Richland County TB & Public Health Office

11/27/2025

🍁🦃 Happy Thanksgiving from the Richland County TB & Public Health Office! 🦃🍁

Today we give thanks for our community, our partners, and the incredible individuals we serve every day. We are grateful for the opportunity to support the health, safety, and well being of Richland County.

To our staff, volunteers, and community members, thank you for your dedication, kindness, and commitment to making our county a healthier place to live.

Wishing you and your loved ones a safe, healthy, and joyful Thanksgiving.

11/25/2025

11/25/2025

🦃

Hosting Thanksgiving this year? It’s probably time to start thawing that turkey! 🦃

Make sure to thaw your turkey safely to avoid food-borne illnesses:
✅ Thaw your turkey in the refrigerator. Allow about 24 hours of thawing for each 4 to 5 pounds of turkey.
✅ Thaw your turkey in cold water. Make sure it’s in a leakproof bag. Allow about 30 minutes of thawing for each pound of turkey. Cook the turkey immediately after thawing.
❌ Never thaw your turkey by leaving it out on the counter. If a turkey stays at room temperature for more than 2 hours, germs can start to grow.

🔗 Prepare your holiday turkey safely: https://www.cdc.gov/food-safety/foods/holiday-turkey.html

11/23/2025

🩷💚

Fellow Ozians (or Illinoisians)! You might not realize that IDPH is the Glinda to your Elphaba, but we’re always working to change the health of Illinoisians for the better.

Here's a few ways we do it:
✅IDPH covers everything from improving children’s health by screening newborns for serious disorders to keeping your teeth healthy through water fluoridation.
✅We are your frontline defense against both infectious and chronic diseases. Whether it’s vaccinations, early screenings, or education, we’re here to protect you.
✅We make sure you have a trusted source for health information... and that you know how to spot misinformation from untrustworthy sources (*cough cough like the Wizard*).
✅And we’re constantly preparing for future public health emergencies to keep you and your loved ones safe.

IDPH always has your back.💚🩷🪄🧙

11/21/2025

RCHO will be closed Wednesday and Thursday, November 26–27, for the Thanksgiving holiday. We’ll reopen Monday, December 1. Wishing everyone a warm, safe, and wonderful holiday! 🦃

11/18/2025

11/17/2025

A huge thank-you goes out to the Radiography Program at Olney Central College!

We are so grateful that you chose the Richland County Health Office as your service project this year. Your generousity will directly support families in our community, and your kindness truly makes a difference.

Thank you for your hard work, compassion, and commitment to serving others. We appreciate you!

11/16/2025

Measles is scary – but the serious complications that can happen after being infected with measles can be even scarier.

Subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE) is a rare brain disease caused by measles. Even though it’s rare, it leads to death. What you need to know:

➡️It develops 7 to 10 years after a measles infection earlier in life, even though the person seems to have fully recovered.
➡️SSPE causes personality or mood changes, uncontrolled movements, vision loss, dementia, seizures, and eventually coma and death.
➡️The risk of SSPE is higher for people who get measles before they are 2 years old.
➡️There is no treatment for SSPE.

The good news: the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine not only protects your baby against a measles infection – it also protects them from SSPE. 💉✅

Talk to your child’s healthcare provider about the MMR vaccine today.

🔗Learn more about measles and the MMR vaccine: https://dph.illinois.gov/topics-services/diseases-and-conditions/measles.html

11/13/2025

Today is World Pneumonia Day - a reminder that pneumonia can affect anyone, but it's most dangerous for the youngest and oldest among us.

🫁 Pneumonia is an infection of the lungs that can be caused by bacteria or viruses.
💉 Vaccination against other respiratory illnesses can help prevent it - vaccines for pneumococcus, Hib, pertussis, COVID-19, flu, measles, RSV, and varicella all help protect against pneumonia.
🤒 Stay home when you're sick to help stop the spread of germs that cause pneumonia and other respiratory illnesses.

Learn more about how to prevent respiratory virus spread from CDC: cdc.gov/respiratory-viruses