Fox 19: Hundreds of Ohio physicians call for universal masking in schools
UC clinician, mother leads grassroots letter campaign to local districts
A grassroots effort encouraging local schools to require universal masking for the health and safety of students and staff has grown out of a private social media group for area physician mothers.
UC's Hilja Ruegg, MD, medical director of Integrated Mental Health Care, program director of the UC Family Medicine/Psychiatry Combined Training Program and assistant professor in the departments of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience and Family and Community Medicine, helped draft and organize a letter to area schools signed by more than 450 area physicians.
The letter is not affiliated with any particular group and outlines the science behind the the request for schools to require masks.
Featured image at top courtesy of Unsplash
Impact Lives Here
The University of Cincinnati is leading public urban universities into a new era of innovation and impact. Our faculty, staff and students are saving lives, changing outcomes and bending the future in our city's direction. Next Lives Here.
Related Stories
Sugar overload killing hearts
November 10, 2025
Two in five people will be told they have diabetes during their lifetime. And people who have diabetes are twice as likely to develop heart disease. One of the deadliest dangers? Diabetic cardiomyopathy. But groundbreaking University of Cincinnati research hopes to stop and even reverse the damage before it’s too late.
Is going nuclear the solution to Ohio’s energy costs?
November 10, 2025
The Ohio Capital Journal recently reported that as energy prices continue to climb, economists are weighing the benefits of going nuclear to curb costs. The publication dove into a Scioto Analysis survey of 18 economists to weigh the pros and cons of nuclear energy. One economist featured was Iryna Topolyan, PhD, professor of economics at the Carl H. Lindner College of Business.
App turns smartwatch into detector of structural heart disease
November 10, 2025
An app that uses an AI model to read a single-lead ECG from a smartwatch can detect structural heart disease, researchers reported at the 2025 Scientific Sessions of the American Heart Association. Although the technology requires further validation, researchers said it could help improve the identification of patients with heart failure, valvular conditions and left ventricular hypertrophy before they become symptomatic, which could improve the prognosis for people with these conditions.