Paducah cardiologist Pat Withrow receives a Healthy Kentucky Policy Champion award for his promotion of health

L-R: Chris Roty, president, Baptist Health Paducah; Dr. Pat Withrow;
 Ben Chandler, president/CEO, Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky;
Charlie Ross, immediate past foundation chair; and Dona Rains,
director of community outreach, Baptist Health Paducah. 

The Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky has named cardiologist Pat Withrow of Paducah a Healthy Kentucky Policy Champion.

Withrow is the director of outreach for Baptist Health Paducah and the governor-elect of the Kentucky Chapter of the American College of Cardiology.

"He is known locally and statewide for his advocacy of improved health. I know firsthand he is a health champion for our area," Dona Rains, director of community outreach at Baptist Health Paducah and a member of the foundation's board of directors, said in the news release.

Withrow's most recent advocacy to promote a $1 increase in the state's cigarette tax follows a long history of health-promotion efforts in the state, says the release.

When he served as the director of the heart center at Baptist Health Paducah, Withrow focused on reducing childhood obesity through an elementary school "Wizard of Health" presentation that focused on healthy eating, exercise and not smoking. He also advocated for CPR training in high schools and worked with area EMS teams to provide student instruction. He also tours middle schools with a police office and recovering addict to discuss the dangers of opioids.

"Pat is certainly an advocate for policies that will help make people healthier," said foundation president and CEO Ben Chandler. "But he goes beyond advocacy to education and implementation. He engages in the work from beginning to end . . . He keeps on advocating, keeps on teaching and keeps on working to ensure his Kentucky neighbors and colleagues have the best chance at a healthier life."

Withrow is now eligible for the Healthy Kentucky Policy Champion of the Year award, which comes with a $5,000 grant from the foundation to go to a Kentucky-based nonprofit of the winner's choice.That winner of that award will be announced Sept. 24 at the foundation's Howard L. Bost Memorial Health Policy Forum in Lexington.

Nominations for the Healthy Kentucky Policy Champion Award are accepted at any time; details are on the foundation's website.