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Still Winning See Sports A supplement to The Press Newspapers December 4, 2017
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Record funding for projects By Kelly J. Kaczala News Editor kkaczala@presspublications.com
Notable funding •Improvements to wastewater infrastructure (which affect the health of Ohio’s surface waters flowing into Lake Erie and the Ohio River) received $861 million; • The issuance of $65 million that was directed toward improving Ohio’s public water systems; •The issuance of $10 million for projects that restore wetlands and counter the loss of Ohio’s natural water resources; •Principal-forgiveness financing of Continued on page 2
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...your kindness breaks the pattern of what mean people expect, they aren’t sure of how to react. Bryan Golden See page 6
Serving up for Christmas
Soup kitchen volunteers Kate Pomrenke, Catholic Charities; and Dick Dardenne and Donna Pevino, both of St. Joseph Church, Maumee; share a laugh with Bishop Daniel Thomas at the annual Helping Hands of St. Louis Church Christmas Dinner. The event included a Christmas party where over 100 children received goody bags, plus new mittens, gloves and hats. (Press photo by Ken Grosjean)
Bill to help seriously ill moves ahead By Larry Limpf News Editor news@presspublications.com Steve Arndt can still remember encouraging the concept of palliative care be adopted at the Riverview Nursing Home in Oak Harbor when he was an Ottawa County commissioner. “I’ve seen the difference it makes in an individual’s life,” he said. “It was one of those things that helped change the whole culture within Riverview Nursing Home.” As chairman of the Aging and Long Term Care Committee in the Ohio House of Representatives, Arndt, R – Port Clinton, co-sponsored House Bill 286, which establishes a Palliative Care and Quality of Life Interdisciplinary Council to advise the Ohio Department of Health on matters related to palliative care initiatives. Palliative care is defined as specialized medical care for people with serious illness that focuses on providing relief from the symptoms and stress of the illness. The goal is to improve quality of life for both the patient and the family. “As opposed to hospice care, which is typically something you incorporate near the very end of life situations, palliative care often forms a team around the individual and helping him or her understand what their options are. It involves laying out a plan in how you’re going to address
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For my dad, it was about scheduling his treatments around taking that one last family vacation...
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The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency set a record in providing funding to communities with nearly $1 billion invested to improve water quality in 2017. More than $111 million was invested in 41 Northwest Ohio projects. The agency is expected to provide more - $1.7 billion – in 2018. The Ohio EPA issued more than $936 million this year to finance projects that upgraded drinking water infrastructure and improved the quality of Ohio’s lakes, rivers and streams — more than ever before in the 28-year history of the state’s revolving loan programs. All Ohio EPA loans are provided to communities at below market rates, and 2017 resulted in a combined savings of more than $150 million for Ohio communities. “It’s important for Ohioans to know that Ohio EPA is helping communities and business with compliance, technical and financial assistance,” Ohio EPA Director Craig W. Butler said. “We were able to make this nearly billion dollar investment in water quality improvements because these funds are carefully managed, and we are meeting frequently with county commissioners and mayors to understand their community needs and build positive working relationships between state and local governments.”
your critical illness,” Arndt said. “It’s about having the quality of life you want and what’s important to you.” HB 286 passed recently in the House by a vote of 91 - 0 and is now before the Senate Health, Human Services and Medicaid Committee. Arndt credits the work of Rep. Sarah LaTourette, R - Chesterland, a member of his committee and the bill’s primary sponsor, for the broad support it’s received, saying she sought extensive input from health care professionals and others while the bill was being crafted. For LaTourette, the bill has special meaning. “I spent two years seeing firsthand the
dramatic impact access to palliative care had on my dad and my entire family. For my dad, it was about scheduling his treatments around taking that one last family vacation or being able to make the trip to Columbus to see me sworn in,” she said when the bill passed the House. The bill requires specified health care facilities to establish a system for identifying patients or residents who could benefit from palliative care and to facilitate access to palliative care for individuals with a serious illness. It also authorizes a licensed hospice care program operating an inpatient hospice care facility or unit to provide palliative care to a patient other than a hospice patient. The Ohio Council of the Alzheimer’s Association provided written testimony in support of the bill. According to the association, nursing home residents with dementia who receive palliative care at the end of life, compared to those who don’t receive such care, are up to 15 times less likely to die in a hospital and nearly 2 ½ times less likely to have a hospitalization in the last 30 days of life. They’re also less likely to have an emergency room visit in the last week of life. The Council on Older Persons, a standing committee of the Center for Community Solutions that advocates for the needs of older adults in Cuyahoga County, also provided testimony in support of the bill.
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