(COLUMBUS)—Beginning the week of May 23, Ohioans will be required to resume weekly work-search activities as part of future applications for unemployment payments, Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS) Interim Director Matt Damschroder announced today.
“Now that Ohioans have had the opportunity to receive the COVID-19 vaccine and can safely return to work, it only makes sense that we restore work-search requirements for everyone,” said Governor Mike DeWine.
“Ohio business owners are creating jobs faster than people are returning to the workforce,” said Lt. Governor Jon Husted. “Now that all Ohio adults have access to the vaccine, it’s time to return to the traditional work requirements.”
At the height of the pandemic from mid-March through Dec. 1, 2020, the federal government authorized states to waive work-search requirements. On Dec. 6, ODJFS resumed the work-search requirement for new unemployment claims, while exempting existing claims.
Allowable work-search activities include applying for a job, attending a resume-writing course, or creating and maintaining a reemployment plan on OhioMeansJobs.com. Under Ohio law, some individuals will be exempt from conducting work-search activities, including employees on a temporary layoff of 45 days or less, and individuals in approved training. Additionally, individuals will meet their weekly work-search requirement if they are members in good standing with a union hiring hall that refers its members to jobs. For those in approved school or training, their work-search requirement may be considered met if they are attending all classes and making satisfactory progress.
ODJFS will notify unemployed Ohioans impacted by this change directly, to allow plenty of time to understand the requirements and begin their process of weekly work-search activities.
The Chillicothe/Ross Chamber of Commerce is seeking input from local businesses in order to better understand the current workforce shortage in Ross County.
Chamber CEO Mike Throne says- “We’re looking to collect data and information about the workforce shortage in our area.” Throne adds- “The idea of the survey is to find actual data and not just anecdotal information to address problems of business being able to find people to work.”
Throne says they are also interested in what employers are hearing from prospective employees- concerning their needs to get back into the workplace. Whether that means a need for even higher wages, childcare needs and/or healthcare benefits.
The survey is titled “Chillicothe & Ross County Workforce Needs Survey.”
*(UPDATE- Alyssa Rothwell broke the NCAA record with her 33rd save on May 14th)*
A Pickaway County woman who starred in high school softball at Teays Valley High School, has now etched her name into the NCAA Division 1 Softball record books as a pitcher at Ball State University.
Alyssa Rothwell tied the NCAA record for career pitching saves over the weekend, at 32. She tied the record by working three innings in a 17-11 win over Western Michigan University. Rothwell’s 32 career saves ties her with Mississippi State’s Kellie Willkerson (1999-2002) for the NCAA Division 1 career saves record.
Rothwell, who graduated in December 2020, got an extra year of eligibility due to the COVID-19 pandemic. She can possibly break the record in Ball State’s next game on Wednesday.
At Teays Valley, Rothwell played for the Lady Vikings state championship softball team in 2015, hitting the state championship walk-off home run vs Lebanon in 8 innings. She also pitched all 8 innings that day, firing a 1-hit shutout for the pitching victory.
(ATHENS) – The Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine and Cleveland Clinic are working together to train primary care physicians through a unique medical education program with the ultimate goal of improving patient care. The first cohort of eight students to complete the Transformative Care Continuum (TCC) graduated on Saturday, May 8 – just three years after they started medical school rather than the traditional four.
“We could not be prouder of these eight students for completing such a rigorous and innovative medical program,” Ohio University President M. Duane Nellis, Ph.D., said. “The need for medical education to be more inclusive and diverse, culturally competent and relevant to the community by addressing their needs and health disparities has never been more important. The TCC has trained these students on how to better serve their communities, and I have no doubt they will be successful in doing so.”
Developed and launched in 2018 in partnership with Cleveland Clinic, the Transformative Care Continuum is an accelerated curriculum where select students at the Heritage College, Cleveland, are admitted directly into family medicine residency programs at Cleveland Clinic Akron General or Cleveland Clinic Lakewood Family Health Center. During the three years of medical school, students work alongside interprofessional healthcare teams and take on increasing patient care responsibilities before beginning the three-year family medicine residency at the same site.
“From the first days of medical school, these students are on the front lines of the clinical settings where they’ll be working for the entire six years of medical school and residency,” said Isaac Kirstein, D.O., dean of the Heritage College, Cleveland. “The most effective family physicians are those who build strong relationships with patients in the context of their families and their communities, so they can truly understand those socioeconomic factors that impact health outcomes. Thanks to our partnership with Cleveland Clinic, our TCC students are doing that right from the start.”
Heritage College faculty and Cleveland Clinic residency directors jointly developed the curriculum, forming an innovative collaboration between medical education and healthcare to align physician training with what medicine needs.
The Heritage College is one of 37 medical schools nationwide in the American Medical Association’s Accelerating Change in Medical Education Consortium. While many consortium members are investigating single curriculum changes meant to fill specific gaps in healthcare, the Heritage College is the only medical school making such a wholesale change for a cohort of eight students per year.
“This innovative program transforms medical education by providing hands-on experience with patients and healthcare delivery teams to train future physicians in a dramatically different way and uniquely prepare them for 21st century medicine,” said James Young, M.D., executive director of academic affairs at Cleveland Clinic. “Healthcare systems need more patient-centered solutions that engage social determinants of health and collaborate across traditional silos to improve health outcomes. These students will help us lead the way to healthier communities.”
During their third year of medical school, Transformative Care Continuum students complete self-directed projects through which they partner with community organizations to create programs that address regional health challenges, particularly for populations in greatest need. Community projects for the first cohort of students included 2021 TCC graduate Blake Kinsel’s project partnering with the LGBT Center of Cleveland and the Doctors of the Streets program to expand point-of-care HIV testing and prevention services. Kinsel received the prestigious Excellence in Public Health Award from the U.S. Public Health Service Physician Professional Advisory Committee for his work on this project.
In addition to Kinsel, the first cohort of students includes Michael Arnold, Palmer Coleman, Olga Shirley Grech, Peris Kibera, Sharon Ware, Matthew Wilcox and Jacob Wolfe.
Now that spring high school sports tournaments are underway, fans are asking whether attendance is open to anyone or whether its limited as it was during the fall and winter seaons.
The Ohio High School Athletic Association reminds everyone that general spectators are now able to attend games, but some distancing guidelines could still be applicable, depending on the confines of the stadium where games are being played.
The U.S. Centers For Disease Control recently announced that masks are no longer needed for those people fully vaccinated, who are outdoors. Only when in very large crowds, would masks be needed.
The OHSAA says all Sectional, District, Regional, and State level tournaments for all Spring Sports will require a ticket for fans to attend the contest.
Tickets can be purchased through the OHSAA website at https://ohsaa.org/tickets. You do not need a code to purchase tickets.
The Southern Ohio Volleyball Club’s (SOVC) 16’s team coached by Cyndi Davis of Zane Trace, won the Ohio Valley Regional Gold Championship Sunday at the Columbus Convention Center in Columbus.
Davis’ squad was unbeaten in tournaments this spring and only lost three sets all season.
The tournament is the season-ending event in the OVR, with tournaments held in various age and medal categories, with the Gold level being the highest in American and Regional divisions. Davis’ team was Gold winner in the Regional Division.
