Author: Melissa Patrick
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Hope is high for a House floor vote and passage of a statewide smoking ban, but the Senate remains doubtful
By Melissa Patrick Kentucky Health News FRANKFORT, Ky. — A bill to ban smoking in public places and places of employment is headed to the House floor yet again, and...
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Senate OKs bill for review panels in medical lawsuits after lively debate between doctors, lawyers, others
This story, which was published Thursday morning, has been updated with action in the full Senate. By Melissa Patrick Kentucky Health News FRANKFORT, Ky. — The Senate has approved a...
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Most rural hospitals in Kentucky are struggling financially and looking for ways to survive
Most rural hospitals in Kentucky are loosing money, putting them at risk of closing if they don’t find another way to do business, Miranda Combs reports for Lexington’s WKYT-TV. More than 65 percent...
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Appalachians Together Restoring the Eating Environment to help Eastern Kentucky communities develop local, healthy foods
A new project searches for ways to increase access to healthy foods in Eastern Kentucky and looks to communities to find these solutions. Appalachians Together Restoring the Eating Environment, or...
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Clinton, Beshear, Humana chief and others discuss Medicaid expansion, other changes in health systems, and chronic illness
By Melissa Patrick and Al Cross Kentucky Health News The economic advantages from expanding Medicaid under federal health reform should outweigh any ideology that is holding states back from participating...
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Newport school board’s smoking ban, which includes e-cigarettes, would be 38th among 173 Kentucky school districts
The Newport Independent Board of Education passed the first reading of a proposed smoking ban Wednesday, Jan. 28 after adding electronic cigarettes to the ban. The ban would prohibit smoking on...
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Almost as many Kentuckians support health reform as oppose it, but half say they don’t know how it may affect them
By Al Cross and Melissa Patrick Kentucky Health News The federal health-reform law is gaining support from Kentuckians, to the point that they are almost evenly divided about it. Those...
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Appalachian women are more likely to get cervical cancer and die from it, but pass up vaccine partly because of fatalistic beliefs
By Melissa Patrick Kentucky Health News A fatalistic belief that getting or preventing cancer is beyond a person’s control is one of many reasons young women in Appalachian Kentucky are...
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Big majority supports domestic-violence orders for dating-only partners, and prospects for passage appear to be much better
By Melissa Patrick Kentucky Health News A large majority of Kentuckians say state law should allow domestic-violence protective orders involving dating partners, and the prospects for such a law appear...
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Study finds kids eat too much pizza, too often, and it’s bad for their health
While pizza consumption is lower than it used to be, kids are still eating too much of it, and it’s affecting their health, Roberto A. Ferdman reports for The Washington...