The State of Ohio is one of 33 states and the District of Columbia that are members of a coalition taking a stand to protect homeowners from unlawful fees.
The bipartisan coalition opposes a proposed class action settlement that would permit a mortgage servicer to profit from illegal payment processing fees charged to homeowners who pay their mortgage online or by phone.
West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey says “Companies that pad their bottom line with unlawful processing fees cannot be allowed to continue such conduct in West Virginia or in any state.”
The coalition’s brief opposes the proposed settlement in Morris, et al. v. PHH Mortgage Corporation, et al., a case in which mortgage servicer PHH Mortgage Corporation would be able to continue to profit from unlawful processing fees the company has been charging one million homeowners nationwide.
For years, the coalition argues, PHH charged homeowners an illegal fee — ranging from $7.50 to $17.50 — each time a homeowner made a monthly mortgage payment online or by phone, despite many Americans paying their mortgages one of these two ways.
Nowhere in these homeowners’ mortgage contracts is their authorization for such fees and PHH does not charge “processing” fees for any other customers, including those who pay by check or via automatic debit payment. Charging debt collection or similar fees not expressly mentioned in the mortgage contract is unlawful in the 33 states involved in the legal action.
The coalition opposes the proposed settlement arguing it would not only permit PHH to continue to charge the unlawful fees, but also would allow it to actually increase fees — up to $19.50 per month — for the remaining life of the loan, which, for many homeowners, could be another 20 to 30 years.
The coalition further objects to the inadequacy of the monetary relief, as the proposed settlement is designed to ensure that a portion of the monetary relief intended for homeowners will actually end up in PHH’s hands.
Furthermore, homeowners whose loans are still serviced by PHH will not receive any direct monetary payments for prior unlawful payments received by PHH.
West Virginia joined the New York- and Minnesota-led coalition with attorneys general from Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington and the District of Columbia.
Bitter cold temperatures are expected over the next few days and some jurisdictions may be interested in opening warming centers for the public. A warming center is a temporary facility that is made available during extreme temperature conditions when power outages occur or when normal coping mechanisms in the home are ineffective or unavailable. They are open for a limited number of hours for a limited number of days depending on the incident. Warming Centers ARE NOT overnight shelters or homeless shelters, and are not daycare for children, the elderly, or others who cannot care for themselves. It is assumed that the individuals who use warming centers can return to their homes when the center is closed.
Some tips for opening a warming center:
Prior to opening a warming center, jurisdictions should determine who the center will provide services for (local residents only, neighboring citizens who may be affected, etc.), what services that the public will need, and the jurisdiction’s ability to meet them. Minimal needs include tables and chairs, television, charging station/outlets, and information updates regarding the “incident” or weather. Prolonged exposure to severe conditions may require expanded services.
Determine the hours that your warming center/shelter will be open. Publish those hours and determine what you will do if power is not restored/conditions do not change and your warming center needs to close.
Ensure that your warming center is ADA compliant and able to accept service animals (where applicable).
Make sure you know the occupant capacity of the building you are planning on using. Overfilling the space/building will violate the fire code.
Consider posting code of conduct or rules for occupants of your warming center.
Ensure that lavatory facilities and power are sufficient for temporary occupants. Consider alternative options if the primary warming center becomes full and a secondary location needs to be opened.
Make sure the roadways to the warming center are cleared and the parking lots and walkways are clear for occupants.
Consider providing security for the warming center. If the center is open to all citizens, you want to ensure the safety of all occupants.
Consider checking with your legal/insurance advisors on the liability issues regarding mass sheltering/gathering in your building.
Assign someone to document all center activities. This could help if incidents arise or reimbursements are expected.
Alert EMA when/if you plan to open a warming center. EMA will be maintaining county situational awareness during severe weather and will document its impacts on jurisdictions.
These are just some basic tips for warming center operations. Additional considerations for operating a warming/cooling center can provided by EMA. Any jurisdiction considering operating a warming center is asked to create a more formal plan that can be referenced now, or in the future, for all warming center operations.
If your jurisdiction (or a business/organization within your jurisdiction) opens a warming center please let Ross County EMA know so that they can help prioritize response efforts in power outages. The EMA can be reached at rossema@rosscountyohio.gov or 740-773-1700 during normal business hours and 740-253-0939 after hours.
A cold storage building at the Ross County Engineer’s complex on Fairgrounds Road was destroyed by fire Wednesday evening, according to County Engineer Charlie Ortman.
The 40×150 feet building was a total loss from the inferno that broke out sometime around 8pm. Flames and smoke could be seen in the night sky for miles around. The building was used to store equipment out of inclement weather conditions.
There were no injuries reported to county employees or firefighters who responded to the scene to extinguish the fire.
Ortman says the building contained five pickup trucks, a tandem dump truck, bulldozer and chainsaws among other equipment stored in the building by the county engineering department.
The engineer says the damage of the building and contents is likely to exceed more than one million dollars.
Ortman praised the efforts of both the Union and Scioto Township Fire Departments, saying both did “an outstanding job of getting the fire put out”.
The Ohio State Fire Marshal is investigating the blaze, with no initial cause known at this time. The building and equipment was insured by the county.
The aftermath at noon Thursday following Wednesday’s fire.
The Ross County Chapter of the N.A.A.C.P. will be active in a number of February activities to commemorate Black History Month.
The chapter will co-sponsor the Chillicothe/Ross County Public Library’s Annual Black History Month Program at 7pm on February 18th. The program is called Black Communities: Coming Together During The Pandemic.
The event will be done virtually this year through Facebook (facebook.com/CRCPL) and YouTube (youtube.com/CRCPLibrary).
Local N.A.A.C.P. President Adrienne D’Souza and other guests will offer greetings with United Way of Ross County CEO Rick Smith Sr. serving as the featured speaker. His address will be titled; “Where Do We Go From Here?“
The next day will be the Black History Month Art Show, featuring local Black artists on February 19th. This event will run 4pm-7pm at Paper City Coffee, located at 47 South Paint Street in Chillicothe.
An area instructor who refers to himself as a “functional nerd” is proving how a small community native can grow into a well-known educator and inventor.
Paint Valley High School graduate Josh Montgomery gave a TED Talk at the TEDx Dayton Stage late last fall, which recently was made available online.
The former Chillicothe City Schools Technology Coordinator of 14 years, was one of 50 people to interview for the TED Talk out of over 300 people to apply, last May.
Montgomery was selected to give his talk in Dayton, Ohio last November concerning his construction of the Star Wars’ robot R2D2 in his basement five years ago.
The response of the TED Talk has been “good” according to Montgomery, saying many of the builder clubs have messaged him and said much of that has been “cool” to experience. He added that he hopes this will build enthusiasm for many others in the education world to attempt similar projects. Mentors that Montgomery says he had taught coming up the ranks have taught him how to be a visionary in his field of interest. He pointed to instructors Regina Ferguson and Dennis Griffith at Southern State along with former Chillicothe City Schools Superintendent Jon Saxton.
“Jon Saxton was pinnacle to making me be a teacher. It wasn’t something I loved at the beginning of the process and I would have probably left if it wasn’t for Jon.” He said Saxton told him “Hold on, you need to stay the course here, this is going to be a dream job for you”.
Josh says this journey has helped him to get students more engaged in the process of how to build projects like this and how to convey the message that education can “be fun”. He uses his educational enthusiasm in the classroom as the Associate Professor of Computer Science at Southern State Community College.
He added that these types of skills in the classroom can also be useful for students who later are putting a job resume together.
Now as an instructor, Montgomery says “I don’t want to push someone to do an assignment, I want them to be excited about building this or designing this or programming this, I get my energy from that as well and then if it is a Saturday and we got to work, then they are excited about it- lets go make this happen.”
Prior to his TED Talk fame, Josh was making news for producing Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) face masks on 3D printers for medical health care workers during the COVD-19 pandemic.
Retiring Pickaway County Juvenile and Probate Court Judge Jan Michael Long. Submitted Photo
Pickaway County Juvenile and Probate Court Judge Jan Michael Long retires from the bench this week where he has served since 1996, deciding last year not to seek another term in office.
Long was also a former senator of Ohio’s 17th District, where he was first elected in 1986.
As a Pickaway County judge, Jan Michael Long served on numerous local and state judicial committees and was past chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Judicial College of the Supreme Court of Ohio. He has also served as the President of the Ohio Association of Probate Judges and Adjunct Professor for the Columbus State Community College.
Prior to his days on the court bench, Long also was an Assistant Pickaway County Prosecutor and Assistant Law Director for the City of Circleville.
Judge Long took the opportunity to say goodbye to fellow members of the Circleville Sunrise Rotary Club District 6690 during their virtual meeting, Tuesday morning.
(COLUMBUS, Ohio)—Ohio Governor Mike DeWine and Lt. Governor Jon Husted today provided the following updates on Ohio’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
EQUITY UPDATE
Governor DeWine today outlined steps that Ohio has taken and will take to address inequities in healthcare as they relate to vaccine accessibility.
“There are Ohioans who simply do not have equal access to healthcare,” said Governor DeWine. “We have worked hard to address these gaps, especially in our efforts to roll out the vaccine, but there is still more to do.”
Geography: Instead of offering the “mega vaccination sites” being seen in other states, Ohio’s vaccination plan focuses on ensuring that there are multiple vaccine providers in every county in the state. This week, more than 700 providers across Ohio are receiving the vaccine to help ensure that Ohioans have access to vaccine close to home.
Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs): These health centers serve highly vulnerable neighborhoods. Ohio’s vaccination plan offers vaccines at these facilities for equitable distribution. More than 60 of these centers are receiving vaccine this week.
Pop-up Vaccine Sites: Ohio is working with FQHCs, faith-based communities, and local health departments to pilot pop-up vaccination sites in at-risk communities. Two sites were hosted at an FQHC in Columbus last week and another pop-up vaccination site is scheduled this week in Cleveland.
Transportation: The Ohio Department of Health is working with the Ohio Department of Medicaid to provide transportation options for those who want to receive the vaccine but face transportation barriers.
Local Health Departments: Many local health departments are prioritizing underserved populations by partnering with organizations that work to serve African American, Hispanic and Latino, and other underserved populations to provide education and offer opportunities for vaccination when vaccine becomes available.
Education and Communication Strategies: In addition to newspaper, television, and radio advertisements focused on reaching underserved populations, Ohio will also launch a series of virtual town hall meetings to gain a better understanding of the barriers to vaccination and develop solutions. The events will be coordinated in partnership with Ohio’s Minority Health Vaccine Advisory Group, whose mission is to help advise the Ohio Department of Health on how to best deliver the vaccine to underserved populations and better ensure equity. The townhalls will be live-streamed during the week of February 22. To learn how to participate in these events, visit coronavirus.ohio.gov.
Affordable Housing Vaccination Clinics: Next week, the Ohio Department of Aging, in partnership with key state and local organizations, will offer on-site vaccination clinics at affordable senior housing communities as part of its Regional Rapid Response Program. On-site clinics will be coordinated with support from the Ohio National Guard.
Dr. Kevin Sharrett gives First Lady Fran DeWine her vaccination as Governor DeWine looks on.
VACCINATION STATUS UPDATE
Governor DeWine and First Lady Fran DeWine both received their first dose of the coronavirus vaccine this morning from Dr. Kevin Sharrett at Kettering Health Network’s Jamestown office in Greene County. The DeWines became eligible for the vaccine this week as part of the 70 and older age group.
Those currently eligible to receive vaccine in Ohio are:
Those 70 years of age and older
Teachers and school personnel who are necessary for in-person learning in specified counties
Individuals with severe congenital, early-onset, or inherited conditions and with developmental or intellectual disabilities
Individuals with severe congenital, early-onset, or inherited conditions and developmental or intellectual disabilities should have been contacted by their local county board of developmental disabilities to schedule their vaccination. If you believe that you or a loved one falls into this category and hasn’t been contacted, please contact your county board of developmental disabilities.
NURSING/ASSISTED LIVING FACILITIES
Of Ohio’s 920 skilled nursing facilities, Ohio has administered first doses of vaccine in 100 percent of these facilities. The second dose has been given in 89 percent of facilities.
Of Ohio’s 645 assisted living facilities, Ohio has administered first doses in 86 percent of these facilities, and second doses have been administered in 48 percent of facilities.
Plans are in place to continue vaccinating in these facilities as new residents move in.
LONG-TERM CARE REVACCINATIONS
Today, Walgreens Pharmacy alerted the Ohio Department of Health that vaccines that had not been stored under the proper cold storage conditions were administered yesterday to some residents in five long-term care facilities. Following guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, residents who received these vaccines will be revaccinated.
The impacted facilities are:
Ashtabula County Residential Services Corp “The Maples” in Kingsville
Ashtabula Towers in Ashtabula
Heather Hill Care Communities in Chardon
Six Chimneys in Cleveland
Willow Park Convalescent Home in Cleveland
OHIO DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION – DATAOHIO
Lt. Governor Jon Husted today announced that the Ohio Department of Education is the latest agency to join the DataOhio portal, with seven key datasets and visualizations added on January 29, 2021
The DataOhio Portal launched in December of 2020 to the public and features more than 200 datasets and over 100 visualizations from four State of Ohio agencies. Nearly half of the datasets added to the portal are available to the public for the first time.
Users can view these newest datasets and visualizations under “Recent Datasets” at Data.Ohio.Gov. The DataOhio Portal team continues to add additional agency datasets, visualizations, and portal features, with a new Agency being announced in the coming weeks, including additional Ohio Department of Education datasets and visualizations.
CURRENT CASE DATA
In total, there are 902,736 confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 reported in Ohio and 11,336 confirmed and probable COVID-19 deaths. A total of 46,659 people have been hospitalized throughout the pandemic, including 6,730 admissions to intensive care units. In-depth data can be accessed by visiting coronavirus.ohio.gov.
Video of today’s full update, including versions with foreign language translation, can be viewed on the Ohio Channel’s YouTube page.
On February 1st, the Chillicothe VA Medical Center Director, Dr. Kathy Berger, held a call with Congressman Bill Johnson and a joint call with Senator Sherrod Brown and Senator Rob Portman. Discussions centered on recent changes in the number of beds as well as other potential plans for the future of Chillicothe.
Dr. Berger responded to the congressional concerns about what services Chillicothe offers, staffing levels and how changes are discussed with stakeholders.
Dr. Berger also shared plans for transforming other program areas within the Chillicothe VA, which may enhance/expand services and right-size staff with the workload and care being provided. Some areas that have proposed changes include additional mental health services and rehab services. Those proposed changes are under review currently.
Veterans and staff are being assured by hospital administrators that the Chillicothe VA remains ready to care for Veterans’ needs. As a healthcare delivery system for Veterans, the hospital says they are committed to continually assessing Veterans’ needs in the 17 counties that they serve and meeting those needs in the most appropriate way possible.
The Chillicothe VA works with other VA partners in the south-central Ohio market to ensure that healthcare delivery options are widely available to Veterans, including care coordination across the market, partnership with community providers, maximizing virtual and tele-health options, as well as on site care at our main campus and CBOC locations.
Adena Health System took several steps closer to adding Fayette County Memorial Hospital (FCMH) to its family of hospitals, with the approvals on several agreements by the Adena Board of Trustees and Fayette County Commissioners.
The Adena Board of Trustees, in a unanimous vote on Monday, agreed to move forward on all transaction agreements for Adena to acquire the 25-bed critical access hospital. Last week, in another unanimous vote, the FCMH Board of Trustees adopted a motion to move forward with the agreement as well. Under the approved agreement, Adena would begin a management agreement of FCMH operations on February 15, with targeted completion of the transaction April 1.
Additionally, the Fayette County Commissioners agreed yesterday to move forward with the transfer of real estate and Emergency Medical Services (EMS) management agreements to Adena. Because FCMH is currently county-owned, Commission approval of the agreements was needed.
“Having FCMH formally become part of the Adena network is the welcome next phase in making sure people across our region have continued access to quality health care, right in their own back yard,” said Adena President and CEO Jeff Graham. “The partnership we have had with FCMH has been successful for them, for Adena and most importantly for the patients who don’t have to travel far from home to receive the specialty care they need.”
Graham added, “When we reengaged with the Fayette County Commissioners and FCMH Board about taking on FCMH, we decided it was the right thing to do for each of our organizations; as well as an important opportunity to keep care local for those in the communities we serve. This is exciting news for the growth our Health System and rural healthcare across southern and south central Ohio.”
In a statement released by the Fayette County Commissioners, “The Fayette County Commissioners are happy to report an agreement is being finalized to bring Fayette County Memorial Hospital into the family of Adena Health System. As Commissioners we are pleased that the many conversations that have been held with both the Fayette County Memorial Hospital Board of Trustees and Management from have brought us to the point of continuing to provide local health care. Adena Health System provides the opportunity with many specialists to allow our families, friends and neighbors to get care close to home. We look forward with great anticipation to working with Adena Health System to provide great health care right here in our community.”
Adena has been providing a wide range of primary and specialty care services to residents in Fayette County since 2012. Adena and FCMH partnered on a formal clinical affiliation agreement in September 2018, expanding the volume of specialty care being offered on the hospital’s Washington Court House campus.
Pike County no longer has EMS service of their own, but has relinquished those duties to the private company known as MedCare.
Pike County Commissioner Tony Montgomery says MedCare is owned by Ohio Health and Ohio State University, but also as a non-profit, has an affiliation with Adena Health System.
Montgomery says “There are two reasons the county was unable to keep their own service going. Finances are always an issue and we could not keep the (EMS) trucks staffed enough in order to keep them going.”
The Pike commissioner added that MedCare will be “soft billing” in order to attempt to recoup some of their expense through insurance companies, but unlike the county former service, MedCare is non-profit and partners with Adena Health System.
MedCare took over the EMS runs in Pike County, February 1st. They offer 24 hour emergency service with two trucks.
Commissioner Montgomery concluded by saying Pike County will hold on to their two emergency vehicles until they can decide how they want to dispense with them.
MedCare was created to meet the demand by MedFlight’s consortium health systems, OhioHealth and The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, and other Ohio hospital systems for greater oversight into the level and quality of care their patients receive from the point of discharge to their arrival at their next destination, be it home or another facility for further rehabilitation.
