COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine announced several new appointments to the Ohio Dept. of Health Thursday, as the state continues to see a spike in COVID-19 cases.
One of the key roles, Director of the Ohio Dept. of Health, will be filled by Stephanie McCloud, who previously served as Director of the Ohio Bureau of Workers Compensation.
"She has the experience necessary to lead ODH as it carries out its important health functions while also battling the pandemic," DeWine said.
The role has remained empty since Dr. Amy Acton stepped down back in June. In Sept., DeWine announced Dr. Joan Duwve would fill Acton's shoes. However, just hours after that announcement, Duwve withdrew from consideration.
McCloud is expected to begin in her role Nov. 16.
"We are all in this together and we will beat this virus together," McCloud said at Thursday's conference.
In addition to McCloud's appointment, the governor named off a long list of new additions to ODH, including:
- Chief Medical Officer - Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff, who has been serving for more than a decade as a Senior Vice President and as the Chief Medical Officer at Ohio Health
- Senior Deputy - Lance Himes, who has been serving as interim ODH director. He will lead the coordination of work to get a vaccine out to our citizens and will continue to work directly with Ohio’s local health commissioners.
- Chief of Staff - Kathleen Madden, who has been serving as Assistant Director at the Ohio Office of Budget and Management.
- Ohio National Guard Adjutant General Maj. Gen. John Harris will continue leading the pandemic response in the cross-agency coordination of Ohio’s pandemic response.
Ohio Mental Health and Addiction Services Director Lori Criss will continue heading up efforts to address the increasing mental health needs of Ohioans as the pandemic continues.
These personnel changes come at a crucial time in the state's fight against the virus, Ohio has continued to break its own records, with nearly 5,000 new cases reported on Thursday.
KEY INDICATORS
On Thursday, the Ohio Dept. of Health reported:
- 4,961 new cases of coronavirus compared to the 21-day average of 2,825
- 33 new coronavirus-related deaths compared the 21-day average of 20
- 214 new hospitalizations compared to the 21-day average of 152
- 23 ICU admissions compared to 21-day average of 22
Thursday, yet again, broke records with the most new cases in a 24-hour period since the pandemic began. While the state has increased testing, DeWine noted that case data has increased at a much higher rate than Ohio's testing.
Since Sept. 24, the total number of tests increased by about 44%, case data increased 280% within that same time frame.
The state also continues to report an increase in COVID-19 patients in its hospitals, in the ICU and on ventilators.
On Thursday, there were 2,075 COVID-19 patients in Ohio hospitals - a 55% increase in hospitalized patients compared to two weeks ago. Additionally, there are now 541 people in the ICU, the previous record was back in April with 533.
PUBLIC HEALTH ADVISORY MAP
DeWine said that there are now 56 counties in the Level 3 (Red) category on the state's Public Health Advisory Map, adding 13 to the list since last week.
Henry and Sandusky Counties were added in northwest Ohio, Sandusky for the first time. They joined Lucas, Defiance, Ottawa and Putnam who were already at that level.
Leaders with the Sandusky County Health Department said they are seeing a large increase in cases. Since Nov. 1, they have seen more than 85 cases and in the entire month of October, they reported 236. Sandusky Health Commissioner Bethany Brown said there are growing concerns about hospital capacity if the numbers continue at the current rate.
DeWine said that 86% of Ohio's population now live in a "red" county, with all 88 counties considered "high incidence."
CASES PER 100,000
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) defines "high incidence" as 100 cases per 100,000 people. All of Ohio's counties now meet this criteria.
Putnam County continues to top the list of counties with the most cases per 100,000 coming in at 1,157.7 Thursday, more than 11 times the threshold.
Also in northwest Ohio, Paulding, Defiance, Henry and Williams counties were in the top 20, all with at least 3.5 times the CDC threshold for high incidence.
DeWine noted that more announcements regarding his team's attack on the virus are on the way. However, he declined to elaborate on what those announcements might entail.
We will continue to keep you updated on the latest developments.