The second, which does not yet have an opening date as it needs a location, will be a free-standing clinic. Both will be managed by the Clark County Combined Health District but will have access to state resources as needed.
DeWine said Ohio Department of Health Director Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff is directly involved in providing support for the city’s healthcare system, and the state has a team present as well.
DeWine said the goal is to expand primary care and reach more people. He specifically pointed to getting early care for pregnant women.
“We know there’s a significant need there and we intend to do everything that we can to really supplement and boost the health department to reach more people,” DeWine said.
The state has been working with Springfield on its healthcare challenges “for some time,” DeWine said. He said local nonprofits, organizations and providers are “doing amazing work.”
DeWine said that the community has been focused on helping anyone who needs help. He said he spoke to many healthcare providers and nonprofits and other organizations today.
“One of them told me today, ‘We’ve been here for a number of years. We’re going to be here after all this focus on Springfield is over,’” DeWine said.
The city was thrust into the national spotlight when a claim went viral that Haitian immigrants — of whom 12,000 to 15,000 live in the Springfield area — were eating people’s pets. Law enforcement and city officials have said there is zero evidence to back these claims.
DeWine also spoke about safety assistance to Springfield in response to driving concerns and bomb threats that have plagued schools, government offices, hospitals and businesses recently.
He said the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) has a presence in Springfield and has brought with it more bomb-detecting dogs that are available to respond quickly to threats. Ohio Homeland Security also has its investigations unit here.
On Monday, DeWine announced the presence of 36 members of the Ohio State Highway Patrol’s field force to sweep all 17 Springfield City Schools buildings each morning before classes and to stay around during school and dismissal. DeWine said this has been effective in keeping schools open and safe, and the team will stay in Springfield until it is determined they are no longer needed.
Ohio Director of Public Safety Andy Wilson said that all of the threats so far have been hoaxes, and have largely been email threats coming to organizations threatened as well as to news organizations in an effort to spread fear more widely.
Springfield Mayor Rob Rue said the city is continuing its investigation into how the Haitian immigration population grew to be so large in Springfield, and said it has also been “referred outside of Clark County.” He said the city’s immigration task force has not yet generated a public report, as investigations are ongoing.
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