Edwards Settlement Lung Health Project

Peoria City/County Health Department administers a community partner lung health project through a 4-year contract with the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). As a result of a legal Consent Decree with the owners of the Edwards coal power plant, NRDC awarded funds in August 2020 to Peoria City/County Health Department to distribute and oversee $1,587,010 in lung health funds.

Grant partners include agencies in Peoria and Tazewell counties with lung health programs targeted to Communities of Concern in zip codes that have climate fallout in areas of the Edwards Power Plant on Peoria's southside - primarily 61603, 61604, 61605, 61607, 61554. Programs align to serve individuals in addressing lung health for asthma, COPD, and for healthy homes to address radon and mold.

Edwards Settlement Project image below in readable format (PDF). 

EDW slide

EDWARDS programs center around our strategies.

Asthma Education in Schools:

  • Tazewell County Health Department
  • Hult Center for Healthy Living
  • Provide asthma education through schools to 5,000 students

Asthma and COPD Education for Adults:

  • Peoria City/County Health Department - Peoria County presentations and outreach 309-679-6091
  • Tazewell County Health Department
  • Respiratory Health Association
  • Provide asthma and COPD education and materials to 26,000 adults in the community
  • Make referrals for lung cancer screening and pulmonary function testing
  • Develop and provide a  COPD training webinar recording  and COPD Toolkit for 20 healthcare providers, as well as for caregivers and individuals diagnosed with COPD.  Contact Peoria or Tazewell County Health Departments for copies of COPD Toolkits.

Low-dose CT Lung Cancer Screening

  • OSF HealthCare - schedule screenings 309-683-4939
  • Provide community outreach and referrals for 50 Low-dose CT lung cancer screenings to adults in the Communities of Concern (no cost screenings to qualifying individuals)
  • OSF brochure
  • OSF self-referral

Pulmonary Function Screening Program:

  • Heartland Health Services - screening appointments at 309-680-7600
  • Purchase 2 Pulmonary Function machines for Heartland Health Services locations in Peoria and Pekin
  • Provide outreach to community for lung health
  • Provide spirometry/pulmonary function testing to 850 individuals in the Communities of Concern (no cost to qualifying individuals)

Asthma Medications and Care Kits for Students:

  • Peoria Public Schools
  • Pekin Public Schools
  • Provide emergency asthma medications for 4000 students  with asthma
  • Organize 850 asthma attack prevention take-home supply kits for students with asthma

Healthy Homes Lung Health and Radon Reduction Interventions:

  • Peoria City/County Health Department - call 309-679-6120
  • Tazewell County Health Department - call 309-929-0272
  • Provide Healthy Homes  asthma trigger reduction interventions in Peoria homes in the Communities of Concern. Call for additional information.
  • Peoria County radon testing program and mitigation strategies for homes in Peoria County Communities of Concern; Call for  additional information.
  • Tazewell County radon testing program and mitigation strategies for homes in Tazewell County Communities of Concern; Tazewell County Form to apply for radon mitigation program in Tazewell County