I met Jennifer Hammonds, LCSW, when I was in high school in West Frankfort, Ill., through her work on SIU School of Medicine’s Care-A-Van – a school health clinic on wheels that serves high schools in rural southern Illinois, including my alma mater. This is an edited version of our conversation about funding battles, the pandemic’s effects on issues mental and material and the overlooked importance of high-quality adolescent health care. - Olivia Weeks What’s a Care-A-Van? About 16 years ago our Carbondale area residency program director for Southern Illinois University School of Medicine’s

When you hear the term "seasonal allergies," it's natural to think about springtime, which is when allergy symptoms start to ramp up for a lot of people. But for some of the 1 in 4 adults and 1 in 5 kids living with seasonal allergies in the United States, "allergy season" can actually include late summer and even early fall. If you or a loved one struggles with hallmark symptoms of summer or fall allergies—sneezing, coughing, watery eyes and runny noses—it's helpful to know what's triggering the symptoms and how to manage them. Keep reading to learn more. Ragweed and other common triggers of

Community activist, local school board member and SIU Medicine deputy director Erica Austin will model at this year's New York Fashion Week in September at the (R)Evolution fashion show. Austin, who recently underwent breast cancer surgery, will walk the runway for Dana Donofree, a breast cancer survivor and the designer and founder of AnaOno, an international intimates clothing line for women with breast cancer.

Community activist, local school board member and SIU Medicine deputy director Erica Austin will model at this year's New York Fashion Week in September at the (R)Evolution fashion show. Austin, who recently underwent breast cancer surgery, will walk the runway for Dana Donofree, a breast cancer survivor and the designer and founder of AnaOno, an international intimates clothing line for women with breast cancer.

Community activist, local school board member and SIU Medicine deputy director Erica Austin will model at this year's New York Fashion Week in September at the (R)Evolution fashion show. Austin, who recently underwent breast cancer surgery, will walk the runway for Dana Donofree, a breast cancer survivor and the designer and founder of AnaOno, an international intimates clothing line for women with breast cancer.

Community activist, local school board member and SIU Medicine deputy director Erica Austin will model at this year's New York Fashion Week in September at the (R)Evolution fashion show. Austin, who recently underwent breast cancer surgery, will walk the runway for Dana Donofree, a breast cancer survivor and the designer and founder of AnaOno, an international intimates clothing line for women with breast cancer.

Community activist, local school board member and SIU Medicine deputy director Erica Austin will model at this year's New York Fashion Week in September at the (R)Evolution fashion show. Austin, who recently underwent breast cancer surgery, will walk the runway for Dana Donofree, a breast cancer survivor and the designer and founder of AnaOno, an international intimates clothing line for women with breast cancer.

Wearing sunscreen outdoors throughout the year, and especially during the hot summer months, is an important lifestyle habit that can protect your skin and improve your health. When used as directed, sunscreen can reduce your risk of skin cancer—the most common type of cancer in the United States—and even help you avoid common age-related skin woes like wrinkles, fine lines and sunspots. In the past few years, however, several sunscreen products from popular brands like Neutrogena®, Aveeno® and Coppertone® have been recalled over concerns that they contain trace amounts of a cancer-causing

Wearing sunscreen outdoors throughout the year, and especially during the hot summer months, is an important lifestyle habit that can protect your skin and improve your health. When used as directed, sunscreen can reduce your risk of skin cancer—the most common type of cancer in the United States—and even help you avoid common age-related skin woes like wrinkles, fine lines and sunspots. In the past few years, however, several sunscreen products from popular brands like Neutrogena®, Aveeno® and Coppertone® have been recalled over concerns that they contain trace amounts of a cancer-causing

Community health worker Nicol Moore met Amber Hinkle, 41, during a 2021 neighborhood celebration in Comer Cox Park. Amber had chronic leg pain and had become discouraged with her physician. “I’d bring things to my doctor’s attention but they were always getting swept under the rug, or they were misdiagnosed,” Hinkle says. Moore told her about SIU’s Access to Care program and offered to find her a new physician. Within a week, Moore had connected her with Dr. Patrick Long, a resident physician at SIU’s Center for Family Medicine in Springfield. He examined Hinkle and enlisted the help of SIU