270 U of L freshmen have to vacate dorm because of mold

The University of Louisville has told 270 freshmen they have to move out in the middle of midterm exams after high levels of mold were found in their residence hall. The students were told remove everything they brought with them to Miller Hall. The dorm will be closed the rest of the semester. Those displaced are being moved to other dorms, university-affiliated housing and hotel rooms near campus.

U of L inspections found high levels of two types of mold spores, aspergillus and penicillium, that don’t normally present a threat but could affect people with allergies, asthma and upper respiratory problems if exposed to high levels in closed spaces, said Dr. Phillip Bressoud, director of student health. More residence halls could also have a mold problem, and the university is still awaiting the results from tests. Staten said. (Read more)

Univ. of Pikeville students hear of horrors of texting while driving, actively sign pledge to stop the practice

Alyson Gibson, a student at the
University of Pikeville, signs the 'No
Text on Board' pledge.

Maybe it was a surprise to some in the crowd but texting and driving has been illegal in Kentucky since April 15, 2010. Still, the folks at the University of Pikeville thought it was a message that bore repeating. On Thursday, they did so.  In recognition of the national “No Text on Board” effort, UPike professors, state legislators and AT&T representatives asked students to pledge to just not do it. The pledge was intended to be a lifetime choice. The only exception to the law is if drivers need to report illegal activity or need to summons medical or emergency aid. Fines for texting while driving in the state can be up to $50, plus court costs.

Students could watch a video of the aftermath of accidents where drivers had been preoccupied with texting. According to the AT&T rep on campus Thursday, someone is killed or injured in this country every five minutes in an accident where texting and driving is involved. (Read more)

Study: Stroke victims getting younger and, yes, risk factors include obesity, diabetes and high cholesterol

A study conducted on first-ever stroke patients in the Greater Cincinnati and northern Kentucky area may have some devastating repercussions for the nation. The results of the University of Cincinnati research, published this week in the online issue of Neurology, found that the average age of stroke victims has dropped and that this has great implications for lifetime disability. Study author Brett Kissela, MD, with the UC's College of Medicine explained that the rise in risk factors like diabetes, obesity and high cholesterol are the cause. Newswise reports that the study found that strokes among people under 55 made up a greater percentage of all strokes over time, growing from about 13 percent in 1993-94 to 19 percent in 2005. The study was funded by the National Institutes of Health.

"What [the study] means is that even though young people typically feel like they're healthy and that a stroke can't happen to them, the fact is that our study is evidence that that is not true," said Kissela.“The good news is that some of the possible contributing factors to these strokes can be modified with lifestyle changes, such as diet and exercise. However, given the increase in stroke among those younger than 55, younger adults should see a doctor regularly to monitor their overall health and risk for stroke and heart disease.” (Read more)

Testing out new school lunch guidelines yields unhappy customers, more trash and an effort to undo the mandate

The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act, the Obama administration's effort to mandate more fresh fruit, vegetables and whole grains into the diets of school children, has some uphill climbing to do and it's not just the kids who are complaining. Though, admittedly, they were the first. Sarah Gonzales of Agri-Pulse took a look at some rural school districts trying to implement the law in advance of the law's implementation deadline, to see how the new science-based standards were working in real lunchrooms. What she found were complaints from student athletes who thought they needed more calories and more options, and substantial increases of good food thrown in the garbage. They also got this parody of "The Hunger Games" from some ingenious Kansas kids:



Dawn Matthews, director of food service for the rural Camdenton school district in Missouri, serves 3,200 school lunches every school day to kids in every grade level from K-12. The new standards, drawn from recommendations from an independent panel of doctors, nutritionists and other experts, require better nutrition and allow schools to serve between 550-650 calories for students in K-5, 600-700 calories of students for 6th through 8th grades, and 750-850 for high school lunches. Agri-Pulse reporters explain that a daily lunch costs $2.10, but almost 60 percent of the meals are offered for free for a reduced price in this rural district. Matthews notes that participation in the program is dropping with the new menu in place.

Even before the deadline for the act to be put into effect, Gonzales notes, Reps. Tim Huelskamp, R-Kans., and Steve King, R-Iowa, introduced the No Hungry Kids Act last month to repeal the new school guidelines. The National Association of State Departments of Agriculture also issued a recent policy statement saying the initial law was "well-intentioned, but falls short of providing a comprehensive policy for educating students in healthy living."

The results of the first few months of trial -- especially the waste -- have been "disheartening," said food director Matthews. It is also early. "I think it's going to evolve over time," said the chairman of Florida's Lake County School Board, Roseanne Brandeburg. "If you're in elementary school, and this is what you're going to be served, you're going to get used to it."

Agri-Pulse is subscription-only, but free trials are offered on its website.

Three or four more cases of fungal meningitis found in southern Pennyrile region -- two of those in Todd County

Kentucky now has five confirmed reports of fungal meningitis, and the Kentucky New Era reports that three or four have occurred in the southern Pennyrile region. The New Era's Nick Tabor writes that while no facilities in Kentucky have received the steroid responsible for the outbreak, the Centers for Disease Control confirms that the Saint Thomas Outpatient Neurosurgery Center in Nashville, Tenn., and two separate facilities in Crossville and Knoxville have distributed the steroid in injection form. All five Kentuckians who contracted the illness received medical care in Tennessee, the state reported.

The state’s Department for Public Health was notified this weekend of two cases in Todd County. One is Bill Johnson Sr., whose son ran against Rand Paul for U.S. Senate and Alison Lundergan Grimes for Kentucky Secretary of State. Carolyn Bland, director of the Trigg County Senior Center, was hospitalized Oct. 3 for meningitis, said her daughter, Beth Taylor. Eddie Lovelace, a longtime circuit judge from Clinton County, died of meningitis last month. He was being treated at St. Thomas when he died. 

As of Tuesday, health officials have reported 119 infections and 11 deaths across the nation, and six of those deaths were in Tennessee.

For the CDC’s complete list of the facilities that received the steroid, broken down by state, go here. 

State business and health groups team up for forums to answer the question: Do smoking bans help the bottom line?

Some of Kentucky’s leading health and business organizations will host a series of smoke-free forums throughout the state throughout the fall. A joint effort of the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce, the Kentucky Public Health Association, Foundation for the Healthy Kentucky and Smoke-Free Kentucky, the forums are designed to show individuals how they can protect themselves and others from secondhand smoke, improve Kentucky’s business image and lower health care costs related to tobacco use.

The schedule
Tuesday, Oct. 23: Louisville, Crowne Plaza Hotel, 830 Phillips Lane, 8-9 a.m., breakfast
Wednesday, Oct. 24: Ashland, Boyd County Health Department, 2924 Holt Street, Ashland, 8:30-9:30 a.m., breakfast
Wednesday, Nov. 14: Owensboro, River Park Center in the Berry Theater, 101 Daviess Street, 5 to 7 p.m., dinner.
Tuesday, Nov. 27: Paducah, Lourdes Hospital, Borders Conf. Room, 1530 Lone Oak Road, 8:30-9:30 a.m., breakfast.

There is no cost to attend the forums. Meal will be provided. An RSVP is requested by calling 502-797-0638 or emailing betsyjanes@ymail.com. 

Study: Prescriptions for antipsychotic drugs to state's poor kids increase 270% in 10 years; data also show painkiller patterns

By Amy Wilson and Al Cross
Kentucky Health News

A new report from the University of Kentucky has documented the rate at which the state's poor and disabled children are more and more frequently being prescribed very powerful drugs to treat what is assumed to be attention-deficit, schizophrenia, bi-polar disease and depression. The results indicate that males are more likely than females to be assigned those drugs by physicians, and minority males even more than their white counterparts. The study, conducted by the UK College of Communication and Information and Center for Business and Economic Research, shows that the amount of anti-psychotic drugs distributed to children on Medicaid in Kentucky jumped 270 percent in the decade from 2000 to 2010. Minority children were prescribed those medications at three times the rate of white children.

Beth Musgrave of the Lexington Herald-Leader reports that the study also "found unexplained geographical differences in how minority children are treated for mental illnesses. For example, minority children in Bath County in Eastern Kentucky are taking anti-psychotic medications at a rate nearly 26 times higher than minority children in Christian County in Western Kentucky. Yet the report found little difference in white children in those two counties.

The study also revealed wide geographical variances in prescriptions for drugs meant to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD. Poor children in Western Kentucky received much larger quantities of ADHD drugs than their counterparts in Eastern Kentucky. For example, Henderson County children take medications to treat ADHD at a rate 11 times higher than children in Leslie County."

Researcher Michael Childress looked at patterns for all drugs, and found a strong correlation between high use of painkillers and a high percentage of people who say they are in fair or poor health. He used that correlation to figure what level of painkiller use should be expected, and created a county-by-county map showing where the use is higher than expectation:

Childress told Musgrave that the study didn't try to answer why there are variances in prescription patterns. "This report provides data that should cause people to ask questions and to seek out answers," he said. "Health providers and people in these communities need to look at this data and start asking questions about what some of this data shows."

Cabinet for Health and Family Services Secretary Audrey Tayse Haynes called some of the report's findings "disturbing." "We're taking a hard look at behavioral health in children and youth in this state," Haynes said. "Clearly, we need to have some education and training with our providers about prescribing habits. These are powerful drugs."

Dr. Paul Glaser, a pediatrician and child and adult psychiatrist and associate professor at the UK College of Medicine, had a different perspective. He said the increase in antipsychotic drugs may show that the state is finally treating child and adolescent mental illness.  (Read more)

To read the report, including county-by-county maps and drug-by-drug county tables, go here. To read an issue brief on ADHD, go here. To read an issue brief of anti-psychotics, go here. To read an issue brief of analgesic narcotics, go here.

Covington police chief: New prescription-drug law has unintended consequence of encouraging pain pill addicts to use heroin, commit crimes

Black tar heroin

Kentucky's new prescription drug law may be having its desired effect of taking prescription painkillers off the streets, but could be forcing those very same addicts into using heroin. That's the view of Covington Police Chief Spike Jones, who took his case to the state Senate Judiciary Committee last week to complain about increased crime in his area and to ask for some money for help.

The drug law passed in April 2012, designated House Bill 1, requires Kentucky doctors to complete patients' medical histories, conduct physicals, check photo identifications and run names through the state's KASPER (Kentucky All Schedule Prescription Electronic Reporting) database before prescribing a controlled substance for pain relief. It has required a vast network of oversight of doctors and patients by government and licensing entities. This has reportedly caused some doctors to stop writing those prescriptions completely.

Tiffany Wilson of Cincinnati's WKRC-TV reports that Chief Jones reports more prostitution, theft, car thefts and car break-ins in his northern Kentucky region. He asked the state legislature for money to research how deep the problem is and to discuss the need for more treatment facilities. 

Jones pointed to the recent closure of the pain management clinic of Dr. Gary Shearer in Florence as adding to the problem. Shearer's license was suspended following the death of 15 patients from prescription-drug overdoses. These patients, Jones told Wilson, are exactly the ones at risk for taking the next step and turning to heroin. He added that heroin dealers will often give potential customers the first hit for free, "and from that point, there's no returning to prescription pills." (Read more)

State's hospitals see impressive growth spurt from nearly $1 billion in capital investment

Kentucky’s major hospital systems are going big, making high-profile, technology-forward capital investments across the commonwealth. Josh Shepherd of The Lane Report writes that every sector of the state is part of the hospital boom. The state's cumulative total of investment since 2010 is roughly a billion dollars, notes Shepherd, and has meant hundreds of construction and, soon, medical and other hospital-related jobs. Here's the list of the most notable construction projects now under way:

Owensboro Medical Health System,  $385 million, a new complex (pictured, above) that will allow expansion for the next 50 years, completion date: summer 2013.

Norton Healthcare System, Louisville, converting Suburban Hospital into Norton Women's Hospital and Kosair Children's Hospital, $120 million, completion date: 2013.

Pikeville Medical Center, new office building and parking facility, $130 million, completion soon.

Baptist Health, Lexington, expansion of Central Baptist Hospital medical services complex with parking structure, $200 million.

University of Kentucky Healthcare, Chandler Medical Center, $750 million, includes new plans for Shriners Hospital for Children.

Frankfort Regional Hospital,  $8 million expansion, emergency department.

Trigg County Hospital, $7 million, surgery and rehabilitation unit.

Lifepoint Hospitals-owned Clark Regional Medical Center, $60 million, 79-bed hospital. (Read more)

First lady speaks out on behalf of domestic-violence victims; Ky. is one of four states without protection for date-violence victims

First Lady Jane Beshear pointed out the accomplishments of the anti-domestic violence movement in Kentucky this week, and spoke the names of 26 women who had died at the hands of their abusers this year. With that, she then announced that October would again be Domestic Violence Awareness Month in Kentucky.

“Nearly one-third of all American women report being abused at some point in their lives. Abuse affects more than just individuals -- families and communities suffer, too,” said Beshear. “Domestic Violence Awareness Month is the opportunity for all Kentuckians to learn how to recognize the signs of domestic abuse and to show support for victims as they work to regain control of their lives.”

Kentucky is one of only four states that do not provide protection for victims of dating violence. “In celebrating the successes of the Violence Against Women Act, we must acknowledge the work still left to do,” said KDVA President Anne Perkins, who also serves as executive director of Safe Harbor, a regional domestic violence program in Ashland.  She called on state legislators to pass a new dating violence bill during the next legislative session. Research shows that young women between the ages of 20 to 24 are at greatest risk of intimate partner violence.

Annual report for Cincinnati-Northern Kentucky region shows employee health care costs there will go up about $400 next year

In an continuing effort to move health costs off the shoulders of employers and onto employees, workers in Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky will likely pay an average $4,775 out of their own pockets for health care in 2013 -- about $400 more than this year. That's nearly $2,000 more than they paid in 2007. The payments include premiums through their employer, as well as office co-pays and deductibles, said Aon Hewitt, the consultant that produced its annual cost report. These payments are slightly less than the national average of $4,814.

The trend toward "more employee accountability" means that nearly all companies are adjusting the designs of their employee plans, adding wellness programs and moving more employees to high-deductible plans with health savings accounts, reports Cliff Peale of the Cincinnati Enquirer. Penalties are now common for workers who smoke or who don’t take required health screenings.

The report notes that companies continue to bear most of the cost of their employees’ health insurance. It also predicts that, counting the portion paid by both companies and workers, the cost of a health care policy will increase 6.4 percent next year to $11,566. That should return the region to numbers more aligned with the national average. About half of all Americans still get benefits through their employers, and there are nearly 50 million without health insurance at all. (Read more)

Southern Kentucky circuit judge was probably the first to die in Tenn. from fungal meningitis outbreak stemming from tainted steroids

Judge Eddie C. Lovelace

The first person to die in Tennessee from the nine-state meningitis outbreak liked to bad steroids was most likely Kentucky Circuit Judge Eddie C. Lovelace of Albany, 78, who died at Vanderbilt University Medical Center Sept. 17. John Dreyzehner, Tennessee's commissioner of health, said Friday that the number of Tennesseans affected by the meningitis outbreak has now risen to 29. The number of deaths is unchanged at three. The search for more affected patients will continue "for some time," he said. Investigators haven't found evidence that the clinics or clinicians in Tennessee did anything to cause the outbreak, which has been reported in other states.

In July and August, Lovelace received three rounds of the pain-relieving steroid injections suspected of causing the outbreak of the rare disease, Joyce Lovelace, his wife of 55 years, told Adam Tamburin of The Tennessean. Representatives of the Saint Thomas Hospital Outpatient Neurosurgery Center, where he received the injections, are reported to have called Joyce Lovelace twice after his death to discuss his condition. They did not mention the outbreak, she said, nor have they confirmed that that was his cause of death.

Vanderbilt spokespeople have confirmed to the newspaper that "the first reported casualty of the outbreak was a 78-year-old man who died there on Sept. 17." Doctors told his family that his unexpected death was likely caused by a stroke, which is common among critically ill meningitis patients. His symptoms -- slurred speech, trouble walking and numbness -- are consistent with symptoms of fungal meningitis.

Lovelace had been a circuit court judge for two decades, and commonwealth's attorney and county attorney before that. “He always wanted to be known as a judge who knew the law, and he certainly was.” Joyce Lovelace said. “His career was not over. He had years yet to work.” (Read more) Democratic Gov. Steve Beshear may fill Lovelace's nonpartisan vacancy with state Sen. David Williams of Burkesville, who has been president of the Senate since Republicans took formal control of the chamber in 2000.

UPDATE, Oct. 6: The New York Times reports that nine states have reported meningitis cases connected to the steroids made by a Massachusetts company, which shipped the steroids to 14 other states. "Some doctors and clinics have turned away from major drug manufacturers and have taken their business to so-called compounding pharmacies, like New England Compounding, which mix up batches of drugs on their own, often for much lower prices than major manufacturers charge — and with little of the federal oversight of drug safety and quality that is routine for the big companies." (Read more) New England Compounding has recalled the steroids, The Tennessean reports.