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 Election Workers NeededFor Vanderburgh County Democratic Party
Study Shows Nearly Half Of COVID-19 Positive Hoosiers Don’t Know They Are Infected
By Victoria Ratliff
TheStatehouseFile.com
INDIANAPOLIS—Nearly 45% of individuals in Indiana infected with COVID-19 don’t know they have the virus, according to a study the state did in partnership with Indiana University.
The study, conducted by Indiana University Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health, tested 4,611 randomly-selected Indiana residents to get a better idea of how COVID-19 is impacting the state.
Of the 4,611 tested, 1.7% tested positive for the virus at the time of the test and 1.1% were found to have antibodies, signaling a past infection. Nir Menachemi, chairman of the health policy and management department of the Fairbanks school, said this means about 186,000 Hoosiers had COVID-19 during the time the tests were taken.
“At the same time, the state was aware of only about 17,000 cumulative cases, not including deaths, suggesting that the true impact of the virus was almost 11 times greater than conventional testing had informed us,†he said at Gov. Eric Holcomb’s coronavirus briefing Wednesday.
Of the 2.8% that were found to have or previously have the virus, 44.8% had no symptoms.
Dr. Kristina Box, the state’s health commissioner, said this high percentage should encourage Hoosiers to continue safety precautions the state has put in place.
“It’s been a little heartbreaking for me to see some of the pictures that people have been sending in where people are standing in line, back to back, next to each other, they’re not social distancing, and people are not wearing masks,†Box said. “Of all the positives we had, 45% of people said they had no symptoms at the time they were tested. That should underscore the importance of why you need to wear that mask and social distance.â€
Because of the high percentage of asymptomatic individuals, Paul Halverson, professor and founding dean of the Fairbanks School of Public Health, said all Hoosiers should act as if they have the virus when venturing outside their homes.
While the death rate of the virus is only around 0.58% of individuals who contract it, Menachemi said that is six times deadlier than the flu.
“My recommendation is to really focus on taking social distancing seriously. It’s not just when you feel like wearing a mask, its not staying away and creating distance when it’s convenient, but it’s doing it every time, all the time, with the idea that you need to protect yourself and you need to protect others,†Halverson said.
The results reported Wednesday are from the first round of the study. A second round will be conducted in a few weeks to see the impact of lifting some of the state’s restrictions.
The virus continues to take its toll on Indiana. Wednesday, Box reported 409 more Hoosiers tested positive for the virus, bringing the state’s total to 25,473. There were 38 additional deaths reported, and 1,482 statewide, not counting 137 deaths that are believed to be from COVID-19 but which have no confirming test.
Menachemi said the study found individuals living with someone who is COVID-19 positive in their household were 12 times more likely to also have the virus.
“This finding, along with the relatively-low 2.8% prevalence, strongly suggests that our social distancing policies played a critical role in curbing the spread of the virus, and containing it to within household,†he said.
Still, Menachemi said Hoosiers need to be cautious when going about their days.
“The good news is that by slowing the spread of the virus, we have now bought some time to determine the best way forward,†he said. “As we slowly phase back and reopen the economy, we need to be extra vigilant with any and all safety precautions so that we do not lose the ground that we gained by hunkering down.â€
Marion County is one of three counties in the state that aren’t following Holcomb’s reopening plan because of a higher rates of infections. Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett announced Wednesday that the city will begin the second phase of Holcomb’s reopening plan — which the other 89 counties entered earlier — on Friday, but with a few modifications.
“I know these delays will be frustrating to some, but I assure you that these decisions are being made in an effort not just to reduce the prevalence of COVID-19 in our community now, but also reduce the likelihood that it returns in the future†Hogsett said.
This will include the city opening non-essential retail at 50% capacity, opening shopping malls with limited capacity, increasing social gatherings and religious services from the current 10 to 25 people and allowing libraries to reopen with curbside pickup of books.
The city will lower even more restrictions May 22, when restaurants can reopen in-person dining but only with outdoor seating and social distancing measures in place. Nail and hair salons will remain closed until at least June 1, when restaurants can reopen indoor dining at 50% capacity.
Dr. Virginia Caine, director of the Marion County Health Department, said the city will use four benchmarks of data to monitor the spread of the virus in the county, and assess whether restrictions need to be tightened again or can continue to be loosened.
“We will closely monitor this data over the next two weeks to see whether were able to maintain no significant increase in our cases by looking at our benchmarks,†she said. “But of course, if our benchmarks show that we are seeing a significant increase in our cases, we will have to revert and move back to stage one.â€
Victoria Ratliff is a reporter for TheStatehouseFile.com, a news website powered by Franklin College journalism students.
Hospital Week 2020: Celebrating the Commitment and Courage of Indiana Caregivers
Hospital Week 2020: Celebrating the Commitment and Courage of Indiana Caregivers
It’s difficult to put into words what healthcare professionals have experienced in the last few months both professionally and as an integrated health ministry. Ascension St. Vincent’s Mission of commitment to those who are poor and vulnerable has never been more alive and apparent, and through sharing our stories, we can help recognize the enormity of what we’ve done and what hospital systems are challenged to continue doing.
National Hospital Week 2020 highlights the vital role of every hospital, health system, and site of care, and the countless individuals and teams that work to keep our communities safe and healthy. This important week allows us to reflect on the important work of associates across Ascension who are leading innovation that empowers our team to deliver care excellence to support population health.
Certainly, there is grief and anxiety when we consider all this virus has taken and the unknown of what more it will take before it’s all over. But, despite all that we’ve gone through, we have persevered, with remarkable strength and selflessness, drawing on a personal calling and one another — as we continue to give to those who need our help.
From applying clinical expertise as we developed guidance on testing and treating for COVID-19, to our COVID-19 Command Center approach since the beginning of our response, the spirit of our providers and individuals that support our health systems has been on full display.
With input and guidance from cross-functional teams, and a sense of deep gratitude for our 165,000 associates, Ascension St. Vincent rolled out several programs specifically designed to ease the burden on associates in the midst of COVID-19. We want to recognize that, while our caregivers have been focused on caring for individuals across Indiana communities, we have been working hard to support them and care for their physical, emotional, spiritual and financial needs during this pandemic, with practices and benefits like pay protection for all associates throughout the crisis, extended dependent care, paying for necessary hotel stays, and assistance funds to help pay for essentials such as rent and groceries for those facing particular hardship.
While continuing to care for people with COVID-19, we have begun to plan for how Ascension St. Vincent and our sites of care will look and operate as we come out of this crisis and enter a changing world. We need to adopt a new approach to delivering care because we know society will not go back to the “way things used to be.†There will be a “new normal†in healthcare, new expectations from our consumers, and a new outlook in all aspects of society. It is an opportunity for us to serve better, together.
As we begin to transition into recovery and work our way back to “normalcyâ€, it’s important we take care and measured steps to ensure a safe and gradual return to providing full access to
health care services while also continuing to serve and support individuals and communities impacted by COVID-19.
Going forward, our patients can expect expanded access to healthcare services with enhanced safeguards to ensure our sites of care continue to serve as healing environments—where quality care is delivered with the highest levels of safety and compassion.
Together, we’re coming through this stronger, more courageous, more resolute in faithfulness to our calling, more capable, and more unified than ever before. We hope you will use this week to thank care providers in our communities and nationwide.
Sincerely,
Jonathan Nalli
Senior Vice President, Ascension CEO, Ascension St. Vincent – Indiana
Three UE Programs Earn NCAA Public Recognition Awards
Men’s Swimming, Women’s Track And Field And Women’s Golf Recognized
 Three University of Evansville athletic programs have earned NCAA Public Recognition Awards for their academic performances in an announcement by the NCAA. The Purple Aces programs earning recognition were men’s swimming and diving, women’s golf and women’s track and field. The awards are for APR performances during the 2018-19 school year.
UE women’s golf was recognized for the 11th time in 15 years of the APR program, the most for any Evansville team. Led by head coach Jim Hamilton, the women’s golf squad has received APR accolades each year since the 2008-09 season. For the first time, the Aces men’s swimming and the diving squad were recognized. It marks just the sixth time an Evansville men’s team picked up the recognition and is the first since the men’s cross country program earned the honor in 2009-10.
In its first year being eligible for an NCAA Public Recognition Award, the women’s track and field team received the honor. After the 2016 announcement of the program being restarted, the Aces track and field program officially started a competition in January of 2018.
The NCAA recognized nearly 1,400 Division I programs from 326 schools for academic excellence after they scored in the top 10% of their sports in the most recent Academic Progress Rate Results. The APR is an annual scorecard of academic achievement calculated for all Division I sports teams. It measures eligibility, graduation, and retention.
Leonhardt Garners Academic All-District Honors
EVANSVILLE, Ind.—University of Southern Indiana Softball senior pitcher Jennifer Leonhardt was named Academic All-District IV Thursday in an announcement by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).
Leonhardt was one of 12 Midwest Region student-athletes selected in a vote by the region’s SIDs and advances to the ballot for Academic All-America.
A first-team Academic All-American in 2019, Leonhardt was recently named a recipient of the Great Lakes Valley Conference Postgraduate Scholarship. Her performance during the last four years has elevated the Screaming Eagles’ to a pair of NCAA II Midwest Region titles as well as the 2018 GLVC and NCAA II National Championships.
In 2020, Leonhardt went 7-3 in the circle with a save, 1.63 ERA, .174 opponent batting average and 76 strikeouts. She also led USI at the plate, hitting .386 with five doubles, a triple, two home runs, 14 runs scored and 16 RBIs.
Leonhardt, a three-year All-American at USI, finished her career ranked first all-time at USI in career wins (83), strikeouts (787), and complete-game shutouts (35). She ranked second all-time at USI in career saves (8), innings pitched (730.2), fourth in complete games (85), and sixth in ERA (1.76). At the plate, she tied for 11th all-time at USI in both hit-by-pitches (10) and triples (6); and 18th in RBI (87).
The 2019 GLVC Pitcher of the Year led the Screaming Eagles to their first-ever regional championship in 2017 and their first-ever national championship in 2018. Leonhardt, who was the 2017 GLVC Freshman of the Year and Midwest Region Pitcher of the Year, was named to the Most Outstanding Player of the 2018 NCAA II Softball Championship Series after concluding the 2018 post-season with a 12-1 record, 1.35 ERA, .152 opponent batting average and 96 strikeouts.
In the classroom, Leonhardt has recorded a 3.78-grade point average and recently graduated with a bachelor’s degree in biology. Leonhardt, who was accepted into the University of Louisville School of Dentistry, was the GLVC Scholar-Athlete of the Year for softball a year ago.
Governor Eric Holcomb Directs Flags To Be Flown at Half-Staff
Governor Eric J. Holcomb is directing flags statewide to be flown at half-staff on Peace Officers Memorial Day.
Flags should be flown at half-staff from sunrise to sunset on Friday, May 15.
Gov. Holcomb also asks businesses and residents across the state to lower their flags to half-staff on Friday to commemorate Peace Officers Memorial Day.
EPA Aggressively Working To Increase Research And Understand PFAS
“Our researchers are at the forefront of addressing PFAS issues to protect our nation’s communities,â€Â said EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler. “Our world-class scientists are continuing their work under the PFAS Action Plan to understand and identify the potential health risks associated with these emerging chemicals of concern. This new approach will allow the agency to expand its efforts to develop innovative techniques to test for, remove, and destroy PFAS.â€
The PITT is a dedicated and full-time team that brings together a multi-disciplined research staff that will concentrate their efforts and expertise on a single problem: how to remove, destroy, and test PFAS-contaminated media and waste. Using the lean organizational, management and R&D philosophies developed as part of Kelly Johnson’s Skunk Works and NASA’s Swamp Works, the PITT will operate in a work environment designed to break down administrative and procedural barriers in an effort to facilitate faster results.
PFAS chemicals have a very strong carbon-fluorine chemical bond that leads to persistence in the environment and makes their complete destruction difficult. Over the next few months, the PITT will work to achieve the following ambitious goals:
- Assess current and emerging destruction methods being explored by EPA, universities, other research organizations, and industry.
- Explore the efficacy of methods while considering by-products to avoid creating new environmental hazards.
- Evaluate methods’ feasibility, performance, and costs to validate potential solutions.
This work will add practical knowledge to EPA’s efforts under the PFAS Action Plan. States, tribes, and local governments will be able to use this information to select the approach that best fits their circumstances, leading to greater confidence in cleanup operations and safer communities. The results of this rapid research project are expected later this year.
“Right Jab And Middle Jab And Left Jab†MAY 15, 2020
“Right Jab And Middle Jab And Left Jab†MAY 15, 2020
The majority of our “IS IT TRUE†columns are about local or state issues, so we have decided to give our more opinionated readers exclusive access to our newly created “LEFT JAB and Middle Jab and RIGHT JAB† column. They now have this post to exclusively discuss national or world issues that they feel passionate about.
We shall be posting the “LEFT JAB†AND “MIDDLE JAB†AND “RIGHT JABâ€Â several times a week.  Oh, “LEFT JAB†is a liberal view, “MIDDLE JAB†is the libertarian view and the “RIGHT JAB is representative of the more conservative views. Also, any reader who would like to react to the written comments in this column is free to do so.
HOT JOBS IN EVANSVILLE
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Responsive employerEPA Office of Air and Radiation Transfers Excess PPE for Use Fighting COVID-19
“EPA is working hard to support our nation’s first responders as they make personal sacrifices during the coronavirus pandemic,â€Â said EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler. “After searching our inventory of personal protective equipment, we identified excess supplies and sent them to the first responders on the frontlines of this fight.â€
The National Vehicle and Fuel Emissions Laboratory (NVFEL) in Ann Arbor, MI, the National Analytical Radiation Environmental Laboratory (NAREL) in Montgomery, AL, and the National Center for Radiation Field Operations (NCRFO) in Las Vegas, NV identified nearly 9,500 pieces of excess personal protective equipment after assessing how much equipment would be needed to support EPA’s essential functions. Among the items are face shields, protective disposable gloves, and full-body protective suits. EPA is transferring the excess equipment while still maintaining its emergency response readiness.
EPA is following through on an agency-wide plan for distribution of available PPE to FEMA to support ongoing COVID-19 operations.