Ending the year on a positive note!

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December 28 was an exciting day and one we have looked forward to for a long time. We distributed our first allotment of vaccine to our Fire & EMS agencies in Clermont County.

With initial doses of the COVID-19 vaccine still very limited, the doses are being prioritized. Under Ohio’s vaccine plan, the initial groups to be vaccinated are frontline healthcare workers, residents and staff of congregate care facilities such as nursing homes and long-term care, and EMS workers.

The initial doses of vaccine shipped to local health departments are intended for EMS workers. To help get as many people vaccinated as quickly as possible, each jurisdiction that received the vaccine, held their own employee vaccine clinic for their EMS staff members.

As Clermont County Public Health receives more doses of vaccine, we will begin to prioritize other healthcare workers and groups that fall into the tier 1A priority.

Clermont County Public Health earns sixth straight Auditor of State Award

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BATAVIA, OH – For the sixth year in a row, Clermont County Public Health (CCPH)
has earned the Auditor of State Award. The award is given annually to local governments and school districts after completing a financial audit. To receive the award, agencies must have a clean audit report.

Some of the criteria to meet a clean audit report include:

• Filing financial reports on time
• The audit does not contain any findings of wrongdoing or questioned costs
• The independent audit contains no comments related to ethics referrals
• No public meetings or public records issues
“Our Fiscal Officer, Katrina Stapleton, is a one-person finance department,” said Health Commissioner Julianne Nesbit. “But, we could not do it without the tremendous help we receive from the Clermont County Auditor’s Office.”

Ms. Stapleton has received this honor every year since she’s been the fiscal officer for CCPH. “To earn the award this year, with the extra workload during the COVID pandemic, shows her incredible attention to detail and meticulous record-keeping abilities,” said Nesbit.

Normally, Clermont County Public Health has a staff of about 50 employees with an annual operating budget of about $4 million. In 2019 approximately 40 percent of their revenue came from local licenses and fees and about 30 percent came from state and federal grants.

The COVID response has surged 2020 staffing levels to 86 employees and the budget has increased to nearly $5.9 million. The full audit report can be viewed online at www.ohioauditor.gov.

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Photo: Clermont County Public Health Fiscal Officer Katrina Stapleton holding the Auditor of State Award.

Clermont County moves to a level two (orange) advisory

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October 8, 2020

Clermont County has moved back to a level two (orange) advisory under the Ohio Public Health Advisory System. The advisory system, first introduced on July 2, uses a set of seven indicators to measure how much COVID-19 is spreading in each of Ohio’s 88 counties. On October 1, Clermont County was elevated from a level two to a level three advisory.

The risk levels under the advisory are determined by seven alert indicators. Those indicators are:

  • New cases per capita
    • A sustained increase in new cases
    • Proportion of cases that are not in congregate living facilities
    • A sustained increase in emergency room visits
    • A sustained increase in outpatient visits
    • A sustained increase in new COVID-19 hospital admissions
    • Intensive care unit bed occupancy

As of October 8, Clermont County met two of the seven indicators. Those indicators are:

  • The number of new cases per capita
  • The proportion of cases that are not in congregate living facilities
  • A sustained increase in the number of emergency department visits

For more information on each of the seven alert indicators, click here.

A county that meets 2 or 3 of the above indicators will be under a level 2 (orange) emergency.
A county that meets 4 or 5 of the above indicators will be under a level 3 (red) emergency.

For a list of all the data used to make this determination for Clermont County, click here.

Clermont County gives more than 90,000 pieces of PPE to schools

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September 1, 2020

BATAVAIA, OH – Clermont County Public Health and the Clermont County Emergency Management Agency (EMA) have handed out more than 90,000 pieces of personal protective equipment to area schools to help them prepare for the start of the school year.

As schools resume in-person learning, all students, faculty and staff in K-12 schools are required to wear face coverings under the Ohio Department of Health order that was issued on August 13.

“We have been working closely with all of our schools to create plans for starting school as safely as possible,” said Health Commissioner Julianne Nesbit. “Having the appropriate PPE is crucial to keeping students, faculty and staff safe.”

Some of the PPE that has been handed out to Clermont County schools so far  includes:

  • 32,000 KN90 masks
  • 24,000 surgical masks
  • 23,500 protective gloves
  • 6,500 cloth masks
  • 3,900 face shields
  • 1,000 KN95 masks
  • 180 no-touch thermometers

The KN90 masks were part of the 2 million masks that the Ohio Emergency Management Agency distributed for Ohio’s schools earlier in August.

“School budgets are already tight, so we hope this PPE will protect the students and staff, while also easing the burden put on school budgets,” said Pam Haverkos, director of the Clermont County Emergency Management Agency.

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Clermont County moves to a level two public health advisory

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Clermont County has moved back to a level two (orange) advisory under the Ohio Public Health Advisory System. The advisory system, first introduced on July 2, uses a set of seven indicators to measure how much COVID-19 is spreading in each of Ohio’s 88 counties. On July 9, Clermont County was elevated from a level two to a level three advisory.

On July 30, Clermont County moved from a level three back down to a level two advisory.
On August 13, Clermont County moved from a level two back to a level three advisory.
The risk levels under the advisory are determined by seven alert indicators. Those indicators are:

• New cases per capita
• A sustained increase in new cases
• Proportion of cases that are not in congregate living facilities
• A sustained increase in emergency room visits
• A sustained increase in outpatient visits
• A sustained increase in new COVID-19 hospital admissions
• Intensive care unit bed occupancy

As of August 27, Clermont County met two of the seven indicators. Those indicators are:

  • The number of new cases per capita
  • The proportion of cases that are not in congregate living facilities

For more information on each of the seven alert indicators, click here.

A county that meets 2 or 3 of the above indicators will be under a level 2 (orange) emergency.
A county that meets 4 or 5 of the above indicators will be under a level 3 (red) emergency.

As of August 27, Clermont County met the threshold for 5 of the 7 indicators including:

For a list of all the data used to make this determination for Clermont County, click here.

Clermont County moves to level 3 advisory

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Governor DeWine announced on August 13 that Clermont County is under a level 3 Public Emergency under the Ohio Public Health Advisory System. The advisory system was first introduced by Governor Mike DeWine on July 2. The advisory system is a color-coded system that can be used by local communities to help make decisions based on the COVID-19 risk level for each county.

The risk levels are determined by seven alert indicators. Those indicators are:

  • New cases per capita
  • A sustained increase in new cases
  • Proportion of cases not in congregate living facilities
  • A sustained increase in emergency room visits
  • A sustained increase in outpatient visits
  • A sustained increase in new COVID-19 hospital admissions
  • Intensive Care Unit bed occupancy

For more information on each of the seven alert indicators, click here.

A county that meets 2 or 3 of the above indicators will be under a level 2 (orange) emergency.

A county that meets 4 or 5 of the above indicators will be under a level 3 (red) emergency.

As of August 13, Clermont County met the threshold for 5 of the 7 indicators including:

  • New cases per capita
  • Proportion of cases not in a congregate setting
  • A sustained increase in emergency room visits for COVID-like illness
  • A sustained increase in outpatient visits for COVID-like illness
  • A sustained increase in new COVID hospital admissions

For a list of all of the data used to make this determination for Clermont County, click here.

Clermont County drops to a level two advisory

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Governor Mike DeWine announced the weekly changes to the Ohio Public Health Advisory System. The advisory system, first introduced on July 2, uses a set of seven indicators to measure how much COVID-19 is spreading in each of Ohio’s 88 counties. On July 9, Clermont County was elevated from a level two (orange) advisory to a level three (red advisory).

The seven indicators used for determining the advisory level for each county are:

• The number of new cases per capita (more than 50 per 100,000 residents over the last two weeks).

• A sustained increase in new cases – at least five consecutive days in overall new cases over the last three weeks.

• A proportion of cases not in a congregate setting – the proportion of cases that are not in a congregate setting goes over 50 percent.

• Increase in emergency department visits for COVID- like illness (increasing trend of at least five days over the previous three weeks).

• Sustained increase in outpatient visits for COVID-like illness. (trend of at least five consecutive days over the previous three weeks of people going to a health care provider for COVID symptoms who receive a COVID diagnosis

• Sustained increase in new COVID hospital admissions – increasing trend of at least five consecutive days in the number of COVID hospitalizations over the last three weeks.

• Intensive Care Unit bed occupancy – the percentage of occupied ICU beds in each region goes above 80 percent for at least three days in the last week, and more than 20 percent of ICU beds are being used for COVID positive patients.


At the July 23, announcement, Clermont County remained at a level three and met five of the above seven indicators.

When the announcement was made on July 30, Clermont County met only two of the seven indicators (non-congregate cases and outpatient visits)

 

Indicators met by week
July 23 July 30
New cases per capita     – MET New cases per capita
Sustained increase in new cases- MET Sustained increase in new cases
Cases not in a congregate setting – MET Cases not in a congregate setting – MET
Increase in ED visits  – MET Increase in ED visits
Increase in outpatient visits – MET Increase in outpatient visits – MET
Increase in new COVID hospital admissions Increase in new COVID hospital admissions
ICU bed occupancy ICU bed occupancy

 

The advisory levels are updated each Thursday at 2 p.m. during Governor DeWine’s press conference.

Clermont County hands out 145,000 pieces of PPE

Bill DeHass (left) and Greg Carson (right) pick up PPE from Clermont County Emergency Management Agency Director Pam Haverkos (center)
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Clermont County Public Health and the Clermont County Emergency Management Agency have handed out more than 145,000 pieces of personal protective equipment (PPE) to healthcare workers and first responders in Clermont County in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

PPE is necessary for doctors, nurses and other frontline healthcare workers to prevent them from being infected while they’re treating a patient with COVID-19.

Some of the PPE that has been distributed so far includes:

  • 90,000 gloves
  • 29,000 surgical masks
  • 9,000 N95 respirators
  • 7,500 cloth masks
  • 6,000 face shields
  • 1,200 protective gowns

“We know there has been a limited supply of PPE across the country,” said Pam Haverkos, director of the Clermont County Emergency Management Agency. “The shipments we have received will fill the void and allow local agencies extra time to purchase their necessary supply of PPE, as the supply chain increases,” said Pam Haverkos, director of the Clermont County Emergency Management Agency.

CCPH has received 11 shipments of PPE so far from a combination of the Nation’s Strategic National Stockpile and the State of Ohio’s Emergency Operations Center.

Clermont County Public Health also hosted two donation drives in March where local businesses, school districts and citizens could donate their PPE.

In total, EMA has distributed PPE 154 times to local fire departments, police departments, nursing homes, Mercy Clermont Hospital, local healthcare agencies and government agencies.

“Preserving the PPE supply in our healthcare facilities is one of the reasons we’ve been practicing social distancing and staying at home,” said Health Commissioner Julianne Nesbit. “This will be a long-term response, so PPE will always be in high demand for those on the frontlines, but we’re thankful we’ve been able to help our local partners stretch their supply.”

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Clermont County Public Health receives PPE for frontline workers

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BATAVIA (OH) – Clermont County Public Health received a shipment of personal protective equipment (PPE) to help protect frontline health care workers and first responders in Clermont County.

The shipment contained six pallets of PPE that was procured from both state and federal sources. Some of the items included were N-95 respirators, face shields, surgical masks and gloves.

This was the fourth shipment of PPE that Clermont County Public Health has received since the COVID-19 outbreak began. The first three shipments came from the nation’s Strategic National Stockpile, a nationwide supply of medicine and medical supplies that can be used by state and local health departments during a public health emergency.

“The supply of PPE is still limited for healthcare workers, but our efforts to flatten the curve and slow the spread of this virus has helped lessen the immediate demand of equipment for our frontline healthcare workers,” said Health Commissioner Julianne Nesbit.

Clermont County Public Health has also hosted two public PPE donation drives and received donations from schools, businesses and citizens.

“We want to thank the State’s Emergency Operation Center for the distribution of PPE,” said Clermont County Emergency Management Director Pam Haverkos. “We will work with Public Health to distribute the supplies to local public safety agencies and healthcare facilities.”

The Clermont County Emergency Management Agency sent surveys to local healthcare facilities and public safety agencies asking what PPE needs each agency has. Those surveys will be used to determine the allotment of equipment each agency receives.

For more information on COVID-19 in Clermont County visit https://ccphohio.org/covid-19/

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Clermont County Public Health reports first COVID-19 death in Clermont County

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(BATAVIA, Ohio) – Clermont County Public Health is announcing the first death of a Clermont County resident who tested positive for COVID-19. The patient was a male in his 70’s with underlying health conditions.

“We are saddened by this news and would like to extend our deepest sympathies to the family and friends of this individual,” said Health Commissioner Julianne Nesbit. “This disease has affected our entire community and we are working tirelessly to slow the spread of this virus and minimize its impact. Out of respect for privacy of the patient and his/her family, we will not be releasing any additional identifying information.”

To minimize the spread of this virus, citizens are reminded to follow the stay at home order, practice social distancing and wash their hands frequently.

For more information on the number of COVID-19 cases in Clermont County visit www.ccphohio.org/covid-19

For more information on COVID-19 in Ohio visit ODH’s website at www.coronavirus.ohio.gov