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The Columbus Police made national news in late April, when Ma’Khia Bryant, 16-year-old Black girl, was fatally shot by an officer outside her home after she had called the police for help. Eight days after the shooting, Columbus city officials asked the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate the Columbus Division of Police.  For years, activists in the city have been calling for police reform, citing racist behaviors by the police. Data shows that between the years 2012 and 2016, Black people in Columbus were more likely to be arrested following a traffic stop caused by a moving violation than white people in Columbus. Out of the 40,058 Black people

The Covid-19 pandemic has left a lasting impact on mental health treatment. Many have attributed the pandemic to adverse effects on everyone’s day to day life starting last spring and mental health has been a topic at the forefront of that discussion. Is it possible that there could be a lasting positive impact on mental health and mental health treatment because of the virus, despite the immediate negative impact we have seen over the last year? There has always been a stigma around therapy and mental health treatment. Broader discussion surrounding mental health and online treatment have been two commanding factors in why that may be beginning to change. “I

When the COVID-19 pandemic led to mass shutdowns and limitations of where people were allowed to travel and visit, the world of medicine seemed to mirror the world around it — by adapting. Telemedicine delivers a virtual, technology-oriented option in place of in-person visitations to a physician’s office. The United States saw a 154% increase in telemedicine visits during the last week of March 2020, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). “When COVID began, emergency rooms experienced as much as a 40% drop in volume,” said Dr. Susan Tout, medical director of emergency services at Southwest General Health Center in Middleburg Heights, Ohio. Tout said this can likely be attributed to

After a fire is completely extinguished and the area is deemed safe, the first thing Ryan Evans does before he gets back in the fire truck is put his gear in a bag and wipe his face off. These steps the Suffield firefighter follows are part of a larger movement taking root in fire departments across the country as new safety regulations are being enacted to help reduce exposure to harmful chemicals and the risk of cancer. For years, some firefighters thought if their gear was blackened with soot and ash they would be seen as a hard worker.  “Dirty gear has been, and still to some people is, a

1,136,057 positive cases in Pennsylvania was recorded by the Pennsylvania Health Department in comparison to its overall population of 12.3 million people. As of now, Pennsylvania has a total of 1.18 million COVID-19 cases, making it the 6th highest state with the most positive cases. Looking at the different counties in Pennsylvania, Clarion County was one that stood out. Representative Donna Oberlander (R), State Representative for the 63rd district, which includes all of Clarion County, part of Armstrong County and part of Forest County, helped to oversee that Clarion County was following state guidelines in order to reduce the number of COVID-19 cases. This county was ranked number 55 in

The Franklin County Health Department is receiving more vaccines a week than they can give out.  “We’re having to kind of change our strategy a bit,” said Alex Jones, the assistant Health Commissioner of Franklin County, Ohio.  “[We have to] meet folks where they are.”  Jones said Franklin County offers many different access points for residents looking to be vaccinated, from large-scale operations done by the FCDH, to smaller ventures done by local EMS partners. Eight fire EMS partners in the county have been approved by the state to provide vaccines and they mobilize to groups that may have difficulty getting out to a mass vaccination site. This includes low-income senior

There have been over 100 million cases from COVID worldwide. The United States, in particular, continues to see new cases on the rise and people who work in the medical field have been dealing with this since the very beginning.  Now, in 2021, the nurses and doctors are hoping to see a difference now that most people are getting vaccinated, but, as of right now, it’s difficult when they are still facing problems from last year that have rolled into the new year. “We started seeing more people get positive results after the holiday seasons,” Kathy Monroe said. Monroe is a patient support associate where she takes care of critical care

When the COVID-19 pandemic began nearly a year ago, people began traveling less and less as shelter in place and lockdown orders, along with social distancing, became the norm. With less travel and lockdowns came less pollution and better air for a short period of time. So what kind of effect did it have on Cuyahoga County as well as cities and communities across the globe? For those in poorer communities and cities and couldn’t leave like wealthier and affluent residents, such as in New York, the initial impact was substantial of dealing with the air combined with COVID lingering around. “It had initially dramatic impacts on physically, obviously, because

The COVID vaccine has now been distributed across America. Ohio is the 27th state when ranked on vaccine doses, with New Hampshire being number one. It’s important to look at vaccine distribution across Ohio, so people get a better idea of numbers. Catherine Newburg, a health professional said that “certain counties in Ohio have gotten more vaccines to give out, hence the numbers. However, all counties have over 10% of their population fully vaccinated which is great to see.” As the number of vaccines distributed goes up, so does the amount of people willing to be vaccinated. Mark Hamlin got vaccinated in Franklin County and said that he “didn’t have