Medical/Health and Wellness Resources
Center for Prevention of Abuse
Center for Prevention of Abuse‘s mission is to help all people – women, men, and children – to live free from violence and abuse.
The center provides services for domestic violence, sexual abuse/assault, human trafficking, adult protective services and prevention education. Its crisis hotline is available 24/7 at (800) 559-SAFE (7233).
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has broadened access to Medicare telehealth services so that beneficiaries can receive a wider range of services from their doctors without having to travel to a healthcare facility.
Children with cerebral palsy have trouble controlling their movement. The condition is the most common disability that affects a child’s motor control.
Cerebral palsy usually is caused by a brain injury or abnormal brain development before birth or early in life. Genetic causes, although less common, can also play a role.
Healthy Children, the official parenting website of the American Academy of Pediatrics, provides an overview of what families need to know about cerebral palsy and how to help children who have it reach their full potential.
Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) Resources
This tip sheet from the Division of Specialized Care for Children (DSCC) aims to help guide parents and caregivers through the steps to become a certified nursing assistant (CNA). It links to several websites and provides general guidelines.
Please note information may change, so be sure to go directly to the Illinois Department of Public Health’s (IDPH) website to verify information remains accurate and up to date.
Updates from local group on Coronavirus
Champaign-Urbana Healthy Beginnings
Healthy Beginnings is a free, evidence-based initiative for moms in the Champaign, Urbana and Savoy area who are first-time moms less than 29 weeks pregnant and moms with other children who are pregnant. Its goal is to help ensure children and their families have an opportunity to be prosperous and live the healthiest life they can.
Healthy Beginnings works with eligible mothers and their families to help bring the healthcare, support and resources together that fit individual circumstances, including:
- Nurse home visiting care/support for pregnant moms & their families (with interpreter services)
- Mobile clinic services
- Child and family education
- Employment opportunities
- Access to healthy food
For more information or to make a referral, call (217) 365-7925 or email referral@cuhealthybeginnings.com.
Charles Tillman Cornerstone Foundation
The Charles Tillman Cornerstone Foundation provides opportunities and resources to critically and chronically ill children and their families.
The program includes The Tiana Fund, which provides assistance to economically at-risk persons or families in need that will strengthen their ability to care for themselves, enhance their stability and security, and improve their quality of life or their ability to contribute to the community. Applications are only available at Chicago-area hospitals or pre-approved community organizations.
The American Heart Association’s Support Network, in partnership with The Children’s Heart Foundation, provides a Congenital Heart Defect (CHD) Support Network for parents of young children diagnosed with CHDs or adults living with a CHD.
CHECK is an innovative health and behavioral health care delivery organization working to improve overall health and quality of life by making sure that patients and their families receive the resources and care they need.
The CHECK team provides comprehensive and coordinated health and behavioral health care coordination to patients across the lifespan. Its team consists of Care Coordinators and Behavioral Health Care Coordinators who provide assistance with navigation of the healthcare system, referrals to health and social services, and offer ongoing patient and family support with the goal of improving physical, behavioral, and social health.
The CHECK program is located in the Department of Pediatrics in the College of Medicine at the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) and University of Illinois Hospital and Health Sciences System (UI Health) and operates as the Department of Pediatrics Clinical Population and Behavioral Health Program.
CHECK also provides disease-specific education modules on sickle cell disease, diabetes, asthma and prematurity.
Cherished Creations grants two types of “wishes” to help children who are seriously ill or have disabilities (up to 21 years old). “Dreams Wishes” provide help with trips, attending special events or buying gifts to better a child’s life within the lower 48 states. “Support Wishes” fulfill practical needs such as ramps, medical equipment not covered by insurance and other needs, especially for children who might not be able to live at home otherwise.
You can find Cherished Creations eligibility rules and applications on its website.

