Author: tara_kaprowy
-
Local ordinances have set the stage for statewide smoking-ban legislation, advocates say; poll shows a clear majority support it
By Tara Kaprowy Kentucky Health News Though advocates of anti-smoking laws don’t believe a statewide smoking ban will pass in the General Assembly this year, they see public support for...
-
UK, Central Baptist get millions in federal incentives to use electronic health records
University of Kentucky HealthCare and Central Baptist Hospital in Lexington are the first hospital systems in the United States to receive funds from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services‘...
-
Statewide smoking ban proposed in legislature
State Rep. Susan Westrom of Lexington, left, announced her intent to file a bill today that calls for a statewide smoking ban, which would prohibit cigarette use in workplaces, restaurants,...
-
Bill would require background checks for all nursing home staff
A bill filed Tuesday would require that all nursing home staff, not just employees in direct contact with residents, be subject to background checks. State Sen. Tom Buford, R-Nicholasville, right,...
-
Kentucky is one of 11 states with federal incentives for using electronic records in Medicaid
Medicare is now offering incentives to hospitals and eligible health-care professionals for the use of electronic health records, but Medicaid is doing so in only 11 states. Kentucky is one...
-
As renowned minister fights two tough diseases, journalist chronicles his journey
A well-known Kentucky pastor is nearing the end of his battle with Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. Laura Ungar, health writer for The Courier-Journal, has been chronicling Charles Music’s fight since 2005....
-
Health officials to immunize child-care workers for whooping cough, which is making a comeback
Amid a rash of whooping-cough cases, Northern Kentucky health officials will immunize child-care workers against the disease. The effort is to help stop the infection, also known as pertussis, from...
-
Legislator wants ban on caffeinated energy drinks
Kentucky teenagers will have to be 18 in order to buy high-caffeine energy drinks if state Rep. Danny Ford, R-Mount Vernon, has his way. The lawmaker, left, told The Associated...
-
Your blogger believes health coverage can change lives
Tara Kaprowy, the chief blogger for Kentucky Health News, is a freelance journalist living in Somerset. At the end of 2010, she left her post at The Sentinel-Echo in London, where,...