News Briefs Week of 2/22/2021

Dinner rescheduled
A benefit dinner to support a local family whose father was diagnosed with stage-four cancer has been rescheduled from Feb. 20 to Saturday, Feb. 27, due to inclement weather.
The dinner will be held at Pemberville United Methodist Church, 205 Maple St. in lieu of the church’s carryout public dinner. Co-sponsors of the event are First Presbyterian, Son Fire, and Bethlehem Lutheran churches.
The carryout dinner, available from 4 p.m. until sold out, will include roast beef, baked potato, green beans, roll and butter and a choice of apple pie or chocolate lush. The requested donation is $9. Curbside pickup will be held on Maple Street.
All proceeds raised will help the family financially with medical bills, health insurance and other expenses.
Those who wish to make a donation may send contributions to PUMC, P.O. Box 343, Pemberville, OH 43450.

Alzheimer’s seminar
planned for March 3
The Alzheimer’s Association will host a virtual statewide town hall, assembling some of the nation’s top experts in the field of health equity and Alzheimer’s disease to discuss research involving underserved communities, on March 3 from 5-6:30 p.m.
Dr. Carl V. Hill, Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer for the Alzheimer’s Association, and Peter Lichtenberg, Ph.D., ABPP, President of the Gerontological Society of America (GSA), will host the event.
Dr. Hill said the seminar will include topics such as how targeting chronic stress and blood pressure self-care can prevent cognitive decline in African Americans, and Alzheimer’s disease and COVID-19.
The seminar will include speakers from The Ohio State University; the West Virginia University Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute; the University of Michigan; Michigan State University and the Michigan Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center.
Just like COVID-19, Alzheimer’s and dementia disproportionately impacts communities of color. For example, according to the Alzheimer’s Association:
• African Americans are about twice as likely as whites to have Alzheimer’s or another dementia. Hispanics are 1.5 times more likely to have Alzheimer’s.
• African Americans are more prone to risk factors for vascular disease — like diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol — which may also be risk factors for Alzheimer’s disease and stroke-related dementia.
• African Americans and Hispanics are less likely to have a dementia diagnosis.
• New research from Case Western Reserve University shows African Americans with dementia have close to three times the risk of being infected with COVID-19 as white individuals with dementia.
Dr. Hill said while growing up in College Park, Georgia, he witnessed challenges for accessing quality health care. He initially went into public health and developed his interest in health disparities research because he wanted to study “the factors that kept important resources like quality health care from being shared equitably in all communities.” When people leave the March 3 event, Dr. Hill said he wants “everyone to consider how they can contribute to diversity and inclusion and become ambassadors for a shared vision for health equity as we really look to a world without Alzheimer’s and all other dementia for all communities.”
To register for the seminar, visit: alz.org/jackson-seminar.

Bill would help
mentally ill
State Rep. Paula Hicks-Hudson has provided sponsor testimony before the Ohio House Ways and Means Committee on House Bill 71, which would exempt from property taxation qualifying housing for individuals diagnosed with mental illness or substance use disorder.
“The bill is just one creative way to provide affordable, supportive housing for those facing homelessness due to mental illness. It keeps our promise to the most vulnerable that they also can live, work and thrive here when we, legislators, provide innovative ways to address society's problems. I am hopeful that this legislation will become law during this 134th General Assembly,” said Hicks-Hudson.
This legislation would:
-Provide safe, affordable housing with support services for homeless people with mental illness and/or substance use disorders;
-Offer a proven, cost-effective way to combat homelessness and improve health outcomes;
-Lower public costs by reducing use of publicly funded crisis services like shelters, hospitals, psychiatric centers, jails, and prisons.
The bill now awaits further hearings in the Ways and Means Committee.

Senate bill
criticized
State Senator Teresa Fedor, D-Toledo, released the following statement after the Ohio Senate passed Senate Bill 22, which would give lawmakers the power to strike down executive orders during public health emergencies:
“I believe Governor DeWine needs to veto this bill. The Ohio Department of Health needs flexibility when responding to the Covid-19 crisis, especially as new variants of the virus arise. Yet the Republican majority is focused on passing what I believe is an unconstitutional bill that only further endangers lives by limiting emergency authority. This chamber’s priorities are wildly out of order.
“Ohio has already had over 943,000 cases of Covid-19 and over 16,000 deaths. Hundreds of thousands of people across our state are unemployed. One in ten households have reported food insecurity, and food banks are overwhelmed. In addition, 800,000 Ohioans are at risk of eviction.”