as he tells the fascinating story of Houdini’s life and performs a few of his tricks. Rather than a magic show, this is the story of how Houdini took the world by storm becoming one of the most well-known men of this age and 80 years later is still regarded as the most famous magician who ever lived. See some original photographs and ask questions about Houdini’s life and magic.

(PEORIA – July 10, 2013) – For the second year in a row, OSF Healthcare System has been recognized as one of the nation’s MOST WIRED, according to the results of the 2013 Most Wired Survey released today in the July issue of Hospitals & Health Networks magazine.

The nation’s Most Wired hospitals are leveraging the adoption and use of health information technology (IT) to improve performance in a number of areas, according to Health Care’s Most Wired 2013 Survey released today. This includes adopting technologies to improve patient documentation, advance clinical decision support and evidence-based protocols, reduce the likelihood of medication errors, and rapidly restore access to data in the case of a disaster or outage.

According to James Mormann, Senior VP, CIO for OSF Healthcare System, “Being included for the second year in a row as one of the nation’s Most Wired health care systems recognizes our steadfast commitment we have to supporting our Community of Caregivers through information technology. As our Ministry continues to focus on how we can provide the right care at the right time with the greatest care and love to all those we serve, IT solutions help us be more connected with each other and more importantly with our patients.”

Among the key findings this year:

• Sixty-nine percent of Most Wired hospitals and 60 percent of all surveyed hospitals report that medication orders are entered electronically by physicians. This represents a significant increase from 2004 results when only 27 percent of Most Wired hospitals and 12 percent of all hospitals responded, “Yes.”
• Seventy-one percent of Most Wired hospitals have an electronic disease registry to identify and manage gaps in care across a population compared with 51 percent of total responders.
• Sixty-six percent of Most Wired hospitals share patient discharge data with affiliated hospitals, in comparison to 49 percent of the total responders. Thirty-seven percent of Most Wired hospitals do so with non-affiliated hospitals versus 24 percent of total responders.

“This year’s Most Wired organizations exemplify progress through innovation” says Rich Umbdenstock, president and CEO of the American Hospital Association. “The hospital field can learn from these outstanding organizations ways that IT can help to improve efficiency.”

Health Care’s Most Wired Survey, conducted between Jan. 15 and March 15, asked hospitals and health systems nationwide to answer questions regarding their IT initiatives. Respondents completed 659 surveys, representing 1,713 hospitals, or roughly 30 percent of all U.S. hospitals.

The July H&HN cover story detailing results is available at www.hhnmag.com.

About the AHA
The AHA is a not-for-profit association of health care provider organizations and individuals that are committed to the health improvement of their communities. The AHA is the national advocate for its members, which includes nearly 5,000 hospitals, health care systems, networks, other providers of care and 43,000 individual members. Founded in 1898, the AHA provides education for health care leaders and is a source of information on health care issues and trends. For more information, visit the AHA Web site at www.aha.org.

About the Most Wired Survey
The 2013 Most Wired Survey is conducted in cooperation with McKesson Corp., AT&T, the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives, and the American Hospital Association.

About OSF HealthCare
OSF HealthCare, an integrated health system owned and operated by The Sisters of the Third Order of St. Francis, Peoria, Illinois, includes OSF Healthcare System consisting of eight acute care facilities, OSF St. Francis Hospital & Medical Group (Escanaba, MI), OSF Saint Anthony Medical Center (Rockford, IL), OSF Saint Elizabeth Medical Center (Ottawa, IL), OSF Saint James – John W. Albrecht Medical Center (Pontiac, IL), OSF St. Joseph Medical Center (Bloomington, IL), OSF Saint Francis Medical Center (Peoria, IL), OSF St. Mary Medical Center (Galesburg, IL), OSF Holy Family Medical Center (Monmouth, IL) and two colleges of nursing – OSF Saint Francis Medical Center College of Nursing and OSF Saint Anthony College of Nursing. OSF also has a physician organization, employing more than 640 physicians in various specialties and nearly 300 advanced practitioners who are part of the OSF Medical Group. To align more closely our care delivery system with physicians we developed clinical service lines in cardiovascular services, neurosciences and pediatrics. OSF HealthCare owns an extensive network of home health services known as OSF Home Care Services and also owns OSF Saint Francis, Inc., comprised of health care-related businesses, and OSF Healthcare Foundation, the philanthropic arm of OSF Healthcare System and OSF Home Care.

Author Tom Laird will sign copies of his book, “Desert Storm Heart” on Saturday, July 13 at I Know You Like A Book in Peoria Heights. This is Laird’s sixth novel, and as always, he delivers a page-turning crime thriller.

“Desert Storm Heart” focuses on the aftermath of the murders and rapes of several young girls in Kuwait during Desert Storm. Will Koehn, an NCIS investigator, looks into the slayings but never locates the killer. Later, he returns to the United States and subsequently becomes a homicide detective for the Chicago Police Department. Soon after, a murder and rape occurs in Chicago and the killer’s MO matches that of the girls murdered in Kuwait. The killer has followed Will home.

The signing, a part of the bookstore’s Local Author series, begins at 2:00 p.m. at I Know You Like A Book, 4707 Prospect Rd. in Peoria Heights. 685-2665.

Edwards coal-fired power plant in Bartonville Pollutes Without Any Planned Pollution Controls, Makes Peoria Air Some of the Most Dangerous in Illinois

WHAT: On Thursday morning, local health advocates and families will gather together to hold a press conference in Bartonville asking U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to set in motion a plan to clean up dangerous sulfur dioxide emissions in the Peoria area and demanding a plan from the operators of the Edwards coal-fired power plant to clean up air pollution locally.

The EPA determined earlier this year that the air in Peoria is unsafe to breathe, largely due to sulfur dioxide emissions from the area’s two large, uncontrolled coal-fired power plants, Ameren’s Edwards plant and Midwest Generation’s Powerton plant. In June, EPA missed a deadline to finalize an official designation of “nonattainment” for the area, which would set in motion a detailed plan to clean up the air.

The Edwards coal-fired power plant is currently owned by Ameren, but part of Texas-based Dynegy’s planned purchase of five dirty coal plants in Illinois for no cash. The Edwards coal-fired power plant has been in operation for more than half a century, and currently operates without controlling its dangerous sulfur dioxide emissions. Pollution from the coal plant contributes to seven premature deaths, ten heart attacks, and more than 100 asthma attacks each year, according to a 2010 study by the Clean Air Task Force.

With Dynegy poised to take over the plant, area residents are even more concerned that the company lacks a plan to clean up the plant. The Illinois Pollution Control Board (IPCB) recently denied Ameren’s request to transfer permission to delay pollution controls to Dynegy. The IPCB decision, an active Clean Air Act lawsuit over excessive pollution, a pending EPA clean air non-attainment designation, and a recent reliability downgrade of Dynegy by financial experts has put Peoria’s clean air and future in jeopardy.

Local citizens will rally on Thursday to urge EPA to set in motion a detailed plan to achieve safe air, and to demand a plan from Dynegy to secure clean air for the community.

WHEN: Thursday, July 11 at 11:00 AM

WHERE: 4601 West Route 24, Bartonville, IL

Directions: Take Route 24 south from Bartonville; turn right/west onto Tuscarora Road and then turn left onto the access lane toward the split-level ranch house facing out over Route 24. The press conference will be on the private lane.

WHO:
Joyce Blumenshine, Sierra Club Heart of Illinois Group Chair
Robin Garlish, Pekin resident, mother of asthmatic children
Kady McFadden, Sierra Club Beyond Coal campaign organizer
Joyce Harant, League of Women Voters

All classes take place at Francican Rec Complex in July.

Drop-in Yoga: Mondays and Wednesdays at 6:30 p.m., Tuesdays and Fridays at 10:00 a.m. $4.50/drop-in

Pilates Plus-Core Strength: Tuesdays and Thursdays starting July 23 at 5:30 p.m. Cost is $48/residents, $54/non-residents. Register using code 56114.

Zumba: Tuesdays beginning July 30 at 5:30 p.m. (code 56127). Cost is $34/residents, $38/non-residents.

More complete descriptions and online registration can be found at www.peoriaparks.org/frc or by calling FRC at (309) 677-6705.

The public is invited to celebrate Peoria’s All America City Award on Wednesday, July 10th from 5-7pm at the Peoria Civic Center. It will be a jam packed community celebration that you shouldn’t miss.

We will be unveiling a new, yearlong community art initiative to “Build a Block” that will showcase Peoria’s All America City Award. It’s your chance to be a part of the permanent commemoration of this prestigious award. Those who attend the celebration on July 10th will be among the first to be involved.

Members of the Peoria Chamber’s Young Professionals Organization along with the ELITE Pulses of Hope drum Line will perform “Peoria’s Story” just as they did to the National Civic League in Denver. You will get a chance to see firsthand why the judges said Peoria’s performance set a new standard for the All America City Award presentations.

We will have the new Peoria All America City T-shirts, window decals and lapel pins on sale and you will have a chance to learn how local business can help promote and benefit from this national designation.

There will be free food, free parking and free entertainment so please join us to celebrate Peoria’s All America City Award on July 10th from 5-7pm at the Peoria Civic Center.