Health and Welfare

Breakfast has been said to be the most important meal of the day, and it can be important in fighting obesity. Policymakers in West Virginia are pushing for breakfast food programs in schools through public-private partnerships, and a new report says similar programs could save $41 billion in federal dollars long-term by preventing obesity. Does this make sense, and does it make sense for Kentucky?

Dump your unwanted prescription drugs this Saturday, April 27, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. as part of the National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day, which in the past has coordinated with local law enforcement to haul in more than than 2 million pounds or 1,018 tons of prescription medications.

Misery loves company, after all. Kentuckians are the third most stressed out people in the U.S., trailing only West Virginians and Rhode Islanders, says a new poll from Gallup. In 2012, 44.8 percent of Kentuckians told Gallup that they'd experienced stress the previous day. Kentuckians also are the second least likely to experience enjoyment. Rhode Island topped that list.

Senator Max Baucus, who as Senate Finance Committee chair helped write the health-care reform law, has become the highest-ranking Democrat to publicly voice concerns about its implementation, saying he thinks it’s headed for a collision with itself. “I just see a huge train wreck coming down,” the Montanan told Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius during a budget hearing.

The Food and Drug Administration announced Tuesday that it would block generic, crushable versions of OxyContin from coming to the market and approve the reformulated, non-crushable OxyContin, which deters abuse of the powerful painkiller.

Nightmarish, drug-resistant bacteria that cause deadly infections are becoming more common in Kentucky hospitals, and a leading legislator on health issues says they should be required to report each case. The state Department for Public Health and hospital officials are investigating the presence of carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae, or CRE, at Kindred Hospital Louisville, a long-term and transitional care facility.

Exercising your mind can help in coping with the stress at the workplace and at school.   A pair of consultants in central Kentucky say ‘brain training’ techniques can help.  A lack of sleep, little exercise, and poor diet can all negatively impact memory.  But, an education consultant believes people can slow their mental decline. Carol Brown and her husband provide private tutoring services to students and professional.  Brown with the for-profit Academic Success Center of Kentucky, says games can help.

Prescribed doses of opiate pain medication have dropped significantly since Kentucky House Bill 1 went into effect last summer. Lawmakers passed the bill during the 2012 legislative session in response to Kentucky’s prescription pill problem, which was blamed for about 80 drug overdose deaths a month.

A recent statewide survey shows health-care costs are a burden for many Kentuckians, especially for those who are poor and don't have insurance and put off getting care they need because they can't afford it. More than 60 percent of Kentucky adults in the poll said high costs forced them or a family member living in their home to delay getting care in the past year. Not surprisingly, almost 90 percent of uninsured respondents reported going completely without care in the past year.

Kentucky ranks high in child obesity. Parents can make sure their children maintain a healthy weight with three simple suggestions highlighted in recent studies: Serve them meals on smaller, child-size plates, pay attention to what they watch on TV, and make sure they get enough sleep.

Small changes in health behavior can have a huge impact on the public's overall health and well-being, and during National Public Health Week discussions last week, Dr. Craig Blakely, the new dean of the University of Louisville School of Public Health and Information Sciences, talked about the important role played by public health in promoting healthy behavior, preventing disease and saving both lives and money.

The University of Louisville’s men’s basketball team will play Saturday in the Final Four, and Metro Police are warning fans to celebrate without lighting couches on fire, as fans are sometimes wont to do. West Virginia University lays claim to the tradition of lighting a couch on fire after the local team wins the big game…or loses a game…or even plays any game…ever. But the trend has spread. Last year, there was a string of couch burning across Lexington after the Kentucky Wildcats advanced throughout the NCAA tournament, and sports-related couch fires have been spotted in Michigan, California and Texas.

To address possible confusion or concern of business people and the public about the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, or "Obamacare," health-care reform experts will address its impact on small and large companies across Kentucky at half-day seminars in Lexington and Louisville on May 8 and 9.

The University of Kentucky hosted the state's first Light It Up Blue event by illuminating Memorial Hall with blue lights on April 2nd, and this event is a unique global initiative that kicks-off Autism Awareness Month and helps raise awareness about autism.

Death rates are rising at rural critical-access hospitals for Medicare patients who have heart attacks, heart failure and pneumonia, according to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Hospitals designated as critical-access get slightly higher Medicsare and Medicaid reimbursements in exchange for limiting their size, procedures and patient stays. In 2002, they had a death rate of 12.8 percent for such ailments, under the 13 percent rate at other hospitals.

The University of Kentucky's health-care system has grown by leaps and bounds in the last decade, becoming one of the state's largest businesses, but its boss says it must expand its geographical reach to maintain its newly raised national status and to ensure access to quality care for Kentuckians.