Author: Melissa Patrick
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Drug overdose deaths rose 7.6 percent in Kentucky last year
Kentucky had a 7.6 percent increase in overdose deaths in 2014, while the number of deaths attributed to heroin stayed the same, according to the state’s 2014 Overdose Fatality Report....
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Common blood thinner Coumadin is causing deaths and injuries in nursing homes, prompting calls for more regulation
From 2011 to 2014, at least 165 nursing-home residents were hospitalized or died after errors involving blood thinner Coumadin or its generic version, warfarin, according to a ProPublica analysis of...
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Kentucky woman finally gets lung transplants
After months of waiting, the 24-year-old woman who received national attention over her financial and policy battle with Medicare and Medicaid to get lung transplants has new lungs and is...
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Feds fund Ky. campaign to promote shots for human papilloma virus, the most common sexually transmitted disease
By Melissa Patrick Kentucky Health News Lt. Gov. Crit Luallen joined public health officials in Frankfort July 13 to launch Kentucky’s new “Stop HPV Campaign,” to encourage parents to get...
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Cut back on sugar-sweetened beverages, eat natural foods and read labels to decrease the added sugar in your kids’ diet
A greater awareness about added sugars in food products has led many parents to make healthy food swaps for their children, granola bars for cookies, yogurt for ice cream, but...
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It’s time to get school-age children vaccinated; state requirements are in place for kindergartners and rising sixth graders
An editorial in the Bowling Green Daily News about the importance of getting your child vaccinated before school starts is applicable to all communities in Kentucky. Health.com State law requires...
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E-cigs: How safe or how risky? Vox reporter looks at evidence
Electronic cigarettes are becoming more popular, but how safe or how risky are they? At this point, the bottom line about e-cigarettes is: “If you’re a chronic smoker looking for...
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Generals ask Congress to renew school nutrition rules, note 73% of young adult Kentuckians too fat to fight, 8th highest in nation
By Melissa Patrick Kentucky Health News A new report from the Department of Defense found that 73 percent of young adults in Kentucky aren’t qualified to serve in the military,...
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CDC report finds heroin use increased by 63 percent since 2002, with greatest increases seen among women and whites
Heroin use increased 63 percent and heroin-related overdose deaths nearly quadrupled since 2002, according to a report from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. As heroin use has increased,...
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CVS Health leaves U.S. Chamber over lobbying for tobacco in foreign countries; Paducah editor calls lobbying ‘thick-headed’
CVS Health announced it would end its membership in the U.S. Chamber of Commerce over reports that the Chamber had lobbied foreign governments to ease restrictions on tobacco sales, Jacob...