State of Ohio Announces Partnership to Provide COVID-19 Testing Assistance for Ohioans Who are Blind or Have Low Vision

Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities sent this bulletin at 11/28/2022 02:20 PM EST

Partnership Announcement

November 28, 2022

Throughout the pandemic, Ohio has worked in partnership with communities to increase access to at-home rapid COVID-19 testing and continues to work to support the testing needs of Ohioans. Ohioans who are blind or have low vision face challenges to independently take at-home COVID-19 tests, a critical step in protecting themselves and their loved ones from the harmful impacts of COVID-19.

The Ohio Department of Health (ODH) and Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities (OOD) have worked together to identify a solution to support Ohioans who are blind or have low vision.

Ohio now offers free virtual assistance for Ohioans who are blind or have low vision who want to take an over-the-counter test from the comfort of their homes.

Ohio has partnered with Be My Eyes – a recognized leader in using video call technology to make the world more accessible for people who are blind or have a low level of vision – to offer this service using a smartphone app.

Ohioans who need it can now use a video call to administer any over-the-counter COVID-19 test authorized by the FDA, through four simple steps:

Obtain any over-the-counter COVID-19 test.
Download the Be My Eyes app on your Apple or Android smartphone, and select “State of Ohio COVID Testing.”
Walk through the testing process with a trained assistant.
Use your results to keep yourself and your loved ones safe.

Ohio residents will be connected to an experienced customer support representative from Accessible Pharmacy Services, who has assisted hundreds of Be My Eyes app users, to administer a variety of at-home medical tests. Once connected, the customer support representative can help individuals:

Read print information or instructions included in an at-home COVID-19 test.
Provide step-by-step guidance while taking the test.
Read the results of a completed test.

This service will be available to receive calls Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. ET. This service is not a telehealth session, and the Be My Eyes team will not provide healthcare advice.

For questions or more information on the Be My Eyes app, please contact: Lou Cooper, Success Manager, at lou@bemyeyes.com. We ask that you please consider sharing information about this service with your blind and low vision clients/stakeholders who may benefit from it.

Sincerely,

Bruce Vanderhoff, MD, MBA Kevin L. Miller

Director, Ohio Department of Health Director, Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities

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Programs provided by Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities (OOD) are funded, in whole or in part, with federal grants awarded by the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) or the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). For purposes of the Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) Program, including Pre-Employment Transition Services (Pre-ETS), OOD received 78.7% of its funding through the DOE VR grant. In Federal fiscal year (FFY) 2022, OOD received $103,630,848 in federal funds. Funds appropriated by the State covered 21.3 % of the total costs, or $28,047,485. Of these federal funds, $15,544,627 is set aside for Pre-ETS.

For purposes of the Supported Employment (SE) Program, the DOE SE grant funded 90% of the costs for the Supported Employment for Youth with a Disability Program up to the grant amount and 100% of the costs of regular Supported Employment program costs up to the grant amount. In FFY 2022, OOD received $603,568 for SE Youth with a Disability, and State appropriated funds paid the remaining 10%, or $60,357 of the total costs. In FFY 2022, OOD received $603,568 in regular SE grant funds.

For purposes of the Independent Living Services for Older Individuals Who are Blind (OIB) Program, the federal grant received from DOE in FFY 2022 paid 90% of the total costs incurred under the program. In FFY 2022, OOD received $1,139,118 in federal grant funds. Funds appropriated by the State paid over the 10% required match, or $126,569 of the total costs incurred under the OIB program. For purposes of the Independent Living (IL) Program, the federal grant received from HHS paid 90% of the total costs incurred in FFY 2022. In FFY 2022, OOD received $632,008 in federal grant funds. Funds appropriated by the State paid over the 10% of the match required or $70,223 of the total costs incurred under the IL Program.