Cincinnati Public Schools moving to in-house staffing model for health services

CAMPUSES. THIS IS NEWS FIVE LEADING THE WAY. CINCINNATI’S MAYOR LAYING OUT PLANS FOR A BALANCED BUDGET WORTH $2 BILLION. AND THANKS A LOT FOR JOINING US HERE AT 5:00. I’M MIKE DARDIS AND I’M ASHLEY KIRKLEN. SNOW REMOVAL ROAD REPAIR AND ALSO FILLING RECRUIT CLASSES FOR FIRE AND POLICE. ARE OUR TOP PRIORITY. WLWT NEWS FIVE’S BRIAN HAMRICK IS LIVE AT CITY HALL. AND, BRIAN, YOU TALKED WITH THE MAYOR. WHAT DID HE HAVE TO SAY? WELL, ACTUALLY, IT’S A BACK TO THE BASICS BUDGET. THE MAYOR HAS NOW OUTLINED HIS VISION, SO IT’S UP TO CITY COUNCIL TO MAKE ANY CHANGES. THEY HAVE UNTIL JULY 1ST. WE ARE PROUD TO STAND HERE TODAY AND RELEASE THE RECOMMENDED FISCAL YEAR 2026 AND 2027 BIENNIAL BUDGET. IT’S A BUDGET MADE UP OF COLD, HARD NUMBERS. MANY OF THEM INFLUENCED BY A WINTER USING SIMILAR ADJECTIVES. SPINNING TIRES IN A SERIES OF MAJOR WINTER STORMS, LEFT IMPRESSIONS THAT DID NOT MELT WITH THE SNOW. ONE FOCUS OF THE BUDGET IS TO IMPROVE SNOW REMOVAL. THAT’S WHY WE ARE INVESTING IN NEW IT TECHNOLOGY, INCLUDING POTENTIALLY DRONES AND OTHER HIGH TECH RESOURCES. IN ADDITION TO HAVING MORE FULL TIME EMPLOYEES AND NEW EMPLOYEES WILL ALSO BE HELPING TO MAKE NEW INROADS FOR ROADS. THE BUDGET DOUBLES THE AMOUNT OF MONEY SPENT ON PAVING THEM. WE’RE GOING TO KEEP A CONTINUOUS PULSE ON WHAT’S GOING ON IN PUBLIC SERVICES. POLICE AND FIRE WILL HAVE TWO FULL RECRUIT CLASSES OVER THE NEXT TWO YEARS, BUT THE CITY IS DOING WITHOUT COVID RECOVERY. MONEY FROM THE AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN FUNDS, AND SOME FEDERAL MONEY HAS BEEN ELIMINATED TOO. SO THERE ARE CUTS. WHAT CUT DID YOU HAVE TO MAKE THAT YOU REGRET? THAT YOU HAD TO MAKE? I THINK ALL CUTS ARE VERY DIFFICULT. IT THESE CUTS, WE DON’T ULTIMATELY REGRET BECAUSE THEY ARE NECESSARY IN ORDER TO GET TO A STRUCTURALLY BALANCED BUDGET. THE MAYOR MAKES THE BUDGET PROPOSAL, BUT COUNCIL WILL HAVE TO APPROVE ANY BUDGET. YEAH. NOW THERE IS A $10 MILLION DEFICIT IN THIS BUDGET. BUT THERE IS ALSO MONEY THAT THEY DIDN’T HAVE BEFORE HERE IN CINCINNATI FROM THAT RAILROAD SALE THIS YEAR, THEY GOT $56 MILLION. THAT COMPARES WITH ABOUT $30 MILLION MORE THAN THEY WOULD HAVE HAD FROM THE LEASE. REPORTING LIVE BRIAN HAMRICK WLWT NEWS FIVE. ALL RIGHT, BRIAN, THANKS SO MUCH. ALL RIGHT. SUNNY TODAY AND DRY, BUT IT’S COOL FOR LATE MAY. I’LL TELL YOU WHAT FELT LIKE OCTOBER. NICE BREEZE IN THE AIR, BUT WITH THE SUNSHINE, I DO NOT CARE. METEOROLOGIST ALLISON ROGERS HAS A LOOK AHEAD AT THIS VERY IMPORTANT WEEKEND. HI THERE. ALISON. YEAH. THIS MORNING I WALKED OUTSIDE AND I THOUGHT IT WOULD BE GREAT IF IT WERE AN OCTOBER MORNING. BUT CONSIDERING IT’S MAY, THE FRIDAY BEFORE MEMORIAL DAY, NOT NECESSARILY THE TEMPERATURES THAT I WANT TO SEE, BUT WE ARE STILL GOING TO SEE MORE OF THAT COOL WEATHER, ESPECIALLY DURING THE MORNING TIME FRAME FOR THE NEXT COUPLE OF MORNINGS. SO OUTSIDE RIGHT NOW WE DO HAVE THAT SUNSHINE. FOR MANY OF US, CLOUDS HAVE STARTED TO INCREASE A BIT. THAT’S ACTUALLY LEADING TO A FEW SPOTTY SPRINKLES FOR SOME TOWNS A LITTLE BIT CLOSER TO MIDDLETOWN. SEEING SOME SPOTTY SPRINKLES THERE. HIGH PRESSURE IS GOING TO MOVE IN THOUGH. THAT’S GOING TO KEEP US DRY THROUGHOUT THE REST OF TODAY, TONIGHT AND THROUGHOUT MUCH OF THE HOLIDAY WEEKEND. IF YOU’RE HEADED DOWN TO THE REDS GAME TONIGHT AT GREAT AMERICAN BALLPARK, IT WON’T BE TOO BAD. TEMPERATURES ARE STILL GOING TO BE A LITTLE BIT CHILLY, ESPECIALLY BY THE TIME WE GET TO THE LAST OUT. UPPER 50S AT THAT POINT AND TOMORROW TO KICK THINGS OFF BACK DOWN INTO THE 40S. FIRST THING IN THE MORNING WE ARE GOING TO HAVE THOSE MORE COMFORTABLE AFTERNOONS. STILL NOT THE HOT POOL WEATHER TYPE OF AFTERNOON, BUT NEXT WEEK WE DO HAVE SOME RAIN. WE HAVE TO TALK ABOUT COMING UP IN A FEW MINUTES. I’LL SHOW YOU HOW LONG THIS DRY STRETCH OF WEATHER IS GOING TO LAST AND WHAT TO EXPECT FOR THE WEEKEND AND THOSE RAIN CHANCES COMING UP. MIKE. ALL RIGHT. CHAT SOON. THANK YOU SO MUCH, ALLISON. MEANTIME, A CYBER ATTACK THROWS KETTERING HEALTH INTO CRISIS. SHUTTING DOWN SYSTEMS, CANCELING APPOINTMENTS AND CUTTING OFF COMMUNICATION WITH SOME PATIENTS. REALLY A NIGHTMARE HERE. AND TONIGHT WE ARE HEARING FROM THOSE WHO ARE DIRECTLY IMPACTED. WLWT NEWS FIVE’S KAREN JOHNSON IS LIVE IN MIDDLETOWN WITH ONE WOMAN’S STORY. HI, KAREN. WELL, HEY, ASHLEY, YOU KNOW WHEN YOU HEAR ABOUT A CYBER ATTACK, ESPECIALLY ON A HEALTH CARE SYSTEM, AT FIRST YOU THINK IT’S A TECH ISSUE, BUT, YOU KNOW, I’VE BEEN TALKING TO PATIENTS TODAY, AND THE MORE I SPOKE WITH PEOPLE AFFECTED BY THIS ATTACK, THE MORE YOU REALIZE HOW DEEPLY THIS IS IMPACTING LIVES. OH, IT’S VERY SCARY FOR JAMIE ROGERS NORTH, THE TIMING OF KETTERING HEALTH’S CYBER ATTACK COULDN’T HAVE BEEN WORSE. I RECENTLY FOUND OUT I HAVE AN 80% BLOCKAGE IN MY LEFT ARTERY, WHICH MEANS I’M AT VERY HIGH RISK OF A STROKE, POSSIBLY HEART ATTACK. SURGERY IS SCHEDULED FOR NEXT THURSDAY AT KETTERING’S MAIN CAMPUS, BUT JAMIE DOESN’T KNOW IF THAT WILL HAPPEN. THIS PAST TUESDAY, SHE GOT A CALL FROM KETTERING. MIDDLETOWN CANCELING HER PRE-SURGICAL TESTING. I’VE BEEN TRYING DILIGENTLY SINCE TUESDAY TO RESCHEDULE THIS TESTING BECAUSE I KNOW I CAN’T HAVE THE SURGERY UNTIL THE TESTING IS DONE, BUT PHONE LINES ARE STILL DOWN. PATIENTS CAN’T ACCESS MY CHART TO MESSAGE DOCTORS, AND EVEN A DRIVE TO THE HOSPITAL WAS UNSUCCESSFUL. SO I TOOK OFF WORK. I WENT ALL THE WAY UP TO KETTERING HOSPITAL IN KETTERING, AND THE VOLUNTEER THERE SAID THAT THEY DIDN’T HAVE ANY OTHER INFORMATION. KETTERING HAS REPEATEDLY DECLINED TO CONFIRM THE TYPE OF CYBER ATTACK IT’S DEALING WITH. HOWEVER, THE HEALTH CARE GROUP CEO SAID TODAY BASED ON SIMILAR CYBER ATTACKS, IT COULD TAKE 10 TO 20 DAYS BEFORE IT’S RESOLVED. IN THE MEANTIME, PATIENTS LIKE JAMIE ARE LEFT WAITING WITH HER HEALTH HANGING IN THE BALANCE. IT’S GOT ME VERY SCARED. I MEAN, I’M AFRAID I COULD HAVE A STROKE BEFORE I HAVE THE SURGERY, AND THAT’S THE LAST THING I WANT TO DO, IS TO HAVE A STROKE. AND, GUYS, JUST A SHORT TIME AGO, JAMIE DID SEND ME A MESSAGE SAYING SHE TRIED TO GET AHOLD OF KETTERING THROUGH A NEW TEMPORARY LINE THAT THEY SET UP TODAY. SHE SAID SHE HAD TROUBLE AT FIRST, BUT SHE JUST HEARD BACK FROM A NURSE WHO TOLD HER TO PREPARE FOR PREPARE, PREPARE FOR SURGERY ON THURSDAY. SO THERE IS HOPE. I WANT TO SHARE THAT NUMBER WITH ALL OF YOU. IT IS. (937) 600-6879. KETTERING SAYS IT’S FOR URGENT NEEDS ONLY REPOR