DANVILLE — Five new health laws will take effect Jan. 1, 2009, in Illinois.

--Women’s Heart Disease Awareness Month in Feb.

Heart disease is the leading cause of death for women in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. House Bill 5596, sponsored by state Rep. Elizabeth Coulson and state Sen. Pamela Althoff, designates the month of February as Women’s Heart Disease Awareness Month in an effort to increase awareness of the cardiovascular risks women face.

Jenny Trimmell, director of community health services for the Vermilion County Health Department, described this law as “a good thing.

“Women take care of everyone else, but they’re not so good at taking care of themselves,” Trimmell said. “Women’s symptoms of heart disease typically are not the same as those for men. They need to be aware of the heart issues particular to them, to pay attention to these, to be alert.”

--Rashidi Wheeler law.

House Bill 1279, sponsored by state Rep. Daniel Burke and state Sen. Martin Sandoval, requires outdoor physical fitness and sports facilities to have an automated external defibrillator on site.

This bill, known as the R.A.W. Initiative, was named after Northwestern University football player Rashidi Wheeler. He died during practice in 2001. After a review of the incident, it was determined that an on-site automated external defibrillator could have saved Wheeler’s life.

Troy Dunn, Provena Regional EMS Training Center coordinator, has medical oversight over the automated external defibrillator sites in this area. Both the Danville Family YMCA and Curves have recently benefited from his expertise.

“I train the trainers,” Dunn said.

The state already had a law that governed indoor athletic sites, he said, and required automated external defibrillator as well as people who know how to use them. Dunn said this new law will save even more lives.

“There are many locations in small cities and towns where people are exerting themselves and can get hit or hurt during an event. The local ambulance can’t stay there for the entire time.

“With one of these devices at these locations and people trained in how to use it,” he said, “lives will be saved.”

--Insurance coverage for eating disorders.

According to the Surgeon General’s Report on Mental Health, 3 percent of young women have an eating disorder. House Bill 1432, sponsored by state Rep. Fred Crespo and state Sen. John Cullerton, expanded the legal definition of “serious mental illness” to include the eating disorders anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. This will allow people with those specific illnesses to obtain related insured coverage.

Other illnesses already included in the “serious mental illness” definition include schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and panic disorder.

--New privacy protections for genetic testing.

Genetic testing has afforded many people the opportunity to learn their level of risk for certain illnesses. However, that awareness can bring about concern for patient privacy in the workplace.

Senate Bill 2399, sponsored by state Sen. Terry Link and state Rep. Kathleen Ryg, prohibits employers from discriminating against employees based on results from genetic testing. The bill also requires that the use of genetic testing information by employers, employment agencies, labor organizations and licensing agencies be consistent with federal law.

--Teacher training on chronic health conditions.

Senate Bill 2685, sponsored by state Sen. William Delgado and state Rep. Tom Cross, Teachers’ Institutes will be required to add instruction on chronic health conditions prevalent among students to their list of discussed issues, starting with the 2009-2010 school year. Teachers’ Institutes are training workshops that school districts conduct under the guidance of the regional superintendent.

“Each law, in its own way, will help improve the quality of life and increase health awareness for Illinoisans,” Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich said in a press release.