Health and Welfare

His priorities were education and tax reform, but Gov. Steve Beshear mentioned several health issues in his State of the Commonwealth speech tonight to a joint session of the General Assembly. Beshear called for action to correct the state's "fundamental weaknesses," including "a population whose health ranks among the worst in the nation." Near the end of his speech, he said, "We need to continue improving the health of our people," but after about a minute of discussing tobacco and smoking he stopped short of endorsing a statewide ban on smoking in the workplace. (KET photo)

Kentucky First Lady Jane Beshear is once again encouraging grocery shoppers to purchase a few extra items for the 15 domestic violence shelters across the commonwealth.  It’s all part of the fifth annual Shop and Share Day.    “And the idea is that each one of us goes this coming Saturday, February 2nd and as you are purchasing your items for your Super Bowl Party, that you think about helping others that are so desperate. There’ll be a volunteer in all of our stores and they’ll give you a list as to what are needed in your local shelter,” said Beshear.

It is now February, which is American Heart Month and a perfect time to remind people that small steps can reduce their risk of heart disease, Kentucky's No. 1 killer. You may be surprised to hear that almost 80 percent of heart disease is preventable and there are daily things that can be done to keep hearts healthy, according Dr. Martha Grogan, medical editor-in-chief of Mayo Clinic Healthy Heart for Life.

Many people may think that addressing mental health needs in Kentucky relies mostly on more funding, but its effectiveness hinges more on the ability to identify children who need help and make sure they get it early, two experts said on cn|2's "Pure Politics" Tuesday.

Think going to gym class drives weight loss, or that breastfeeding protects a child from obesity? Think again, because these are among seven popular myths about obesity myths, according to an international team of researchers. The seven popular but largely inaccurate beliefs, which lead to poor policy decisions, inaccurate public-health recommendations and wasted resources, were identified by the team led by David Allison, associate dean for science in the School of Public Health at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

KentuckyOne Health's headquarters will be in downtown Louisville in the Jewish Hospital Medical Plaza building, the health system announced Thursday. The decision is expected to add 10 new full-time jobs—$1.3 million in new annual payroll, according to a related news release from Greater Louisville Inc.

Kentucky Employees' Health Plan members will receive access to Vitality HealthyFood, a program that makes plan members who shop at Walmart eligible for 5 percent savings on products including fresh fruits, vegetables and low-fat dairy. The products carry Walmart's "Great for You" icon.

The prescription-painkiller epidemic stems partly from an evolution of society's views toward pain and how to deal with it, said experts at "The Different Faces of Substance Abuse" conference in Lexington Jan. 23-24. "The entire society's viewpoint of pain and the management of pain has completed shifted," said Dr. Ryan Stanton, an emergency physician and conference panelist.

The Kentucky All-Schedule Prescription Electronic Reporting system, the key to fighting doctor-shopping for painkillers in the state, has undergone several changes since the legislature passed House Bill 1 last year to crack down on so-called pill mills. An expert panel at "The Different Faces of Substance Abuse"conference last week in Lexington addressed the more recent changes to KASPER.

"Millions of smokers could be priced out of health insurance" because the health-care reform law
will let health-insurance companies charge smokers as much as 50 percent more starting next year" on individual policies, according to experts who are just now teasing out the potential impact of a little-noted provision in the massive legislation," The Associated Press reports.

No one really has a clue what changes from the health-care reform law will mean to Kentuckians and public health departments are preparing for the uncertainty, reports Kristy Cox of Business Lexington. "The Affordable Care Act will have an impact on health departments.  It is going to put a whole lot more people out there on the street on health insurance" of one kind or another, Dr. Rice Leach, head of the Lexington-Fayette County Health Department, told Cox.

A statewide poll last month found that most registered voters in Kentucky, when presented with specific facts and options, generally favored expansion of Medicaid under federal health-care reform. Similar results were found in six other states surveyed by a bipartisan pair of pollsters working for the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network.

With a simple vaccine, you can avoid HPV-linked cancer, including cervical cancer and many cancers of the mouth, throat, anus and genitals, which constitute more than 3 percent of all U.S. cancer diagnoses. Vaccination against the human papilloma virus (HPV) thwarts the virus’s spread, wrecks its ability to jump between people and inhibits a virus that in 2009 led to a cancer diagnosis for 30,000 people in the U.S., according to the National Cancer Insititue.

The University of Kentucky promotes compliance and enforcement of its tobacco-free policy through a community report line, among many other measures.  Although the report line was established last spring, its mention in recent campus communications suggests a hightened emphasis on compliance measures.

Firefighters are prepared to install more than 200 smoke detectors in Pike County homes.  The 250 detectors were donated by a manufacturer.  The campaign follows the fire-related deaths earlier this month of a father and his four children.  Pike County Emergency Management Director Doug Tackett says that fatal house fire has many families wanting smoke detectors.  “I certainly hope that it will because we don’t want to see another tragedy like that again.  It’s really important that they get their smoke detectors and get them installed.  If it saves one life, the whole program will be worth everything,” said Tackett.

Tooth decay is children's most common chronic health problem, and the 2010 federal health-care law addresses this problem by requiring insurers to cover pediatric dental services. But some advocates are concerned that the new benefits may not be sufficiently comprehensive or affordable, Michelle Andrews writes for The Washington Post.