• Historical mistreatment, modern-day disparities make Black Americans less likely to trust COVID-19 care, vaccine

    Historical mistreatment, modern-day disparities make Black Americans less likely to trust COVID-19 care, vaccine by Afi Scruggs and Rachel Dissell (Plain Press, November 2020) Two days before Carmen Bailey fell ill with COVID-19 in late April, she told her daughter not to take her to the hospital if she ever got the disease.  As her symptoms…


  • Researchers turn to HIV/AIDS clinical trial network for help in building Black Clevelanders’ trust in COVID-19 studies

    Researchers turn to HIV/AIDS clinical trial network for help in building Black Clevelanders’ trust in COVID-19 studies  by Rachel Dissell and Brie Zeltner (Plain Press, November 2020)                 It took more than a decade of participation on the Community Advisory Board at University Hospitals’ AIDS clinical trial unit for Ray Allmond, who is Black, to understand the…


  • Black physicians help build trust in clinical trials, medical care after decades of community skepticism, mistreatment

    Black physicians help build trust in clinical trials, medical care after decades of community skepticism, mistreatment  by Rachel Dissell and Brie Zeltner     (Plain Press, November 2020) Dr. Jackson Wright is successful at recruiting Black patients to participate in his research studies. That’s in part because he — and much of his team — look like them. …


  • Cleveland efforts to recruit black, minority patients for COVID-19 vaccine trials an uphill battle

    Cleveland efforts to recruit black, minority patients for COVID-19 vaccine trials an uphill battle by Brie Zeltner    (Plain Press, November 2020) Dr. Carla Harwell, an internist who is the medical director of the University Hospitals Otis Moss Jr. Health Center is Black. So are almost all of her patients, and nearly everyone who lives in the…


  • How are vaccines tested?

    How are vaccines tested? (Plain Press, November 2020)        Vaccines developed to combat diseases such as COVID-19 go through a clinical trial process to test whether they are safe and whether they will work. The vaccines being developed to prevent infection with coronavirus are going through basically the same process, though some steps are being run concurrently…


  • MetroHealth offers updates on its planning and development projects

    MetroHealth offers updates on its planning and development projects by Chuck Hoven (Plain Press, November 2020)           At a September 30th virtual community meeting MetroHealth Medical Center offered an update on progress of construction of the new hospital building on its main campus, a progress report on the Institute for Health Opportunity Partnership and Empowerment (HOPE), and updates…



  • Cleveland Community Police Commission works to reform Cleveland Division of Police

    by Chuck Hoven (Plain Press, October 2020)           Of late, much public discussion centers around the need for police reform. Here in Cleveland that effort is already underway. The Cleveland Community Police Commission has been working on reforming the Cleveland Police Department since 2015.    At its quarterly meeting held virtually on September 24th, the Cleveland Community Police…


  •   COVID-19 evictions could leave more women without a vote by Malcolm Burnley and Rachel Dissell, The Fuller Project  This story was originally published by The Fuller Project, a nonprofit newsroom reporting on issues that affect women. (Plain Press, September 2020)       Lynn Rodemann walked up the driveway, a mask fixed tightly to her face. A…


  • Local agencies hope to aid working parents by providing safe spaces for students during virtual school hours

    Local agencies hope to aid working parents by providing safe spaces for students during virtual school hours This story is provided by ideastream as part of special community coverage of COVID-19 and funded by Third Federal Foundation and University Settlement. by Rachel Dissell (Plain Press, September 2020)       For some parents of school-age children, the decision…