(KFVS) - The Illinois Department Public Health announced they will be joining communities nationwide recognizing National Public Health Week April 2-8 to raise awareness about the prevention and wellness through this year's theme: "A Healthier America Begins Today: Join the Movement."

The first full week of April has been observed as National Public Health Week since 1995 for communities nationwide to recognize the contributions of public health and highlight issues that are important to improving the public’s health.

“Everyone has a role to play in creating healthier communities and this year’s theme encourages all of us to start now in taking active, strategic steps to get healthy and stay healthy,” said IDPH Acting Director Dr. Arthur Kohrman.

UNION COUNTY, IL (KFVS) - Union County Hospital will hold their Healthy Woman Anniversary Event on March 29.

The event will be at Von Jakob's Vineyard just north of Alto Pass. They will host a women's expo at 5 p.m. followed by a dinner and keynote speaker at 6:30 p.m.

The keynote speaker this year is Eliz Greene. She suffered a massive heart attack while pregnant with twins and now speaks across the nation about health and wellness while entertaining with her wit and humor. Greene is a national spokesperson for the American Hearth Association. You can click here to look at her website.

(KFVS) - The Illinois Department of Public Health, Conference of Women Legislators and the American Heart Association team up in February for "Go Red for Women."

According to the COWL, each legislator that signs up for the challenge will receive a pedometer donated by the AHA. Each day between March 5 and April 29, participating legislators will record the number of steps they take each day, and report the total number of steps to IDPH each week.

“Today we are challenging the women of COWL to help us spread awareness of the fight against heart disease by taking personal action to prevent it,” said Mark E. Peysakhovich, senior director of Governmental Relations with the American Heart Association. “We challenge each participant to track their steps over the next several weeks of the legislative session with the pedometer. Pfizer Inc. will donate $1 for every mile walked, up to $5,000, to go toward the COWL scholarship fund.”