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Emergency-room visits for respiratory illness went up for the sixth week in a row, as hospitalizations saw a slight dip
BY MELISSA PATRICK KENTUCKY HEALTH NEWS As we head into the full swing of the holiday season and people start to gather indoors to celebrate while taking fewer precautions to protect themselves, respiratory viruses such as influenza, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and COVID-19 are expected to surge. The state Department for Public Health’s weekly respiratory…
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Kids Count County Data Book looks at the well-being of state’s children, county by county, and has some ‘warning signs’
BY MELISSA PATRICK KENTUCKY HEALTH NEWS The 2023 Kentucky Kids Count County Data Book, which looks at the well-being of children in each county, serves as a guidepost for how Kentucky’s children are doing. This year, it comes with some “warning signs.” “This year’s Kids Count report, more than most, serves as a warning,” Terry…
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Kentucky first state with automatic Medicaid renewal for children
BY MELISSA PATRICK KENTUCKY HEALTH NEWS Kentucky has received federal approval to automatically renew coverage for children in Medicaid or the Kentucky Children’s Health Insurance Program for 12 months. “Kentucky is the first state in the country to implement this kind of flexibility,” Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman said in making the announcement Thursday. “It went…
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State’s weekly respiratory-virus update shows hospitalizations of Kentucky children for RSV are increasing
BY MELISSA PATRICK KENTUCKY HEALTH NEWS The state Department for Public Health‘s weekly respiratory virus update, released Thursday, Nov. 2, showed that COVID-19 and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) activity was moderate, influenza was low but increasing, and hospitalizations for COVID-19 and the flu remain low, but are increasing for children with RSV. The state’s respiratory-virus website, found…
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In the first two months of resumed checks for Medicaid eligibility, almost half of Kentucky members up for renewal lost their coverage
BY MELISSA PATRICK KENTUCKY HEALTH NEWS The end of the pandemic meant resumption of eligibility verification for Medicaid, and almost half of the Kentuckians who have been asked to renew their Medicaid coverage in the first two months of verification have lost it, mainly because they did not respond. Of the 153,386 people asked to…
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First drug to slow Alzheimer’s disease gets full FDA and Medicare approval for early-stage cases; drug is still in clinical trials at UK
BY MELISSA PATRICK KENTUCKY HEALTH NEWS The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted full approval for the first drug to slow down the progression of Alzheimer’s disease, opening the door for Medicare to pay for it. “This is the first medicine ever that actually changes the disease in the brain, removes a component of…
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Ticks can’t jump, but static electricity can throw them onto hosts
BY MELISSA PATRICK KENTUCKY HEALTH NEWS One more thing to know as you work to guard against the influx of ticks in Kentucky this year: Static electricity that is naturally produced by humans and other animals can cause a tick to be pulled onto them, a new study shows. “Until now, we had no idea…
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Veterans’ advocates tell legislators they need help to prevent veteran suicide
Kentucky loses about 118 veterans to suicide per year This story deals with suicide. If you or someone you know is contemplating suicide, please call or text the National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988. BY MELISSA PATRICK KENTUCKY HEALTH NEWS The legislature’s Interim Joint Committee on Veterans, Military Affairs and Public Protection spent over…
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Kentucky has an uptick in ticks, and people are getting ticked off
UK entomologist says state seems to be ‘becoming Kenticky’ BY MELISSA PATRICK KENTUCKY HEALTH NEWS A warmer February in Kentucky has likely contributed to an uptick in ticks, and Kentuckians aren’t happy about it. Some even sound ticked off. “We just had the seventh hottest February on record, so some of our [tick] species are…
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More youth received emergency care for self-harm in 2021 than in 2020, reversing decline in youths’ intentional injuries
BY MELISSA PATRICK KENTUCKY HEALTH NEWS Fewer young people in Kentucky got emergency care in the first year of the pandemic for intentional injuries, but in the second year, the number rose, mainly due to a 15% increase in cases where youth, mostly girls, harmed themselves. That’s according to a report from the Kentucky Injury…
Tag: Melissa Patrick
