EAST PALESTINE, Ohio — Six months after the train derailment and controlled burn of toxic chemicals in East Palestine, some residents say they’re still experiencing symptoms.
A permanent health clinic, in partnership with East Liverpool City Hospital and the Ohio Health Department, continues to provide care for patients affected by the derailment.
Lauren McIntosh, a nurse practitioner specializing in family medicine, works at the East Palestine Health Clinic.
"This is just where we do all of our testing with our lab equipment, you know, we do quality controls and all of those quality controls go to East Liverpool to be tested," she said.
The clinic uses both blood and urine to test people complaining of symptoms that may be related to chemical exposure from the derailment and the burning of toxic chemicals.
But Mclntosh said the number of tests being requested has gone down.
"Mostly now we are seeing chronic patients with chronic health issues," she said. "I would say that train-derailment patients, they have not been coming in as frequently as a lot of patients who’ve wanted screened and have already been screened."
One of those patients, Eric Cozza, said he’s making use of the health clinic to check out the symptoms he and his family are still experiencing.
"My symptoms are still the headache," he said. "I’m having problems with diarrhea. My fiancé, though, is still getting the blisters and the lesions."
Cozza said he's glad the clinic is still there.
"I made that my primary care physician because Mercy Health wasn’t doing anything as far as anything that had to do with the train derailment," he said "Right now, she’s having me see a specialist because I have water behind my ear drums."
McIntosh said screenings recommended by the Ohio Department of Health are covered by the clinic, but referrals to other specialists are not.
"Any available testing that is discussed between the provider and the patient could be referred to East Liverpool City Hospital for additional cost, and then we would also refer to specialists as needed based off of the patients presentation," she said.
Cozza said he plans to visit the clinic again soon to get more blood work done, and while he’s grateful for the clinic, cost is one area where he feels it falls short.
"I think that when I was out in Washington D.C., most of the senators and everybody thought that that was a free clinic," he said. It actually goes by your income. I would like to see it become a free clinic for East Palestine."
As for McIntosh, she said patients have been receptive to the services they provide.
"Patients have been very welcoming," she said. "We haven’t had any issues with patients at all. I really enjoy working with the community here in East Palestine. Everybody just wants to make sure that their health is in check and that they are where they should be now to get a baseline."