Author: Melissa Patrick
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Study finds nutritious food costs more in poor, rural areas, suggests that SNAP (food stamp) policies be changed
A study has found that nutritious foods are more expensive in impoverished rural counties than in urban counties, a phenomenon that doesn’t help public health officials who teach healthy eating...
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Teen use of electronic cigarettes has tripled in one year
By Melissa Patrick Kentucky Health News The number of middle- and high-school students using electronic cigarettes tripled from 2013 to 2014, surpassing the current use of all teen use of...
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Kynect has an app for smartphones
Kentucky’s state health benefits exchange, Kynect, is offering a free mobile app that will provide “on-the-go” access to the health-insurance marketplace. The smartphone app will allow you to log in...
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Baptist Health is first stand-alone health provider to become founding partner of Shaping our Appalachian Region effort
Baptist Health has become the first stand-alone health-care provider to sign on as a founding partner in Shaping Our Appalachian Region, an initiative to improve the economy of Eastern Kentucky....
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Federal agency offers a consumer-friendly website that ranks patients’ experiences in your local hospitals
Consumers now have access to a website that ranks 3,500 hospitals around the country on patients’ experiences to help them choose a hospital and better understand the quality of care...
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New treatment for symptoms of advanced Parkinson’s disease approved by FDA and unveiled at UK
Portable infusion pump used to deliver Parkinson’s drug The University of Kentucky unveiled a new treatment for people with advanced symptoms of Parkinson’s disease at a news conference April 21...
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Kentucky re-bidding Medicaid managed care contracts to address complaints of patients, advocates and health-care providers
By Melissa Patrick Kentucky Health News State officials are re-bidding Medicaid managed-care contracts that cover more than 1.1 million Kentuckians. The news came as a delight and surprise to many...
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Kentucky’s suicide rate is above the national average; experts say we need to ignore the stigma and become educated about it
Kentucky’s suicide rate is higher than the national average, and an expert says we must create an open dialogue about it and provide more education if we want this rate...
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Pilot salad bar will determine whether other Jefferson Co. schools follow suit in bid to increase students’ veggie and fruit intake
The Jefferson County Public School system is pilot-testing a salad bar at Atherton High School to entice students to eat more vegetables and fruits, a goal of the new federal...
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Proposals sought for research of Appalachian ‘bright spots’ where health is better than socioeconomic factors would indicate
A three-year research project to determine factors that can support a culture of health in Appalachia and whether that knowledge can be translated into actions that address the region’s health...