Senate Leader Attends Board Meeting

Senate President Matt Huffman was a guest speaker at the OOA Board of Trustees meeting last weekend, February 20. As Senate President, he is responsible for leading the Chamber and setting the policy agenda. Huffman, an attorney from Lima, began his legislative service in 2007. He kicked off his comments by mentioning his support for a bill, the “Health Care Simplification Act” from very early in his legislative tenure.  A primary focus of that bill was transparency and the notion that money paid by patients and the government should go to those providing the service. 

He gave an update on his legislative priorities for the two-year General Assembly. He noted the state budget process is underway and subcommittee meetings are occurring regularly. Regarding health care, he expressed interest in expanding the ability of doctors to provide telehealth services. He also mentioned the possible reform of facility fees. Additionally, he mentioned the need for some legislative oversight related to emergency and health orders, such as SB 22. He also underscored the importance of associations and individuals to continually engage policymakers throughout the legislative process.

Huffman is very familiar with the osteopathic profession through his association with State Sen. Terry Johnson, DO, and his niece who is a graduate of Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine. He also mentioned he has represented health clinics as legal clients. 

Following the virtual Board meeting, the OOA hosted a networking session with osteopathic medical students. Huffman joined OOA President Sandra L. Cook, DO, in welcoming the students. 

Register for the Symposium

Registration is open for the Ohio Osteopathic Virtual Symposium, the premier osteopathic conference in the state. OOA members enjoy a deep discount.

The three-day virtual conference, April 23-25, offers 21 hours of Category 1-A credits and the latest in the art and science of patient care. Among the presentations:

• Navigating Care in Rural America During COVID
• COVID Woes: Pulmonary/Critical Care
• Becoming Comfortable being Uncomfortable: How to Discuss Racism with Your Children
• Physician Experiences with the Opioid Epidemic in Ohio
• Understanding Mechanisms of Compassion Fatigue and Building Resilience
• A Systems Approach: The Future of Medical Education
• Getting to the End of the Pandemic

Remember, the State Medical Board of Ohio has only delayed enforcement of CME requirements due to the COVID-19 pandemic; the requirements are not waived.

Hospitalizations Continue to Drop

Ohio continues to see downward COVID-19 hospitalization trends, particularly in the 80+ age group which was among the first groups to become eligible for the vaccine. In December, those 80+ made up more than 25 percent of Ohio’s COVID hospitalizations. This month, that number has dropped to about 18 percent.

Ohio is also seeing a decline in cases among nursing home residents. In the past week, Ohio had 369 new nursing home cases, compared to 2,832 new cases in one week in December. As part of the new COVID-19 Vaccine Maintenance Program, the state will continue vaccinating new nursing home residents, new staff hires, and those who have recently decided to take the vaccine.

Due to the decrease in cases reported in long-term care facilities, Ohio’s Veterans Homes in Sandusky and Georgetown have resumed accepting new residents, and certain restrictions on visitors at state behavioral health hospitals will be lifted beginning on March 1.

Visitation is permitted at nursing homes in Ohio if the facilities meet the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) criteria to allow visits:

• No new onset of COVID-19 cases in the last 14 days;
• The facility is not currently conducting outbreak testing; and
• CMS reports the COVID-19 county positivity rate at less than 10 percent.

Compassionate care visits, which are special visits in which a family member or other visitor provides comfort, support, and assistance to a resident whose well-being is suffering or at risk, are always permitted regardless of the criteria above. Nursing home facilities are required to report their visitation status to Ohio’s Long-Term Care Visitation Dashboard.

For the first time in several weeks, Ohio’s Public Health Advisory System has shown change in the amount of spread in some Ohio counties. Holmes, Mercer, Shelby, and Williams counties decreased to Level 2/Orange.

Vaccine Progress

More than 1,573,000 people in Ohio have received at least one dose of the coronavirus vaccine as of this morning, accounting for 13.46% of the state’s population. There have been 813,569 who have completed their vaccination.

In Ohio’s eight state-operated developmental centers, more than 91 percent of residents have accepted their first vaccine. More than 14,000 Ohioans living with developmental and intellectual disabilities who also have a certain health condition they were born with or developed in childhood and carried into adulthood have also received their first dose of vaccine. Ohio is working to complete the vaccination of residents and staff in congregate settings for residential treatment facilities, mental health residential care facilities, and recovery housing.

At the briefing yesterday, Gov. Mike DeWine said Ohio will receive 310,000 first doses of the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines next week. With this increase in doses, Ohio will add additional new vaccine provider sites including some Meijer and Walmart locations and more independent pharmacies.

Providers that are currently receiving vaccines—including RiteAid, Kroger, CVS, Walgreens, local health departments, and hospitals—can anticipate larger shipments.

Based on information provided by the federal government, once the Johnson & Johnson one-shot vaccine is available, Ohio will receive an additional 91,000 doses during the first week.

DeWine said vaccine eligibility in Ohio will continue according to age. Because those ages 65 and older make up approximately 87 percent of all COVID-19 deaths in Ohio, no additional age groups are eligible for the vaccine at this time. Once the demand for the vaccine has been met for 65+, those ages 60 and older will become eligible. After a period of vaccination for this age group, those ages 55 and older will become eligible, followed by those ages 50 and up. Individuals in specific small groups that could have an increased risk of exposure to the virus may also potentially be included in the 60 and older vaccination phase.

As of this week, all doses requested by schools through the state’s vaccination program have been allocated to local providers. Some school staff already received their second dose, and other second dose clinics are underway.

Ohio began making vaccines available to K-12 teachers this month with the goal of having all of Ohio’s K-12 students back to full or partial in-person learning by March 1. Currently, most students in Ohio districts have access to at least some in-person instruction. 

Health Equity Resources to Educate Ohioans about Vaccine

The state launched a new health equity section on its coronavirus website that highlights Ohio’s efforts to achieve equity in its pandemic response and provides resources to help communities, agencies, and organizations across the state join in those efforts. 

The new Communications Resources Hub offers various print, digital, audio, and video resources to provide education about the vaccine to various communities. In addition to general resources, the website offers materials created for specific groups, including minorities and Ohioans who speak English as a second language.

Temporary Relaxation of Physician Assistant Supervision

Several sections of SB 310, signed into law on December 29, 2020, by Gov. Mike DeWine, are related to the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting strain on health care providers. An  emergency clause attached to this bill made it effective immediately DeWine’s signature until May 1, 2021. The State Medical Board of Ohio outlined the following provisions:

• Physician assistants (PA) that are employed by or under contract with a hospital or other health care facility, may practice under the direction, control, and supervision of any physician or podiatrist in that setting regardless of whether they have a supervision agreement with that physician or podiatrist.
• These PAs may perform services within their scope of practice, if authorized by the physician or podiatrist and the hospital or health care facility, regardless if those services are authorized in any existing supervision agreement to which they are a party.
• Physicians and podiatrists practicing in a hospital or other health care facility, may (1) supervise a PA (employed by or under contract with a hospital or other health care facility) that they do not have a supervision agreement with and (2) authorize that PA to perform services that are within their scope of practice if those services are also authorized by the hospital or health care facility.

Help Administer COVID Vaccine with Medical Reserve Corps

The Ohio Responds Volunteer Registry is the State of Ohio’s online system for managing public health and health care professionals who wish to volunteer. The website supports a variety of personnel who may be called to action during disasters, all-hazards response efforts, and public health activities. Ohio Responds is the system used to notify volunteers of the specific events happening in their community.

The Ohio Department of Health invites any licensed health care professional to join the Medical Reserve Corps to help with administering COVID-19 vaccine. Sign up is at the Ohio Responds Volunteer Registry. See the flyer for more details.