There’s an old saying that you shouldn’t blame the messenger when you receive bad news. However, that saying is reliant on the messenger being a neutral party. When the messenger is merely the one bringing you the message, it’s without blame. For example, when we at QuadCities.com, give you a story featuring covid statistics, we’re passing along information we’ve gleaned from an official source. We also attribute that source, so that you know where we got that information. We have no part in creating that information. We do not make up the statistics. We do the duty of what the media... Read More

Is another surge in covid cases coming to the Quad-Cities? Rock Island County Health Department sent out a warning about “troubling” data in regard to covid-19 cases. The RICHD posted the following on its social media: We are beginning to see troubling trends of case counts and hospitalizations starting to rise. About two weeks ago, we were seeing single-digit daily case counts and low numbers of people in the hospital with COVID-19. Since then, we are regularly seeing 20 or more cases and more people needing hospital care. We know there are more-contagious virus variants circulating... Read More

Benjamin Leischner, executive director of the Quad City International Airport, is chairman of the new Illinois Airports Council. He and other airport leaders are praising a proposed amendment to Illinois Aeronautics Act, legislation that defines the role of the Illinois Department of Transportation when it comes to regulating aviation in the state of Illinois. SB-1764 works to streamline how commercial service airports in the state of Illinois receive federal money awarded by the FAA to airports, better defines allowable use of state money for the construction of public aeronautical facilities... Read More

Genesis Health Group will help speed up COVID-19 protection with a mass vaccination clinic to open March 23 for Genesis patients. As more vaccine becomes available, Genesis will consolidate its Iowa vaccination efforts into the former Dick’s Sporting Goods store at 5250 Elmore Ave., Davenport. The retail-sized clinic in the new location will allow Genesis to reach more Scott County patients in a shorter period. The vaccinations will be available by appointment only to eligible Genesis patients who reside in Scott County. Eligible populations are defined and guided by the Iowa State Health Department... Read More

Thursday, March 11, COVID-19 surveillance testing is underway at Western Illinois University and will continue as the semester progresses. Additional open appointment times may be added periodically for those who would like to be tested,but have not been selected as part of the surveillance test population. In addition, the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) has added select dates for free test clinics on the WIU-Macomb campus, the next being March 11. Each week, approximately 700 students, faculty and staff* will receive an email encouraging them to get a free COVID test provided by Beu... Read More

BREAKING NEWS: More residents of Rock Island and Scott counties are eligible to receive long-awaited vaccines against Covid-19. The Iowa Department of Public Health has announced that beginning Monday, March 8, health care providers are now authorized to vaccinate individuals 64 years of age and younger with medical conditions that are or may be an increased risk of severe illness from Covid-19. Qualifying underlying conditions can be found on the Centers for Disease Control list of underlying conditions. The IDPH press announcement stated: “This announcement comes as several Iowa counties... Read More

The Genesis Foundation will increase financial support to provide vouchers for breast health screenings. The Jim Victor Vision Fund of the Genesis Foundation will match all new gifts and increased donations to the Genesis Women’s Health Grant Program up to $25,000 through June 30. These dollars will be available as vouchers for breast imaging services. “Breast cancers diagnosed early are more treatable and more curable. By bringing down the financial barrier faced by many women, we are encouraging them to schedule breast imaging,’’ said Diane Koster, Women’s Health Grant Program Specialist... Read More

Genesis Health System nurses Sharron Gephart, Dawn Rude and Melissa Wilson are among the 100 Great Iowa Nurses for 2021.  The award recognizes nurses who have made a meaningful and lasting contribution to humanity and to their profession and act as mentors to others. Sharron Gephart, RN, MSN, CV is Nurse Manager for Outpatient Services at Genesis Medical Center-DeWitt. Dawn Rude, RN, MS, is a Nurse Manager at Jackson County Regional Health Center, Maquoketa. Melissa Wilson, RN, coordinates staff education, employee health, emergency preparedness and infection control at Jackson County Regional... Read More

The premiere of opera at Moline’s Bartlett Performing Arts Center again will be delayed, as Opera Quad Cities plans to postpone the tragic Puccini opera “Madame Butterfly” from this June to June 2022. “I think it’s just tough to foresee audiences. I mean, we don’t know what the vaccination rates are gonna be in the Quad-Cities. We don’t know if audiences are gonna feel fully comfortable,” opera conductor Nathan Windt said this week. “There’s just too many unknowns. The idea is that the main performance will happen next June,” he said of the need to postpone... Read More

MACOMB/MOLINE, IL — COVID-19 surveillance testing is underway at Western Illinois University and will continue as the semester progresses. Additional open appointment times may be added periodically for those who would like to be tested,but have not been selected as part of the surveillance test population. In addition, the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) has added select dates for free test clinics on the WIU-Macomb campus (see below). Each week, approximately 700 students, faculty and staff* will receive an email encouraging them to get a free COVID test provided by Beu Health... Read More