State Rep. Diane Grendell (R- Geauga County) wants Ohio Health Department Director Dr. Amy Acton to be more forthcoming about COVID-19 statistics.
Grendell drafted the “Truth in COVID-19 Statistics” bill, the Record-Courier reported. She said the bill will be introduced in the House later this week, and she expects it to gain bipartisan support.
Grendell said she will ask her colleagues to sign on to the bill and submit it as an official bill. Right now it is so new that it doesn’t have a number.
According to a press release from her office, the bill aims to order more specific data from the Ohio Department of Health (ODH) as it pertains to the coronavirus.
“We are facing a historic and unprecedented time in history as we deal with the challenges of COVID-19 and I do think it’s important that Ohioans receive clarity on how these coronavirus figures are being compiled by ODH,” said Grendell. “As these numbers are driving vital health, economic policy, and livelihood decisions, it’s crucial that we understand where these numbers derived from and that they are detailed for the people of Ohio so that it is clear why certain decisions are being made.”
Grendell wants such requirements as:
- Each day must be based on day to day figures with the date of confirmation and date of death;
- Release the modeling and all supporting figures, documents, and the margin of error. Also include the modeling projections and if there are adjustments to the modeling to indicate this as well; and
- Identify infection rates of nursing homes, state mental hospitals, private hospitals, private mental hospitals, developmental disabilities hospitals, and congregate hospital locations public and private.
“With so many individuals and families being severely impacted in my district, it’s necessary that we have full transparency on these numbers and that they are easily accessible to the public,” Grendell said.
According to her campaign website, Grendell has medical and legal expertise.
In addition to having been a state representative, she served for 18 years as a judge on the Ohio Eleventh District Court of Appeals and had 203 cases published by the Ohio Supreme Court, having been appointed by the chief justice to rule on Ohio Supreme Court cases nine times. She was a JAG officer in the Ohio Military Reserve, and is a registered nurse and attorney with a business and psychology degree.
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Jason M. Reynolds has more than 20 years’ experience as a journalist at outlets of all sizes.
