As part of the Springfield Innovation Hub, the University of Illinois Springfield and the Community Health Roundtable will offer a free public webinar on “Local Physicians at the Front Lines of COVID: Nine Months of the Pandemic” from 12-1 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 20.

As we enter the holiday season, Sangamon County COVID-19 tracking metrics continue to break records and pressure on already-stressed local healthcare capacity continues to grow. State and local officials have recently instituted new mitigating measures hoping to reduce the increased threat of the virus on public health.

The webinar will let participants know what to expect in Sangamon County in the days to come, what it is truly like on the front lines combating and treating this virus and what people can do to protect themselves and loved ones over the holidays.

Dr. Brian Miller, chair of the Sangamon County Board of Health and a cardiologist at Prairie Cardiovascular, will discuss experiences from the Sangamon County Department of Public Health.

Dr. Vidya Sundareshan, co-chief of the Infectious Diseases Division at the SIU School of Medicine, will talk about the anticipated trajectory of the virus and vaccine for Sangamon County.

Dr. Raj Govindaiah, senior vice president and chief medical officer at Memorial Health System, will discuss about the impact of the virus on local health systems.

Dr. Peter White, chief of the division of pulmonary and critical care at the SIU School of Medicine, will talk about the current conditions in the ICU.

Participants can watch the webinar on Zoom at https://uis.zoom.us/j/82909791596 or call 312-626-6799 to participate by phone (Meeting ID: 829 0979 1596). Registration is encouraged, but not required at go.uis.edu/COVIDwebinar.

For more information, contact Bruce Sommer at 217-899-3186 or bsomm2@uis.edu. Past UIS webinars can be found online at go.uis.edu/Webinars.