Author: Al Cross
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Small, rural hospitals with ‘critical access’ designation have poorer patient outcomes and lower quality of care, study finds
A study has found that small, rural hospitals with the “critical access” designation have poorer patient outcomes and lower quality of care. The analysis, performed by researchers at the Harvard...
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Study indicates risk of fatal birth defects is higher in counties with mountaintop-removal coal mining
“Children born in counties home to mountaintop coal mines had a 26 percent higher risk of suffering” a fatal birth defect “compared to ones born in non-mining regions,” according to...
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Data on hospital-acquired infections, other conditions online
The federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has posted information about hospital-acquired conditions on its website, and The Courier-Journal not only has a story about it today, it...
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Study finds new prostate-cancer test is better than current one
Researchers at the University of California at Los Angeles say they have developed a new test for prostate cancer that is “more sensitive and more specific” than the usual test...
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Summit and local groups focus attention on oral health, a big problem for Kentucky and one that can hurt overall health
By Sarah Vos and Al Cross Kentucky Health News When it comes to dental health, Kentucky is down in the mouth. It ranks among the worst in the nation, with...
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Veteran journalist sees hope in residential drug recovery program
“Kentucky’s struggle to help its citizens who suffer from dependency on drugs and alcohol recently reached an impressive goal when leaders of that struggle who are prominent in different political...
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Ky. Rural Health Assn. seeks entries for health reporting contest
The Kentucky Rural Health Association has started a free Newspaper Reporting Contest to encourage print media outlets to bring attention to Kentucky’s rural health-related issues, such as unusually high disease rates and strategies for...
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Kenton County goes it alone with smoking ban in Northern Ky.
Kenton County’s smoking ban took effect today, making it the first county in Northern Kentucky “to ban smoking in most public places,” Cindy Schroeder reports for The Kentucky Enquirer. “The...
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Fla. governor agrees to implement prescription drug monitoring
“Florida Gov. Rick Scott reversed course Thursday and said he will allow a prescription drug monitoring program that Kentucky officials have demanded to help block the flow of illegal prescription...
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State gives six residential substance-abuse centers federal money for operating costs
First Lady Jane Beshear Tuesday presented $1.5 million in funding for six Recovery Kentucky substance-abuse centers, further securing the program started in Republican Ernie Fletcher’s administration, and attending a ceremonial...