Princess Health and Princess Health andHigh-school health fair takes healthy messages to students.Princessiccia

Princess Health and Princess Health andHigh-school health fair takes healthy messages to students.Princessiccia

health departments health education schools

Gusty 09:37 Add Comment

Dietitians Josie Crew and Heather Schierer staffed an exhibit on
risks of sugary drinks. (Messenger photo by Melissa Mudd)  

More than 1,000 students participated in Meade County High School's sixth annual health fair, which focused on issues specific to students' health and wellness, Melissa Mudd reported for the Meade County Messenger in Brandenburg.

More than 20 booths were set up at the March 11 fair, featuring exhibits about such topics as alcohol and drug abuse, nutrition, breast cancer, dental and physical health, stress and distracted driving. Booths offered games and prizes. The fair was hosted by the Lincoln Trail District Health Department and various community organizations.

�The health fair originally started with an idea of doing something to promote health and wellness for students. We also wanted to come up with a fun way to engage students in learning the harmful effects of drugs, alcohol, smoking, poor-decision making, et cetera," Karen Cottrell, Meade County district health coordinator, told Mudd. "We are always very impressed with how engaged the students are in the various activities."

Cottrell told Mudd that the students who were asked to complete a survey after the fair said they enjoyed coming to the fair and especially loved the games. Each reported learning at least one new health fact.

Princess Health and Princess Health andObama reminds the uninsured of March 31 signup deadline; McConnell continues to point out the pitfalls of reform.Princessiccia

Princess Health and Princess Health andObama reminds the uninsured of March 31 signup deadline; McConnell continues to point out the pitfalls of reform.Princessiccia

health insurance health policy health reform obamacare politics

Gusty 07:31 Add Comment

On the fourth anniversary of the law that has informally come to bear his name, President Obama reminded uninsured Americans that they have only one more week to sign up for coverage under open enrollment.

He also dismissed Republican calls to repeal or replace the law, first citing the relief one woman shared with him after she used her new insurance for the first time: "I felt like a human being again. I felt like I had value."

Obama said, "This is what�s at stake any time anyone, out of some outdated obsession, pledges to repeal or undermine the Affordable Care Act. And that�s why my administration will spend the fifth year of this law and beyond working to implement and improve on it." (Read more)

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell took the anniversary as an opportunity to remind voters of the pitfalls of "a deeply misguided expieriment," noting in an op-ed piece that Obama "pledged that Americans could keep their health care plans and their doctors and that their coverage would be 'more secure and stable' than before" and that journalistic fact-checkers called that "the lie of the year."

McConnell cited the example of Angela Strobel of Owensboro, "a mother of five girls [who] not only lost her insurance, she also lost a trusted family doctor to Obamacare. In a perfect summary of modern liberalism, one of the billing clerks for Kentucky's Obamacare exchange told Angela that since she now qualifies for Medicaid, she'd be breaking the law if she tried to pay more out of her own pocket just to keep her old doctor. Medicaid rules forbid it. The upshot: for Angela and her family, it's either Medicaid or a monthly premium increase of nearly $1,000."

Medicaid is free, but many doctors don't treat Medicaid beneficiaries, and most insurance policies sold through the exchanges have fewer providers to choose from because some providers were not willing to limit their charges in order to be part of the insurance network.

"A recent analysis by the management consulting firm McKinsey & Co. found that only a fraction of the biggest local hospitals in a given coverage area will accept Obamacare patients," McConnell wrote. "An Associated Press study found that only four of the 19 cancer centers it surveyed would give Obamacare patients access to its cancer care through the new Obamacare exchanges in their states. This is progress?" (Read more)

Princess Health and Princess Health andOne in 13 Kentuckians have health coverage through Kynect.Princessiccia

Princess Health and Princess Health andOne in 13 Kentuckians have health coverage through Kynect.Princessiccia

health insurance health reform insurance exchange Medicaid obamacare state government

Gusty 15:40 Add Comment

Nearly 322,000 Kentuckians had enrolled for health coverage through the state's new insurance exchange through 6 p.m. Thursday, March 20, and three-fourths of them didn't have coverage before, according to the state's preliminary analysis.

Gov. Steve Beshear's office said in a news release that enrollments are expected to keep growing in the final 10 days of open enrollment, which ends March 31: "In the past seven days, nearly 3,100 Kentuckians have signed up each day for quality, affordable health insurance."

Of the 321,932 enrollees, 257,477, or 80 percent, qualified for coverage under the federal-state Medicaid program, and 64,455 bought private insurance. Another 10,096 have been found eligible for a subsidy to buy a policy but haven't bought one.

The release said 7.5 percent of Kentucky's population now has health insurance through the exchange, which the state has branded Kynect. The release said 32 percent of those in private health plans through the exchange are under 35, a key group for success of health reform.

�In these final days of open enrollment, we strongly encourage those folks to complete their applications and choose a plan,� said Carrie Banahan, executive director of Kynect. �After March 31, subsidies to help cover the cost of a private health plan won�t be available again until the fall enrollment period � and by that point, being without insurance may cost you on your taxes.�

Individuals who don't enroll by March 31 could face a financial penalty of $95 or 1 percent of income, whichever is greater, for every uninsured member of a household. Under federal health reform, the penalty will increase significantly from year to year.

With the first phase of Kynect about to end, Beshear's office reported the benefits of health reform to Kentucky health-care providers. It said they have been paid more than $45 million for treatment of people that reform made eligible for Medicaid.

The new income limit for Medicaid recipients is 138 percent of the federal poverty threshold; before reform, it was 69 percent. The newly eligible include individuals making less than $15,856 a year and families of four with annual income below $32,499.

"The vast majority of the nearly 20,000 newly insured patients seen by hospitals and reimbursed for services would have been considered indigent prior to Medicaid expansion and most likely would have been written off as uncompensated charity care by the hospitals," the news release said. "These figures don�t include reimbursements to health-care providers for patients with new private health insurance."

Princess Health and Princess Health andSenate committee kills bill to keep minors from using tanning beds.Princessiccia

Princess Health and Princess Health andSenate committee kills bill to keep minors from using tanning beds.Princessiccia

children's health General Assembly health legislation legislature skin cancer skin care tanning beds teenagers

Gusty 08:47 Add Comment

Legislation to ban minors from using tanning beds fell two votes short of passing the Senate Health and Welfare Committee on Wednesday. The bill, which passed the House 61-31, would have prohibited anyone under the age of 18 from using tanning beds. Kentucky prohibits all minors under 14 from using tanning beds, and requires parental permission for those ages 14 to 17.

Sen. Jimmy Higdon, R-Lebanon, told Stu Johnson of  WEKU-FM, "I just can't get to the point where I ban juniors and seniors in high school from using a tanning bed. I think they're of age to be responsible enough to understand the consequences." (Read more)

Sen. Joe Bowen, R-Owensboro, said he didn't "support the bill because it is an example of the government telling people how to live their lives," The Associated Press reports. "He noted his wife had skin cancer in her 20s that was not caused by a tanning bed." (Read more)

Seventeen states and Washington D.C. have laws banning minors from using tanning beds, and 33 states and Washington, D.C., regulate the use of tanning beds by minors, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. California, Illinois, Nevada, Texas, Vermont and Oregon ban tanning bed use for all minors, with exceptions made in some cases for medical use. (Read more) (American Academy of Dermatology graphic of state tanning laws for minors)

Princess Health and Princess Health andAnthem gives hospital group grant to improve perinatal care, including discouraging early, medically unnecessary deliveries.Princessiccia

Princess Health and Princess Health andAnthem gives hospital group grant to improve perinatal care, including discouraging early, medically unnecessary deliveries.Princessiccia

Caesarean section health care costs health insurance hospitals infant mortality neonatal care obstetrics perinatal care philanthropy premature birth

Gusty 11:24 Add Comment

The foundation of Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield has awarded nearly $259,000 to an arm of the Kentucky Hospital Association to improve perinatal care and outcomes for mothers and their babies by discouraging early, medically unnecessary deliveries and encouraging breastfeeding.

Perinatal care, provided in the time around childbirth, is critical to ensure the good health of newborns, Anthem notes in a news release, pointing out that Kentucky's infant mortality rate is 6.6 deaths per 1,000 births, while the national rate is 6.1, and the state's rate of premature births, almost 14 percent, is well above the 9.6 percent goal set by the March of Dimes.

"The closer the baby is to full term, the better; but sometimes babies are born before they fully develop, weighing only a few pounds," the release notes. "When this occurs, long stays in the hospital neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) are necessary as these babies fight health complications while learning to breathe on their own without the use of a ventilator."

NICU stays are usually expensive. In 2012, Kentucky hospitals charged about $400 million for such treatment.

The hospital association says it has been working to reduce early, elective deliveries, with the Anthem foundation's help, and the latest grant is designed to build on that work. It says the grant to its subsidiary, the Kentucky Institute for Patient Safety and Quality, will also promote breastfeeding, reducing blood infections in the hospital, and reducing complications related to inducing labor, including Cesarean sections.

"KIPSQ will work with all Kentucky hospitals that deliver babies to assure the best care during delivery and the best outcomes for mothers and babies," the KHA release says. "KIPSQ will collect data to measure progress and provide resources, tools and technical assistance in quality improvement techniques to reduce prematurity, unnecessary Cesareans and improve the long-term health of newborns.

KHA says 76 of Kentucky�s 131 hospitals are members of KIPSQ, which is expanding its membership to include long-term care facilities and physicians' practices. "The Anthem grant will improve the delivery of perinatal health care to all of the state�s birthing/neonatal hospitals, regardless of their participation in KIPSQ," the release says.

Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield is the trade name of Anthem Health Plans of Kentucky, an independent licensee of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association. The Anthem Foundation Inc. is a private, non-profit foundation.

Princess Health and New Review Paper on Dietary Fat and Heart Disease Risk. Princessiccia

Princess Health and New Review Paper on Dietary Fat and Heart Disease Risk. Princessiccia

cardiovascular disease diet

Gusty 15:16 Add Comment

A new review paper on dietary fatty acids and heart disease risk was just published by Dr. Rajiv Chowdhury and colleagues in the Annals of Internal Medicine-- one of the top medical journals (1). The goal of the paper is to comprehensively review the studies evaluating the effect of dietary fatty acids on heart (coronary) disease. The review covers observational and intervention studies pertaining to saturated, monounsaturated, trans, omega-6 polyunsaturated, and omega-3 polyunsaturated fats. The paper is notable for its comprehensiveness (inclusion criteria were very lax).

Here is a summary of the results:

• In observational studies that measured diet, only trans fat was related to cardiovascular risk. Saturated, monounsaturated, and polyunsaturated fats were unrelated to risk.
• In observational studies that measured circulating concentrations of fatty acids, long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (DHA, DPA, EPA, AA) were associated with lower risk. The dairy-fat-derived margaric acid (17:0) was also associated with lower risk. No other fatty acids were related to risk, including trans fatty acids.
• In controlled trials, supplementation with omega-3 or omega-6 fatty acids did not alter risk.

The authors conclude:

In conclusion, the pattern of findings from this analysis did not yield clearly supportive evidence for current cardiovascular guidelines that encourage high consumption of polyunsaturated fatty acids and low consumption of saturated fats. Nutritional guidelines on fatty acids and cardiovascular guidelines may require reappraisal to reflect the current evidence.

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Princess Health and Princess Health andUK picks new dean for College of Nursing.Princessiccia

Princess Health and Princess Health andUK picks new dean for College of Nursing.Princessiccia

medical education nursing tobacco prevention

Gusty 14:17 Add Comment

A national leader in nursing education, tobacco control and health-care outreach will be the new dean of nursing at the University of Kentucky.

Janie Heath

Janie Heath, the associate dean of academic programs and endowed professor at the University of Virginia School of Nursing, will take over as dean at UK on Aug. 1, pending UK Board of Trustees approval. In addition to heading UK's College of Nursing, she will also hold the Warwick Professorship.

"Janie Heath has been a leader in educational, clinical and research efforts," UK Provost Christine Riordan said in a press release. "She is an ideal fit for our College of Nursing." Heath, who has been a nurse for nearly 40 years, has also worked at Georgia Health Sciences University, Georgetown University and the University of South Carolina.

Heath said, "I have known about the UK College of Nursing for a long time. I was attracted to the college's well-known strengths in advanced practice nursing and research. UK ? through its talented faculty, staff and students ? has been on the forefront of addressing major challenges in higher education and health care delivery today." (Read more)