As Governor Mike DeWine and Ohio Director of Public Health Dr. Amy Acton regularly remind us at their daily 2 p.m. briefings, the data about COVID-19 cases both in the community and in long-term care facilities is emerging and far from complete. As Dr. Acton is fond of saying, it’s really just the tip of...
Author: Emily Muttillo
April 24, 2020
Congregate living in the time of COVID-19
Ohio recently emerged as having, at least for a moment in time, the largest outbreak of COVID-19 in the country. The outbreak occurred in the Marion Correctional Institution in which 80 percent of inmates have tested positive. Many of them are asymptomatic. Marion is not the only correctional facility with an outbreak, at the time...
March 21, 2020
Preventing social isolation when the senior center closes
Governor Mike DeWine announced that all senior centers must close by the end of the day on Monday, March 23, 2020. Even before the official government decree, congregate meal sites for older adults across the state were transitioning from group meals within their facilities to meal delivery and meal pick-up. Governor Mike DeWine announced that...
February 18, 2020
How do we love thee?
February 3, 2020
Social isolation: A quiet social determinant of health
How many friends do you have? When was the last time you called a family member to chat? Would you feel comfortable asking your neighbor to borrow a cup of sugar? Did you leave your house today? This week? This month? The answers to these questions could have a larger impact on your health than...
October 7, 2019
Racial Disparities in Infant Mortality Focus of ‘Toxic: A Black Woman’s Story’
Last week, First Year Cleveland through their Pregnancy And Infant Loss Initiative (PAIL), debuted a short film that tells the story of infant loss from a black women’s perspective. As the film website explains, the film invites the viewer to “Follow Nina in this day-in-the-life drama, and see the world through the eyes of a...
September 30, 2019
Populations in more Ohio counties flip, now have more older adults than children
The recent release of the 2018 one-year estimates of the American Community Survey is a special day for population data nerds. As we anxiously await for data.census.gov to update the tables with fresh data, we speculate on which communities have grown, shrunk or stayed the same. Here at Community Solutions, we have been keeping an...
September 16, 2019
Many of Ohio’s older adults are actively engaged in the workforce
Earlier this summer, the Associated Press released a poll that showed 1 in 4 Americans do not plan to retire. This got me thinking about what older adults in Ohio are thinking about their own employment. Fortunately, we have some data about this very issue handy to look at. In the past four years, The Center...
February 11, 2019
A lifetime of lead exposure
When elevated blood lead levels are in the news, it is typically related to the youngest members of our community. Children aged 5 and under tend to suffer the most devastating and permanent consequences of lead poisoning. Reporters at Cleveland’s Plain Dealer newspaper have consistently reported on the conditions that result in elevated blood levels...
November 19, 2018
Senior levies in Ohio are popular…once they pass: Senior tax levy update
Earlier this year, I wrote an analysis of senior tax levies in Ohio. Seventy-four of Ohio’s 88 counties have tax levies that provide various services to support older adults. These communities rely on levy funding to provide both basic need services, such as congregate meals, and more robust health and wellness programming including well-appointed senior...