**Event Sponsor**
HSHS St. Joseph’s Hospital


Art Square Sponsors
**Michelangelo**
Highland Arts Council
 
Da Vinci
blockplanedesigns
Highland Rotary Club
Scheffel Boyle
Terra Properties/Serendipity Labs
The Korte Company
 
Monet
Bank of Hillsboro
Bradford National Bank
Busey Bank
Edward Jones - Kevin Dewaele
First Mid Bank & Trust
Highland Jaycees
Kloss Furniture
Korte & Luitjohan/ Windows on Broadway
Lee's Fine Jewelry, Loans, & More
Luitjohan Flooring America
Powers Advisory Group
Spengel-Boulanger Funeral Home
Straeter Thinking
The Smile Shoppe
Tri Ford, Inc.

Children's Avenue Sponsors
Highland Optimists
Scott Credit Union

Bags Tournament Sponsors
Cedar Creek Dental
Finley Flooring
Finley Sleep Solutions
Lee's Fine Jewelry, Loans, & More
Mazzio's Pizza
Michael's Coffee Shop

Central and Southern Illinois— With new COVID-19 cases increasing in Illinois, leaders at HSHS Illinois hospitals, HSHS Medical Group clinics and Prairie Cardiovascular are urging community members to get the COVID-19 vaccine and follow masking and social distancing guidelines advised by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).

The Illinois Department of Public Health announced 11,682 new cases of COVID-19 over the past week. According to a recent IDPH update, cases of COVID-19 in Illinois have increased by 46% over last few weeks and hospitalizations are up 35%, including increases in ICU admissions by 24% and a 41% increase of people with COVID-19 on ventilators.

HSHS Illinois hospitals have seen a two-fold increase in patients admitted for COVID-19 since July 2021. “The trend we are seeing is that patients who are admitted and ventilated at our HSHS hospitals are unvaccinated,” said Marc Shelton, MD, FACC, HSHS senior vice president and chief clinical officer. “While we have seen an increase of COVID-19 patients in the recent weeks, we are not near the totals seen prior to vaccine availability. Vaccinating yourself and your loved ones will help protect our community from the devastating consequences of this latest surge due to the Delta variant.”

HSHS hospitals continue to provide care to any type of patient. No one should delay care, especially emergent, for fear of COVID-19 or overloading at any health care entity.

While many are concerned about older adults getting COVID-19, CDC reports that severe disease and hospitalization occurs in ... read entire article

As the weather heats up and more children and families head to pools and beaches, HSHS St. Joseph’s Hospital Highland wants to remind parents and caregivers to always keep an eye on their kids and actively supervise them when they are in and around water.
 
While it might seem like children would be at a higher risk for drowning at a crowded community pool,  most drownings among children ages 1 to 4 occur in home swimming pools, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Among those ages 1 to 14, fatal drowning remains the second-leading cause of unintentional injury-related death behind motor vehicle crashes.
 
“It is important to keep in mind that a drowning child...continue reading
 

---

Visitor Guidelines Updated Due to Increased Covid-19
Positivity Rates

(Breese, Greenville, Highland, IL) – Due to a rise in COVID-19 positivity rates in local communities, HSHS St. Joseph’s Hospital Breese and Highland and HSHS Holy Family Hospital Greenville have updated their visitor guidelines to allow only one (1) visitor per patient, with some exceptions noted below. Updated guidelines go into effect Monday, August 9.
 
Additionally, masks are still mandatory. The CDC still requires that masks be worn in all health care settings at all times and visitors should also expect to be screened upon entry.