Story released by Cincinnati Enquirer. Click here to read the story on the Enquirer website. Story was authored by Terry DeMio. Story features CCTST Community Engagement Co-Director, Monica Mitchell.

For 20 years, Monica Mitchell's voice has been familiar in Cincinnati neighborhoods, reassuring and confident as she promotes good health at churches and schools and to business leaders and agencies as senior director of community relations at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center.

“The voice of African American and other minority professionals is really important because of the trust factor in many cases," Mitchell said. "I bring accurate information to let people know that it’s good to participate in research, it’s good to get a vaccination.

"People do listen."

And for more than a year with the novel coronavirus pandemic, Mitchell's voice has been key to stripping away unease.

"I was reaching out to community members, giving them advice to wear their mask, socially distance," she said.

She worked with the First Ladies for Health in their church events. 

But lately, she has included a new dimension within her message: Mitchell has her own COVID-19 story to tell. She is fighting vaccine hesitancy by telling it.…click here to read the full story on the Cincinnati Enquirer website.

Science Around Cincy is a video series sharing the stories of the people who work in science in the Cincinnati area. In December 2020, the series featured Andy Beck, MD, MPH, Attending Physician, Division of General & Community Pediatrics, Attending Physician, Division of Hospital Medicine, CCHMC, Associate Professor, UC Department of Pediatrics who discussed COVID-19.

Story released by WVXU Cincinnati Public Radio. Click here to read the story on the WVXU website. Story was authored by Ann Thompson.

It's no surprise that people are facing the pandemic differently. A number of recent Greater Cincinnati surveys show large disparities in contracting the virus and dealing with it.

One such survey from respondents at the Hamilton County Justice Center found varied reports as to whether or not corrections officers were wearing masks regularly. Aimee Miley with Cincinnati Jail Support told participants on a Zoom call Thursday, "When it comes to cleanliness there were reports of items in common areas not being sanitized or cleaned. Some reported items from previous occupants being in the cell."

Miley says inmates also reported a lack of testing and those with COVID lacked medication. When released, they had problems finding a place to live and their work hours were reduced because of COVID.

They aren't alone.

"Racial and Health Inequities Exposed By COVID-19" was the title of Thursday's Zoom discussion, sponsored by Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center and the Center for Clinical and Translational Science and Training (CCTST).

Dr. Amy Rule with Cincinnati Children's says there were some disturbing findings in a study she did looking at Latinos. "Before the pandemic, when compared to after the pandemic, we saw a five-fold increase in food insecurity. In terms of housing insecurity, we saw a 30-fold increase."

Presenter Bryan Wright looked at the refugee population:

• 52% reported losing employment income

• Over 50% felt anxious worried and depressed in the past week

• One in five did not have enough to eat

• One-third had problems with online learning

As various organizations report these disturbing statistics, Cincinnati Children's and others are taking steps to remedy the situation. They report proactive outreach, scaling up telehealth, post-discharge follow-up, and the distribution of sanitizers, wipes and the like.

The groups are also promoting non-pharmaceutical interventions, providing data-driven strategies for testing sites and distribution of resources like food, all while focusing on equity.

Story released by WVXU Cincinnati Public Radio. Click here to read the story on the WVXU website. Story was authored by Ann Thompson.

Story released by WCPO Cincinnati. Click here to read the story on the WCPO website. Story was authored by Ravin Richard.

Nine months deep in the COVID-19 pandemic, as diagnoses multiply across the country, experts say Black and Hispanic Americans are still more vulnerable to experiencing serious complications from the novel coronavirus and less likely to be tested for it.

And their health isn’t the only thing at risk. For low-income groups, of which Black and Hispanic people form a disproportionate amount, missing work due to a diagnosis or quarantine can mean losing a sorely needed job or failing to pay bills for the month.

“I do believe that there are people that have it and never get tested because they don’t want to know, and the consequences of knowing and what that might mean,” said Dr. Karen Bankston, a professor emerita at the University of Cincinnati College of Nursing, during a Thursday conference on the racial health gap during the pandemic.

Black Americans with COVID-19 are twice as likely to die as their white counterparts.

Food insecurity and eviction worries have become dominant concerns in the lives of many local Hispanic families since the pandemic began, according to pediatric hospitalist Dr. Amy Rule.

Those fears can lead them to avoid testing, she said.

“They have fears that if they test positive that they won’t be able to work, and if they can’t work they can’t feed their families and they can’t pay their rent,” she said.

These are real concerns for families across the country, especially as the United States’ highest-ever spike continues and Congress appears to have temporarily abandoned discussions about a second stimulus package.

“We really need to figure out what the right balance of support for our social and economic well-being is while we are also stemming the tide of the pandemic,” said Children’s Hospital pediatrician Dr. Andrew Beck.

Story released by the WCPO Cincinnati. Click here to read the story on the WCPO website. Story was authored by Ravin Richard.

CCTST November Grand Rounds: Situational awareness and the maintenance of an informed, optimized response to key phases of the COVID-19 pandemic

November 20, 2020
12:00-1:00
via Zoom
No registration is required - Simply use the Zoom meeting information below to join at the time of the meeting.

Zoom Information:

Join Zoom Meeting: https://zoom.us/j/96653032651?pwd=cDBPOGNkY2Z5YzVXbEtwM01sUzhCdz09

Meeting ID: 966 5303 2651
Passcode: 454454

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Meeting ID: 966 5303 2651
Passcode: 454454
Find your local number: https://zoom.us/u/aqWvM9x3m

Presenters:

• Peter A. Margolis, MD, PhD
  Co-Director, James M. Anderson Center for Health Systems Excellence
  Professor, UC Department of Pediatrics

• David Hartley, PhD, MPH
  Associate Professor, UC Department of Pediatrics
  James M. Anderson Center for Health Systems Excellence

• Andrew F. Beck, MD, MPH
  Attending Physician, Division of General & Community Pediatrics
  Attending Physician, Division of Hospital Medicine
  Associate Professor, UC Department of Pediatrics

Presentation Overview:
With the holidays approaching and COVID-19 rates rapidly increasing, it’s important to review what we know thus far about this virus. In this presentation, we will provide an update on COVID-19 in Greater Cincinnati, illustrating current, worrisome trends in disease activity and models informing potential paths forward. In so doing, we will highlight how our approach to situational awareness for hospitals and healthcare systems has been extended to other sectors (e.g., public health, congregate care, and schools). We will also discuss how these methods have similarly been used to optimize testing and promote clear communication with key stakeholders, including with the public.

Story released by the UC News. Authored by Katie Pence.

UC Answers: How are UC researchers tackling COVID-19?
Associate dean discusses efforts by UC researchers to combat the coronavirus

“The only way out of the COVID-19 global pandemic is through science,” says Brett Kissela, MD, senior associate dean for clinical research at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine and chief of research services at UC Health.

UC researchers are playing a major part, working around the clock to study the coronavirus — from transmission to treatment and beyond — with hopes of ending the pandemic sooner than later.

In addition to conducting both basic science and clinical research, these scientists are also training the next generation of research pioneers, allowing them to actively participate and make their own mark during a global health event that will undoubtedly change the future of the field and public health as we know it.

How is UC leading the way during this global pandemic?
"The only way out of the COVID-19 global pandemic is through science. We need better prevention. We need treatments. We need vaccines. And we need testing. At the University of Cincinnati and the College of Medicine, we're researching all aspects of those areas to try and defeat COVID-19. We are conducting research that starts with basic science and understanding the biology of the COVID-19 virus but are also looking at the clinical manifestations of the virus and how to treat patients who are infected as well as ways to keep the population from getting sick."

How will this event shape medical research moving forward?
"COVID-19 has been a worldwide threat as a pandemic. We've seen scientists coming together across the United States — across the globe, really — working together to solve this problem with science. I think in the future we're going to find ways to better focus on major existing health problems like cancer, stroke and dementia, and I think we'll learn techniques that will improve our ability to solve these problems. I know at the University of Cincinnati, we'll be involved in these collaborations. We're very excited to be part of finding the solution for COVID-19, and we look forward to making major contributions across the spectrum of this and all diseases."

What major research contributions to the pandemic are UC scientists making?
"We’re very excited for an upcoming vaccine trial, the first major trial to hit Cincinnati in a later phase in which we hope to find a vaccine that will be effective against COVID-19. We're also excited about some upcoming trials to investigate treatment of patients infected with COVID-19 and prevention of the disease. Finally, we’re doing some important research engaging the community to understand how behaviors might lead to the spread of the virus — for example, understanding factors involving facial coverings for prevention and ways the virus impacts people from underrepresented populations."

How are students and postdoctoral trainees involved in this work?
"Across the university, and especially at the College of Medicine, we've seen labs from all different disciplines coming together to study COVID-19. Labs that weren't related to infectious diseases and viruses before the pandemic are now studying COVID-19 or the related impact of COVID-19 on systems in the body. We're definitely seeing our students and graduate students pulled into an understanding of how to collaborate in a time of an international emergency and really use science as a tool to help get us out of it."

Why is participating in clinical trials for COVID-19 so important?
"As we bring these trials forward, especially for prevention strategies like vaccines, I would encourage everyone to consider being a part of it. I've signed up. This is our opportunity to see if we can find a way to help prevent COVID-19. When you're in a clinical trial, you're not only taking the opportunity to potentially have early access to something beneficial for yourself, but you're helping the rest of the world by assisting scientists in learning about what works and what does not work."

Story released by the UC News. Authored by Katie Pence. Featured photo of Brett Kissela, MD, taken by Colleen Kelley/UC Creative + Brand.

Story released by Cincinnati WLWT. Click here to read the story, including video and photos, on the WLWT website.

CINCINNATI — During an exercise break at Cincinnati's Eden Park on Tuesday, coronavirus case counts were not far from Erin Davis' mind.

"I try to stay as informed as I can on the data side," Davis said.

Like many people, Davis is trying to keep track of the latest COVID-19 facts, figures and trends.

"I think we're doing OK," she said. "People seem to be wearing masks and keeping distance, even like running in the park, people run around. So, I think we're doing okay. There's always room for improvement."

"I would say the news is not all bad. It's also not all good," Dr. Andrew Beck said.

Beck is a doctor at Cincinnati Children's Hospital and a Covid-19 data tracker, utilizing a daily dashboard that be found at CCTST.org.

Beck said one bright spot is Greater Cincinnati's positivity rate. After the number soared to 25 percent of all coronavirus tests coming back positive in the spring, it's been at or below 4-and-a-half percent for the past several weeks.

"The positivity rate going down is certainly a good thing. I think we could still push it down further," Beck said.

What troubles Beck the most is the region's COVID-19 re-transmission rate, often referred to as the "r-factor."

"How many individuals does an infected person go on to infect before they recover?" Beck said, describing what the "r-factor is."

An "r-factor" above one means the virus is growing. When the figure is below one, the virus is dying out.

As of Sunday, half of the 14 counties in Greater Cincinnati had an "r-factor" greater than one.

"What that has resulted in is a level of virus within our community that is still above where we want it to be, and above a lot of other communities across the country," Beck said.

COVID-19 numbers can seem inconsistent sometimes. For example, the latest hospitalization rates and patients in ICU beds are going down, which is good. But Beck said those rates are still at a high level, which makes him nervous because cold and flu season is fast approaching. A combination of coronavirus and flu cases at area hospitals could severely strain already fatigued health care workers.

Taken all together, Beck said the latest batch of data means everyone should keep their guard up.

"It is a mixed picture," he said. "I think there's a lot to be pleased with here. But there's no way for us to be completely satisfied."

Story released by Cincinnati WLWT. Click here to read the story, including video and photos, on the WLWT website.

Join the 2nd Virtual Health Research Science Café on COVID-19 and Our Community

Thursday, August 13, 2020
3:00-4:00pm (Event will feature 30 minutes Q&A; recording available post-event at CTRonline)
via Zoom
Click here to view the event flyer.
Click here to view a recording of the presentation.

No registration is required - Simply use the Zoom meeting information below to join at the time of the meeting.

Zoom Information:

• Join Zoom Meeting: https://zoom.us/j/96544294105?pwd=aVNON1hheVVKdTVoN3N0N0ovVVo1dz09

• Meeting ID: 965 4429 4105

• Passcode: 974495

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  Find your local number: https://zoom.us/u/abUnx8VOUR

Moderator:

• Patrick Ryan, PhD
  Professor, UC Department of Pediatrics
  UC Department of Environmental Health
  Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center

Presenters:

• Greg Kesterman
  Health Commissioner,
  Community Health Services
  Hamilton County Public Health

• Jason Blackard PhD
  Associate Professor,
  Dept. of Internal Medicine
  University of Cincinnati

• Senu Apewokin MD
  Associate Professor,
  Dept. of Internal Medicine
  University of Cincinnati

Story released by Cincinnati WLWT. Click here to read the story, including video and photos, on the WLWT website.

CINCINNATI — "This virus can change and can change fairly rapidly," Dr. Andrew Beck with Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center.

Beck's blunt assessment is informed by data, not public perceptions.

WLWT investigator Todd Dykes spoke to Beck and two other doctors with the same hospital who analyze real-time, regional coronavirus case counts. They do so in partnership with The Health Collaborative, regional hospitals, public health departments, and the Center for Clinical and Transitional Science and Training (CCTST) at the University of Cincinnati and Children's Hospital.

"There's an enormous amount of information sharing now taking place across hospitals," Dr. Peter Margolis said.

Some of that information includes hospitalizations of COVID-19 patients. One chart on a CCTST dashboard shows plot points of raw numbers. As of Friday, more than 175 people in Southwest Ohio are hospitalized with the coronavirus. In fact, there's been an upward trend since mid-June and higher numbers now than at any point in the pandemic.

ICU beds being used by patients with COVID-19 are not at their peak after a big decline last month, but they're still headed in the wrong direction. The total stands at 55 COVID-19 patients out of 435 current ICU patients in Butler, Clermont, Hamilton and Warren County, according to the Ohio Department of Health.

"Instead of continuing to go down, we start to see ourselves going up," Beck said.

The dashboard also includes a different look at the number of critical care beds available in Southwest Ohio, beds that cover everything from cases of coronavirus to heart attack victims.

Hospitals in the Cincinnati area are at 84% of capacity. The danger zone starts at 95%. But even then, local hospitals would room to expand to as much as 161% of capacity.

"We do have space that we can give, but we need to be very attentive as we're starting to get up into the zone of full hospital beds," Margolis said.

One point of public contention is the coronavirus death rate.

Data from from hospitals in Southwest Ohio, Northern Kentucky and Southeastern Indiana shows a downward trend since mid-May. But the doctors Dykes spoke to said close attention needs to be paid to the death count chart's last marker, which signaled a rise in the number of people who've died from COVID-19.

What happens when researchers add additional markers next week will be critical.

"Come next week when we put the next dot up and it's higher than the last one then that means that the surge of cases that we just saw has funneled through the system and had a series of bad outcomes," Dr. David Hartley said.

In addition to concerns about death counts and hospitalizations, Hartley, Margolis and Beck are also concerned about the growing lag time between taking COVID-19 tests and getting the results.

They said that ideally a person would know if they have the virus in one to two days or less. Because so many more tests are now being conducted in Greater Cincinnati, labs can be overwhelmed. Some WLWT viewers have said they've waited almost a week for their results. If someone is positive, that means an extra week where they could be walking around infecting more people without realizing it.

Story released by Cincinnati WLWT. Click here to read the story, including video and photos, on the WLWT website.

Continuing to Optimize a Data-Driven, Collaborative, and Regional Response to COVID-19 – Learnings from the First Four Months

Friday, July 17, 2020
12:00 - 1:00pm
via Zoom
Click here to view a recording of the presentation.

No registration is required - Simply use the Zoom meeting information below to join at the time of the meeting.

Zoom Information:

• Join Zoom Meeting: https://zoom.us/j/96653032651

• Meeting ID: 966 5303 2651

• One tap mobile:
  +16468769923,,96653032651# US (New York)
  +13017158592,,96653032651# US (Germantown)

• Dial by your location:
  +1 646 876 9923 US (New York)
  +1 301 715 8592 US (Germantown)
  +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)
  +1 346 248 7799 US (Houston)
  +1 408 638 0968 US (San Jose)
  +1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose)
  +1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma)
  Find your local number: https://zoom.us/u/aqWvM9x3m

Presenters:

• Peter A. Margolis, MD, PhD
  Co-Director, James M. Anderson Center for Health Systems Excellence
  Professor, UC Department of Pediatrics
  Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center

• David Hartley, PhD, MPH
  Associate Professor, UC Department of Pediatrics
  James M. Anderson Center for Health Systems Excellence
  Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center

• Andrew F. Beck, MD, MPH
  Attending Physician, Division of General & Community Pediatrics
  Attending Physician, Division of Hospital Medicine
  Associate Professor, UC Department of Pediatrics
  Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center

Presentation Overview:

In this presentation, we will provide an update on COVID-19 in Greater Cincinnati, depicting trends in disease activity and cross-sector responses. In so doing, we will highlight key learnings from the pandemic’s first several months. We will focus on the transformation of regional capabilities in pursuit of an optimized and equitable pandemic response. We will discuss efforts to enhance information sharing and continuous learning by key stakeholders. We will also compare and contrast our region’s experience with other parts of the country, introducing key advances and remaining challenges as we look ahead to an evolving, dynamic pandemic.

While there are many significant scientific efforts directed at COVID-19 happening across the Academic Health Center (AHC), there is a lack of community-based, behavioral and surveillance research, which is desperately needed to develop effective anti-COVID-19 interventions in our city and region.  In order to move forward with “re-opening” our economy while maximally protecting the health of our citizens, we must focus on COVID-related health disparities, keeping Reff <1, identifying “hot spots” in real time, implementing rapid contact tracing, ensuring that safe behaviors (physical distancing, mask wearing) are maximally followed, and systematically collecting data to understand the rate of asymptomatic carriers. The CCTST COVID-19 Critical Community Challenge Grant Program was developed to provide opportunities for investigators from the University of Cincinnati (UC), Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center (CCHMC) and the Greater Cincinnati community to develop and implement proposals that would have direct impact on COVID-19 in the Greater Cincinnati community of 14 counties in Southwest Ohio.  CCTST leadership identified financial support from our own resources and UC Office of Research providing an initial fund of $75,000 to support the first of potentially 3 phases of support.  A request for proposals was created and 15 applications for up to $10,000 for phase 1 studies were received, with 5 from CCHMC, 7 from UC and 3 from the Greater Cincinnati community. Each application received 3 reviews and a convened meeting of the reviewers selected 8 proposals for support including 4 from CCHMC, 3 from UC and 1 from the Greater Cincinnati community.

Funded proposals from CCHMC included:

1. Katherine Bowers, PhD and colleagues’ study, “Epidemiology and Transmission of COVID-19 among Hispanic and Black Families in Cincinnati,” in which they plan to evaluate the epidemiology and transmission of COVID-19 among the Black and Hispanic population of Cincinnati.

2. Lori Crosby, PsyD and her colleagues’ proposal, “Attitudes about COVID-19 and Heath (ATTACH) study,” who plan to address behavioral issues associated with COVID-19 and whether specific messaging would impact behavior.

3. Keith Martin, DO and Amy Rule, MD, MPH, in their study, “Barriers and Facilitators to Prevention of Care of COVID-19 Infections in Cincinnati Latinx Families,” propose to evaluate Latino knowledge of COVID-19 and factors and barriers to prevent the spread of COVID-19 including the development of educational materials in Phase 2.

4. Claire Seid and Aimee Miley in their study, “A Mutual Aid Response to COVID-19 for People Recently Released from Hamilton County Justice Center and People Experiencing Homelessness in Downtown Area,” propose to study the needs and experiences and to develop interventions based upon their surveys in populations of recently released prisoners and homeless.

Funded proposals from the community include:

1. Regina Hutchins, PhD, BSN, RN and Holly Jones, RN in their study from the Black Nurses’ Association of Greater Cincinnati, “Cincinnati’s African-American Community Establishments Face Mask Project,” proposes to evaluate African-American businesses to define masking behavior and providing masks to businesses to support compliance with mask wearing.

Funded proposals from UC included:

1. Victoria McKenna, PhD whose proposal, “The Impact of Masks on Speech Acoustics and Voice Fatigue in Healthcare Workers: A Pilot Study during COVID-19 Pandemic,” proposes to help define voice and common problems with masking in the workplace in healthcare workers that includes an educational module in Phase

2. John Kues, PhD, and Melinda Butsch-Kovacic, PhD proposed study, “A Community Based Approach to Understanding and Improving Adherence to CDC COVID-19 Guidelines,” plans to assess demographic and behavioral attitudes and motivations for wearing masks and social distancing with goals to implement steps to increase compliance.

3. Jess Kropczynski, PhD and colleagues in their proposal, “Mapping Local Beliefs and Non-Adherence to COVID-19 Prevention Measures using Social Media,” proposes to use social medial to assess behavior related to COVID 19 using a novel application that they have developed called PIVOT allowing overlay of geospatial data on social media.

Currently, the CCTST is seeking additional funding (up to $120-150,000) from Health Care Systems and businesses in Greater Cincinnati to supplement our initial investment in support of Phases 2 and 3 of the funded projects. 

The CCTST would also like to draw public attention to its website (www.cctst.org/covid) where weekday updates on Coronavirus in the 14 county area of Greater Cincinnati are posted and in the future, the funded studies by UC COM and CCHMC that support research in COVID-19 and active clinical trials related to COVID-19 at UC COM and UC Health and CCHMC will be posted.

NEW: CCTST COVID-19 Critical Community Challenge Grants (C5G) - Applications due June 17
While there are many significant scientific efforts directed at COVID-19 happening across the AHC, there is a lack of community-based, behavioral and surveillance research, which is desperately needed to develop effective anti-COVID-19 interventions in our city and region. In order to move forward with “re-opening” our economy while maximally protecting the health of our citizens, we must focus on COVID-related health disparities, keeping Reff <1, identifying “hot spots” in real time, implementing rapid contact tracing, ensuring that safe behaviors (physical distancing, mask wearing) are maximally followed, and systematically collecting data to understand the rate of asymptomatic carriers.

We are seeking proposals that engage staff, faculty, fellows/residents of our academic partners, community organizations, health departments, and businesses.  The RFA includes high priority areas and some suggested ideas for consideration.  Deadline for submission is June 17, 2020 at 5 PM EDT.  Click here to see RFA for additional information and submission details.