U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) speaks with wellness workers through a pay a visit to to the East Palestine Well being Clinic Tuesday. (Submitted photo)

STEUBENVILLE – U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) visited the short-term wellness clinic in East Palestine Tuesday to hear from residents about their ongoing requirements as they deal with the aftermath of the derailment of a Norfolk Southern train in February.

“It shouldn’t take a crisis like this for elected officials to place partisanship aside and operate collectively for the individuals we serve, and not for corporations like Norfolk Southern,” mentioned Brown. “This is the type of neighborhood that is so generally forgotten or exploited by corporate America. I’m right here for the extended haul. We’re going to be right here for months, for the subsequent year, the subsequent ten years if that is what it requires.”

The wellness assessment clinic opened in February in response to the derailment. Residents can have their important indicators checked, speak with a medical professional or mental wellness qualified or get a referral. The clinic received $250,000 in federal funding from the Well being Sources and Solutions Administration. It is operated in partnership by the Ohio Division of Well being, the Columbiana County Well being Division and the Neighborhood Action Agency of Columbiana County.

“It’s often good when we operate alongside some of our fellow county agencies, like the county wellness district and the Mental Well being and Recovery Board to enable our communities all through the year, but this wellness assessment clinic in East Palestine is unprecedented, and CAACC is extremely pleased to be in a position to enable these residents impacted get the care and interest they will need to enable them via this crisis and start an proper course of therapy,” mentioned Thomas Andrews, Neighborhood Action Agency of Columbiana County, Inc.(CAACC’s) CEO. “It’s extremely reassuring our efforts are becoming recognized as Senator Brown has taken time out of his busy schedule to pay a visit to and see the wellness assessment clinic initially-hand.”

Brown is operating with members of each parties to safe sources for Ohioans and to hold Norfolk Southern accountable for cleaning up the neighborhood. Brown has been to East Palestine various occasions to meet with Ohioans and respond to their requirements.

Brown and U.S. Senator J.D. Vance (R-OH) have named on Administrator Michael Regan of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Director Rochelle Walensky of the Centers for Illness Handle and Prevention (CDC) to make sure Ohioans impacted by the Norfolk Southern train derailment have access to baseline health-related testing, and that Norfolk Southern pays for it.

Brown also led a bipartisan group of colleagues, which includes Vance to introduce his Railway Security Act of 2023 that will increase rail security protocols, lastly standing up to railroad organization lobbyists so no other neighborhood has to deal with what East Palestine and other individuals in Ohio, which includes residents of Springfield, Sandusky and Steubenville, have dealt with.

Final week, Brown, along with Pennsylvania’s U.S. Senators Bob Casey (D-PA) and John Fetterman (D-PA) introduced the Help for Neighborhood Heroes Through Train Crises Act to assistance initially responders on the front lines of hazardous train derailments. In East Palestine, Ohio and Darlington, Pennsylvania, regional emergency responders, firefighters, and law enforcement risked their personal wellbeing to guard their communities in the aftermath of Norfolk Southern’s disaster. This new legislation would develop a new fund–paid for by organizations that ship and carry these materials–to deliver emergency responders, firefighters, and law enforcement with the economic sources required to replace gear, spend workers overtime, and address other urgent expenses as properly as compel railroads to notify regional officials and emergency response groups when hazardous components are moving via their communities.

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