Princess Health and Wellness coalition in Perry County, where life expectancy is state's lowest, gets funding from Foundation for a Healthy Ky.. Princessiccia

Princess Health and Wellness coalition in Perry County, where life expectancy is state's lowest, gets funding from Foundation for a Healthy Ky.. Princessiccia

Appalachia children children's health education farm to school farmers' markets food Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky foundations grants hospitals life expectancy nutrition philanthropy schools

Gusty 10:14 Add Comment

The Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky has funded the Perry County Wellness Coalition's three-year plan to encourage fitness and better nutrition in school-age children, "Kids on the Move!"

The wellness coalition will receive $144,450 from the foundation this year, matched by $124,944 from the community, to increase access to physical activity and provide healthier food options and nutrition education. Perry County has the lowest life expectancy in Kentucky.

"Our children are the most valuable resource we have," said Gerry Roll, executive director of the Foundation for Appalachian Kentucky, which is serving as fiscal agent for the coalition. "It's the best investment we can make as a community partner."

The health coalition will work with local schools to implement physical activity and nutrition-policy changes, collaborate with local farmers' markets for a strong farm-to-school component, and coordinate with other community agencies to create a lasting and collective impact.

The project also will implement best-practices nutrition and exercise programs in schools, support community gardens, summer feeding programs, and a "Farmacy" program to increase the purchase of healthier produce at farmers' markets and local grocery stores, among other changes to be coordinated by the agencies in the coalition.

The Appalachian Regional Healthcare hospital in Hazard will be the administrative hub for the coalition, providing leadership and sharing its expertise in promoting community health. "We have already begun these efforts by providing fitness fairs and health screenings to over 20 schools in our service area and reaching a little more than 2,500 middle school and high school age kids this year alone," said Hazard ARH Community CEO Dan Stone said.

The coalition is among seven Kentucky communities funded by the foundation's "Investing in Kentucky's Future" initiative, which is spending $3 million over five years to fund communities working to improve the health of their school-aged children. The other groups are in Breathitt, Clinton, Grant, Jefferson and McLean counties, and in Boyd and Greenup counties. Perry County was in the original announcement and recently completed its detailed plan. It shares with Breathitt and Wolfe counties the state's lowest life expectancy, 70 years.

Princess Health and Grants of up to $10,000 available for Kentucky communities to fight colon cancer; applications are due July 15.Princessiccia

Princess Health and Grants of up to $10,000 available for Kentucky communities to fight colon cancer; applications are due July 15.Princessiccia

cancer screening colorectal cancer grants prevention

Gusty 09:43 Add Comment

The Colon Cancer Prevention Project has a new "Project Innovation" grant program to help fund local innovative ideas to get more people screened for colon cancer in Kentucky and Southern Indiana.

Kentucky ranks first in colon-cancer diagnoses and fourth in colon-cancer deaths. It is estimated that 60 percent of deaths from colon cancer could be prevented if everyone were screened at age 50, according to the project's website.

The project, based in Louisville, is a partner in the national initiative to increase colon screening rates to 80 percent by 2018 and hopes to reach this goal by expanding into new communities through volunteer participation.

With this goal in mind, the project is offering up to $10,000 in grants to help individuals lead efforts to raise awareness in their communities about colon cancer and educate people about the importance of screening. The number of approved projects and the amount of funding will depend on the number of applications received and the perceived effectiveness of the project.

Anyone who creates a project to support the expansion of the Colon Cancer Prevention Project that will serve Kentucky or Southern Indiana can apply.

Projects should target African Americans or rural areas of Kentucky and Appalachia. Preference will be given to projects that focus on these counties: Whitley, Knox, Bell, Clay, Madison, Fleming, Morgan, Martin, Pike, Hopkins and Hardin. However, all applications will be considered.

Project requirements can be found online and applications will be accepted through July 15. For more information and access to the application, click here: http://coloncancerpreventionproject.org/help-kick-butt/project-innovation/

Princess Health and State Health Department gets diabetes prevention funding; will focus on prediabetes detection and lifestyle changes.Princessiccia

Princess Health and State Health Department gets diabetes prevention funding; will focus on prediabetes detection and lifestyle changes.Princessiccia

diabetes federal grants grants health departments obesity prevention public health

Gusty 19:08 Add Comment

The state Department for Public Health has been awarded a $134,380 federal grant to help reduce high rates of prediabetes and Type 2 diabetes in Kentucky.

�Diabetes is a tremendous public health concern that is both horrific for the individual, if unmanaged, and costly in terms of medications, various complications and long-term hospitalizations that are so often associated with the disease,� Audrey Haynes, secretary of the Cabinet for Health and Family Services, said in a press release.

In 2009, Kentucky's rate for diagnosed diabetes was the fourth highest in the nation at 11.4 percent of the population, compared to a national median of 8.3 percent. The rate means an estimated 366,000 adults in Kentucky have diabetes. An additional 266,000 Kentuckians are estimated to have prediabetes, according to the CFHS website.

Prediabetes often leads to Type 2 diabetes, the most common type, within a few years, but lifestyle changes promoted by the federal Diabetes Prevention Program can decrease the risk of developing diabetes by almost 60 percent, according to a recent study published in the Journal of Preventive Medicine.

�We must act now to begin reversing the devastating impact of diabetes on our state,� Haynes said. �We are excited to continue our work with the Diabetes Prevention Program to help more Kentuckians start making healthier lifestyle choices so they can avoid developing diabetes and lead longer, healthier lives.�

The DPP specifically targets individuals with prediabetes and works with them to reduce their risk of developing Type 2 diabetes. The risk factors for both are: being older than 45, being overweight or obese, physical inactivity, having a family history of diabetes, ever having gestational diabetes, high blood pressure, abnormal cholesterol, having a history of cardiovascular disease and being African-American, Hispanic/Latino, Native American, Asian American or Pacific Islander. Click here to take the diabetes risk test.

The federal Centers for Disease Control estimates that national efforts to prevent Type 2 diabetes could save $5.7 billion in health care costs by preventing 885,000 cases in the next 25 years. Kentucky will focus on three diabetes prevention strategies that involve raising awareness among health care providers to improve detection and treatment of prediabetes and encouraging both state/local government and business to add lifestyle change programs to the list of covered services under health plans, says the news release. (Read more about diabetes and prevention in Kentucky).

Princess Health and Health departments prepare for challenges posed by health-care reform law.Princessiccia

Princess Health and Health departments prepare for challenges posed by health-care reform law.Princessiccia

Affordable Care Act county health departments grants health care law health care reform health departments health insurance

Gusty 07:14 Add Comment

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.

"I think how health departments are impacted is going to look a little different depending on what part of the state they're in," Rice said. "The United States has passed a law that creates an entitlement for 30 or 40 million people, and here in Lexington, for 10,000 or 20,000 more people to have health insurance. Now, who is going to take care of them?"

If the private sector can't handle the increased patient load, Leach said, the stress goes onto the health departments, meaning they may be expected to provide a broad "continuum" of care for acute medical needs, including doctors and laboratory services. Leach said he hopes other systems will step up to provide care so health departments can continue to focus on preventative services.

Many factors determine what health departments can and can't do as well as their ability to generate dollars. Leach called  the services mandates by state and federal governments as "mission critical activities," which include preventive health, communicable disease control, public health education, emergency response, sanitary code and restaurant inspection and public health policy, writes Cox. 

Despite the challenging economic environment created by budget cuts and managed-care non-payment issues, Kentucky health departments are trying to stay focused on their big-picture mission.  Some departments are writing grants and others, like the Lincoln Trail District Health Department, has sent nurses into school systems in attempt to increase revenue through expanded clinical services, Cox reports.

Princess Health and U of L profs get $6.3 million to continue spinal cord research.Princessiccia

Princess Health and U of L profs get $6.3 million to continue spinal cord research.Princessiccia

foundations grants paralysis philanthropy research spinal cord injuries

Gusty 14:22 Add Comment

Susan Harkema, a University of Louisville professor, talks
about epidural spinal stimulation. Courier-Journal photo.

Two University of Louisville professors have received a $6.3 million grant to continue their work helping paralyzed patients restore movement by using electrical stimulation.

The grant was awarded to Susan Harkema and Dr. Jonathan Hodes from the Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust.

Last year, they received much acclaim when they published a study in the journal The Lancet "showing that the use of continual, direct, electrical stimulation of a patient's lower spinal cord using technology designed for pain relief can allow a person using a wheelchair to stand and bear weight," reports Laura Ungar for The Courier-Journal.

With these new grant funds, Harkema said they will "be able to built a stimulator that will allow the individual to take advantage of these advances in their homes and communities."

One of the initial case studies involved Rob Summers, a former baseball player from Oregon who was paralyzed below the chest after a car accident. After the therapy, he was able to get to a standing position and stand as long as four minutes. "He was also able to take steps with help and move his toes, ankles, knees and hips." Harkema said he continues to improve.

Nationwide, more than 5 million Americans live with some type of paralysis, and more than 1.3 million have spinal-cord injuries. (Read more)