NEWS & EVENTS
WILL COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENT & COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTER
Public Announcements
Will County Health Department Releases 2025 Community Health Needs Assessment and IPLAN
The Will County Health Department and the Will County Mobilizing for Action Through Planning and Partnerships (MAPP) Collaborative are excited to share two important new reports: the 2025 Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA) and the Illinois Project for Local Assessment of Needs (IPLAN).
2025-26 COVID-19 Vaccine Available
The Will County Health Department (WCHD) is informing residents that the new 2025-26 COVID-19 vaccine is available at the Will County Health Department Immunization Clinic and at the Will County Community Health Center.
Will County Warming Centers
With temperatures dropping and sub-zero wind chills being forecasted, here is a link to Will County's warming centers provided by local governments for those having issues with properly heating their homes.
ByHeart Infant Formula Product Recall
ByHeart Infant Formula has issued a nationwide recall during an ongoing investigation by the FDA and CDC of a multistate outbreak of infant botulism.
Read the Latest Environmental Health Newsletter
Read the 2025 Fourth quarter newsletter from the Will County Health Department Environmental Health Division
WCHD To Open New Milk Depot in Bolingbrook
Mothers’ Milk Bank of the Western Great Lakes and the Will County Health Department have partnered to bring a new human milk drop-off depot to Bolingbrook, Illinois at the Will County Health Department's Northern Branch Office (323 Quadrangle Drive). The grand opening will be on June 13, 2025.
WCHD Adds 10 Additional Red Naloxone Distribution Boxes
The Will County Health Department continues its efforts to reduce opioid overdose deaths, making access to the life-saving, overdose-reversing drug Naloxone (Narcan) easier by adding 10 additional red Naloxone distribution boxes throughout the County, bringing the total number of red distribution boxes in Will County to 20.
Will County Health Department Announces New Breastfeeding Support Group Starting In August
The Will County Health Department has announced the creation of a new breastfeeding support group, called the Milk Circle. The Milk Circle will meet twice a month on the first and third Tuesday of each month from 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. The group will hold a separate kick-off meeting on August 5, 2025, from 10:30 a.m. to Noon, before hosting its first meeting on August 19, 2025, from 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
Infectious Disease Clinic is Latest Service at Community Health Center
The Will County Community Health Center has added an Infectious Disease (ID) Clinic to its list of medical services available to the public. The ID Clinic has partnered with the Care Clinic and specializes in the treatment of Sexually Transmitted Infections (STI) and HIV care while also offering general infectious disease consultations.
WCHD Expands Behavioral Health Services at Branch Offices
The Will County Health Department (WCHD) is in the process of expanding mental health services at both its Northern Branch Office in Bolingbrook and Eastern Branch Office in Monee
Have You Tested Your Well Water?
Even if you’ve never gotten sick from your well water, it is your responsibility to properly maintain your well and regularly test it to ensure you have safe drinking water. See the Fact Sheet on well testing from the IDPH.
Our Environmental Health Lab can test for bacteria and nitrate well also testing chlorine, fluoride and hardness.
Learn more about our EH Lab here.
Press Releases
Health Department COVID-19 Hotline: Community Information and Community Involvement
It was early March when the State of Illinois, the county, and the entire world all realized that major action needed to be taken against the Coronavirus Pandemic. Events were cancelled, schools were closing, cases of Covid19 were quickly climbing, and people were...
Coronavirus Pandemic Provides Additional Reasons to Avoid Vaping and Smoking
Prior to the start of the Coronavirus pandemic in early 2020, much of the attention of the public health community was focused upon the vaping issue, and the increased participation in vaping among young people and the dangers that were becoming more obvious each day....
First Human West Nile Virus Death in Illinois (Chicago Resident) for 2020
SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) has confirmed the first human West Nile virus-related death in Illinois for 2020. A Chicago resident who became ill in mid-September and tested positive for West Nile virus has died. “Although we are...
IDPH SAYS: ROLL YOUR #SLEEVEUP TO #FIGHTFLU
Public health officials in Illinois urge everyone to get a flu vaccine SPRINGFIELD – Getting a flu vaccine is more important than ever as we brace for a dual outbreak of flu and COVID-19 this fall and winter. The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) and local...
CDC UPDATES “HOW COVID IS SPREAD” WEBPAGE
Uncommon circumstances where people with COVID-19 infected others who were more than 6 feet away or shortly after the COVID-19-positive person left an area. Today, CDC issued updated guidance to its How COVID-19 Spreads website, which includes information about the potential for airborne spread of the virus that causes COVID-19.
TESTING NEWS FOR NORTHERN WILL COUNTY: Free Aurora COVID-19 Testing Site Relocated as of SEPT 30TH
New Aurora testing site to open September 30th The free drive-through COVID-19 testing site at the Chicago Premium Outlets in Aurora is relocating on September 30th, 2020. The new testing site will be relocated to 2450 N. Farnsworth Ave., in Aurora, IL, less...
Coronavirus Pandemic Brings Out Team Attitude at Will County Health Department
The COVID-19 pandemic has been hard, as well as tragic, for so many people worldwide. But another word often heard more and more as everyone both continues and looks back on this challenge is the simple word: NEW. New concerns, new cautions, and a new way of life as...
During Pandemic: “Awareness” More Important than Ever When it Comes to Suicide
One of the major concerns during the Coronavirus Pandemic has been its impact on behavioral health issues. And there is little doubt that the scariest issue, sometimes whispered and sometimes spoken out loud, has been its possible impact on the suicide rate. Although...
Emphasizing the Importance of Getting A Flu Shot Amid Ongoing COVID-19 Pandemic / State Employee Information
This year it is more important than ever to get a flu shot. Each season, millions of Americans are sickened with flu, hundreds of thousands are hospitalized, and tens of thousands die. This season we are also battling COVID-19, another virus that can cause severe...
YES U CAN, A Chance for Young People to Get Involved
Youngsters are invited to help encourage proper mask usage. Learn all about YES U CAN this Saturday. This 2 to 3 PM "COVID-19 Conversation and Statewide Make Competition Rollout" for #yesUcan will feature Illinois Department of Public Health Director Dr. Ngozi...
Three More WNV-Positive Mosquito Batches Found, Caution Advised Until First Frost
The Will County Health Department has found three additional WNV-positive mosquito samples from planted WCHD traps. Two were collected from a Mokena trap, and one from a Frankfort trap. This brings the total amount of positive mosquito batches collected in Will...
Always Be Prepared for FLU Season
Flu is a contagious respiratory disease that can lead to serious illness, hospitalization, or even death. CDC recommends everyone six months and older get an annual flu vaccine. For children under two years of age, 2 doses are needed for protection. Furthermore, it’s...
Guidance for Pregnant Women and Adults Raising Small Children: A Need Even Stronger During Pandemic
When the Coronavirus pandemic first hit in early 2020, one of the biggest concerns for the WCHD (Will County Health Department) was how to continue performing their everyday services when they could often not see their clients face-to-face. One such area was in WCHD’s...
What Kind of Flu Season Can We Expect? Leaning Towards Mild
This year's flu season in the Southern Hemisphere was weirdly mild. A surprisingly small number of people in the Southern Hemisphere have gotten the flu this year, probably because the public health measures put in place to fight COVID-19 have also limited the spread...
State Public Health Officials Announce Region 7 to Return to Phase 4 of Restore Illinois
Following Close Coordination Between State and Local Officials, Rate Drops from 8% to 5.6% Allowing Roll Back of Mitigations JOLIET - Governor Pritzker and the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) are announcing that Region 7, which includes the greater Will...
How to Select, Wear, and Clean Your Mask
The CDC recommends that you wear masks in public settings around people who don’t live in your household and when you can’t stay 6 feet away from others. Masks help stop the spread of COVID-19 to others. See this webpage from the CDC with guidance on how to properly...
MMWR Report: Frequent Mental Distress Among Adults
Nearly a third of adults with disabilities (32.9%) reported experiencing frequent mental distress, which includes stress, depression, and problems with emotions, compared with 7.2% of adults without disabilities. Mental distress is associated with health risk...
September is National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month
About 1 in 5 (19%) children in the United States has obesity. Certain groups of children are more affected than others. National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month provides a chance for all of us to learn more about this serious health condition. While there is no...
Health Coalition Launches I PROTECT Campaign to Inform Parents About Childhood Immunizations
September 14, 2020 – Health organizations across the suburban Chicago counties today launched a campaign to inform and empower parents to make healthy decisions about childhood immunizations. A recent study found that only 55 percent of children in Illinois are up to...
Mitigations for Region 7 Remain, but Will & Kankakee Counties are off State’s Warning Level List
DuPage County Now on List, Grundy County Returns as Well Note: Region 7, Will and Kankakee Counties, remain under mitigations of no indoor bar and restaurant service until COVID-19 positivity rate drops to 6.5% for three consecutive days. However, Will County...