SPRINGFIELD, IL (Chambana Today) – The Illinois Department of Public Health will be celebrating the “30 Days of Public Health” to highlight the vital roles of individuals and groups who protect the community.

This observance amounts to an extended National Public Health Week which is from April 7 to April 13, which also coincides with National Minority Health Month.

“National Public Health Week is always one of the weeks in April, but in Illinois, we’ve started a new tradition: we celebrate public health all month long, because seven days just isn’t enough,” Governor Pritzker said. “When it comes to highlighting all the great things our ‘Public Health Heroes’ accomplish throughout the year, we need all 30 days.”

The month will highlight the purpose of public health departments and their connections to the health care system. IDPH will also host a Job Fair in Springfield on April 23 highlighting the great job opportunities in public health.

“Thirty Days of Public Health is back for Year two, and IDPH is more excited than ever to share stories throughout April of the public health heroes in our communities working to protect your health today and prepare you for tomorrow,” said IDPH Director Dr. Sameer Vohra. “This year’s celebration comes at a challenging and uncertain time for our public health community with big changes from the federal government affecting Illinois. That is why now more than ever we are working to raise awareness of our critical work. Please join us on our website and many social media channels as you learn how we build healthy and safe communities across Illinois.”

A centerpiece of the month will be the 2025 Illinois Infectious Disease Conference in Champaign on April 15 and 16. These days will be dedicated to advancing our understanding of infectious diseases. Keynote speakers include Dr. Tania Bubb, the Senior Director of Infection Prevention & Control at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York and the 2024 President of Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology; Dr. Paul Offit, Director of the Vaccine Education Center at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia; and Dr. Brad Nieder, a physician who is nationally known as “The Healthy Humorist” and mixes ample doses of comedy with health-related edification.

Registration for the conference can be found HERE.