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Tuesday, 24 May 2016

Princess Health and Doctor speaks up about battle with depression, leading cause of disability for people 15-44; only 20% with symptoms are treated. Princessiccia

Gusty 13:53 1 Comment

By Danielle Ray
Kentucky Health News

Pitman (Paducah Sun photo)

Dr. Jay Pitman knows what it's like to feel isolated. Pitman spoke out about his battle with depression in a recent essay in The Paducah Sun.

"I'm writing a piece about my depression, about things people don't like to talk about," he told Steve Wilson, editor of the newspaper. "I'm thinking it might help some people." Wilson wrote in his column about Pitman, whose essay was published a week earlier, along with a story about him.

Pitman's depression deepened after he was the victim of a near-fatal hit-and-run accident in 2013. He was found lying unconscious in a pool of blood. He had suffered a concussion, brain hemorrhage and a broken shoulder. His physical recovery was remarkable. In fact, he recovered well enough to compete in a triathlon the next year. But he has had a much longer road to emotional healing.

Pitman is not alone in his struggle. The Anxiety and Depression Association of America estimates that about 18 million Americans suffer from depression, and notes that depression is the leading cause of disability in people aged 15 to 44. The organization distinguishes two categories of depression: major depression and persistent depressive disorder, which is characterized by symptoms that last at least two years.

Pitman's essay garnered a lot of support, but he's more concerned with opening up an honest dialogue about the issue.

"My hope is that those coping with depression will seek help and talk openly about their disease without feeling ashamed or embarrassed," he told Wilson. "I've lost several friends to suicide."

Despite its prevalence, only about 20 percent of people with depression symptoms seek professional help, according to the online health network Healthline.

Tiffany Bryant, a Lexington counselor who specializes in treating depression, said many people don't seek help or speak out about depression because of a lingering stigma surrounding mental illness. She believes popular culture has created an environment that discourages people from representing themselves honestly, flaws and struggles and all.

"I think you can blame, to a certain extent, social media, because everybody wants to show their very best," she said. "A lot of people have this mask that they wear for other people, and they never really take it off."

Even with a fairly low rate of patients seeking treatment, Healthline estimates that the number of patients diagnosed with depression increases by about 20 percent each year.

The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends early treatment. If not effectively treated, depression can become a chronic disease. Experiencing just one episode of depression places a person at a 50 percent risk for experiencing another episode in the future, according to the CDC.

While it can affect anyone at any time, women typically experience higher rates of depression than men. The CDC also noted that nearly 10 percent of people in their 40s and 50s report current depression. The good news is that 60 to 80 percent of all depression cases can be treated with either psychotherapy ("talk therapy"), antidepressant medication or a combination of both, says Healthline.

The American Psychiatric Association defines depression as a condition with any five of these seven symptoms for a continuous period of at least two weeks:

sadness;
loss of interest in activities that used to be enjoyable;
change in weight or appetite, change in activity level;
sleeping too much or too little;
loss of energy;
feelings of guilt or worthlessness;
difficulty concentrating or having thoughts of death or suicide.

Depression has a variety of causes, including genetic, environmental, psychological, and biochemical factors. The CDC notes that everyone gets "down in the dumps" at times, but it becomes pathological when symptoms are persistent and interrupt daily life. To learn more about it, from the National Institute of Mental Health, click here.

Tuesday, 16 June 2015

Princess Health and Free screenings of new Kentucky colon-cancer documentary, plus Q and A, are scheduled in Louisville, Lexington and Hazard.Princessiccia

cancer colorectal cancer health education health journalism prevention television

Gusty 13:12 Add Comment

The Colon Cancer Prevention Project is premiering its new documentary, "Catching a Killer: Colon Cancer in the Bluegrass," in three select cities, before it starts airing on KET this summer.

The 30-minute film, which features stories from Kentuckians who have been affected by colon cancer, will be shown June 18 at the Clifton Center in Louisville; June 23 at the Central Library in Lexington; and July 20 at the Perry County Library in Hazard. It includes stories from residents of Appalachia and Louisville, two areas where colon cancer rates are the highest.

All three events will run from 7 to 8 p.m. and include a question-and-answer session with expert panelists after the film is over. Free food, music and photos will be offered before the start of the film, from 5:45 to 6:45 p.m.

The Colon Cancer Prevention Project is Kentucky and Southern Indiana�s only nonprofit focused solely on work to end the second leading cancer killer among men and women. Colon cancer strikes 2,600 Kentuckians each year � making Kentucky one of the worst states in the country for colon cancer incidence � but it is highly preventable with screening.

"Catching a Killer" not only shares the heartfelt stories of our neighbors, but also shares information about screening options and resources in our state.

�Our goal is to make sure people get screened for this disease and avoid ever hearing the words: You have cancer,� Andrea Shepherd, the project's executive director, said in a news release. �We hope that after viewing this documentary, people get on the phone and start talking with their physicians and families about colon cancer screening.�

The events are free and open to the public. More information and an RSVP form is available on the project's website.

Saturday, 13 June 2015

Princess Health and Seniors get a lot of anti-anxiety drugs, sometimes in dangerous combination with narcotics; Ky. ranks third in the nation in that.Princessiccia

anxiety doctors drug abuse elderly health journalism Medicare mental health narcotics physicians prescription drugs

Gusty 04:12 Add Comment

When Medicare's drug program, called Part D, was put into place more than a decade ago, Congress decided to not pay for anti-anxiety medications. In 2013, when Medicare started paying for them, the program went from spending nothing for these medications to paying more than $377 million, Charles Ornstein and Ryann Grochowski Jones report for ProPublica, a nonprofit, investigative news organization.

Using anti-anxiety drugs in combination with narcotics increases the risk of overdoses, but Kentucky has many doctors who prescribe a lot of both. More than 100 Kentucky doctors each wrote at least 1,000 prescriptions for both types of drugs in 2013, according to data compiled by ProPublica.

That ranked Kentucky third in the nation, trailing only Florida and Alabama. Other southeastern states dominated the top 10. California, the nation's most populous state, ranked eighth; Tennessee was fourth and Ohio was ninth.

ProPublica has an application that lets you look up, by doctors' names, cities or ZIP codes, the number of Medicare claims they filed in 2013, the amount of money, the number of patients and the number of prescriptions for brand-name drugs.

The anti-anxiety drugs, some known as benzodiazepines, include popular tranquilizers such as Valium, Xanax and Ativan.

Lawmakers initially chose to keep them out of Medicare Part D because they had been linked to abuse and an increased risk of falls among the elderly. Doctors kept prescribing them to Medicare enrollees, who found other ways to pay for them.

In 2013, the year Medicare started covering benzodiazepines, it paid for nearly 40 million prescriptions, ProPublica found. Generic versions of Xanax (alprazolam), Ativan (lorazepam) and Klonopin (clonazepam) were among the top 32 most-prescribed medications in Medicare Part D that year.

The American Geriatrics Society "discourages the use of benzodiazepines in seniors for agitation, insomnia or delirium because they can be habit-forming and disorienting and their effects last longer in older patients." The society does say the drugs "are appropriate to treat seizure disorders, severe anxiety, withdrawal and in end-of-life care," ProPublica notes.

One geriatric psychiatrist told ProPublica that the drugs are a "very real safety concern" for the elderly, and that he and others in his field don't use them as a "first-, second-, or third- line of treatment." Some geriatric psychiatrists have voiced concerns that these drugs are now being used instead of antipsychotics, since Medicare has pushed to reduce the use of antipsychotics, particularly in nursing homes, because of their risks.

Several doctors who rank among Medicare's top prescribers of the drugs told ProPublica that any risks of anti-anxiety drugs are outweighed by their benefits. One said that the drugs worked well for his patients, many of whom were trying to kick addictions to narcotics, but struggled with anxiety and depression.

However, ProPublica also found that some doctors appear to be prescribing benzodiazepines and narcotic painkillers to the same patients, which increased the risk of misuse and overdose. That's where Kentucky ranked third.

Dr. Leonard J. Paulozzi, a medical epidemiologist at the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, co-authored an analysis showing that benzodiazepines were involved in about 30 percent of the fatal narcotic overdoses that occurred nationwide in 2010, ProPublica reports.

Sunday, 31 May 2015

Princess Health and Herald-Leader reporter wins Nieman fellowship to study at Harvard; her goal is to help other papers cover Obamacare.Princessiccia

awards health journalism journalism newspapers

Gusty 08:52 Add Comment

Photo by Pablo Alcala,
Lexington Herald-Leader

Mary Meehan, a reporter for the Lexington Herald-Leader, has been selected for the 2016 class of Nieman fellows at Harvard University.
She is one of 24 journalists chosen for this prestigious honor and will begin her year of study at Harvard in September.

"I am going to Harvard to study for nine months. I hope to learn things I didn't know I yearn to learn, learn about healthcare and the massive social experiment underway." Meehan said in her shared blog, Menopausal Moms of Kentucky. "I also hope to learn something that can help in some small way to keep the newspaper industry upright."

Meehan has been with the Herald-Leader for 15 years, but began her career as a journalist 34 years ago as a columnist for The Voice of St. Mathews in Louisville at the age of 16. Before returning to Kentucky, she worked for the Tribune Newspapers in Phoenix, AZ, The Orlando Sentinel in Florida, and also as a freelance journalist in Florida.

She said that her "life changing" experience as a Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation Health Coverage Fellow last year is what prompted her to apply for the fellowship. She said she returned from the first fellowship energized to write about health, and has written "as many stories as I could" with information from that experience.

Still, she said, "I just came across stories that I couldn't get to, that were too complicated because I didn't have a good, deep foundation of health-care reform and the complex issues involving how people access health care, or what makes them seek it out even if they have insurance, and so that prompted me to file an application for the Nieman fellowship."

Meehan said that she made it clear on her application that she is not a full-time health journalist and that during any given week she has covered "a tractor parade, monster trucks and Salem the wonder cat." But she also said that while covering health, she has found that the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act has accountability measures that apply everywhere, but are "very difficult to digest on the fly."

Each Nieman fellow proposes a study project. Meehan plans to examine the impact of the law and barriers to sustained health improvement among the previously uninsured.

"My goal is to help mid-size and small papers cover the Affordable Care Act in a meaningful way," she said. "The other part is highlighting positive things that are happening in communities, with a critical eye. Looking at not only what works, but also the challenges."

Meehan said being selected for the top fellowship in journalism hasn't really "soaked in yet," but she anticipates, based on previous fellows' comments, that she will discover "something that is amazing" that can't be predicted yet.

She said she is looking forward to working with the other fellows, half of whom will come from all over the world, and going back to college.

"I am a 50-year-old woman with white hair; I just love the visual of me sitting in a Harvard class," she said with pure joy in her voice. She earned her bachelor's degree at Western Kentucky University where she majored in political science and journalism.

In addition to taking classes, fellows attend Nieman seminars, workshops and master classes and work closely with Harvard scholars and other leading thinkers in the Cambridge, Mass., area.

The Nieman Foundation for Journalism has educated more than 1,400 accomplished journalists from 93 countries since 1938.

Sunday, 27 April 2014

Princess Health and Princess Health andIn Floyd County, opinions about health care reform depend on whom you ask, and in some cases they are surprising.Princessiccia

health insurance health journalism health rankings health reform hospitals Medicaid obamacare poverty smoking

Gusty 13:33 Add Comment

At the Eula Hall Health Center in Grethel,
nurse Stephanie Clark takes vitals of Mary
Murphy, 54, whose leg blood clot wasn't
treated for 15 years because she couldn't
afford it. (C-J photo by Jessica Ebelhar)

"A team of journalists from USA Today and The Courier-Journal has found that in Floyd County, Obamacare is a neither a train wreck nor a cure-all. It's a work in progress; widely misrepresented and misunderstood, it's helped some people and hurt others, while a handful seem unaffected." So write Chris Kenning and Laura Ungar of The C-J, with Jayne O'Donnell and Rick Hampson of the national newspaper of C-J owner Gannett Co. Inc.

Newly insured people are being treated for ailments that they long ignored or tried to treat with inadequate resources, and people who couldn't get or afford insurance because of pre-existing conditions have been able to get it. "Yet, also because of Obamacare, insurance customers in this Appalachian community complain about higher deductibles and insuring those who don't work. Many say they can't afford even subsidized plans on the state's insurance exchange," the writers report. "Some small business owners say they may cut workers' hours. And hospital leaders say the law has exacerbated health-care trends, leading them to lay off workers and shut down an entire floor of Floyd County's largest hospital."

Advocates say the health-reform law will improve Kentucky's health by bringing care to those who haven't had it, but "Obamacare so far shows scant promise of being able to heal Floyd County, where generations of poor health habits and attitudes testify to poverty's victory" despite the "war" on it that President Lyndon Johnson declared in the region 50 years ago. "Real change, many say, will take decades, given the county's poor health: 35 percent of adults smoke, and the overall death rate is 42 percent above the national average. Many lack reliable transportation, have trouble taking time off from low-wage jobs for medical appointments or just don't believe in going to the doctor."

Some say the law didn't go far enough, and worry about its effect on hospitals. "It's insurance reform," said Bud Warman, president of Highlands Regional Medical Center in Prestonsburg, the Floyd County seat. "It's not health care reform.''

Thursday, 10 April 2014

Princess Health and Princess Health andKET's 'Safe and Sound: Raising Emotionally Healthy Children in a Stressful World' premieres April 17, first airs April 21.Princessiccia

children children's health health journalism mental health parenting television

Gusty 21:07 Add Comment

Though new parents often have access to many resources of information on how to care for their children physically, they are usually not as well-informed about raising them to be strong and healthy emotionally, and esearch shows that children who grow up stressed can face brain development and long-term health issues, KET "Be Well Kentucky" reports.

The state network will present a special report, "Safe and Sound: Raising Emotionally Health Children in a Stressful World," designed to teach parents to be the best they can be, in various locations across the state.

The program will be aired Monday, April 21 at 9/8 p.m. It was produced partly with funding from the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky.

A public screening and panel discussion of the program will be held Thursday, April 17 at 5:30 p.m. at the Kentucky Science Center in Louisville.

Guests are invited to a 4:30 p.m. reception at the Leadership Louisville Center at 732 W. Main St. The event is free, but registration is required, and seats are limited. Click here to register.

Monday, 24 March 2014

Princess Health and Princess Health andHumana Inc. bus travels the rural roads of Mississippi, looking to enroll people in Obamacare by March 31 deadline.Princessiccia

health care health care access health insurance health journalism health reform obamacare obesity Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act poverty rural health

Gusty 13:13 Add Comment

Insurance providers have been scared off by Mississippi, one of the poorest and unhealthiest states in the country. Only nine percent of eligible residents have signed up for insurance under federal health reform, ranking Mississippi near the bottom of all states in Obamacare, with only 25,554 residents having signed up as of early March.

Politico photo by Madeline Marshall: Humana bus

Louisville-based insurance company Humana Inc. is attempting a unique way to try to get Mississippi residents signed up. The company has a bus that travels the state, having made more than 200 stops "pulling into hospital parking lots and Wal-Mart shopping centers, parking at churches large and small and hitting other obvious targets to find and convince the uninsured that President Barack Obama�s signature health achievement will benefit them," Jennifer Haberkorn reports for Politico. "Sometimes the company�s agents see dozens of people per stop. Other times, just a few individuals climb aboard."

Mississippi is the only state where Humana has a bus, Haberkorn writes. "It�s also the only state where the company is covering the co-pay for customers� first doctor�s visit before June, immediate cash savings that it hopes will get people to start a relationship with a primary-care physician. Officials declined to say exactly how much is being spent on the dual strategies."

Based on the dismal number of residents signing up, the bus hasn't exactly been a hit. Part of the problem is that rates in Mississippi are the third highest in the country, and that Humana is only one of two insurers in the state. "Despite all the political rhetoric about a government-run health program, Obamacare relies on private insurers to sell policies on the state and federal exchanges. If there�s no insurance company, then there�s really no Obamacare," Haberkorn writes. "And Mississippi is one of the last places the typical risk-averse health insurance company would choose to sell policies under the law. Statistically, it�s one of the unhealthiest states, topping the charts in all kinds of negatives such as obesity, diabetes, hypertension and cardiovascular disease � conditions that can be stabilized with treatment or kill without."

"But Humana has every incentive to sell as many policies as possible," Haberkorn writes. "The math involved is simple: Insurance works when there are more people enrolled, which spreads the risk of high costs across hundreds or thousands of customers. To succeed in a state like Mississippi, it had to go all out to get customers."

Humana originally offered policies in only four counties, but the state insurance commissioner persuaded it to go to 40. The company's Mississippi market director, told Haberkorn, �Back in August, when we added on an additional 36 counties, we had to act really quickly on how we would get to all of the people in those counties at such a last minute. Operating this mobile tour has allowed us to get to people, instead of waiting for them to come to us.� (Read more)

Friday, 7 March 2014

Princess Health and Princess Health andTodd County weekly's editor-publisher wonders why so many uninsured locals haven't signed up for health insurance.Princessiccia

health insurance health journalism health rankings health reform insurance exchange journalism newspapers obamacare

Gusty 16:27 Add Comment

With open enrollment in the new health-insurance exchanges ending March 31, at least one country editor is wondering why most people in his community who lack coverage haven't take advantage of the historic opportunity. And since he's in Kentucky, he used the state's next-to-last ranking in the latest Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index as the point of departure for an article that took up most of his editorial page.

"Kentucky is its own worst enemy . . . and if you think this is just an Eastern Kentucky problem, you aren't paying attention," Editor-Publisher Ryan Craig, right, wrote in last week's Todd County Standard, in Western Kentucky. "Our numbers suggest we are as miserable as anywhere in the state, i.e., the nation." Craig then listed statistics for poverty, income, education and health insurance and said bluntly, "We are near the bottom in all of these categories, which are the same categories that cause Kentucky to have such a dismal ranking in the Miserable Test year after year."

Craig says Todd County, "it, seems, is among the bottom of counties who signed up for the Affordable Care Act," and wonders why only 533 of the estimated 2,455 people in his county without health insurance have signed up for it: "Is it because of fear of the unknown? Politics? The prevailing answer people tell me is that they would rather pay the tax penalty and not have the insurance. What would happen if that person or someone in their family was in a car wreck? They readily admit that they are taking a big chance, but don't see how they can afford the insurance even when it is cheaper now, especially those who are very sick and couldn't get insurance before." One man told him he would have to declare bankruptcy.

"The deadline to apply for health insurance through the exchange is March 31," Craig writes. "If you don't have insurance, at least consider the process." The Standard has been judged Kentucky's best small weekly newspaper seven years in a row, but doesn't put news or editorials online. For a scan of the editorial as a PDF, click here.

Thursday, 6 March 2014

Princess Health and Princess Health andPrimary care, a big focus of health reform, faces challenges as Kentucky doctors deal with change.Princessiccia

doctors health insurance health journalism health reform hospitals insurance exchange Medicaid nurse practitioners obamacare physicians

Gusty 12:02 Add Comment

Craig Dooley, newly covered by Medicaid under health
reform, got an X-ray in Dr. Sven Jonsson's Baptist Health
office. (Photo by Luke Sharrett for The New York Times)

Primary-care doctors are key to the nation's health by providing preventive care to people who haven't been getting it but are now under federal health reform. However, some independent physicians in Kentucky and other states are struggling to run their businesses due to "flat or dropping reimbursement rates and new federal rules," many related to reform, Abby Goodnough writes for The New York Times. Goodnough's story is the latest in a series lookine at health reform through Kentucky examples.

Dr. Sven Jonsson joined Kentucky's Baptist Health System two years ago after leaving private practice in Louisville, fearing the law's often-expensive requirements. Now he is treating more patients, in the rural exurb of Taylorsville, and Baptist is handling all the details of the transition into the new health-care system. "This is just a much saner place for me right now," he said. Primary care is more in demand because many states used it to expand Medicaid to people earning up to 138 percent of the poverty line.

Conversely, Dr. Tracy Ragland owns a small private practice in the wealthy suburb of Crestwood, and is concerned about the rules and payments associated with the new system. "The possibility of not being able to survive in a private practice, especially primary care, is very real," she said.

According to the American Medical Association, 40 percent of family doctors and pediatricians are independent. Ragland supports the idea of providing health coverage to more Americans, but says Medicaid and some private plans offered through Kentucky's health-insurance exchange don't pay enough, so she does not treat those patients. She says she values the flexibility of her private practice and the ability to spend as much time with patients as they need.

However, Ragland did join an "accountable care organization," a group of independent physicians who arrange care for a number of patients. "These networks, encouraged by the new law, reap financial rewards if they improve patients' health and spend less doing it," Goodnough notes. Ragland and her associates know that primary-care doctors can receive higher, Medicare-level reimbursements for seeing Medicaid patients, but this only lasts through 2014 and they didn't take the bait.

Doctors who have joined hospitals, like Jonsson, receive a baseline salary with bonuses for extra productivity, but that will probably change because the reform law will base payments on results. When Jonsson owned his own practice, he didn't accept Medicaid. At his new workplace at Baptist Medical Associates, he can treat Medicaid patients because the practice has space to grow, said Donna Ghobadi, an assistant vice president at the hospital.

Recently Kentucky passed a bill that will "give experienced nurse practitioners more leeway to practice independently," Goodnough reports. Ragland went to the state Capitol to ask legislators to give scholarships to medical and nursing students who will practice in under-served areas. "I don't get the emphasis on primary care is so important, but primary care physicians aren't," she said. Lawmakers said they will consider her ideas next year. (Read more)

Here's a video version of Goodnough's story:

Monday, 10 June 2013

Princess Health and Floyd County newspaper editor calls on readers to make lifestyle changes to address area's diabetes health crisis.Princessiccia

diabetes exercise health journalism heart disease nutrition obesity rural health rural journalism rural-urban disparities

Gusty 10:40 Add Comment

The editor of an Eastern Kentucky newspaper has joined an advocacy group's call for residents in his county to make simple, healthy lifestyle changes, serving as an example of how local newspapers and community members can engage the public to confront poor health status of the area, which is often put on the back-burner despite alarming warning signs.

Recently, the Tri-County Diabetes Partnership declared the rate of diabetes in Floyd, Johnson and Magoffin counties (map) "a crisis of epidemic proportions." The rate in 2002-10, the latest available, was 14 percent.

If the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention "saw a similar increase in any other illness, they would probably declare a national emergency,� said J.D. Miller, vice president of medical affairs for Appalachian Regional Healthcare, who chaired the meeting.

The group's statement was an appropriate response to direct public's attention to the imperative of addressing the area's skyrocketing rate of the disease, Ralph Davis of The Floyd County Times wrote in an editorial.

Diabetes will remain a crisis unless we do something about it, said Davis, and "if you have been waiting for a crisis before making healthy lifestyle changes, we�ve got one for you. In fact, we have several," Davis said.

The Central Appalachian region suffers from disproportionate rates of diabetes, cancer and heart disease, and Floyd, Magoffin and Johnson counties have much higher rates of obesity than state and national averages, Davis notes. Floyd County ranks last among the state�s 120 counties in overall health measures, and Johnson and Magoffin counties are ranked 108th and 104th, respectively.

To do something about this problem, Davis calls for concentrated attention by health care providers and government officials, but the problem won't be solved without action from the community and individuals, he says. Simple, healthy lifestyle changes are needed.

"It�s going to require the conscious decision by everyone in the region to do what they can to improve their diet and exercise habits, and to encourage their friends and family to do the same," said Davis.

Calls like Davis's are needed even more in most of the counties that surround the three counties, based on data from the CDC's Behavioral Risk Surveillance System. The counties in dark blue had rates above 14 percent; the highest was Greenup, at 17 percent.

Sunday, 9 June 2013

Princess Health and Veteran journalist offers advice on covering mental health issues: Be careful, creative, and balanced, not discriminatory.Princessiccia

health journalism mental health

Gusty 07:28 Add Comment

The term 'mental health' has been tossed around a lot lately in stories about Kentucky's mental health funding and mental health coverage through Medicaid expansion. It's important to use precise language when writing about the topic, because a fourth of Americans are affected by mental-health issues each year, and many don't seek treatment due to its stigma.

"Fair, accurate and balanced portrayals of mental health in the news media are so important," says Melissa McCoy of the California Newspaper Publishers Association. She notes that studies show coverage of mental health is mostly reactive, responding to a school shooting or n act of violence, which could skew public perceptions about mental illness. She says journalists should "provide accurate coverage of mental health without adding to its stigma" or to the discrimination faced by those with mental illness.

Journalists can seek balance by asking themselves about the relevance of mental health to the story and making sure to use the right type of language, says McCoy; be creative about mental health coverage by integrating it into stories about general health, veterans returning from war, substance abuse recovery, unemployment or even stress among students.

Monday, 6 May 2013

Princess Health and Half-day seminars on health reform's impact on business Wed. and Thur.; journalists invited.Princessiccia

Affordable Care Act business health insurance health journalism health reform Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act

Gusty 18:53 Add Comment

Experts on the impact of federal health-care reform on business will give advice to Kentucky companies at half-day seminars in Lexington and Louisville on Wednesday and Thursday of this week. Presentations about the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act will include discussions of expected cost increases and tax implications for businesses.

The Kentucky Health Care Reform Seminar will be presented by The Iasis Group, The Lane Report and the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce. The seminar is part of a statewide partnership that includes Commerce Lexington, Greater Louisville Inc., the Kentucky Society for Human Resource Management and the Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce.

The Lexington seminar will be held Wednesday, May 8, at the Griffin Gate Marriott Resort, with registration starting at 12:30 p.m. The Louisville seminar will be held Thursday, May 9, at the Louisville Marriott Downtown, with registration beginning at 8 a.m.

Members of the news media are invited to attend the seminars at no cost. For more information or details about covering the event, contact the Kentucky Chamber's Jessica Fletcher at 502-848-8731.

Tuesday, 19 February 2013

Princess Health and Bill to shield nursing homes from lawsuits clears Senate along party lines; not looking healthy in House despite TV, radio ads.Princessiccia

advertising health journalism health policy legislation legislature lobbying long-term care newspapers nursing homes politics state government; General Assembly tort reform

Gusty 13:52 Add Comment

Last week the state Senate approved on party lines a bill that would make lawsuits against nursing homes go through a review panel first. Republicans supported the bill and Democrats voted against it in a 23-12 vote that marked the clearest partisan split in the Senate in this year's legislative session.

Senate Bill 9 would create medical review panels of three physicians and an attorney moderator to hear complaints against long-term care facilities and vote on whether the suit had enough merit to go to court. The bill's sponsor, Senate Health and Welfare Chairwoman Julie Denton, R-Louisville, declind to answer an opposign senator's questions about the bill. She said in introducing it that the panel would be advisory but its opinion would be admissible in court and would curb such lawsuits, reports Jack Brammer of the Lexington Herald-Leader.

Bills like this have failed in years past and could have diverse implications for Kentucky communities and nursing homes. At least one Kentucky newspaper looked around and found that lawsuits are one reason Extendicare Health Services Inc. shed management responsibilities last year for all 21 of its facilities in Kentucky, reports Nick Tabor of the Kentucky New Era in Hopkinsville.

Without Extendicare management in Western Kentucky, the volume of nursing-home lawsuits in the region appears to be shrinking, Tabor reports. In recent years, nearly all the Christian County cases that have been closed were dismissed through settlements, not by judges declaring them unfounded. This suggests the bill would minimally affect the county, writes Tabor. Other Kentucky communities may be affected differently; judges differ from circuit to circuit.

Although the bill passed the Senate, it appears to be on its deathbed in the House. Rep. Tom Burch, D-Louisville, who chairs the House Health and Welfare Committee, joked about its prospects to Tabor: �I can�t make any predictions about the bill this time, but I�ve called in three priests to have the last rites ready.� If nursing homes received this new layer of protection, he said, hospitals and day-care centers would want it too.

A similar bill died in Burch's committee last year; this version is being supported by television and radio commercials urging viewers and listeners to call their legislators in support. When Extendicare announced last spring it was transferring management of all its Kentucky facilities to a Texas company, it cited Kentucky�s �worsening litigation environment� and said tort reform seemed unlikely here.

Bernie Vonderheide, director of Kentuckians for Nursing Home Reform, said most so-called �frivolous� lawsuits would cease if the state imposed minimum staffing requirements on nursing homes, his group's main legislative goal. (Read more)

Saturday, 9 February 2013

Princess Health and Ky. Rural Health Association seeks entries in reporting contest.Princessiccia

awards health journalism newspapers rural health

Gusty 20:28 Add Comment

The Kentucky Rural Health Association invites nominations for its annual rural health reporting awards, which aim to encourage more and better coverage of Kentucky�s rural health-related issues by the state�s newspapers.

The contest has daily and non-daily divisions, each with two categories: series and single story. Each of the four winners gets a plaque and a $100 prize at KRHA's summer conference. Articles must originally have been published during the preceding fiscal year. Entries will be accepted from staff writers, editors, freelance writers and others affiliated with a Kentucky-based newspaper, and from KRHA members and community members at large on the writers� or newspapers� behalf. Each entry should include three copies of the article as it originally appeared in the newspaper. The awards will be based on relevance to rural health, quality of reporting, impact on health care policy and new insights generated by the reporting.

For entry information, contact Ernie L. Scott of the Kentucky Office of Rural Health at 750 Morton Blvd., Hazard KY 41701, or 606.439.3557 ext. 83689, or ernie.scott@uky.edu.

Wednesday, 16 January 2013

Princess Health and Among health providers having difficulty with Medicaid managed care, Cumberland Valley District Health Department stands out.Princessiccia

health departments health journalism managed care Medicaid

Gusty 12:13 Add Comment

The financial struggle that recently led to 14 layoffs and an increase in furlough days for the Cumberland Valley District Health Department continues. Other health departments have reported such difficulties, but it may be one of those hurt most.

With its deficit standing at $503,266, a review of the department�s financial summary from the latter half of last year shows that a large part of the deficit is caused by lack of payments from Kentucky Spirit, a Medicaid managed-care company, according to an article in the Manchester Enterprise.

As recently as September, Kentucky Spirit owed the department over $300,000 for Medicaid services that had been provided. In the December report, Kentucky Spirit had only paid $698 and has since quit cooperating with the state, according to the Enterprise.

Adding to the cash flow problem, another managed-care firm pays a month late, according to department Interim Director Lynett Renner. She said that since 2011, health departments must also pay back to the state a Medicaid match, and are the only health care providers that must do so.

Those factors, she said, are why the layoffs plus an increase in furlough days are necessary. Beginning Jan. 21, employees will be on a 32-hour workweek. In addition to those two money-saving actions, the department has also eliminated two positions, director of nursing and director of environmental services, the Enterprise reports.

"What we do touches the lives of everyone in our country,� said Renner and the district will provide its services however it can.

Monday, 4 June 2012

Princess Health and Couple shares 'horrible journey' of prescription drug abuse.Princessiccia

health journalism newspapers pain management pill mills prescription drug abuse prescription drugs

Gusty 08:20 Add Comment

Recovering pill addict Stacy Pennington
of Ashland is due to give birth next month.
(Courier-Journal photo by Matt Stone)

Stacy and James Pennington had to lose everything, including their children and home, before they were able to face their prescription drug abuse problem. Now in recovery at The Healing Place in Louisville, they spoke to The Courier-Journal's Laura Ungar of their downward spiral.

"It had gotten to the point where my prescription drugs were my everything. As long as I had them, I was OK," said James, 40, of Ashland. "Before, we had everything we could want. In the end, we were just feeding an addiction. We had lost everything."

Stacy Pennington said she took her first painkillers in 2002 after she cut her finger on a glass candle jar and needed two surgeries. "A year later, she was diagnosed with cervical cancer, then severe endometriosis, and she required several more surgeries," Ungar reports. "Each of her 14 operations brought another prescription for pain pills."

James Pennington took prescription drugs for the first time at age 14 after he dislocated his shoulder. After he broke his shoulder in a motorcycle accident when he was 25, he got a 30-day supply for Percocet and, later, was prescribed more of the drug after a knee injury. "Pain medications became my drug of choice from there on out," he said.

Soon, he was traveling to "pill mills" in Florida to fuel his addiction, pills he sold and shared with his wife. When Stacy gave birth to their daughter, she was heavily addicted and eventually lost custody of her. James' older daughter was also taken from the home.

Before Stacy Pennington checked in to The Healing Place, she had sold her engagement ring, the Penningtons sold their home before they lost it, and they were spending $100 to $500 a day to feed their addiction. Now, Stacy is expecting another child and the couple is fighting for their sobriety. "It's a horrible journey. I had to absolutely lose everything. But I see that as a blessing," said James Pennington. "I'm so glad I'm on the other side today." (Read more)

Tuesday, 15 May 2012

Princess Health and Newspaper reporting contest for rural health coverage; deadline June 24.Princessiccia

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Gusty 14:36 Add Comment

Journalists who have reported about rural health in the past year should start sifting through their clippings. The Kentucky Rural Health Association is awarding four writers $100 each for their efforts.

Entries will be judged on their relevance to rural health; the quality of the reporting; impact on health-care policy; and new insights that might have been generated by the reporting.

The contest features two divisions, daily and non-daily, with two categories in each division: series and single story. The contest period ranges from July 1, 2011 to June 15, 2012. Entries must be received by June 24. Winners will be announced during KRHA's annual conference in Aug. 16-17 in Bowling Green.

Entries can be submitted to David A. Gross, 222 Medical Circle, Morehead KY 40351. For more information, contract Gross at 606-783-6468 or e-mail at dagross@st-claire.org. (Read more)

Thursday, 26 April 2012

Princess Health and Couple loses combined 347 pounds in 2 years, pretty simply; similar success stories are always compelling.Princessiccia

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Gusty 08:18 Add Comment

"When Art and Betty Halcomb look at each other, they still have a hard time believing how much weight they have lost," reports Nola Sizemore for the Harlan Daily Enterprise. Together, the couple has lost 347 pounds, a journey that started in April 2010.

Art weighed 384 pounds and Betty was 308. "We decided we were going to do everything we could do in a three-month period to see how much weight we could actually lose," Betty said. That included counting calories and daily exercise, which at first comprised for a half-mile of walking. Within two weeks, they were able to walk one mile.

"We did portion control with our meals, actually measuring out serving sizes," Betty said. "I was eating 1,200 calories per day and Art was eating 1,500 calories per day. We didn't limit ourselves to any certain foods. We wanted it to be a lifestyle change, not just another diet."

One of their major motivations was their daughter, Kristen Swanner, a two-time cancer survivor who has endured chemotherapy, radiation and a stem-cell transplant. To watch her "literally fight for her life and we were just throwing ours away, we felt so guilty," Betty said.

When they discovered Swanner was pregnant, after being told by doctors that she couldn't conceive, the couple had even more drive to shed the weight, knowing they were soon to be grandparents.

"Jesus says he wants us to have an abundant life," Betty said. "If we can do this, anyone can do it. Make that decision today to lose weight and live a more happier life. Don't give up � keep trying." (Read more)

Friday, 23 March 2012

Princess Health and Rural newspapers don't write a lot of health stories � but they should, expert says.Princessiccia

health journalism newspapers rural health

Gusty 14:47 Add Comment

�If a newspaper can�t stand for better health and better health care, then what in the world can it stand for?� This was the galvanizing statement of a talk today by Al Cross, director of the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues, who keynoted the third annual Kentucky Health Literacy Summit. Cross discussed ways newspapers are � and aren�t � publishing health-related stories on their pages.

A research paper Cross presented with University of Kentucky graduate student Sarah Vos yesterday showed that with a few exceptions, rural newspapers in the state are not publishing many articles about health care and health. The vast majority of articles � 71 percent � run on the inside of the paper rather than on the front page. In large part, stories are institutionally oriented, Cross said, often pertaining to promoting the local hospital or reporting on problems with it.

Interviews with rural publishers and editors in Kentucky and Mississippi showed �while many of them believe health coverage is important, they are reluctant to be seen as crusading in the news columns for a cause, even if it is one that usually has no countervailing interest,� Cross said. He said Kentucky editors are specifically reluctant to point out health disparities comparing their community to neighbors, the state or nation, because they want to build up the community �rather than going out of their way to point out local problems that have no easy solutions.�

Another issue is that most of Kentucky�s 150 newspapers serve very small markets, which �mean less revenue, small staffs and low pay, so most of these newspapers lack the resources to do what we journalists call enterprise reporting,� Cross said. And with all but two Kentucky dailies owned by corporate chains, that can mean �less news space, fewer staff members, more focus on number of stories rather than quality, less focus on community service, more on bottom line,� he said.

However, rural newspapers continue to have considerable influence over their readership, with 60 percent of adults saying their local paper is their primary source of news. Their content is almost entirely local. Thus, Cross said, there are opportunities � and ones that don�t require a lot of legwork. A story about someone's life being saved because she got a cancer screening can make a big impact, he said, and sometimes an article written by an outside source, such as a local extension agent, �doesn�t need to be put on page 12.� Cross said. Newspapers can use social media, such as Facebook, to promote their stories and find local people willing to talk about a health issue.

Cross also recommended Kentucky Health News as a service editors can rely on for stories that can be used verbatim or be easily localized. Cross noted newspapers are using the service, and �We think we are moving the needle.�

Thursday, 22 March 2012

Princess Health and Rural newspapers have power to influence people's health, but few health articles are being published in Kentucky, study finds.Princessiccia

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Gusty 16:03 Add Comment

By Tara Kaprowy

Kentucky Health News

Though studies suggest that newspapers can influence people's decisions about their health and can even lead to public-policy changes, for the most part Kentucky's rural newspaper editors are publishing very few health-related stories, a report compiled at the University of Kentucky concluded.

The six-month study found more than 1,200 articles primarily about health were published in 131 rural Kentucky newspapers, including opinion pieces, reprints, press releases, briefs and letters to the editor. That averaged to nine stories per newspaper in six months, though daily papers tended to run far more articles than non-dailies (52 percent of dailies ran health articles 1 to 2 times per week while 68 percent of non-dailies ran health articles less than once a month).

Speaking at the third-annual Kentucky Health Literacy Summit, study co-author Al Cross said he wasn't surprised by the findings, sensing "there wasn't a great deal of coverage out there to help people live healthier lives." But Cross said his goal as director of UK's Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues "is to help rural newspapers help define the public agenda."

"In Kentucky," he said, "that needs to be about health."

The topic of health-care funding and policy accounted for 35 percent of the articles published, though co-author Sarah Vos said that number is likely skewed because the time period analyzed included a legislative session during which there was extensive discussion about Medicaid.

Stories on drugs and alcohol accounted for 12 percent of the total, followed by tobacco/smoking (9.5 percent) and exercise, food, diet or obesity (8.6 percent). Vos also found stories that did run were often incomplete, with 40 percent failing to contextualize the problem for the reader. Only 20 percent mentioned health disparities, the differences in health between geographic areas and demographic sectors.

While there is a dearth of health reporting in rural newspapers � all newspapers but those that serve the Lexington, Louisville and Cincinnati areas were included in the study � they could have considerable pull in the health decisions people make. Vos cited one study showing media coverage can influence individual health decisions and preventive behaviors, and one that showed coverage of health issues can lead to both changes in public policy and public perception.

Rural newspapers are well read by their readership, with the average reader spending about 39 minutes reading their local paper. Sixty percent of adults say their rural paper is their main source of news, Vos said. "Rural newspapers have a special relationship with readers," she said. "It's intimate. One researcher even called them an extended member of the family."

For a copy of the paper, click here.