When President Trump declared the opioid epidemic a national public health emergency, it came with a regulation change meant to ease provider shortage. It allows doctors to prescribe addiction medicine virtually, without ever seeing the patient in person. In Indiana, this has been legal since early 2017 but, as Side Effects Public Media’s Emily Forman reports, it’s complicated.
In her State of the City address earlier this month, Mayor Nan Whaley called health care is a priority for the city. The recently announced closure of Good Samaritan Hospital was a key issue in the mayor’s speech. Premier Health in January announced it will close Good Sam later this year. Now, officials with Five Rivers Health Centers say they hope to expand services at an existing clinic to treat more patients affected by the loss of Good Sam.
Longtime Dayton public servant Willis E. Blackshear died last week. Blackshear served in the Montgomery County treasurer’s office for 22 years and as county recorder since 2008. The 57 year-old Dayton native and graduate of Paul Laurence Dunbar High School died in hospice care. In this interview with WYSO, Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley, who we heard from earlier in the program, says Blackshear really understood the value of public service.
A lot of us have been tuned into the Olympics this week....but it's good to remember that some young people running races of their own. Today on Dayton Youth Radio, we meet Hezikiah Reed, a senior from Ponitz Career Technology Center.
Over the weekend, thousands of public employees rallied in Columbus and at state capitols across the country ahead of a U.S. Supreme Court hearing in Washington Monday. The case pits an Illinois social worker against a public employee union. But its outcome could have major implications for state and local government workers across the country—including Ohio teachers. StateImpact Ohio’s Ashton Marra reports.
Bill Felker has this week's Poor Will's Almanack.