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05/26/2020

Today's COVID-19 Report: Tuesday, May 26, 2020

Tuesday, May 26, 2020

Here are the latest need-to-know updates for Tuesday, May 26 regarding the COVID-19 pandemic.

All-member Call - Thursday, May 28

LeadingAge Ohio is holding an all-member COVID-19 update call this Thursday, May 28 at 10:30 a.m. Look for dial in information in tomorrow's COVID-19 report. 

Governor DeWine Announces Congregate Care Unified Response Team

During today's COVID-19 press briefing, Governor DeWine announced the creation of Congregate Care Unified Response Teams, which begin testing all staff in all Ohio nursing homes this week. Today's update comes after last week's announcement that the Ohio National Guard would begin assisting with COVID-19 testing in nursing homes. 

The Congregate Care Unified Response Teams will each feature medical professionals from the Ohio National Guard who will test all staff and some residents at each nursing home in the state. Facilities who have experienced outbreaks or require priority testing will be identified and approached first, and residents will be tested based on clinical strategy that helps determine if they have been exposed to COVID-19 or not.

LeadingAge Ohio has continued to ask for more PPE, more testing and more financial support for providers since COVID-19 emerged. It is expected that this increase in testing will have the unfortunate side consequence of keeping a negative focus on long-term care providers in the headlines. LeadingAge Ohio will continue to communicate the important work of its members to effectively combat COVID-19,

If you have questions, comments, or concerns on this new testing development, please contact Kathryn Brod at kbrod@leadingageohio.org. 

Ohio Department of Health Signage 

The Ohio Department of Health (ODH) has developed signage and health screening questions for use as businesses and organizations begin opening their doors. These are posted on the coronavirus.ohio.gov website along with other COVID-19 signage.

Some of the signage available includes:

ODA Receives CARES Grant

The Ohio Department of Aging (ODA) announced today it has received a $1.7 million federal grant to strengthen services that support the health, safety, and independence of older Ohioans challenged by the coronavirus (COVID-19) public health emergency.

The grant, issued under the federal government’s Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, will help the department and the state’s 12 area agencies on aging to:

  • Rapidly assess the needs of older adults, available services, and the workforce available to deliver those services;
  • Enhance accessibility – including virtual access – of services across Ohio;
  • Fight social isolation by connecting with older adults and referring them to available services.

You can view the full announcement from ODA here. 

 Linkage                    Buerger

Ohio Statistics: 33,006 Cases, 2,002 Deaths

There are 33,006 confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 in Ohio and 2,002 confirmed and probable COVID-19 deaths. A total of 5,579 people have been hospitalized, including 1,450 admissions to intensive care units. 

In-depth data can be accessed by visiting coronavirus.ohio.gov. 

Questions

Please send all questions to COVID19@leadingageohio.org. Additionally, members are encouraged to visit the LeadingAge Ohio COVID-19 Working Group facebook group to pose questions to peers and share best practices. LeadingAge is continuing its daily calls for all members.  To participate in these daily online updates, members should register at here.  

 

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