Dear Lake County Residents:

Enroll Lake County!, the county-wide initiative designed to facilitate access to healthcare for Lake County residents, has returned for its third annual enrollment drive. The drive will continue through Jan. 31, 2016. 

The program has been very successful in decreasing the total number of county-wide uninsured in the previous two years. At the start of the program in 2014, 11 percent of Lake County residents were uninsured. By the end of the initiative’s second year (2015), the number of uninsured had dropped to 6 percent.

The Lake County Health Department, in partnership with the Waukegan Public Library, is coordinating the program with several local agencies. Certified navigators are in place at various sites throughout the county to answer questions and help residents enroll or re-enroll in health insurance plans through the Marketplace or Medicaid. Appointments may be requested in English or Spanish by calling: (847) 775-2582 or (847) 377-4999.

Sincerely,

Tony Beltran
Executive Director
Lake County Health Department/
Community Health Center

To reduce the risk of illness, public health departments and healthcare organizations across the state, including the Health Department, are encouraging residents to get a flu shot during Vaccinate Illinois Week, December 6 through the 12. Click here to read more.

More than 150 people attended a Dec. 1 event at Waukegan High School's Trapp Auditorium to commemorate World AIDS Day and help ease the stigma that often prevents individuals from being tested for HIV. The Health Department and other members of the Lake County Stands Against Stigma Coalition sponsored the free community event that featured performances by a mariachi club from Waukegan High School, traditional Mexican folk dancing, speakers, and a candle lighting ceremony to remember those who passed in 2015. Those who attended also learned about advanced medical techniques and visited information tables from pharmaceutical companies, the Captain James A. Lovell Federal Health Care Center, the YWCA and the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority. 

Would you like to lend a voice to the operation of eight community health centers managed by the Lake County Health Department? Do you have some expertise in local government, finance, legal affairs and/or social service agencies? Then volunteering for the Governing Council may be the right choice. Click here, or call (847) 377-8542 to find out more.

If you are facing overwhelming depression or a feeling of being out of control, sometimes just talking to someone else can help. You can call the Crisis Care Program 24/7 and talk to a caring professional. You do not need to give your name. Information and referrals to other Health Department programs are also available to the caller. Click here for more information.

If you have lost your pet or found someone else's, one place you can look is our lost and found pet page. Photos of pets are posted as well as information such as where an animal was found, where it was lost and the date the pet was last seen. Click here for more information.

Please take five minutes and click on this link to complete the Community Strengths Survey telling us about the health and quality of life in your community. Help make a difference. The survey closes on December 19.