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Ohio Department of Health briefs committee on occupational licenses; members question lead funding cuts and workforce impact
Summary
The Ohio Department of Health described multiple licensing programs — food safety, REHS, radon, lead, radiation, home health and nursing home oversight — and answered questions about recent lead abatement funding cuts, radon licensing, and increased complaint volumes for long‑term care inspections.
Officials from the Ohio Department of Health outlined the scope and operations of the occupational licenses and certifications under the committee's review and answered members' questions about workforce and funding impacts.
Lisa Griffin Chatha introduced ODH's environmental health and radiation protection programs and introduced program staff. Jamie Higley described food safety certifications and manager/person-in-charge courses and said ODH issues about 15,000 manager certificates yearly; course costs for providers range roughly $78–$180 and PIC training costs range from $0–$22 depending on provider. Stephanie Yost summarized the Registered Environmental Health Specialist program, including a 24-hour continuing-education requirement per biennial renewal and more than 1,600 active REHS/EHIT registrants.
John Belt reviewed the radon education and licensing program, noting roughly 50,000 radon tests annually and about 10,000 mitigation systems installed each year, program revenue around $193,000, and license fees that include $400 for radon testers and $800 for mitigation specialists (biannual). ODH explained that sole proprietors acting as mitigation specialists often hold the tester and contractor qualifications.
ODH described lead licensure and prevention activities and staff levels (5.7 FTE), and cited revenue of about $400,000 annually from lead-related licensing fees. Representative Russo told the committee that the recent budget reduced annual lead abatement funding from $7,500,000 to $250,000 and eliminated a $1,000,000 safe home fund; she asked whether ODH is tracking the effect on the lead-abatement workforce. ODH said it previously absorbed licensure exam/course costs for lead disciplines and will track application counts and workforce data going forward but could not yet quantify workforce loss so early in the fiscal year.
On nursing homes and residential care, ODH said complaint volumes have risen over the past 3–5 years, requiring more rapid complaint responses and fewer routine annual inspections; ODH cited 165 surveyors across the state and said the agency has used additional task-force funding to add surveyors and provider technical assistance. The agency said nursing home and residential care license fees have not changed since 2010.
ODH also described a free online epinephrine-auto-injector training certificate completed by about 1,100 individuals that allows qualified entities to maintain epinephrine on-site for emergency use.
Members asked follow-up questions about continuing education requirements for radon professionals (radon tester CE: 16 hours every two years), background checks for non-agency home health applicants (fingerprint-based), and inspection scheduling. ODH said it publishes an annual report with complaints, survey and performance measures and provides constituent intake and triage to address complaints promptly.
