Joy Jirousek, RN (left) and Jennifer Steinhausen, RN, are front-line nurses who worked to create the program for a new pain management clinic at Advocate Eureka Hospital.

EUREKA

Pain management clinic begins at hospital

Advocate Eureka Hospital, 101 S. Major St., Eureka, has partnered with doctors from Bloomington’s Millennium Pain Center to provide pain management consultations and procedures at the hospital.

With experienced pain specialists Dr. Ramsin Benyamin and Dr. Eli Soto providing care, the Advocate Eureka Hospital Pain Clinic will offer care with technologically advanced treatments by implementing practice guidelines derived from evidence-based medicine and the latest scientific research. 

Hospital administration and front-line nurses worked together to create the program from the ground up. To design their model, Jirousek and other nurses traveled to another pain clinic to access best practices for procedures and workflow. 

Common pain conditions treated at the clinic, but not limited to, include:

• Acute and chronic back pain
• Neck pain or “whiplash”
• Hip, knee and shoulder pain
• Spinal stenosis
• Cancer-related pain
• Diabetic neuropathy
• Herpetic and post-herpetic neuralgia
• Migraine/headache
• Post-surgical failed back syndrome
• Sport injuries
• Disc herniation

The clinic will also offer interventional pain techniques. These include, but not limited to,:

• Epidural steroid injections
• Facet joint block and radiofrequency
• Joint injections: sacroiliac, hip, knee and shoulder
• Radiofrequency of painful nerves
• Percutaneous disc compression
• Botox injections
• Vertebral and sacral augmentation

The clinic will also help alleviate reliance on opioids. 

Currently, the clinic’s hours are 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays. Those interested in an appointment should consult with their physician for a referral. The clinic is expected to especially help older patients who do not have the ability or the resources to go to Bloomington or Peoria for treatment.

Dogs have a new place to run free

Eureka Lake Bark Park, the student-created dog park, is now officially opened.

The park is the result of a 2016 class project when Eureka Middle School seventh-graders were assigned the task of improving the community. Two students, Kelsey McClallen and Marissa Herrmann, wanted to install a dog park, so that dogs would have a place in Eurkea to roam off-leash.

With the help of social studies teacher Cheri Ogg, the idea was pitched to the City Council. The students received the council’s approval, were given a piece of land, and then raised money for the project.

METAMORA

Old Settlers Days announces schedule

Old Settlers Days will be celebrated in Metamora June 20-June 23.

The annual event will open June 20 with carnival rides starting at 5:30 p.m. and entertainment by the West MacQueen Street Band at 6 p.m. On June 21, carnival rides start at 5:30 p.m. and the Luke Maurer Band will perform at 6 p.m.

Carnival ride times expand to noon-10 p.m. June 22. All-you-can-ride wrist bands are $17 and will be good from noon-5 p.m. A Kids Tent will be open from 1-4 p.m.; Barnyard Discoveries, from 2-4 p.m., and the Billy Vancil Band will play from 6:30-10 p.m.

June 23’s events kick off at 7:30 a.m. with the 47th annual Lincoln Douglas Run, Organized by the Metamora Township High School. The run is for 8 miles, and a walk will be for 3 miles. At
8 a.m., there will be a half-mile Kids Fun Run for youngsters 12 and younger.

The Old Settlers Day Parade will begin at 10 a.m.

Carnival rides will open at noon, and all-you-can-ride wrist bands are $17 and will be good from noon-5 p.m. Merilee Studios will performance at noon. The Kids Tent will be open from 1-4 p.m. and the Joe Stamm Band will perform 6:30-10 p.m.

–Woodford News Briefs–