department
State health department fires employee over abortion drug reference in newsletter
Two Ohio Department of Health employees lost their jobs after the publication of a newsletter with notice of a training program for a drug used in medical abortions. One was fired, another resigned. Jessica Warner, who worked in the sexually transmitted infections unit of the Bureau of Infectious Diseases, authored the department’s STI prevention training […]
No vaccine mandate for state health department, spokeswoman says
The Ohio Department of Health will not require its employees to receive a COVID-19 vaccine to return to the office, a spokeswoman said this week. Some employees are already working on-site at the department, mostly on hybrid schedules. More employees and departments will be “gradually phased in” to working on site, according to department spokeswoman […]
Former equity chief accused Ohio Department of Health of ‘toxic’ and ‘discriminatory’ culture
After a drawn-out drafting process, the Ohio Department of Health’s top spokeswoman agreed to stamp ODH’s name on a statement with the Ohio NAACP and Commission on Minority Health correcting a myth that racial minorities are less susceptible to COVID-19. However, communications director Arundi Venkayya clarified in an April 1, 2020 email that ODH would […]
Along with health department, state auditor missed 4,000 COVID-19 deaths during probe
The Ohio State Auditor’s months-long investigation into the state health department’s COVID-19 data practices failed to detect the 4,000 newly discovered COVID-19 deaths announced by the Ohio Department of Health last week. Auditor Keith Faber’s staff have declined to fully explain how they missed the deaths — which sprung Ohio’s death toll from about 12,000 […]
Health department epidemiologist resigns after state discovers 4000 omitted COVID-19 deaths
An epidemiology investigator resigned this week and the head of the Bureau of Infectious Diseases was reassigned after the state health department discovered it undercounted Ohio’s COVID-19 death toll by about 34%. Karthik Kondapally resigned from the Ohio Department of Health, said Arundi Venkayya, the department’s chief communications officer, in an email Friday. Likewise, Sietske […]
Lawmakers send bill to governor to kneecap health department authority
The Ohio Legislature spurned the medical community and aligned itself with anti-vaccine groups Thursday, sending to Gov. Mike DeWine legislation that scuttles the state health department’s quarantine powers. In a party line vote, House Republicans passed Senate Bill 311, which prohibits the Ohio Department of Health from issuing statewide and regional quarantine or isolation orders […]
DeWine hires attorney with thin public health background to lead health department
Gov. Mike DeWine hired an attorney to lead the Ohio Department of Health on Thursday, a position that has remained vacant for the past five months of the pandemic. Stephanie McCloud, who currently runs the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation, will take over a position that has been filled on only an interim basis since […]
Lawsuit claims state stonewalled request for documents on drugs used in capital punishment
An attorney claimed the state has stonewalled her public records request, for the second time since 2016, seeking documents on drugs Ohio uses for capital punishment. Elizabeth Och, a Denver attorney, alleged to the Ohio Supreme Court in November that the state Department of Rehabilitation and Correction has failed to respond outright to a July […]