Latest news with #ColumbusPublicHealth
Yahoo
25-06-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Columbus Public Health reports uptick in heat illness, emergency room visits
More than 100 people have been affected by heat-related illnesses in Columbus during ongoing heat wave, according to data from Columbus Public Health. There were 33 emergency medical service runs and emergency room visits for heat-related illnesses on June 22, and 45 each on June 23 and June 24, according to Columbus Public Health spokesperson Kelli Newman. That amounts to 123 heat-related EMS runs and emergency room visits since Columbus was put under a heat advisory on June 22. Outside of the current heat wave, the largest number of heat-related EMS runs and emergency room visits reported on a single day this summer was 17. More: Climate change is already affecting Ohioans. Here's what comes next and what can be done OhioHealth's Central Ohio hospitals have also seen an uptick in patients coming to the emergency room for heat-related issues, according to OhioHealth spokesperson Katie Logan. Grant Medical Center in downtown Columbus had 15 patients come in for heat-related illness on June 23, while Grady Memorial Hospital in Delaware had four heat exposure cases. Heat is the leading cause of weather-related deaths in the United States, according to the National Weather Service. There have been 21,518 heat-related deaths in the U.S. from 1999 to 2023, according to a study from August 2024. There were 1,069 heat-related deaths in 1999 and 2,325 in 2023, a 117% increase. Deaths from heat exposure are also generally preventable, according to the CDC. The best way to prevent heat illness is to simply avoid exposure to extreme heat, according to Nicholas Kman, an emergency physician at the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. "If you can avoid extreme heat by staying inside or finding a cooling center then you should do that," he said. Kman worries the most about people who have to be outdoors like mail carriers, garbage carriers, construction workers and utility workers and people who are indoors but can't avoid the heat, like machine shop workers in un-airconditioned shops. If you have to brave the heat, he recommends wearing loose-fitting, non-cotton clothing, staying in the shade or another cool area as much as possible, wetting your skin and drinking plenty of fluids even if you don't feel thirsty. "It's good to drink water, but maybe every other drink if you could drink something or mix in something like Gatorade or Pedialyte or something with like an electrolyte packet. That helps keep your electrolytes normalized because you'll be losing a lot of those in sweat and in just body losses naturally," he said. To prevent heat illnesses in others, check in with your elderly family members, friends and neighbors and make sure you don't leave a pet or child in a hot car. You've probably heard of heat exhaustion and heat stroke. Here's what you need to know about these illnesses, according to Kman: Heat exhaustion: Elevated body temperatures can cause heat exhaustion, which happens when the body can't cool itself down through sweating. Common symptoms for heat exhaustion include headache, nausea, dizziness, weakness, fatigue, extreme thirst, heavy sweating and decreased urine output. Heat stroke: Heat exhaustion can lead to heat stroke (also known as sunstroke), which can cause permanent bodily damage or death if not addressed quickly. Signs of heat stroke that mean you should seek urgent medical attention include confusion, altered mental status, slurred speech, unresponsiveness, profuse sweating or seizures. For the less-severe heat exhaustion, you can help treat an ill person by moving them out of the heat and into a cool environment. You could also wet their skin, soak their clothes in cool water and circulate the air around them with tepid water in front of a fan. Most of the time, people don't walk into the emergency room knowing they have heat stroke, Kman said. "Usually, it's an elderly person with altered mental status or confusion. And we check their temperature and it might be elevated, they may have signs of heat stroke. Or somebody might come in after fainting in the heat. They're in line at the zoo or Zoombezi Bay and they faint. That's a sign of what we call heat syncope." "Dehydration, decreased urine output, sunburn, these are reasons people go to the ER and they're all kind of heat related. It might be nausea, vomiting, and dizziness. It might be weakness or fatigue," he said. Breaking and Trending News Reporter Nathan Hart can be reached at NHart@ and at @NathanRHart on X and at on Bluesky. This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus heatwave: Columbus Public Health reports uptick in heat illnesses
Axios
29-05-2025
- Health
- Axios
Tackling racism as a public health crisis
Public health departments are reporting progress in incorporating racial equity into their ongoing initiatives. Catch up quick: Local and state officials made 2020 declarations condemning racism as a public health crisis. Data has long illustrated the health disparities between white and Black communities, including life expectancy. The problem gained renewed focus when the COVID-19 pandemic and protests happened simultaneously. Zoom in: Franklin County Public Health hired an associate director of equity and inclusion that year, and Columbus Public Health shifted resources to create a Center for Public Health Innovation. Both are training staff and working to address underlying, systemic issues that can worsen health. Franklin County created an equity advisory council of over 50 organizations that continues meeting monthly to support its efforts. What they're saying: Columbus' health commissioner, Mysheika Roberts, offered three examples of how the city's center has made a difference. 💉 Vaccine access: Giving recipients $100 gift cards and adding more clinic sites in 2021 through a "Vax Cash" program closed a 7% gap in COVID-19 vaccination rates between Franklin County's white and Black residents. 🚭 Flavored tobacco ban: This 2022 ordinance enforced by the health department has reduced Columbus' number of tobacco retailers, which have historically targeted Black communities. The city's smoking rate (13%) has also dropped below the state average (15%). 🚓 Office of Violence Prevention: This city initiative launched in 2023 was a recommendation of the Center for Public Health Innovation. Gun violence disproportionately impacts Black neighborhoods.
Yahoo
25-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Columbus sues Trump administration over cuts to disease funding amid measles outbreaks
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — The City of Columbus has filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration over its cuts to infectious disease funding during a rise in measles outbreaks across the country, including in Ohio. City Attorney Zach Klein said Columbus Public Health has already had to terminate 11 infectious disease workers due to cuts in the funding, leaving only 11 employees left. 'The Trump administration's termination of billions of dollars in infectious disease funding is both dangerous and unconstitutional,' Klein said in a statement. 'The City cannot stay quiet on the sidelines as extremists within this administration continue to defy the Constitution and recklessly endanger the health and safety of our children and the public.' Ohio State faculty vote to join Big Ten alliance against Trump The city claims that the funding cuts are unconstitutional because the money was already approved by Congress. The city is asking for a judge to order the Trump administration to reinstate the grant programs and congressionally appropriated funding. Kansas City and Nashville also joined the lawsuit, along with Harris County, Texas, which includes Houston. Dkt.-1-ComplaintDownload Several states also previously sued the administration over the funding cuts. U.S. Health and Human Services Department spokesperson Andrew Nixon told the Associated Press earlier this month that it doesn't comment on pending litigation, but said the HHS 'will no longer waste billions of taxpayer dollars responding to a non-existent pandemic that Americans moved on from years ago.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
11-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Community leaders envision central Ohio's future amid federal spending cuts
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — Columbus and Franklin County leaders on Thursday discussed the future of the capital city, but the work they're doing goes beyond central Ohio as what is happening at the federal level will have a significant impact on what's being done locally. The Funding Review Advisory Committee began in 2011, a few years after the 2008 recession. Since then, we've faced a global pandemic and even more recently, new federal cuts that impact local organizations. 'We are a very different community today than we were just 15 years ago,' Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther said. 'Our growth is creating new needs, new challenges.' Rare Civil War flag to be sold at Columbus auction This committee is tasked with making sure tax dollars are used to make the city thrive. As Ginther said during the meeting, Columbus is facing new challenges; for example, the fact the city had to let go of 11 Columbus Public Health employees due to a federal funding pause, just as the state is seeing a growing measles outbreak. 'Half of Columbus Public Health's funding comes from federal grant,' Ginther said. 'That could be in jeopardy. I'm also concerned that our $7.5 million in federal community development block grants may be on the chopping block as well. $22 million comes into our Department of Development every year from the federal government.' The mayor also pointed out the U.S. House passed a Blueprint Resolution on Thursday, backed by President Donald Trump, that would lead to reduced spending over the next 10 years. After its passage, U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson said, 'Our first big, beautiful reconciliation package here involves a number of commitments and one of those is that we are committed to finding at least $1.5 trillion in savings for the American people while also preserving our essential programs.' The local committee co-chair, Sandy Doyle-Ahern, said that while this committee didn't form because of the new administration, new federal policies may impact its work. Prosecutors want Gaudreau brothers' blood alcohol levels excluded from case 'Obviously that there's a lot of concern about money that is no longer available or may not be available in the future, so we've got to take that into consideration and not work in a vacuum,' Doyle-Ahern said. The committee is made up of people who are involved in the cultural arts, travel and tourism sectors. Over the next nine months, the group will hear from different community leaders across the region. Some of those leaders said nothing is off the table for the fast-growing community. 'When we think about these big issues, we're thinking about homelessness, we're thinking about our social service agencies, so how do we keep food on the table, how do we keep roofs overhead? How do we make sure that we have a thriving arts community? How do we have a thriving tourism community that funds a lot of this work? How do we make sure that our young people, our babies are educated,' Columbus City Council President Shannon Hardin said. In about nine months, the committee will produce a report that provides an analysis of things like public funding trends and revenue utilization. Members said committee meetings are open to the public and they really want to hear community input. Former Ohio doctor's defamation case against Mount Carmel will go to trial 'It's going to be critical so we absolutely will be hearing from a number of different community leaders and sectors across the region,' Doyle-Ahern said. 'We're going to do a little bit of learning about the finance side first and then get into that. So we need a little patience to get there, but we will absolutely be getting it. It's critical to the end game.' 'They're tough conversations but we believe that the group that is assembled today has what it takes to help guide and instruct and provide a road map for Columbus and Franklin County for the next decade to come,' Hardin said. To learn more about the Funding Review Advisory Committee, click here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Axios
10-04-2025
- Health
- Axios
Federal health cuts cost Columbus jobs and grants
The impact of recent cuts to the federal Department of Health and Human Services continues to be felt locally. Catch up quick: A regional office in Chicago has shuttered, leaving the Midwest without a local point of contact for heating assistance, child care programs, Meals on Wheels and more. Over a dozen recently terminated grants will also affect Central Ohio. Zoom in: In one example that made headlines late last week, Columbus Public Health laid off 11 employees involved with infectious disease investigations due to a lost CDC grant. "This reduction in staff is particularly concerning during a national measles outbreak, including cases in Ohio," spokesperson Kelli Newman told Axios in an email. The Ohio Department of Health has lost over $250 million in grant funding, including that which impacted Columbus Public Health. Plus: A National Institutes of Health grant awarded to the Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital was terminated. It was used to study the impact of puberty blockers on adolescents' health. At least eight grants totaling $12 million awarded to Ohio State University, most regarding LGBTQ+ health, are also gone.
