HCOM Officially Opens Heritage Hall

Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine held a ribbon-cutting ceremony yesterday for the brand-new Heritage Hall, a state-of-the-art medical education facility on the Athens campus.
 
OOA President Henry L. Wehrum, DO, and Executive Director Matt Harney were on hand to memorialize the Association's commitment to osteopathic medical students by naming the Student Government Association office.  

Heritage Hall was funded by a major gift from the Osteopathic Heritage Foundations. The space is intended to promote innovative medical education while also improving community outreach. The latter is already happening, as the building was a COVID-19 vaccination site for the county health department. 

In addition to the OOA, additional named room sponsors include Dr. Thomas and Barbara Anderson, George Kontogiannis, and the OU-HCOM Society of Alumni and Friends.

Promote COVID-19 Vaccination in Your Area

The Ohio Department of Health (ODH) is working to increase vaccination rates in 10 rural counties where rates are particularly low. If you live or practice in Adams, Coshocton, Darke, Hardin, Highland, Mercer, Perry, Shelby, Van Wert, or Vinton county, you can help by writing a letter to the editor of your local newspaper.

Because research shows physicians are among the most trusted voices when it comes to health information, you play an important role to combat vaccine hesitancy and misinformation.
 
ODH partners will work with a physician to draft the letter to address the safety of COVID-19 vaccines, urge nonvaccinated people to get their questions answered, and encourage vaccination. If you are willing to assist with this project, contact Executive Director Matt Harney at mattharney@OhioDO.org.

COVID Surge Continues

The Ohio Department of Health reported 3,446 COVID-19 cases yesterday, the third day in a row with more than 3,000 new cases. Ohio is now averaging over 2,700 cases a day.

At a briefing this week, Gov. Mike DeWine urged schools to require masks and made his appeal directly to parents. He said the continued surge of cases makes masking necessary to not disrupt in-person learning.
 
A CDC map shows all but two Ohio counties (Athens and Ashtabula) have a high spread of COVID-19. As of yesterday, 1,674 COVID-19 patients were hospitalized in Ohio and 511 were in ICUs.
 
On Wednesday, ODH Director Bruce Vanderhoff, MD, said if there are booster shots, the process would likely take place over several months with an age-based rollout.
 
As of this afternoon, 61.98% of Ohioans age 18 and up have started the vaccination process. Of all eligible Ohioans (age 12 and older), 51.06% have started the vaccine process. 

OOA Submits Opposition Testimony

After weeks of testimony, dozens of witnesses, and 11 versions of the bill, HB 248, the far-reaching vaccination legislation, was stalled in the House Health Committee after business interests joined the medical profession to oppose the bill. But last week Committee Chair Scott Lipps unexpectedly announced the bill is back on the table and scheduled a four-hour hearing for August 24.
 
OOA President Henry L. Wehrum, DO, has submitted written testimony to the committee. It reads in part:

HB 248 has been framed as a COVID-19 bill, but in truth it has a much broader impact. 
 
Any attempt to restrict or decrease vaccine accountability and oversight—especially in patient care settings—would have a devastating impact on public health. Quite simply, vaccines are a life saver. 
 
When we look at COVID-19 vaccinations specifically, it is the same story. Millions of people in the United States have received these vaccines. They are safe and effective—and the science shows they are working. They are keeping vaccinated people from getting seriously ill and dying. According to the Ohio Department of Health, approximately 99% of all recent COVID hospitalizations in Ohio have been among those who aren’t fully vaccinated.
 
As a nephrologist in Columbus, I have seen the damage COVID-19 can do to the kidneys.  I’ve seen many patients who have suffered from COVID-19 related kidney failure.  In the group of those patients that have required renal replacement therapy/dialysis, the majority have not survived. Patients on dialysis, or with chronic kidney disease, or other severe chronic medical conditions, are at higher risk for more serious COVID-19 illness. That’s why it is so important that we do not weaken our vaccination laws and erode our public health infrastructure.

SMBO Public Record Exemptions, ODH Rule Review

State lawmakers created new exemptions from the definition of a public record that relates to State Medical Board of Ohio (SMBO) licensees. Effective September 1, the new exemptions include:

• Forensic mental health provider means any employee of a community mental health service provider or local alcohol, drug addiction, and mental health services board who has contact with persons committed to a local alcohol, drug addiction, and mental health services board by a court order.
• Mental health evaluation provider means an individual who examines a respondent who is alleged to be a mentally ill person subject to court order and reports to the probate court the respondent’s mental condition.
• Regional psychiatric hospital employee means any employee of the department of mental health and addiction services who has contact with patients committed to the department of mental health and addiction services by a court order.

Licensees who meet these definitions are exempt from public records of their name, residential address, name of employer, and address of employer. Additional information about the exemptions can be found in Ohio Revised Code 149.43. If this exemption pertains to you, please complete this SMBO form. 

In other news, the Ohio Department of Health has released a rule for review and comment:

Package Title: 3701-46 Fetal Remains

Rule 3701-46-01 Notification and Detachable Supplement: Allows a pregnant woman to choose the disposition of fetal remains on a form developed by the ODH. The physician must sign the form and a form must be complete for each zygote, blastocyte, embryo or fetus.

Rule 3701-46-02 Consent Form for Disposition of Fetal Remains: Requires a consent form for the disposition of fetal remains if the pregnant woman is under 18, not emancipated and does not have court approval for the surgical procedure. A form must be completed for each zygote, blastocyte, embryo or fetus.

Additional information is here. The comment period closes September 20.

State Board Seeks Nominations

The State Board of Emergency Medical, Fire, and Transportation Services (EMFTS) is seeking nominations for seat #2. It is designated for a physician who is active in the practice of trauma surgery and emergency medical services.
 
The 21-member Board represent fire and emergency medical services, private medical transportation services, mobile intensive care providers, air medical providers, trauma programs, hospitals, emergency physicians, EMS training programs, and the Ohio Department of Public Safety. Appointments are made by the Governor.
 
The Board generally meets every other month. Candidates should contact OOA Executive Director Matt Harney at mattharney@OhioDO.org for details about the nomination process.

Survey Closes Tonight! Last Chance to Provide Insight

The Ohio Physicians Health Program (OPHP) is conducting a statewide COVID-19 well-being survey to gather the perspectives of health care professionals working across all disciplines, on the types of services needed to support their well-being and the type of infrastructure that needs to be in place. Understanding the current status of stress, burnout, compassion fatigue, and physical exhaustion is critical.

Your insight will not only benefit the current system of support for health care professionals, but also better equip Ohio for future crises.
 
OPHP has partnered with the evaluation team at Mighty Crow to design this survey and analyze the results. The survey is funded through a grant from the Federation of State Medical Boards.
 
The survey is anonymous and will take approximately 15 minutes to complete.

Simply CME is Tomorrow

Today is the last day to register for the livestream of Simply CME, an eight-hour program that starts tomorrow at 10:00am (Eastern). 

A variety of topics are on the agenda, including abdominal pain; sleep apnea and pulmonary issues; dementia; and pediatric rashes.

Attendees earn 8 AOA/AMA CME credits. OOA members enjoy a discounted rate of $215.