Establishing roots Community health worker Kaye Barnes sports a purple SIU Medicine T-shirt to complement her green thumb as she works in Springfield’s community gardens. A native of the city’s north side, she feels at home both tilling the soil or working in the trenches for her clients in the school of medicine’s Office of Community Care (OCC). Barnes is a diabetes lifestyle educator, a nationally certified nutrition coach and has a master’s degree in library science. In the summer of 2023, she created and launched Operation Taproot, a new program she hopes will grow and flourish across

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

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

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.