Republican state Sen. Bill Seitz cast his yes vote after reciting the lyrics of the 1960s sitcom “The Beverly Hillbillies,” saying shale gas drilling will turn poor Ohioans into “modern-day Jed Clampetts.”

Supporters say it balances the environment and commerce by expanding reporting.

Critics say the proposal is meaningless because it would only require annual reporting and would not require companies to disclose what chemicals they use to fracture shale rock to free trapped oil and natural gas.

Click the play button above to hear more reaction from supporters and critics of the proposed rules.

The Senate Finance Committee set a Tuesday vote on a provision allowing three Ohio counties to volunteer to administer drug tests to prospective welfare recipients. Those who failed would get treatment and lose benefits for six months or more.

Its author says the provision’s wording avoids legal roadblocks encountered in other states. It’s among dozens of Senate changes to a midterm budget bill to be voted on Wednesday.

The think tank group Innovation Ohio says a recent constitutional amendment in Ohio against federal health care mandates prohibits mandatory government programs that collect health care data.

The Yoga exercise program on the Wii instructs users how to complete different poses. You have to stand on one leg,  stretch out your arms and hold that pose for several seconds. It’s good exercise, and it could help doctors spot the lingering effects of a concussion.

OSU’s Sports Medicine Concussion Program director of research Tamerah Hunt says balance is an important part in analyzing recovery from a head injury.

“We took those stances that are commonly used, the single leg, the double leg, the tandem stance and we looked at what the Wii yoga poses look like and they look very similar and so, we’ve been using those on the Wii fit,” says Hunt.

Hunt and her counterparts at the University of Maryland are doing baseline Wii testing for concussion management in college athletes and will soon do the same tests for high school athletes.

Hunt says because the Wii is inexpensive and portable it could be a valuable tool for athletic trainers.

“Something is better than nothing and right now a lot of clinicians aren’t using balance equipment, because it’s limited in what we have,” says Hunt.

Hunt says studies show between 5 percent and 15 percent of athletes will sustain a concussion each year, and more than half will go unreported.

New Albany High School athlete Anthony Flowers knows what a concussion feels like.

“During Freshman year of fall soccer I went sliding out to make a play and ended up getting kicked in the head, and basically we went to the hospital and after that I don’t remember too much,” Flowers explains.

Flowers suffered from headaches for a couple weeks and slowly returned to the field. He recently took part in a demonstration of the Wii Yoga balance testing.

“It draws the competitive side of wanting to get a higher score as possible with the balance board,” explains Flowers.

While Flowers still needed other tests, his high score in Wii yoga seemed to indicate he had recovered.

New Albany High School head athletic trainer Tim Mathews says using the Wii can be a more objective tool to determine whether an athlete still suffers from a concussion.

“When I test someone for their balance, I have to give my opinion of do I think they’ve lost their balance, or do they go out of position. With something like the Wii, it’s kind of a standardized measure, it takes the human element out of it,” Mathews says.

However, the Wii has its limits. OSU researcher Tamerah Hunt cautions the game is limited in measuring other movements.

“It doesn’t tell you how they’re swaying forward and backward really heavily, are they swaying from right to left, it just gives you this one number. And we always have to remind everybody that the Wii wasn’t intended for medical use,” explains Hunt.

Hunt wants to test OSU athletes on the Wii. She hopes it’s just another  tool to keep athletes safe from serious brain injuries.

“We’re starting to see some long-term effects of concussion and we’re also starting to see the deaths of young high school athletes following concussion. And so we always joke, but you only have one brain.”

Quite a bit.

Erica Twiggs is a phlebotomist at University Hospitals, a specialist in drawing blood. She’s explaining to mother Tiffany Cone of Bedford, Ohio that she’s taking her baby to the nursery for newborn screening.

“She’s sleeping so peacefully … let’s see how long this is going to last,” Twiggs said.

Twiggs readies the needle and quickly pricks the heel of Cone’s baby, Kennedy.

Kennedy is no longer fuzzy with sleep.

“Almost done, honey,” Twiggs said.

Blood from baby Kennedy’s heel hits the absorbent paper of the official Ohio newborn screening form.

Five perfect circles of bright red blood stand out against the form’s white background. In a couple minutes, Twiggs is finished and the sample is ready to send off for testing.

Chances are, baby Kennedy is just fine, but some babies do have genetic disorders that, when caught early, can be treated.

Marsha Bigham remembers the needle stick “like it was yesterday.”

Marsha Bigham and her 19-year-old son Josh are from Canal Fulton, just south of Akron.

When Josh was born, the blood from his heel stick showed he has a condition called Phenylketonuria, or PKU.

“We knew nothing about PKU” Marsha Bigham said.

But they learned quickly. Within a week of birth, Josh was put on a special diet by his doctors at Akron Children’s Hospital. People with PKU can’t break down proteins and if they breast feed or later eat meat & dairy, it can cause irreversible brain damage.

PKU is pretty rare—about one in every twenty five thousand babies is born with it in the US.

In Josh’s case the early intervention was a success.

He’s a full time student and a natural with cars. It takes him a while to think of a auto repair that actually challenges him:

Josh is a typical teenager–dirt bikes, girlfriend, short answers—and this is because of newborn screening.

His mom gets quiet when she thinks of what might’ve happened without it.

“I mean he would have been severely mentally challenged,” Marsha Bigham said.

PKU is the flagship disease for newborn screening. It kick-started the practice in the sixties, and now most states screen for a core group of about 30 different disorders.

Here’s how it works: those drops of blood from the heel stick contain information about a person’s genes and how they process nutrients. Clues in the blood can send up red flags, and alert doctors to certain disorders, like PKU, sickle cell anemia and cystic fibrosis.

The Ohio Department of Health runs the state’s Newborn Screening Program, and Sharon Linard is a supervisor there. She says blood is a window to the body.

It’s very easy to get and it has a ton of information in it,” Linard said.

After a heel stick, all those samples are over-nighted to the Department of Health’s lab in Columbus. Results are usually known within 24 hours and they’re faxed or phoned in to the baby’s doctor’s office. In a given year, they identify an average of 250 babies in Ohio with genetic disorders.

Ohio screens for nearly all of the core diseases recommended by federal guidelines. These are conditions that benefit from early detection.

“If we don’t have a treatment, we will not test for it,” Linard said.

Linard says the most common disorder that crops up in Ohio is hypothyroidism, where the baby doesn’t have enough thyroid hormone to keep growing, and the fix is simple: take a pill. Other common ones are sickle cell and cystic fibrosis. More rare disorders, like something called Maple Syrup Urine Disease, might surface only once in a blue moon.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention call newborn screening one of the ten greatest public health achievements in the U.S. over the last decade. It’s estimated that over five thousand of the 4 million babies born in the states each year will have one of the conditions that’s screened for.

“When you think about the babies you save by this, these are babies who have normal lives and wouldn’t have had normal lives otherwise,” Linard said.

All thanks to a couple drops of blood.

The accident reportedly happened on Taylor Ave, near I-670 on the North Side as the children were pulling out of an alley into a street.

The boy killed was identified as two-year-old Deandre Pruitt.

The 11-year-old driving the motorized bike and a 9-year-old passenger were hospitalized with serious injuries. The truck driver was unharmed and is not expected to face charges.

The state’s Emergency Room Protocols will recommend against prescribing pills for chronic pain and encourage ER doctors to check the statewide prescription database and to be on the lookout for fake IDs.

Ohio saw a record number of drug overdose deaths in the most recent reporting year of 2010. Such overdoses are now the leading cause of accidental death in the state.

Kasich and his health, aging and drug addiction department directors are making the announcement Monday at a two-day summit on prescription painkiller abuse in Columbus.

If you passed Reuben Bresler on the street you likely would not guess the 25-year-old had a care in the world, much less health issues.

“I don’t look like I have a pre-existing condition, right? Unless I point it out,” Bresler said.

But the recent Ohio University graduate takes several medicines a day to keep his Type-I Diabetes under control.

And there was a time when Bresler was not sure how he would pay for his Insulin and other medications.

“There was a gap. It was like four or five months before the current health care thing kicked in but after the old one had sort of started working for me that I basically just didn’t have insurance,” he recalled.

Bresler remained on his parents’ health insurance until he finished his English and film degrees. But once he got his diploma, he was no longer covered.

That was the story for many young adults, a situation made worse by the weak economy.

With no job prospects, Bresler faced, on the low end, a $420 monthly pharmacy bill. And that did not include syringes or blood testing strips.

“That was not fun. That was pretty difficult…you know, I sort of told my doctor’s about the situation. And they’d seen it with lots of other people…But they worked with me to be like, ‘alright we’ll try to figure something out. And we’ll hope for the best for you,’” Bresler said. “Yeah, it was pretty hectic there trying to scramble.”

But a provision in the Affordable Care Act let Bresler get back on his parents’ health insurance. The law allows parents to keep adult children on their family policies until they are 26 years old.

“Most people are graduating when they are 22 or 23. That gives them a couple of years to try and find a job. That’s all people really need is they need a little gap; they need a little bit of a chance to get there. And without that, there’s no chance, right? You’re sort of tripping on the starting line,” he said.

The law took effect in 2010, and some states have adopted certain conditions and increased the age. In Ohio, a young adult can stay on until age 28.

Bresler finally found a job, albeit out of state. But it offers health insurance. He said he’s not worried about himself. Instead, Bresler said he’s concerned for other recent grads

“I think it’s important to realize it’s an issue for everybody. And people like me can be a symbol of that. It’s not just for people who know people who are sick. It’s for people who know people who are sick. It’s for people who could be sick in the future. And I think it’s sort of short sighted of people to assume it’s not their issue,” he said.

Whether young adults will continue to benefit from the law depends on the Supreme Court’s decision this summer.

One major change involves record keeping. The health care law requires hospitals to have electronic medical records. The goal is to reduce medical errors and cuts costs.

The OSU Medical Center finished its conversion to electronic records last year. But CEO Dr. Steven Gabbe said the medical center began planning for the switch in 2008.

“Our patients have full access to the electronic medical record, they can see the results of their tests, they can communicate with their doctors and nurses,” Gabbe said.

E-records also are expected to cut back on duplicate testing. Let’s take blood tests for example. Doctors within the same health system would be able to review a patient’s record and see blood work results instead of ordering and paying for another blood test.

Ohio Health also began integrating electronic records before the law was passed. Now the system is making sure their system matches the law’s requirements.

Another requirement stands to affect hospitals more. Beginning next year, some hospitals taking part in a pilot program will start to change how they charge patients and insurance companies. Hospitals are encouraged to switch to bundled payments.

Right now, if you’re on Medicare and you go to the hospital for say, a gall bladder attack, lab fees, radiology fees and doctors’ fees all are charged separately. Under a bundle payment, hospitals would receive one flat rate.

Ohio Health president and CEO David Blom said the goal is to lower the cost of treatment.

“If there’s an episode of care that costs $9,000, if the provider community can do it effectively and efficiently for less than $9,000, those dollars are kept by those folks. If it costs more they are at risk for it. So the bundle payment is intended to create the incentives for all parts of the systems to deliver it more efficiently and effectively,” Blom said.

Neither OSU nor Ohio Health will be taking part in the federal bundle payment pilot program. Ohio Health is reviewing it.

But OSU’s Steven Gabbe said the system is equipped to handle bundled payments if they’re implemented.

The new health care law also requires hospitals to cut re-admissions – patients who have to go back to the hospital for preventable follow-up visits. As many as a quarter of people who are hospitalized for serious ailments such as heart attack are back in the hospital within a month of being discharged.

Beginning in fiscal year 2013, the health care law would penalize health systems for excessive re-admissions for pneumonia, heart failure and heart attack. OSU’s readmission rates are in line with the national average – about 25 percent. Dr. Gabbe said a key component to reducing re-admissions is communication.

“If the patient has his or her medications, if they have a follow up visit within a short time…we communicate effectively with their primary care physician in their community we can prevent that readmission,” Gabbe said.

Gabbe anticipates this readmission penalty will include additional conditions as the law tries to contain costs.

Ohio Health’s David Blom said he’s not worried about the program’s penalties.

“Yes, there is a revenue issue there but it’s not sufficiently concerning for us as we really think about this. We’re focused on minimizing the number of re-admissions,” Blom said.

If the Supreme Court upholds the law, nearly one million additional Ohioans will be eligible for medical care.

Both Gabbe and Blom anticipate a shortage of physicians.

Blom said Ohio Health has hired more primary care doctors. As the way health care is delivered changes, Blom expects doctors will be spending more time with their patients.

“If we can coordinate the care by deeper relationship of a patient with their primary care physician, they can avoid perhaps other steps in the system with specialists because they’re dealt with on the front end,” Blom said.

Gabbe said preventive clinics with pharmacists and nurse practitioners will have to be used more to meet the need. But that won’t be enough.

“We think we will need to train more physicians. And there’s been talk about shortening the length of time students need to be in medical school. We think we need to train more nurses.” Gabbe said.

But what if the U.S. Supreme Court strikes down the law? Gabbe and Blom maintain their hospitals will continue on the same path to make health care more efficient and effective.

“Well we will continue on the same course and follow the same strategic plan that we have today,”Gabbe said.

“It won’t be for naught. We need to reform the health care system…the economy will not be able to withstand the current escalation of health care costs over the long term,” Blom added.

The Ohio Agriculture Department announced the decision Monday at an agency hearing in which they were to defend state’s authority to quarantine the animals on suspicion of infectious diseases.

Spokeswoman for ODA, Erica Pitchford says the animals are free of any diseases and can no longer be held.

“Mrs. Thompson will be able to work with the Columbus Zoo to arrange a pickup time. State law now at this time does not require her to give us any information about where she intends to take those animals or allow us to make any requirements about the conditions where she’s going to take them,” says Pitchford.

Pitchford says ODA requested to examine the cages on the Thompson property but were denied that request through an attorney.

“We have some concerns about the cages that the animals were kept in in Muskingum County. There seems to be indication that there may be an attempt to take them back to those cages,” says Pitchford.

Pitchford adds a pending state law would give the ODA the authority to make the property inspections.

It’s unclear when the animals would be released to Marian Thompson.

Ohio’s agriculture director was expected to lift the quarantine later Monday.

Thompson’s husband released dozens of exotic animals from their Zanesville farm Oct. 18 before killing himself.

Authorities were forced to shoot 48 creatures. Three leopards, two primates and a bear survived and have been held at the Columbus zoo. One leopard later had to be euthanized.

18-year-old Rebecca Dowling-Fitzpatrick is among the 20 soccer players chosen for the USA Deaf Women’s Soccer Team. Dowling- Fitzpatrick was the goalkeeper for Desales High School that won a state championship in soccer last year. She was born deaf, but has worn a hearing aid most of her life.

In the exhibition games at Crew Stadium and in the World Cup Games, she won’t be able to wear one. None of the athletes will.

“In the hearing game, you use your voice and other people can hear you, behind you, in front of you, at the side of you, wherever. But in a deaf game, you have to be able to look at each other, keep your head up, know where everyone is, and that can be a hurdle if someone doesn’t do that.”

The hearing teams will be able to talk to each other, which could be an advantage.
Dowling-Fitzpatrick has almost total hearing loss in both ears. She also says it will be a challenge for her to play on defense instead of as goalkeeper, her normal position.

While the exhibition games will follow the standard U.S. Soccer Federation rules, interpreters will be on hand to use the American Sign Language or ASL to help players, referees, and coaches communicate with each other.

Dowling-Fitzpatrick does know ASL, but she says some players on her team do not.
The coach of the women’s team, Yon Struble says the team’s opponent will face its own challenges.

“The biggest difference for Otterbein is going to be the officiating. There’s no whistles, so most players are used to hearing a whistle and they stop. So there’s a professional courtesy. Quite simply, if there’s a foul and somebody sees the flag raised on the official everybody stops and put their hands up.”

Coordinator of the Exhibition Matches, Vincent Sabino played for the men’s deaf team in 2009. He says organizing these games is his way of giving back.

“Here in our own country we’ve not had that many events where we’ve been able to play in our own country, so I got the idea that maybe we should have some exhibition games to allow the deaf community to see what talented athletes we have in our deaf community.”
The women’s team will play Otterbein University, while the men’s team competes against players with the Crew Soccer Academy.

Dowling-Fitzpatrick is looking forward to playing the game even though it will be much quieter for her and her teammates.

“In soccer, when you make a mistake you can get up and try it again. You’ve still got more time to do it.”

Her mother Carla Dowling- Fitzpatrick says playing with other deaf players will be like a dream for her daughter.

“She has always had the requirement of being the different one. She’s never ever had a level playing field. This for her is the first time she’s ever played with anybody who had something in common with her in terms of deafness.”

The USA Deaf National Teams compete in the 2012 Deaf World Cup in Ankara,Turkey in July.