The incentive is being expanded as children return to classrooms and COVID-19 cases rise dramatically in Ohio and nationwide, with the Delta variant becoming the dominant strain identified in new cases. Delta also appears more highly transmissible than previous variants and more likely to infect younger adults and children.
“Getting students 12 and up vaccinated will provide peace of mind to parents, caregivers and educators,” said Kelly O’Reilly, president and chief executive officer of the Ohio Association of Health Plans. “Vaccination is the surest way to protect teens against COVID-19.”
Working together, Ohio’s Medicaid Managed Care plans — Aetna, Buckeye Health Plan, CareSource, Molina Healthcare, Paramount Advantage and UnitedHealthcare — have made finding and getting the vaccine easier than ever with Vax on the Spot(www.covidvaxonthespot.com), a website with information on community vaccine events and walk-in opportunities at pharmacies. The site also gives details on how members can get the $100 incentive. In some locations, including many pharmacies and Federally Qualified Health Centers, gift cards are available on-site.
The campaign and the incentive are working. Ohio Medicaid Director Maureen Corcoran announced recently that the number of Medicaid members getting their first dose rose by 49% in the first week of August compared with the week before.
Since Gov. Mike DeWine challenged the Medicaid Managed Care plans in June to do more to encourage vaccination, Ohio has seen a 57% increase in the number of Medicaid members who have completed vaccination. As of Aug. 8, the number that had received at least one shot was more than 800,000.
Medicaid vaccine gift cards will continue to be available to eligible Ohioans through Dec. 31, 2021.
According to the health plans’ medical directors, shrinking the population of unvaccinated people is the most important front in the battle to contain the pandemic. So far, available vaccines have proven highly effective at preventing people from contracting COVID-19 and even more effective at preventing serious illness and hospitalization, even among Delta cases. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, almost everyone — 97% — who contracts a COVID-19 case serious enough to require hospitalization is unvaccinated.
by the family and friends of Captain Seth Mitchell
Happy summer 2021 contributors to the Seth Mitchell Hero 5K. We hope your summer is going well. We are all blessed that it is going differently than last year! As always we want to keep you updated on how your investment in the scholarship campaigns are going.
Due to Covid 19 we held the 5K virtually in 2020. You guys made the event fun and meaningful. We had over 100 participants and raised a significant amount of funds, even for a challenging year.
Our scholarship committee thanks you. Each year we hope to raise enough to fund scholarships for deserving seniors from Loveland High School where Seth graduated in 1997. Because of you, we have been successful again.
Let us introduce the recipients for 2021.
Teri Clark and Madeline Schamel (provided photos)
The Seth Mitchell Memorial Scholarship: Teri Clark has a keen interest in science and math. According to her application essay, her goal is to “treat my friends the same way Seth treated his friends, with kindness and loyalty”. Teri said that she was humbled by the opportunity to apply for the scholarship in Seth’s name. In our interview with Teri we found that she has overcome personal hardships that strengthened her and helped her find a passion to serve others by pursuing a career in the medical field.
Let Us Never Forget/Mitchell Family Scholarship: Madeline Schamel has used hard work, positivity and determination to overcome medical challenges during her high school years. One letter of reference said of Maddie, “while many teenagers facing those obstacles would choose flight, Maddie embraced the uncertainty and fights with poise and maturity beyond her years”.
Like Seth, these young women are known for hard work, determination, selflessness, kindness and loyalty. We are proud to have them pursue their dreams with a financial boost from all of you that have contributed to the Hero 5k in honor of Seth’s service and sacrifice.
Lastly, we do want to announce that the 12th Annual Cpt. Seth Mitchell Hero 5K (www.sethmitchellhero5k.org) will be held on October 16 at 11 AM in beautiful Nisbet Park in Historic Downtown Loveland Ohio.
We will also offer a virtual run again. You’ll be able to do your run/walk during the month of October from any location. The website will open soon for registrations and donations.
Thank you all and blessings be upon you,
Steve, Connie and Drew Mitchell, Family of Captain Seth Mitchell, USMC
School vaccination records were missing or incomplete among roughly 1 in 5 sampled Ohio middle and high school students last year, despite state law requiring local boards of education to track immunizations records of all enrolled students.
All Ohio students, per state law, must be vaccinated against mumps, tetanus, polio, measles, Hepatitis B, chicken pox and meningococcal diseases. They can claim exemptions in writing due to natural immunity from prior infection; a medical contraindication; or for “reasons of conscience, including religious convictions.”
Though the law requires local boards of education to keep immunization summaries available on request for inquiring parents, schools statewide are failing to track vaccination among tens of thousands of students.
“The question is, why are the schools not collecting this data?” said Madhav Bhatta, an epidemiologist at Kent State University. “If it’s required by law that every child either get vaccinated or have a medical exemption … then why is there missing data?”
In the 2020-2021 school year, when a nascent pandemic shuttered schools and doctors’ offices, only 76% of 12th grade students submitted proof of receiving the meningococcal vaccine, according to immunization data obtained in a public records request from the Ohio Department of Health. The vaccine protects against meningitis and other, sometimes-lethal illnesses caused by the same bacteria.
About 22% of 12th graders had no exemption on file, leaving the picture unclear whether communities have high enough vaccination coverage to protect students.
That same year, only 78% of 7th grade school students statewide showed proof of receiving all vaccinations. Data was missing or incomplete on 19% of all 7th graders.
The missing data spans beyond the threshold for herd immunity for some vaccines. For instance, in the 2019-2020 year, 7.2% of kindergarteners and 9.4% of 7th grade students didn’t have all vaccination records or exemptions on file.
According to the World Health Organization, a community loses “herd immunity” — a threshold of community protection where a disease lacks viable hosts to spread — against measles when coverage falls below 95%. About 2.5% of students claimed a “conscience” objection, and a fraction of a percent claimed medical contraindications — which means they have diagnosed conditions where certain medical treatments such as a vaccine may cause harm.
“If [students with incomplete data] don’t have it on file because they are not vaccinated, that’s a problem,” Bhatta said. “We want as high a level of vaccination as possible to reduce the risk of transmission within a community.”
CDC research shows childhood immunization rates dropped significantly in 2020. However, the problem predates the pandemic. State data shows between 7.2% and 12.5% of sampled Ohio students did not show proof of vaccination or claim any exemption in 2019-2020 either.
The reports also lack data on vaccination by race or socioeconomic status, two major social determinants of health.
When contacted, different state agencies passed the blame or pointed fingers at county school boards, which are responsible for collecting data at the local level.
The COVID-19 vaccine data stands in stark contrast to the roughly 3% of public-school students who formally claim a nonmedical exemption year over year, raising more questions about the missing data.
Concerns about outbreaks of rare diseases among unvaccinated communities isn’t just a hypothetical.
Widespread vaccination eradicated measles in the U.S., but the virus can cause outbreaks when a host imports and spreads it among unvaccinated people. In early 2014, two unvaccinated Amish men returned to Knox County from the Philippines, unknowingly carrying measles, a highly infectious but vaccine-preventable disease. Amish communities tend to abstain from vaccination.
The two men seeded an outbreak that caused 383 infections in nine counties over four months, according to a report in the New England Journal of Medicine. About 90% of the victims were unvaccinated. Health officials mounted an awareness campaign and surged in more than 12,000 MMR vaccine doses for some 10,600 people to eventually smother the outbreak.
Researchers also note that unvaccinated people are not randomly distributed. Rather, they tend to concentrate in certain areas. Thus, statewide vaccination numbers can mask the vulnerability of some specific counties.
The missing data is a “significant concern,” according to Amy Bush Stevens, vice president of the Health Policy Institute of Ohio.
HPIO analyzed the data obtained from the Ohio Department of Health. According to its analysis, students in non-Appalachian, rural communities are most likely to claim exemptions to vaccination mandates. Students in metropolitan counties are most likely to not submit their vaccination records.
Screenshot from Health Policy Institute of Ohio analysis of Ohio Department of Health Immunization Summary Report data.
The missing data blurs a critical picture of whether students are protected, she said.
“Childhood vaccinations are a highly effective way to prevent infectious diseases among kids that have killed many children in the past,” she said.
Who’s to blame?
The law requires local boards of education to provide a summary of student immunizations to the state health director every year.
When contacted, both the Ohio Department of Education and the Ohio Department of Health sidestepped blame and pointed at the local schools.
Alicia Shoults, an ODH spokeswoman, said ODH provides funds for local health departments to do “assessment site visits for compliance.” The pandemic, however, limited this practice, and officials are still reviewing data to determine why so many students’ immunization records were missing last year.
“Ultimately, at the local level, schools are responsible for enforcement,” she said.
The Ohio Capital Journal requested data on school vaccination exemptions in May from the Ohio Department of Education. Spokeswoman Mandy Minick initially stated no such data exists. When asked about the data later obtained from ODH, its missing components, and the state law that requires it, she deflected blame.
The law prescribes roles to local schools and the state health director, not ODE, she said.
“The Department of Education does not have a prescribed role in the collection of this data,” Minick said.
A spokesman for the Ohio School Boards Association reviewed the immunization data but said he didn’t have anything to add.
OCJ contacted six county school boards overseeing schools with high rates of incomplete data. Only Youngstown City School District responded.
Of 152 seniors at Chaney High School in 2020-2021, 122 didn’t submit proof of vaccination or notice of exemption for the meningococcal vaccine — the only vaccine students must receive while in high school.
In the 2018-2019 school year (the 2019-2020 data is not broken out by high school), 89 of 158 students were missing meningococcal vaccine records.
If a meningitis outbreak emerged, officials wouldn’t immediately know who’s protected and who isn’t, costing precious time as vaccines are surged in.
Denise Dick, communications director for Youngstown City Schools, said while the pandemic worsened things, there has been a historical problem getting families to submit paperwork related to vaccination. However, the district is establishing in-school, optional vaccination appointments for a full spectrum of shots.
No one is forced to vaccinate, she said, but the goal is to make it as easy as possible for students. In the meantime, she acknowledged the district is flying blind as far as protection against infectious disease.
“Whether they’re not getting them, or they’re not giving us the record, we just don’t know that,” she said.
Solutions?
Amy Bush Stevens, from HPIO, has the fixes large and small.
On the mechanical side, HPIO analyzed a 2012 CDC survey of states and found Ohio is one of 18 states that doesn’t require health care providers and payers to report immunization data.
Some choose to, but others don’t. Mandatory reporting, she said, would clear the air on who’s vaccinated and who isn’t. (An ODH spokeswoman did not respond to an interview request with an administrator of ImpactSIIS, the state’s immunization information system.)
The current system, Stevens said, puts the burden on parents to submit records. For parents, especially those with lower incomes who move more often or change physicians, it’s too easy for documentation to get lost in the shuffle.
Another idea: tie reimbursement funding from Medicaid managed care plans more strongly to vaccination rates. More vaccination now equals lower costs of care down the line. And more outreach to eligible families to the Children’s Health Insurance Plan, which covers childhood vaccination, would help as the rate of uninsured children ticks up in Ohio.
And then there are structural changes. Public health departments are chronically underfunded in Ohio and one of the few fail safes for low-income, undocumented, or uninsured families. The Columbus Dispatch reported last year that Ohio spends less per capita on public health than all but three states.
“Anything we can do to increase the public health workforce will help with that and make sure that kids with no other source of care get their childhood immunizations,” Stevens said.
Other pending legislation would ban “vaccine passports” related to COVID-19. Discussion of the bills among proponents often dubiously characterizes a heavy-handed government forcing vaccines on the unwilling.
Among health experts, however, the reality is simple: Less vaccination equals more infectious disease.
“If you don’t rely on the school system to report — that’s the only way we could get a semblance of aggregated data,” Bhatta said.
Dr. Stephanie K. Siddens Photo by the Ohio Department of Education
A new interim state superintendent will hold down the fort at the Ohio Department of Education, following the departure of the previous interim superintendent.
Dr. Stephanie K. Siddens, currently the senior executive for the state’s Center for Student Supports, will take over in September, after current superintendent Paolo DeMaria officially retires. The Ohio State Board of Education approved Siddens as interim head at a special meeting on Monday.
Siddens has been with the Ohio Department of Education since 2006, working as assistant director and director for the Office of Early Learning and School Readiness, and as senior executive director for the Center for Curriculum and Assessment, before taking her current job.
Deputy State Superintendent John Richard had previously been picked by the state school board to fill the interim spot, but on August 10, Richard announced he’d be leaving the department.
Loveland, Ohio – “I have reviewed the CED application and the benefits it represents to the Loveland Madeira Road Business Corridor. Based on this review, I am submitting the application to City Council with a recommendation of approval and request that City Council schedule a public hearing to be held on September 28, 2021, to allow for public comment on the application,” Mayor Kathy Bailey said in a recent memo to Council.
Loveland Mayor Kathy Bailey (Loveland Magazine File Photo)
The drinking district, or “Community Entertainment District” (CED) within the Loveland Madeira Road business corridor would create 10 new D-5J liquor permits.
At the August 24 council meeting, City Manager Dave Kennedy described the effort as a new pool of liquor licenses, called D5-J, “…to help create a long and sustained turnaround for the Loveland Madeira Road business corridor.” He said it could expand the corridor’s opportunities for dining and entertainment-type businesses.
Mr. Kennedy added that, if a CED is created, a D5-J would cost the applicant a $100 processing fee and a permit fee of $2,344, a savings of $27,000.
The proposed district would encompass 54.029 acres between the intersection of West Loveland Avenue to Kroger, including all of the city’s Chestnut Street parcels. If approved, it would allow for ten D5-J liquor permits to be available in the district. The City council must: approve or disapprove the application.
If Council moves forward with the process they will set a date and time for a public hearing regarding the application.
Kennedy told Council that the CED could easily be expanded in the future. He said there would be a maximum of fifteen D5-J licenses in one district.
Nearly two in three age-eligible teenagers remain unvaccinated against COVID-19 as summer ends and the disease looms over its third consecutive school year.
Spokespersons for the state departments of health and education said they did not know what percentage of students enrolled in public schools are vaccinated.
However, looking at the total population (which would include homeschooled students), more than 62% remain unvaccinated.
“As of today, there are 390,903 Ohioans age 12-18 who have started the vaccination process,” said Ohio Department of Health spokeswoman Alicia Shoults. “This represents 37.5% of that age group.”
Despite plans to attend classes in close contact with their peers several days per week, teenagers are the least vaccinated age cohort — surpassing 20-29-year-olds (44%) and 30-39-year-olds (51%).
The Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine was authorized for use in people aged 16-and-up in mid-December, though most states restricted access for elder and sicker residents through early 2021. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorized its use on children 12-15 on May 11.
At a press conference last week, Gov. Mike DeWine said a communal goal of keeping students in school for in-person learning is “threatened” by the hyper-transmissible Delta variant of COVID-19. He repeated a recommendation from ODH that students either seek vaccination or wear a mask at school.
“The best way to make sure a child can stay in school and not have his or her classes interrupted, is for that child to be vaccinated,” he said. “If that child cannot be vaccinated, the best way to ensure a good school year for that child is for that child to wear a mask while in class.”
Loveland, Ohio – Would you like to make a difference and give back to the community? Local non-profit, The Loveland Learning Garden, provides the opportunity for anyone to volunteer to help teach local students about the environment, or maintain the vegetable garden, the flower garden, and the nature trail!
The Loveland Learning Garden, located at 600 Loveland-Madeira Road (Loveland Primary and Loveland Elementary school grounds), dedicates everything to giving kids the opportunity to form “lifelong connections to the wonders of the natural world.” The non-profit outdoor education program not only strives to build awareness and community support but also maintains a vegetable garden, a flower garden, and a nature trail that is used for hands-on learning. The over 1,200 Loveland 1st-4th grade students involved are able to get an interactive experience, through a 20-week curriculum (taught by “Garden Educators” during the school day in the Spring and Fall), with nature while still adhering to the academics they are being taught in class. Seeing how food is grown, tasting fresh produce, and harvesting food that is eventually donated to local non-profit LIFE Food Pantry are just a few things students are able to get involved in at the Loveland Learning Garden.
Planting Kale in May at the Loveland Learning Garden
Board President, Laurie Flanagan, chatted with us at the Loveland Learning Garden about why gaining dedicated volunteers is vital to keeping the non-profit education program running.
“In order to successfully sustain our program, we seek people who want to share their talent and ‘dig in’ to join us by taking on leadership roles on our board or owning pieces of work that make the organization run,” Flanagan explained, “Our committees include education, communications, garden and trail maintenance, volunteer recruitment, and grants/fundraising. We have a diverse volunteer base of ages and backgrounds and welcome everyone! For example, we have students from the LHS National Honor Society, Tigers in Service, and the LHS Environmental Club who have helped us, University of Cincinnati students, workgroups, church groups, students from neighboring school districts, local parochial schools, and many individuals from across the Cincinnati area.“
Check out the video below to see Laurie Flanagan explain how you can help the Loveland Learning Garden!
During the months of March-October volunteers are heavily needed at the Loveland Learning Garden. If you or your organization would like to volunteer email the Loveland Learning Garden.
The Loveland Learning Garden will be a part of the 2021 Great Outdoor Weekend sponsored by Green Umbrella. On September 25th from 9 AM-1 PM, the Loveland Learning Garden will be holding a scavenger hunt for kids ages 4-10. For more information click the above Great Outdoor Weekend link!
To stay informed on the Loveland Learning Garden’s upcoming events and volunteer opportunities you can visit their Instagram and/or Facebook.
Loveland Learning Garden History The foundation for Loveland Learning Garden was planted in 2002 as a floral garden on grade school grounds thanks to the vision of a grandmother who wanted to share the joy of picking fresh flowers with children. With the addition of vegetable gardens and a nature trail in the woods behind the school, Granny’s Garden School grew to be one of the most comprehensive school garden programs in the country and was recognized as a model for nature-based education training. In 2016, the founder retired while a new group of leaders, believing in the value of the program to students and the community evolved the nonprofit to its next iteration. Today, with new energy and a refreshed identity, the Loveland Learning Garden operates with strong, collaborative school partnerships, diverse leadership, community involvement, and a continued passion to educate and inspire children to the lifelong benefits found through nature.
For more ways to get involved with the community stay tuned to the Loveland Salad With ME, Cassie Mattia!
SSCC President Dr. Kevin Boys, standing at right, shakes hands with former Board of Trustees member, the late Kay Ayres, at his first board meeting in 2010.
Southern State Community College (SSCC) President Dr. Kevin Boys on Wednesday announced his retirement from the college effective June of next year.
Prior to his presidency, Boys served for 31 years in K-12 education as a teacher, principal and superintendent in Loveland and Sycamore school districts. Boys was employed in Loveland from July 1, 2002 through December 2009.
The announcement signals the end of more than a decade of Boys’ leadership at Southern State.
Boys provided his letter of resignation for the purpose of retirement to the SSCC Board of Trustees at its regular meeting on August 18, setting his final day for June 30, 2022 to provide time for the board to find a replacement.
Dr. Kevin Boys addressing the 2006 Graduating Class of Loveland High School. (Loveland Magazine File Photo)
Boys has led the college since Jan. 1, 2010. During his tenure, he served under Ohio governors Ted Strickland, John Kasich and Mike DeWine. Both of Boys’ children attended and graduated from Southern State during his presidency. He resides in Clinton County.
Boys said in his retirement letter that he had planned to retire in 2020, but the COVID-19 pandemic prompted him to remain in leadership for an additional year beyond his contract.
“I felt it imperative that I stay to see us through the many challenges that this pandemic has brought our way,” he said. “It will be time for fresh leadership to take on new challenges as the college recovers from the pandemic and explores new opportunities to further its important mission.”
Boys said SSCC’s graduates range in age from the early teen years to well into a late age, and many would not have pursued a college degree if the college was not here for them.
“That has motivated me and brought joy to me nearly every day,” he said.
Boys also served as co-chair of the Higher Education Funding Commission with President Rod McDavis, devising a plan to distribute substantial capital funding to the state’s public colleges and university systems. Additionally, Boys served on the board of directors of the American Association of Community Colleges, and as Vice-chair of the Ohio Association of Community Colleges.
Boys graduated from the inaugural class of Leadership Adams and the 25th class of Leadership Clinton.
Dr. Kevin Boys introduced Ohio Govenor Ted Strickland at the Loveland Intermediate School in 2009 when Strickland announced his State budget and school reform. (Loveland Magazine File Photo)
Boys has served on the Highland County Chamber of Commerce Board for 10 years and is currently the chair of the Community Colleges of Appalachia, a membership group of 80 colleges throughout the Appalachian region. He is also a board member of the Rural Community College Alliance.
“It truly has been the honor of my life and pinnacle of my 42 years in public education to have served alongside you in providing accessible, affordable, and high-quality education to the citizens throughout these counties in Southern Ohio,” he said in his resignation letter.
Boys thanked the Board of Trustees, both current and past, who served as stewards of the institution, as well as dedicated faculty, staff and administrators.
“Southern State Community College is in good hands,” he said.
SSCC Board of Trustees Clinton County Chairman Brian Prickett wished Boys well in retirement and thanked him for his service to the college.
“I wish him well as he moves to the next phase of his life in retirement,” Prickett said. “His calm, professional demeanor in many recent trying situations is going to be missed. He is a true leader, and the school’s going to have to work very hard to replace his knowledge and his visibility to lead folks as we move forward and grow.”
Boys told Loveland Magazine, “I regard my years in Loveland with great fondness.” He and his wife now live in Wilmington. “We have neighbors close on both sides but we overlook our pond and the farm behind complete with red barn. We’re not sure what we’ll do in retirement, but for now we’ll enjoy the country.”
Boys said in retirement he plans to pick up playing his mandolin again, travel and “catch my breath.”
“I also plan to take my morning walks a little later in the morning,” he said.
Loveland, Ohio – Last Friday the Loveland High School Marching Band and Color Guard held a preview night to celebrate two weeks of band camp and show parents, siblings, grandparents, and music fans the skills they learned during two weeks in the hot August sun.
The theme of their Fall completion season, as well as half-time performances this year, is “An Eighties Adventure”.
Loveland Magazine received this Guest Column from the parent of Loveland school students who asked us not to reveal their identity.
By: Anonymous Parent of Loveland Students
The start of a new school year has sparked a debate in the Loveland community that is arguably more divisive than the 2020 presidential election. We are nearly a year and a half into the outbreak of Covid-19 and parents, public health agencies, and school officials are divided on whether or not masks should be mandated in our schools. On one side you have those concerned about the desire to protect the physical health of citizens and minimize the spread of Covid-19. On the other are those concerned about the educational, social, and mental health effects universal masking has on students. We all want what is best for our children, individually and collectively. Both sides should find this common ground while showing empathy for the opposing view. I don’t think that is in question. The real question is at what point are we taking unnecessary measures that are hurting our children out of an overabundance of caution?
Last school year our state government and the Ohio Department of Health used their powers to enforce universal mask mandates in schools and other locations. These were highly controversial decisions causing state legislative action. Here we are at the start of another school year and these agencies responsible for assessing and enforcing mandates are not able to do so. If our expert public health officials are not making the decisions to enact universal mask mandates then there is no reasonable expectation that a local school board can effectively make decisions to mandate the behavior of families and students regarding their health. A mandate for public health purposes should not be coming from our local school board. In the absence of state and health department mandates, these decisions are best made by each family with the guidance of their healthcare providers.
Parents and guardians are tasked with the decision of whether or not to send their children to school in masks. We are pulled between a desire to protect citizens from Covid-19 and to protect our children from the negative educational, social, and mental health issues related to universal masking. Generally speaking, children are spared from the severe consequences of Covid-19. According to some of the most comprehensive studies to date, children are at an extremely slim risk of dying of Covid-19. In fact, children are more likely to die of homicides or drownings, and I don’t see anyone shutting down their pools. The mortality rate among children is actually lower than that from the flu and the risk of severe disease or hospitalization is about the same.
So, I’ll ask again, at what point are we taking unnecessary measures that are hurting our children out of an overabundance of caution? That is ultimately what is in question. We are left with a debate between physical health and causing educational, social, and mental harm. To the best of my knowledge, there have not been any Loveland student deaths related to Covid-19, however, we undoubtedly have many students suffering educationally and from social and mental health issues related to universal masking in their learning environment. This cannot be ignored any longer. At some point, our community must realize that mask mandates imposed on our children can have a greater impact on public health than Covid-19 itself.
![[Photos] Loveland High School Marching Band and Color Guard](https://lovelandmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/feature-2021-color-guard.jpg)
