Author: Melissa Patrick
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Panel considers involuntary, court-ordered outpatient treatment for mentally ill; foe says would infringe on personal rights
By Melissa Patrick Kentucky Health News Representatives from five groups involved in mental health offered legislators solutions June 15 for ending the revolving door between hospitalization, incarceration and homelessness that...
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Donna Arnett, new UK public-health dean, says research is important to reducing Kentucky’s huge health disparities
Donna Arnett, dean of the College of Public Health at the University of Kentucky, says research is essential to reducing Kentucky’s huge health disparities, as illustrated by the recent release of...
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Health ranking of Kentucky seniors moves up, but they are still last in health outcomes, says America’s Health Rankings
By Melissa Patrick and Al Cross Kentucky Health News Kentucky moved up three spots, from 48th to 45th, in the fourth annual Senior America’s Health Rankings Report. But the state...
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Kynectors, health advocates ask state to maintain staffing and other resources in new health-insurance enrollment system
As the administration of Gov. Matt Bevin works toward dismantling Kynect, the state’s health insurance exchange, health advocates say they worry that the transition is going too quickly to be...
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Nonprofit says most of the 52 Kentucky hospitals it grades on patient safety got Bs and Cs, and KentuckyOne got five Ds
Kentucky Health News A nonprofit group that rates hospitals recently doled out its hospital safety scores and found that most Kentucky hospitals scored a ‘B’ or ‘C’ in overall patient...
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Salmonella outbreak in 35 states linked to live poultry; 21 cases reported in Kentucky; here are some tips to avoid infection
U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention photo Poultry specialists from the University of Kentucky are urging Kentuckians who raise chickens or ducks to take extra precautions against salmonella infection,...
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Official praises needle exchanges and medication-assisted treatment for addiction: ‘Treatment works. Recovery is possible.’
Scott Hesseltine Scott Hesseltine, the new vice-president of addiction services at Louisville’s Seven Counties Services, talked on Kentucky Educational Television about needle exchanges and a new model of addiction treatment that combines medication...
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Youth injuries from e-cigarettes spike; FDA is starting to regulate them, but study authors say not enough to protect children
By Melissa Patrick Kentucky Health News The number of young children swallowing or being exposed to the liquid nicotine used in electronic cigarettes has “skyrocketed,” jumping 1,500 percent from 2012...
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WellCare provides twist-on naloxone nasal atomizers for free, encourages those who know addicts to have naloxone on hand
WellCare of Kentucky and the Kentucky Pharmacists Association have teamed up to provide 1000 twist-on naloxone nasal atomizers for free, in hopes of making it easier for people to administer...
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Bacteria that can’t be treated by any antibiotic now in U.S.; Kentucky ranks first in one type of antibiotic-resistant infection
A colorized scanning of E.ColiCredit: CDC/Jancie Haney Carr For the first time, researchers have found a person in the United States carrying bacteria that can’t be treated by “last resort”...