Ohio places emphasis on COVID vaccines
COLUMBUS – Governor Mike Dewine and Ohio Department of Aging Director Ursel Mcelroy on Saturday encouraged all of Ohio’s nursing homes and assisted living facilities to immediately engage with Ohio’s COVID-19 Vaccination Maintenance Program to ensure ongoing delivery of vaccines to staff and residents.
Details were announced in a news release. Ohio was one of the first states in the nation to launch the federal partnership for vaccinations at nursing homes and assisted living facilities.
On December 18, 2020, Ohio administered its first shot as part of the national Pharmacy Partnership for Long-term Care Program.
Through this program, residents and staff across the state were among the first Ohioans to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.
While the federal program winds down, Ohio’s facilities have been strongly urged to participate in the Ohio COVID-19 Vaccine Maintenance Program.
This program makes it possible for facilities to continue offering the vaccine to employees and residents who chose not to receive the vaccine earlier but now want it, as well as offer the vaccine to new employees and new residents coming into the facility.
“I’m proud Ohio is a leader in establishing one of the earliest stateled vaccine maintenance programs,” Dewine said in the news release.
“We need to continue making the vaccine available to residents and employees at our nursing homes and assisted living facilities, because we must continue to protect our most vulnerable population of older Ohioans against COVID19,” he said.
It is important that every Ohio licensed nursing home and assisted living facility complete the online program registration and share how a facility plans to provide the vaccine -either through the state program or by partnering with another entity, the news release stated.
Currently, 90 percent of Ohio’s nursing homes and 74 percent of assisted living facilities have responded.
The Ohio Department of Aging would like the remaining 10 percent of
Governor Mike Dewine, joined by First Lady Fran Dewine, is shown touring a vaccination site. nursing homes (98) and 26 percent of assisted living facilities (209) to register their plans.
The Ohio COVID-19 Vaccination Maintenance Program, which began in February, has already delivered 16,000 vaccine doses, with an additional 30,000 scheduled through March. To learn more or register for the program, please visit aging.ohio.gov
In a separate announcement Saturday, his office reported that Governor Dewine visited communities across the state to witness the growing collective effort to vaccinate Ohioans against COVID-19.
Dewine, often with First Lady Fran Dewine, has made stops in Dayton, Columbus, Zanesville, Springfield and Hamilton.
“I’d think you’d be better off with building another building by itself,” Eshelman said later after hearing the various upgrading options.
He raised issues such as insurance, fire protection, codes, state regulations, permits, the type of material used for a latermentioned pole-barn option and acreage.
Discussions also touched on the need to run utilities.
“You’re better off building you a new building right out here,” Eshelman said later. “You can build it the way you want it. It would be cheaper.”
At one point, Fiscal Officer Penwell asked why a new building would be cheaper.
Trustee Wright responded that it would depend on whether a new building is used for public use or not.
“Because if you’re going to use it for like a public meeting, it has to be done commercially,” he said. “And you have to have engineering versus like doing a pole barn.”
In a discussion on getting the price quotes for the options, Trustee Wright noted that the prices “could be just astronomical because it’s Covid-related.”
“Everything is up in price now,” he said. “It may not even be feasible.”
Trustee Vogt indicated that with a new building “you’re going to double the costs of what we’re going to put in this (garage) building.”
Trustee Eshelman responded: “I doubt it.”
Wright noted that the process of getting price quotes may take a few weeks. “Just some ideas,” he said.
“If you’re going to spend $100,000 on something like this, the rest of the year we aren’t doing anything, mowing grass,” he said in concluding comments.
DAVID JACOBS/SDG Newspapers Jackson Township Trustees’ Chairman Greg Vogt said another option would be adding on to the separate township garage building, which houses the township’s dump trucks and meeting room area.