18 minute read
Our Cover Kid
VEDA OUR COVER KID:
[age] 6 years old
COLOR FOOD
SPORT ICE CREAM
TV SHOW RESTAURANT BOOK
MOVIE ACTIVITY
CANDY
Blue and purple Crab legs and shrimp Basketball (P.S., we've never seen her watch or play basketball - ever!) Mint chocolate chip Slick Slime Sam LaRosa's Captain Underpants Trolls 2 Crafts Buncha Crunch [my favorites]
[an interesting fact about me] I learned how to whistle ON my 4th birthday!
[when I grow up] I want to be a doctor and a basketball player.
COVER PHOTO BY:
GC Photography gcphotography.com
THE DOCTOR IS (VIRTUALLY) I N
When should you use a virtual doctor’s visit for your child?
WORDS BY NICOLE SIPE
irtual doctor visits have grown in popularity, spurred mostly by the stay-at-home orders that were issued to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. Even during a pandemic, people still need access to basic medical care, and online doctor visits allow patients to receive medical care and advice from the comfort and safety of their home, without having to visit a doctor’s office.
V
But how does virtual care work for children, and how do you know when a telehealth visit is right for your child’s particular situation? We asked the experts.
WHEN TO USE VIRTUAL VISITS
Virtual visits are a great way to connect to your child’s pediatrician or a nurse practitioner, especially when there are risks to being seen in person, such as during a pandemic.
“For things that can be easily described, such as recent side effects with a new medication, or shown in video or image, like a rash, those are ideal for video visits,” says Jen Ruschman, senior director at the Center for Telehealth at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital. “We use video visits at Cincinnati Children’s for specialty care and minor illnesses and injuries. It can be very convenient for families, and can provide necessary just-in-time care and reassurance.”
There are other times when virtual visits are necessary, such as when your child needs occupational, speech or physical therapy on a regular basis, but can’t visit their therapist’s office in person.
“Therapy needs to be consistent to gain progress. If we cannot open our clinic, we cannot just leave the children to lose progress,” says Jodie Reed, director of marketing at ABC Pediatric Therapy in Cincinnati. “Going without therapy can be a significant setback for your child. Teletherapy helps bridge that gap and gives them consistency and some sort of normalcy to their previous routine.”
WHEN TO V IS IT THE OFF IC E
However, there are times when an in-person doctor visit is necessary. “For example, if we cannot examine a child’s ear, then it’s difficult to appropriately diagnose an ear infection,” Ruschman says.
Additionally, seeing your child’s primary care provider for well-visits are essential for children to stay up-to-date on vaccinations, and to appropriately monitor growth and development.
HOW TO PREPARE FOR A V IRTUAL DOCTOR’S VISIT
Just like an in-person visit, it’s a good idea to be prepared for your video visit. Ruschman offers these tips:
+ Test your technology prior to your appointment time. Make sure your internet is up and running, and that your computer or mobile device is charged. Many doctor’s offices will provide you with a link or ask you to download an app in order to access the video conferencing feature. Make sure you download and test these things before your appointment time. If your internet connection is poor, move closer to your router and limit other internet traffic from your home.
+ Write down your questions. To save everyone time and make the most of your virtual visit, write down what you want to discuss with your provider.
+ Consider your setting. Place yourself and your child in a well-lit area.
+ Keep your hands free. If you have a young child, use a car seat as a place to set down your infant safely so you can take notes and operate the computer or mobile device during the virtual doctor’s visit, or have another adult present.
BECOMING a foster parent
WORDS BY MAGGIE LOISELLE AND KAREN RING
Comforting a crying child, making time to play pretend, listening to a story, cooking a great grilled cheese together — these unsung parts of parenthood may seem mundane, but for children in the midst of a family upheaval, these small acts provide the stability, normalcy and love they often desperately crave.
At any given moment, there are an average of 16,000 children in Ohio’s foster care system. Most are unable to stay with their biological families because of abuse, neglect or other circumstances. The primary goal of foster care is to provide a temporary, safe, nurturing and stable environment until a child can be safely reunited with their families, which usually happens within a year in Ohio. If you have ever considered the idea of fostering a child, here are the requirements as dictated by the state, as well as the important personal characteristics that are attributed to successful foster families.
The basics In Ohio, foster parents must be licensed by the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services through their county public children services agency (PCSA), or a private agency certified by the state to approve and recommend foster parents.
“All prospective foster families will need to complete a home study, which is an assessment of the family and home required by the state,” says Sarah Feine,
“The goal of foster care is always to return children to their birth family if the family works to complete their case plan and we determine it is safe for the children to return,” says Rodger Stauffer, foster care manager with Agape for Youth, Inc. “Permanency is critical to the future success of our children and that is where adoption comes in. It is common for our foster families to ultimately choose to adopt children who have been placed in their home when reunification is not possible.” a family assessor with Focus on Youth, Inc. “They will also need to complete paperwork for the assessment, 36 hours of preservice training, background checks, financial documents, physicals and safety assessments of their home.”
Basic requirements include being at least 21 years old; having at least one person in the home who can read, write and speak English or be able to communicate with the child and the placement agency; be free of any physical, emotional or mental conditions that could endanger the child as confirmed by a physician; pass a criminal history and background check; and take part in a home visit. There are also requirements for continued training once a family has become licensed. “Once licensed, Agape offers our families an extensive menu of on-going trainings designed to go deeper into various issues that our families may face,” Stauffer says. “They learn from experts on mental health, birth families, school issues, behavioral issues, self-harm, impact of abuse and neglect and much more.”
Your family It’s important to note that foster families come in all shapes and sizes. “The ideal family is simply one that is willing to love children and keep them safe,” Feine says. “You can be single, married, divorced or have a live-in partner and be a licensed foster parent. Your home situation will be evaluated and considered individually during the home study process.”
Feine also notes that potential foster parents who are married are required to have their spouse on the license. “Your family circumstances will influence the ages and needs of the children considered for placement in your home,” she says.
Your home Prospective foster parents are required to rent or own a home or apartment that meets physical safety standards (such as having fire extinguishers) and has space for a child or children, although they do not need their own
Your finances The state requires that foster families demonstrate financial stability, meaning they can support themselves and the child. Foster families do receive a stipend while a child lives with them, but it only covers the child’s daily expenses. Medical expenses for children in the foster system are covered by Medicaid.
Besides meeting regulations set by the state, good foster parents possess a variety of personal traits and skills that make the fostering experience positive for both them and the child in their care. “Homes that are flexible, have strong support systems, can be empathetic, and people who are willing to try new parenting techniques tend to have success when working with our kids,” Stauffer says. “There is no perfect formula, but a willingness to love a child where they are at is a great starting point.”
Above all, prospective foster parents should understand that they are not alone. Local foster care agencies and support groups offer ample resources to help along the way. “Walking with them through the journey, supporting them when it gets tough, and celebrating every victory with them is something we've done exceptionally well for the last 25 years,” Feine says.
To learn more about becoming a foster parent, as well as Ohio foster care rules and regulations, visit jfs.ohio.gov.
HE WORLD AS WE’VE KNOWN IT HAS COME TO A SCREECHING HALT OVER THE PAST COUPLE OF MONTHS. THE DOORS OF SCHOOLS AND MOST BUSINESSES HAVE CLOSED, LEAVING PEOPLE SCRAMBLING FOR WAYS TO MAKE DO. PARENTS HAVE SUDDENLY BECOME HOMESCHOOL TEACHERS AND BUSINESS OWNERS ARE SUDDENLY FORCED TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO KEEP THE LIGHTS ON WITHOUT CUSTOMERS IN THEIR STORES.
T
But if tough times teach us anything, it’s that Ohioans are a crafty and resilient bunch.
We wanted to highlight some Cincinnati-area businesses that have pivoted how they operate in order to stay open and continue to serve their customers during this difficult time. The following pages are packed with local stories. Find inspiring profiles of Findlay Market and The Children's Theatre of Cincinnati here:
cincinnatiparent.com/
around-town-cincy.
Keeping the Community Connected to the Great Outdoors: Great Parks of Hamilton County
This spring, Ohioans were ordered to stay home — but with a few notable exceptions. Outdoor exercise (provided safe social distancing guidelines were followed) was not only allowed, but encouraged. And the Great Parks of Hamilton County stayed open, providing a safe place for fresh air and exercise.
Remaining open wasn’t without challenges, however. Great Parks had to close many of its beloved attractions and cancel big annual events. Cincinnati Parent spoke with Great Parks public education coordinator Kimberly Whitton about some of the challenges they’ve faced — and why the parks are so important.
Great Parks continues to follow the COVID virus situation very closely to ensure our park guests are safe and to help in determining ongoing facility and program/event cancellations, closures and openings. Overall, the parks are an important part of many people’s lives right now and we want to ensure we are providing our community access to the great outdoors.
Although facilities and programming have had to be closed or cancelled, Great Parks has kept the parks open through the pandemic, providing the community with access to passive recreation like trails, personal canoe/kayak and fishing, disc golf, and most recently, opening of golf courses.
Once Great Parks learned about the restrictions put in place with public gatherings and the stay-at-home order was put in place, we knew we had to find a way to provide park guests with continued access to nature education. This is when Parks@ Home wa s created, which provides fun and educational activities, crafts, videos and more that families can engage in from the comfort of their homes.
First and foremost, the biggest way we have stayed connected with the community is by keeping the parks open and providing access to the great outdoors. Another way we have stayed connected is through our Parks@ Home series, which was started after in person programming had to be cancelled. The series was created with all ages in mind, offering everything from coloring sheets to scavenger hunts, to crafts and outdoor games. We’ve also started daily interactive Facebook and Instagram Live videos at 10 a.m. on weekdays, featuring experiences and providing project ideas. Parks@Home is housed on our blog (greatparks.org/ parksathome) and on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
As Ohio reopens, we are hoping to gradually open our parks more, including facilities, playgrounds, picnic areas, programs and events. We will do this with everyone’s health and safety in mind. Cincinnati parents can continue to utilize our Parks@ Home series and follow us on social media as we look forward to opening more of our park areas.
For more information on Parks@Home, visit greatparks. org/parksathome.
Continuing High-Quality Music Education Online: Cincinnati School of Music
Like many businesses in Cincy, Cincinnati School of Music had to temporarily close its physical doors due to stay-at-home orders issued because of COVID-19. However, the music school quickly took steps to offer virtual classes, which allowed students to receive high-quality music education while staying safe at home. Cincinnati Parent talked to Anna Backer, the owner and director of Cincinnati School of Music, about CSM’s quick pivot to online music education and their mission to transform lives through music — especially during this crisis.
It's been a tumultuous last few months. How are you holding up?
The last few months have been a challenge. Despite sustaining losses, we have worked day and night — like many small businesses — to keep our people safe. My husband Joe and I started following the news about COVID-19 back in February, and we worked around the clock to ensure that CSM was ready for the chaos that struck in early March. We came up with a plan and let our teachers and students know exactly what to expect.
At first, we didn’t know how everyone would handle the switch to virtual learning. But we have been humbled by the response of students and families, who have adapted to remote learning and remained committed to their lessons. By staying at CSM, these families have not only allowed our business to survive this challenging time, they have also provided desperately needed income to so many local musicians who have lost wages due to the cancellation of gigs and events that they rely on throughout the year. Our teachers, too, have shown dedication and creativity, adapting quickly to the new platform. Joe and I could not be prouder. It has not been easy to keep up with the rapidly evolving requirements for local businesses, but we are proud also of our extraordinary administrative team, who have consistently provided prompt, friendly assistance throughout the transition to remote learning.
What are you doing to keep Cincinnati School of Music up and running during this time?
We use a number of apps and platforms to keep our team safe as they continue providing an exceptional learning experience for our students. After a lot of research, we’ve found that Zoom’s features best meet the needs of our community, including ease, stability, convenience, and security. In addition, the platform LessonMate has been a gamechanger for CSM, and we now make it available free-of-charge to all our students.
One unexpected blessing we’ve experienced during this transition is the ability to provide opportunities to teachers and students outside the Cincinnati area. Since we started offering music lessons via Zoom, we have enrolled new students from Georgia, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and even as far away as Germany! We have instructors working remotely from Virginia, Texas and Taiwan. We are thrilled by the opportunity to connect with people across the world!
We are proud that we have been able to continue providing work for over 50 professional musicians while also keeping all of our administrative staff on payroll. We believe in doing everything we can — even cutting our own pay — to provide our workers with stability throughout this challenging time.
We remain active on social media, including Facebook and Instagram. We love seeing families share highlights of their musical progress, particularly with the help of virtual lessons through CSM. Our own family has experienced the benefits of virtual music lessons. Our oldest child has been able to continue her weekly sessions with her piano teacher, working towards new goals, developing confidence, and fostering creative self-expression in a fun and educational medium. We are also humble contributors to Melodic Connections, a local nonprofit that provides music education and music therapy to people of all ages and abilities.
And we are thrilled to announce CSM’s new Summer Sampler Series, which will provide free instructional videos for anyone interested in exploring different musical instruments and learning fundamental concepts and techniques this summer.
At CSM, we hope to provide some measure of stability during this crisis, by offering convenient, uninterrupted music education at the highest level, with friendly customer service that our clients can rely on seven days a week.
Our mission is to transform lives and build lasting relationships. We can’t wait to start providing in-person lessons again this summer, all the while ensuring the health and safety of everyone in our community. We are actively monitoring Governor Dewine’s latest updates and guidelines.
Whatever happens, Cincinnati School of Music will be here for you.
Cincinnati Museum Center is no stranger to closures. Over the last several years, the beloved Cincinnati institution closed many of its museums as part of a massive restoration project. But this spring, CMC entered unchartered territory, closing March 14 in an effort to keep everyone safe.
During this closure, CMC moved its programs online, through their Wonder Zone videos, at-home science experiments, "Off the Shelf " curator blog series and more. But the reality is, CMC was losing $1.5M+ each month in operating revenue alone. And as an independent nonprofit, CMC faces an uncertain future. Cincinnati Parent spoke with Cody Heffner, CMC’s director of communications, about how the museum plans to move forward.
For us, being in the museum and being surrounded by guests is energizing. It’s a constant reminder of why we do what we do. Being away from the building and
interacting with guests digitally has proven to be an emotional change — but we remain energized and are constantly encouraged by the engagement we continue to have and the feedback we’ve received. We’ve had to rewire ourselves a little bit to do so, but we’re realizing we can have an even broader impact digitally.
We’ve shifted a lot of our programming, expertise and talents online. Our curators have become much more visible and vocal, sharing insight into their collections and their research in a way they previously haven’t been able to with such a wide audience. Our education staff has also had the opportunity to show a little more of their personality and ingenuity through online videos that have either tested their technology skills or shown just how tech-savvy they are. We really looked at what we have available in our homes or in our digital collections and encouraged our staff to guide us: What would you want to see during this time? What can you execute with what you have on hand? No idea has been off the table and we’re tapping into our staff ’s passion and talents at this time.
We’ve taken as many programs as possible online so we can continue to nurture curious and growing minds and encourage lifelong learning. That means we’re all pulling together to offer virtual and online programs for kids and adults of all ages. We have a lot of resources online right now, in addition to daily programming through our social media channels. For example, on Mondays we offer a virtual STEM Girls video to inspire young girls to pursue an education and career in STEM fields; Wednesdays we’ve taken our Story Tree Time online as we read a different story every week; and on Fridays we have our dance parties online. And throughout the week, we’ve been sharing lesson plans, at-home science experiments, opportunities to get outside and explore nature and more. Plus, we’ve partnered with the YMCA, Cincinnati Art Museum, Public Library and more on virtual programs, book clubs, art challenges and more.
We know the museum we closed will not be the one we reopen. Cleaning protocols will dictate how we reopen, and we’re working with government and health officials, as well as community organizations and leaders, to determine the best time and way to reopen. But we will reopen. And we will continue to provide an educational and engaging museum experience that kids and adults alike will talk about for years to come. We’d love to know what parents are expecting to see when we reopen: what will make them feel safe and comfortable? What programs have you seen online that you want us to bring to the museum f loor in real life? Or what programs have you seen elsewhere that you’d like us to try our hand at? Our community has such a role in helping us shape our museum.
For more information on Cincinnati Museum Center or to make a donation to the COVID-19 relief fund, visit
cincymuseum.org/covid19-
closure-fund.
