By Grace SowardsUniversity of Kentucky Alex Elswick grew up with everything he needed. With two great parents, a roof over his head and good grades in school, he was a young person who wouldn’t lead people to believe drug addiction would be in his future. Elswick stands in front of the wall of hope at Voices of Hope, The board is full of reasons to persevere through addiction, and messages of gratitude. (UK photo by Sabrina Hounshell) “I come from a really privileged background,” said Elswick. “My dad is a doctor, I grew up in the suburbs and kind of had every advantage. That ma ..read more

By Melissa Patrick Kentucky Health News Gov. Andy Beshear gave an update on the medical cannabis licensing program Thursday, after signing this year's medical cannabis bill into law the day before. "We have worked hard to create a safe system that limits or eliminates abuse while still providing relief to that veteran suffering from PTSD or individual suffering from unbearable epileptic seizure after epileptic seizure," Beshear said during his weekly news conference. Rep. Jason Nemes presents Senate changes to HB 829 on the House floor Monday, April 15. (Legislative photo) Ho ..read more

Pike County (Wikipedia map) By Stan Ingold, WEKU Officials in Eastern Kentucky are dealing with what they are calling a “mental health crisis.” In Pike County, over the last 30 days at least eight people have committed suicide. To put that into perspective, the county had eight suicides in all of 2023, said Tammy Riley, the county's public health director. She said there are two common occurrences with these incidents. “In a short span on time, the suicides have all been adults, ranging from the 30's to the 80's as far as years of age, primarily all have been male, and the mod ..read more

Norton Healthcare has received a $20 million gift for the "Just Imagine" campaign to support programing and research in Parkinson's disease and movement disorders at the Norton Neuroscience Institute.   The Just Imagine campaign aims to ensure greater access to medical expertise; expand innovative clinical translational research; and recruit, train and attract even more best-in-class specialists. The gift comes from the estate of Dr. Elizabeth Pahk Cressman, a Louisville anesthesiologist who died in 2021. “Dr. Cressman’s vision has helped elevate the care for Parkinson’s patie ..read more

By Al Cross Kentucky Health News Kentucky's top two state senators said Tuesday that none of the advocates for more funding of tobacco prevention spoke to them about it during the legislative session that ended Monday night. "I never heard from those advocates. They never came to meet with me, and they probably should've. . . . I was in the room where it happened, and nobody ever spoke to me," Majority Floor Leader Damon Thayer of Georgetown said in response to a question from Kentucky Health News. Thayer spoke at a Capitol rotunda press conference where leading Senate Republicans discussed wh ..read more

Rep. Kim Moser presents SB 74 to the state House (Ky. LRC photo) By Melissa Patrick and Al Cross Kentucky Health News On the last day of the 2024 legislative session, a bipartisan bill aimed at improving Kentucky's dismal maternal-mortality rate was finally passed, after parliamentary maneuvering to avoid divisive issues. Provisions of House Bill 10, known as the "Momnibus" bill for its varied approach, were added to Senate Bill 74, a bill to require analysis of child and maternal fatalities and add reporting requirements. The Momnibus bill, sponsored by Republican Rep. Kim Moser ..read more

By Sarah Ladd  Kentucky Lantern In a year when the American Cancer Society asked the Kentucky legislature to increase spending on tobacco prevention, lawmakers cut it and passed an anti-vaping bill that some say could increase cigarette use in the state. Kentucky Lantern graphic The two-year state budget’s allocation for tobacco prevention — about $8 million shy of advocates’ ask — “certainly is not” enough to combat use in the state, said Doug Hogan, the government relations director in Kentucky for the American Cancer Society and its Cancer Action Network. The cancer society ..read more

Kentucky State Capitol (Wikipedia photo) By Melissa Patrick Kentucky Health News In its 2024 session the Kentucky General Assembly has passed dozens of health-related bills that address a range of topics. With one day left in the session, here are some of them:  Vaping: House Bill 11 limits legal sale of vaping products to those approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. It also creates a database of retailers that sell the products and sets fines for retailers, manufacturers and wholesalers who violate the law. HB 142 requires school districts to adopt spec ..read more

Graphic from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention magazine, Vital Signs By Melissa Patrick Kentucky Health News A new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study found that the more health-related social needs a woman has, the less likely she is to get a mammogram.  The study defines health-related social needs, or HRSNs, as social conditions that adversely affect a person's health. Examples include feeling socially isolated, loss of work or reduced hours, dissatisfaction with life, the cost to access health care, a lack of transportation, and receiving food stamps ..read more

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention chart, adapted by Kentucky Health News By John McGary, WEKU Kentucky has the fourth-highest teenage birth rate in the U.S., according to the latest figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which showed Kentucky’s teen birthrate to be 38 percent higher than the national average. That said, teen-birth rates are declining in Kentucky and the nation. The state's rate was 22.8 per 1,000 females aged 15-19 in 2019-21, down from 31.7 in 2014-16. This rate has decreased steadily since 2014-16 when that rate was 31.7 teen bi ..read more