Did you know…

COVID-19 has changed the world and how we live in it. Masks, social distancing, and living in a bubble have become ways of protecting ourselves from COVID-19. The symptoms of a COVID-19 infection are more than just physical. Did you know that the pandemic is also having a major impact on mental health and wellness?

Check out the following resources for more information:

• Pandemics can be stressful – CDC, December, 2020
• ‘I’ve Tried Everything’: Pandemic Worsens Child Mental Health Crisis – NPR, January 2021
• Lockdown is creating ‘unprecedented’ mental illness pandemic with surge in calls to helplines in Great Britain – DailyMail.com, January 2021
• Bidirectional associations between COVID-19 and psychiatric disorder: retrospective cohort studies of 62 354 COVID-19 cases in the USA from The Lancet – Psychiatry, November 2020.

Nursing License Extensions in Ohio

House Bill 404, effective as of 11/23/2020, allows the Ohio Board of Nursing to extend some licenses for nurses working during the pandemic.   

Temporary Licenses (granted in HB 197, 2020), issued to those who completed nursing school but have not yet passed the NCLEX, will be invalid as of 3/2/2021. 

Temporary permits, allowing RNs seeking licensure in Ohio through reciprocity, will be extended from the initial expiration date of 4/1/21 to 7/1/21. 

Renewals of LPN, DT, Medication Aide and CHW licenses, set to expire between 3/9/2020 – 4/1/21, have another extended deadline for renewal to 7/1/21. 

DTI certificates issued between 3/9/2020 and 4/1/21 are extended to 7/1/21.
(from Ohio Nurse, December 2020)

– John Chovan, Nursing Graduate Director