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COVID-19 vaccines shifting to primary care doctors Terry DeMio Cincinnati Enquirer USA TODAY NETWORK
If you’re looking for a COVID-19 vaccination you might not need to look further than your primary care doctor soon. Several Cincinnati area primary care physicians’ offi ces are being phased in as vaccine providers, to add to the array of ways to get a vaccine in the region. “In Hamilton County, a number of the hospitals are starting to off er COVID vaccinations at their primary care and pediatrician offi ces. The physician offi ces are typically focused on the patients of those practices,” said Kate Schroder, special adviser, vaccine coordinator for the Health Collaborative. “And patients who may be more comfortable getting a vaccine from their usual doctor’s staff should reach out to check availability.” In Northern Kentucky beginning June 1, St. Elizabeth Healthcare will shift its COVID-19 vaccine appointments from its St. Elizabeth Training and Education Center, which has operated as a clinic sight since vaccines fi rst arrived in Kentucky, to St. Elizabeth Physicians primary care sites. The vaccines will become available at select offi ces through the fi rst two weeks of June, and will transition to all practices with primary care locations by mid-June, offi cials said. Initially, the Moderna vaccine will be the only COVID-19 vaccine administered at the St. Elizabeth Physicians offi ces. Patients will have the option to receive their vaccine at their appointment when they see their provider, and appointments for the second dose will be made before leaving the offi ce. The hospital system will not initially vaccinate kids 12-15 with the Pfi zer vaccine, but St. E has has provided vaccine to other local pediatricians to help meet the demand, offi cials said. The Moderna vaccine has not yet been FDA-approved for kids this age, so they will not be vaccinated initially at the primary care offi ces, but once approvals come, St. Elizabeth Physicians offi ces will off er the vaccine for kids’ appointments in the age group. Several of Christ Hospital’s primary care doctors’ offi ces already are providing the vaccine.
Registered nurse Julie Nieman administers a Pfi zer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine to RN Sean Kathman at St. Elizabeth Hospital in Fort Thomas on Dec. 17, 2020. ALBERT CESARE / THE ENQUIRER
Syringes fi lled with the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine wait to be used at the Equitas Clinic and Pharmacy in Walnut Hills. ALBERT CESARE / THE ENQUIRER
Mercy Health-Cincinnati is expanding its vaccine locations by off ering COVID-19 vaccinations through its primary care practices as part of its standard patient care, said spokeswoman Nanette
Bentley. As people schedule appointments, they’ll be directed to locations that off er the vaccines. Gradually, more primary care offi ces will carry the vaccine. The hospital system will also continue vaccination clinics at Mercy Hospital Clermont, Kenwood Towne Centre and and Kyles Station for eligible area residents, as well as other community and employer vaccine partnerships. UC Health still has a dedicated vaccination center, but it moved this week from a garage to a walk-in clinic at West Professional Building on Burnet Avenue in Avondale, an outpatient location. “We are not off ering vaccinations in primary care offi ces, but UC Health primary care physicians have always been able to refer eligible patients to our vaccination center,” said spokeswoman Amanda Nageleisen. In addition, she said, inpatients and emergency department patients at UC Medical Center and
Daniel Drake Center for Post-Acute Care are being off ered vaccination upon discharge. TriHealth’s approach to vaccination access is focused on “meeting individuals where they are” by having a variety of options for people who want the vaccine, offi cials said in a statement. The options include community popup vaccine sites across the region, collaborating with employers and schools to off er on-site vaccinations, and continuing vaccine access within the TriHealth system -- including at physician and pediatric offi ces, which are getting the vaccine in a phased-in process. Across the region, vaccine clinics are being right-sized to match current demand and off er vaccinations in the most convenient, accessible locations,” Schroder said, adding that the largescale stadium vaccination clinics are not needed anymore.
One jail treats addicted inmates, forges path of aftercare Terry DeMio Cincinnati Enquirer USA TODAY NETWORK
It’s jail, yes, but a diff erent kind of jail for inmates with addiction “Stranger Things” plays on the dorm TV on Friday afternoons, and they are fi xated. The men indulge in pizza and pop occasionally. They love that. And sometimes, one of the guys (an expert with clippers) cuts another’s hair, no charge. Welcome to jail. The Kenton County Detention Center in Independence wasn’t always like this. It has embraced science-based research for inmates with addiction who want it since 2015. The plan was a response to the fi rst major infl ux of fentanyl in Northern Kentucky, when overdose deaths skyrocketed and people with opioid use disorder fi lled the jail. Don’t misunderstand. It’s still jail. But it is rare for jails and prisons in the United States to off er a full continuum of
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treatment for inmates with addiction, and especially, to include medication – even though it is the standard of care. Here, in 2015, offi cials tried something new: They hired Jason Merrick, a certifi ed drug and alcohol addiction counselor with degrees in social work and in recovery himself, to a newly created role: Addiction Services director. Merrick pieced together a jail stay for those with substance use disorder that was framed around what addiction specialists saw as best practices. It was a solid start. Its evolution never stopped. In 2018, the eff ort expanded: The jail partnered with Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation, a nationally known treatment provider, in a program called Strong Start Comprehensive Opioid Response with 12 Steps and Reentry. It’s three months of treatment, off ering a range of opioid-use disorder medications, followed by three months of afterSee JAIL, Page 9A
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Luke Dorger, 24, takes part in his fi nal class at the Kenton County Detention Center. He graduated from the jail's treatment program April 12 and said, 'I'm never going back' to using drugs. His next stop would be the Life Learning Center in Covington. LIZ DUFOUR/THE ENQUIRER
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