DOUGLAS COUNTY, Ill. – The first bird to test positive for West Nile virus in Illinois this year has been confirmed in Douglas County.

The Illinois Department of Public Health announced the case on Wednesday. The bird was collected by Douglas County health officials on April 2 in Villa Grove.

“The news of the first bird with West Nile virus so early in the season is a signal for Illinois residents to begin protecting themselves – and their horses – from vector-borne diseases,” said IDPH Director Dr. Sameer Vohra. “We urge everyone — and especially older people and those with weakened immune systems — to take precautions to protect themselves and their families from mosquitoes and the viruses they carry by wearing insect repellent and eliminating standing water around their home where mosquitoes breed. Please ‘Fight the Bite’ by practicing the three R’s – reduce, repel, and report.”

The virus can be passed on through a mosquito bite, after a mosquito has picked up the virus from an infected bird, according to the IDPH. 

Symptoms to look out for include fever, nausea, headache and muscle aches and they can last anywhere from a few days to a few weeks. 

Most people who become ill with the virus don’t show any symptoms. However, in rare cases, some may become severely ill and contract meningitis, encephalitis, or death. 

Illinois health officials are monitoring possible cases of West Nile virus by testing mosquito batches, dead birds, sick horses and humans who exhibit symptoms of the virus. 

If you see a sick or dead crow, blue jay, robin or other perching bird, you’re urged to contact your local county or city health department. 

Last year, there were 119 cases of West Nile virus in humans and six deaths in Illinois, according to health officials. In 2022, there were 33 human cases and seven deaths. 

To learn more about the West Nile virus, follow this link. 

Good morning, Chicago.

Illinois ranks 30th in the nation for hospital safety, down two spots from the fall, according to new ratings released by the nonprofit Leapfrog Group today.

In all, 22% of Illinois hospitals earned A grades for safety from Leapfrog, compared to nearly 25% in the fall.

Illinois hospitals earning top marks include University of Chicago Medical Center and Rush University Medical Center. Five Endeavor Health hospitals in Evanston, Highland Park, Glenview, Elmhurst and Arlington Heights also earned As, as did six Northwestern Medicine hospitals in Huntley, DeKalb, Winfield, Geneva, Lake Forest and McHenry.

No Illinois hospital got an F grade this spring, though 15 hospitals across the state earned D grades.

Read the full story from the Tribune’s Lisa Schencker.

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Illinois ranks 30th in the nation for hospital safety, down two spots from the fall, according to new ratings released by the nonprofit Leapfrog Group on Wednesday.

In all, 22% of Illinois hospitals earned A grades for safety from Leapfrog, compared to nearly 25% in the fall.

Illinois hospitals earning top marks include University of Chicago Medical Center and Rush University Medical Center. Five Endeavor Health hospitals in Evanston, Highland Park, Glenview, Elmhurst and Arlington Heights also earned As, as did six Northwestern Medicine hospitals in Huntley, DeKalb, Winfield, Geneva, Lake Forest and McHenry.

No Illinois hospital got an F grade this spring, though 15 hospitals across the state earned D grades.

The hospital safety grade report is released twice a year by the Leapfrog Group, a nonprofit founded by large employers and other organizations that buy health insurance. Leapfrog grades are based on 22 measures of safety, including hand hygiene, falls and trauma, and death rates among surgical patients with serious but treatable complications. Leapfrog gathers its data from the federal government and a survey it sends to hospitals.

Leapfrog is one of a number of organizations that grade or rank hospitals each year — a practice that often sparks debate. Hospitals that earn high marks often advertise those ratings in hopes of gaining an edge over competitors, while hospitals that do poorly sometimes take issue with the methodologies used to judge them.

Four of the 15 Illinois hospitals earning D grades this spring are part of Advocate Health Care, one of the largest hospital systems in the Chicago area. Those hospitals include: Advocate Good Samaritan in Downers Grove; Advocate South Suburban in Hazel Crest; Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn; and Advocate Trinity in Chicago. Five other Advocate hospitals earned Cs. The Advocate hospitals received the same grades in the fall.

Advocate said in a statement that while it believes safety and quality data should be transparent and publicly available, it can be challenging to accurately measure that data because of “varied factors and methodologies that contribute to providing great care.”

“Safety always has been and always will be our top priority, and we have robust plans in place to drive continued improvement,” Advocate said in the statement. “We’re proud of our safety record and the excellent outcomes we achieve for our patients.”

West Suburban Medical Center in Oak Park and Weiss Memorial Hospital in Uptown also notched Ds. The for-profit hospitals underwent several ownership changes in recent years. Hospital chain giant Tenet Health sold the hospitals to California-based Pipeline Health in 2019. Pipeline then sold the hospitals to Resilience Healthcare in 2022, after Pipeline faced backlash from community members and politicians over its closure of Westlake Hospital in Melrose Park.

Attempts to reach Resilience for comment were unsuccessful Monday and Tuesday.

Thorek Memorial and Roseland Community hospitals in Chicago also received Ds. Attempts to reach them for comment were also unsuccessful.

In a bright spot, three Illinois hospitals, including University of Chicago Medical Center, Northwestern Medicine Central DuPage Hospital in Winfield and Endeavor Health Elmhurst Hospital are among 15 hospitals nationwide that have earned straight As since 2012.

University of Chicago Medical Center has a number of initiatives, such as those focused on reducing patient falls and infections, that help keep patients safe, said Dr. Tom Spiegel, UChicago Medicine chief quality officer.

“The continued As just really highlight the focus our front-line providers put on patient safety and just emphasize the care they use in their daily job,” Spiegel said.

Other large Chicago area hospitals had mixed grades.

Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood earned a C, the same grade as in the fall. Northwestern Memorial Hospital earned a B, up from a C in the fall. Different ratings organizations use different methodologies, often resulting in varying grades for hospitals. In contrast to Leapfrog, U.S. News & World Report ranks Northwestern Memorial as tied with Rush University Medical Center for best hospital in the state.