KET program to host authors of "Life Lessons from Cancer" to discuss inspirational messages of book

"One to One" with Bill Goodman will feature the authors of Life Lessons from Cancer, Keen Babbage and his sister-in-law Laura Babbage, on Sunday, Dec. 21 at 1 p.m. ET to discuss the book and its inspirational messages, especially the importance of family when facing life's challenges.

Keen Babbage, a teacher and native Lexingtonian, was diagnosed with cancer in his late 50s, despite a lifetime of healthy habits. He felt moved to share his experience in print.

With the help of his sister-in-law, a registered nurse and chaplain at the Chandler Medical Center at the University of Kentucky, they wrote Life Lessons from Cancer, published in September.

Keen told an audience at the first promotional event in October that he hoped the lessons in the book would be an inspiration and offer guidance for other patients with cancer as well as a resource for health-care providers.

The show will also air on Tuesday, Dec. 23 at 7:30 p.m. ET on KET2.

Study: Secondhand smoke and road pollution contribute to obesity in children more in combination than separately

Diet and physical activity aren't the only causes for the obesity epidemic that is sweeping our nation; a recent study finds that secondhand smoke and roadway pollution are also contributors, Ryan White writes for Reporting on Health.

Photo by ctvnews.ca

Researchers at the University of Southern California have found that secondhand smoke and roadway pollution contribute to body-mass-index increases and obesity in children. The study is published in Environmental Health Perspectives.

“Our findings strengthen emerging evidence that exposure to tobacco smoke and [near-roadway pollution] contribute to development of childhood obesity and suggest that combined exposures may have synergistic effects,” the study’s authors write.

The study collected data on 3,318 students through home questionnaires about tobacco exposure in homes, and scientifically estimated each student's exposure to roadway pollution, White reports. Meanwhile, the student's BMI was measured annually between ages 10 and 18. "BMI levels estimate body fat based on height and weight. “Normal” weight scores range from 18.5 to 24.9, with higher figures considered overweight and 30 the threshold for obesity"

The study allowed for a long list of "confounding variables," or other factors that might be responsible for these elevated BMIs, including: team sports participation, asthma history, social makeup of family and neighborhood, parents’ education, neighborhood walkability, recreation facilities, population density, unemployment rates and so forth, White reports.

"After crunching the data, researchers found that exposure to high levels of roadway pollution alone was associated with average increases of 0.80 BMI units over the eight-year study, while children with secondhand smoke exposure and low roadway pollution averaged 0.85 units higher, compared to similar peers. But when investigators looked at children with high exposures to both tobacco smoke and air pollution, their BMIs were on average 2.15 higher over eight years," White writes.

This is the first study to look at tobacco smoke and air pollution in combination. Other studies have looked at each of these contributors independently and found "secondhand smoke is associated with increased obesity risk in children and patterns of overweight children from mothers who smoked during pregnancy are well documented," White writes. Another study associates "prenatal exposure to roadway pollution with higher BMI and obesity by age 7."

But White notes that socioeconomic status, while ruled out as a "confounder," must still be considered as those who have a lower socioeconomic status are more likely to smoke, live in neighborhoods bisected by busy roadways, have less access to healthy foods and fewer places to exercise.

New cardiovascular inpatient unit opens at UK

UK HealthCare's new 64-bed Cardiovascular Inpatient Unit, one of the largest intensive-care units in the country, accepted its first patients Monday, says a University of Kentucky news release.

"This new unit doubles our capacity to treat Kentucky's sickest heart patients and brings the best technology medicine has to offer right to a Kentucky heart patient's backyard," UK President Eli Capilouto said in the release.

The new unit, located on the 8th floor of the Albert B. Chandler Hospital's new Pavilion A, has 32 intensive care beds and 32 progressive care beds.

Dr. Susan Smyth, medical director of the Gill Heart Institute, told UKNow that the unit "represents an unequaled opportunity to help staff provide patients with the highest standard of care in a technologically advanced healing environment."

One of the unique features of the CV Unit is that it has its own Central Monitoring Service station embedded on the floor, says the release.

"Even though the nursing staff is situated immediately outside a patient's room, they are often away from one patient while helping ambulate another," Smyth said in the release. "Having trained staff monitoring patients in such close proximity provides an extra layer of care."

The unit also has its own imaging suite for echocardiography. This not only minimizes patient transfers for testing, but will open up existing imaging areas for other inpatient and outpatient use, thereby reducing wait times. The Gill Heart Institute performs approximately 25,000 imaging studies each year, says the release.

Additionally, the floor is the first in Pavilion A to use new barcode technology for patient medication administration, which will minimize medication errors. It also offers interactive TVs in every room, with programming available specific to the patient and their heart health needs.

"Patients will be able to access videos describing their condition, their treatment, and education about self-care and healthy lifestyles," Dr. Michael Sekela, surgical director of the Gill Heart Institute, told UKNow. "Once they are home, they will be able to access the same information from their home computer, which should help minimize post-discharge confusion and the readmissions that often result from that."

The unit will continue its longtime policy to ambulate every cardiac patient at least once a day, regardless of their diagnosis or treatment, says the release. This is accomplished by a group of physical therapy students and volunteers caled CATWalkers.

"This new unit brings the highest level of cardiac care available anywhere on one floor, in an environment that's efficient for our staff and conducive to healing for our patients."Dr. Michael Karpf, UK executive vice president for health affairs, said in the release."Combined with the Gill Affiliate Network partnerships, this means patients get the level of care they need as close to home as possible."

If you have a Kynect policy, or are buying one, shop around to get the best deal; prices and tax credits change each year

Obamacare customers in Kentucky probably need to shop around the Kynect health insurance marketplace if they want to get a better deal this year.

"More than 70 percent of people currently enrolled in Affordable Care Act health-insurance-marketplace insurance can find a 2015 health plan offering the same level of coverage at a cheaper premium," reports Jason Millman of The Washington Post, citing a report from the federal Department of Health and Human Services. The report says 80 percent of current enrollees could likely "find a health plan with a monthly premium lower than $100 after tax credits are applied."

The reason, according to the department, is that premiums for the benchmark "silver" plan, the second-lowest cost plan in each area, are increasing an average of 2 percent this year. The benchmark plan is used to calculate how much a tax credit a consumer can receive on any plan, and it may have changed in each area, causing a change in the tax credit in 2015.

Most people generally stick with their health insurance, even if it means passing up a better deal, and the Obama administration "is begging" people to shop around to make sure they have the best plan available to them, Milliman reports.

Shoppers have until Feb. 15 to pick a health plan, but they only have until Dec. 15 to choose a plan for coverage starting Jan 1.

The health-reform law is working well, but “One fundamental challenge remains: If Obamacare is to succeed in holding down premiums over the long run, it needs consumers to shop around," rather than treating health insurance like finance or a utility, and falling victim to "consumer inertia," James Surowiecki writes for The New Yorker magazine.

"Consumer inertia" in health care
New Yorker illustration by Christoph Niemann

"People have no difficulty comparison-shopping and changing allegiance when it comes to, say, automobiles or consumer electronics. Companies in those markets face huge pressure to keep quality high and prices low," Surowiecki writes. "But there are also markets where consumers tend to stick with the same choice forever, even though switching could save them quite a bit of money. Energy bills are a classic example. We’ve long been told we can save money by leaving incumbent providers for newer upstarts, but the vast majority of us haven’t. Economists call it consumer inertia, and you can see it in many fields, including banking, credit cards, and health insurance."

Surowiecki elaborates on several factors that cause this inertia: the complicated and confusing nature of health insurance, which often offers complex and multiple options; the time and energy it takes to do enough research to make an informed switch; the added complexity of factoring in subsidies and taxes that comes with Obamacare; and the greatest one, the very real fear of changing doctors if you change insurance.

This inertia benefits insurance companies, making it easy for them to raise prices, Surowiecki writes. He offers this example: If you have a storage unit, you may well have been lured by an attractive monthly rate, only to find that it soon started rising by significant increments. (What are you going to do? Move all your stuff?) "Similarly, even though there are lots of affordable new Obamacare plans this year, many of last year’s are raising premiums substantially," he writes.

Surowiecki says Obamacare both limits and encourages this inertia. It limits through the influx of new customers who pay attention to price, pressuring insurance companies to keep premiums reasonable. He also suggests that people with lower incomes, as many using the law are, will scrutinize the price of their insurance. But the automatic renewals of insurance built into the law, for those who don't change plans, encourages the inertia.

One study found that “fully informed” consumers saved a couple of thousand dollars compared with those who were less well informed, as long as they are confronted with the information, Surowiecki reports.

If you haven't gotten your flu shot yet, this week is an excellent time to get it, with the holidays coming up

State health officials are encouraging Kentuckians to get a flu vaccination during National Influenza Vaccination Week, Dec. 7-13.

"Getting a flu vaccine is an early holiday gift you can give to yourself and your family,” said Dr. Stephanie Mayfield, commissioner of the Department for Public Health. “As the holidays approach, people will be traveling, and families will gather together, increasing the potential for exposure to the flu. We are strongly urging anyone who hasn’t received a flu vaccine, particularly those at high risk for complications related to the flu, to check with local health departments or other providers.”

National Influenza Vaccination Week is a reminder to those people who have not yet received a flu vaccine that the time to get vaccinated continues into winter – through January or later, when flu season typically peaks. Because it takes about two weeks for the body to develop protective antibodies against the flu following vaccination, Kentuckians who have not had a chance to be vaccinated should seek out the opportunity during this season.

Throughout the week, health departments and the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will highlight the importance of vaccinations for those people at high risk, their close contacts and all those who want to be protected against the flu. In addition, good health habits such as washing hands often with soap and warm water; avoiding touching your eyes, nose or mouth; and staying at home from work or school when sick will also be emphasized.

Kentucky’s flu activity level has recently increased to regional, which indicates an upturn in influenza-like illness or outbreaks of flu in some regions of the state.

The best way to protect against the flu is to receive a flu vaccination. The CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recommends flu vaccine for all individuals 6 months of age and older. People who should especially receive the flu vaccine because they may be at higher risk for complications or negative consequences include:

• Children ages 6 months through 18 years;
• Pregnant women;
• People 50 years old or older;
• People of any age with chronic health problems;
• People who live in nursing homes and other long-term care facilities;

• Health care workers;                               
• Caregivers of or people who live with a person at high risk for complications from the flu; and
• Out-of-home caregivers of or people who live with children less than 6 months old.

Kentuckians should receive a new flu vaccination each season for optimal protection. Healthy, non-pregnant people ages 2 through 49 can be vaccinated with either the flu shot or the nasal vaccine spray. Children younger than 9 years old who did not receive a previous seasonal flu vaccination should receive a second dose at least four weeks after their first vaccination.

High-dose flu vaccine is available for persons aged 65 years and older this year.

The CDC says some of the nation’s circulating flu viruses may not be covered well by this year’s vaccine.  That is not unusual. "Despite the possibility of a poor vaccine match for one of the circulating strains, vaccination still provides the best protection against influenza," a state news release said. "The vaccine appears to be a good match for many of the strains which are being transmitted, and because of antibody cross-protection, should help to reduce hospitalizations and deaths, even in persons who may contract the mismatched strain of influenza."

In addition to flu vaccine, the health department strongly encourages all adults 65 years and older and others in high risk groups to ask their health care provider about the pneumococcal vaccines. These vaccines can help prevent a type of pneumonia that is one of the flu’s most serious and potentially deadly complications. The CDC now recommends that adults 65 years or older receive the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV13, Prevnar-13) in addition to the pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (PPSV23, PneumoVax-23). Getting both vaccines offers the best protection against pneumococcal disease. Between 3,000 and 49,000 deaths are attributed to flu and pneumonia nationally each year, with more than 90 percent of those deaths occurring in people age 65 and older.

Kentucky Hospital Association backs state smoking ban

The Kentucky Hospital Association on Thursday reiterated its support of smoke-free workplaces and public places throughout the state in hopes that 2015 will be the year that legislators pass a statewide ban on smoking in enclosed spaces.

“Kentucky hospitals have treated illnesses like asthma and heart disease as a result of secondhand smoke exposure for too long, only to send patients back out to the very job conditions where they are getting sick," KHA president Michael Rust said. "Secondhand smoke exposure-related illnesses are completely preventable by simply asking smokers to step outside."

Kentucky leads the nation in smoking and lung cancer. The state's lung-cancer death rate is 46 percent higher than the national average, and nearly 1,000 Kentuckians are estimated to die each year from secondhand smoke. And all of these statistics come with a price tag.

"Smoking costs Kentucky $1.92 billion a year in health care costs, $487 million of that in Medicaid costs alone," KHA said in a press release. "It also costs Kentucky $2.3 billion in lost productivity. Secondhand smoke exposure costs Kentucky an estimated $106 million in health care costs each year. Kentucky can no longer afford to shoulder these costs."

Dennis Johnson, KHA board chair and president of Hardin Memorial Health, said "If Kentucky wants to improve our health and attract economic development opportunities, it must make indoor workplaces and public places smoke-free.”

Rust closed the press conference by urging calls to legislators at 1-800-372-7181. "Tell them you support a smoke-free law which would make Kentucky workplaces and public places smoke-free."

Rep. Susan Westrom, D-Lexington, will again be the lead sponsor of the statewide smoking ban bill, according to her office.

As Ky., other states debate smoking bans, Ariz. county considers ban on hiring smokers, penalizing employees who smoke

Smoking bans for public places are still the subject of debate in Kentucky and many other places, but the Arizona county that contains Tucson may take the war on tobacco to a new level, refusing to hire smokers.

The Pima County Board of Supervisors is scheduled to vote Dec. 16 on a proposal that "prevents the county from hiring smokers and slaps a 30 percent health insurance surcharge on employees who do smoke or use other tobacco products," Mariana Dale reports for the Arizona Daily Star. "County health officials predict the new policy could save the county more than $1 million annually on health-care costs as tobacco-users retire and are replaced with healthier workers. . . . Pima County estimates 32 percent or 2,304 of its current employees are tobacco users and they cost the county about $13.4 million each year, according to a memo from the Health Department."

Dr. Michael Siegel, a professor of public health at Boston University and an advocate of smoke-free workplaces, "says a ban on employee tobacco use in their personal life goes too far," Dale reports.

UK hospital's request to add 120 beds clears hearing phase; decision now before state officials

The University of Kentucky's plan to add 120 beds to its hospital moved forward Friday as no one filed a request for a public hearing on its application for a certificate of need, or license. State officials must rule on the application by Feb. 18.

"State law allows any 'affected parties,' defined as anyone who gets health care in the geographic area served by the hospital, other places that provide similar care or third-party payers such as health insurance companies, to request a public hearing to state their reasons for challenging the application," Mary Meehan reports for the Lexington Herald-Leader. "The other large hospital chains operating in Lexington did not request a public hearing and had no comment."

The beds would be added to the hospital's new tower, which is half empty, and bring its total to 945 beds.

Read more here: http://www.kentucky.com/2014/12/05/3577578_1-billion-hospital-expansion-at.html?rh=1#storylink=cpy

USDA makes grants to expand Farm to School in Ky.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is sending nearly $313,000 to Kentucky in grants under the Farm to School program, which encourages the use of fresh, local food in schools.

Two grants for a total of $87,957 went to the Kentucky Department of Agriculture, which manages the program in Kentucky and will use most of the money to expand it. “This will help our children grow up to be healthy and strong,” Agriculture Commissioner James Comer said. “This also will help Kentucky farmers have the certainty of a market for their products.”

Other Farm to School grants awarded to Kentucky were: $100,000 to the Food Literacy Project at Oxmoor Farm Inc., to create a working vegetable farm that will give students hands-on gardening experience and provide vegetables for students in the Jefferson County Public Schools; $79,750 to the Owsley County School District for equipment needed to expand and diversify crops the locally produced foods served in the schools’ cafeterias; and $45,000 to the Taylor County School District for a school garden where students will grow produce that will be sold to the school food-service office. The district also will develop an assessment for its farm-to-school program.

U of L plans to create statewide health institute with $4 million, three-year grant from KentuckyOne Health hospital firm

The University of Louisville is creating an institute to improve Kentucky's health through research, education and advocacy of health policies.

KentuckyOne Health is giving the university $4 million over three years to establish the Commonwealth Institute of Kentucky in U of L's School of Public Health and Information Sciences. Dean Craig Blakely said the institute will work in western Louisville but also on statewide issues, focusing on data gathering and analysis.

"Kentucky has the nation's highest rates of cancer deaths and smoking, and ranks among the top for cardiovascular disease, obesity, prescription drug abuse and other health problems," Laura Ungar notes for The Courier-Journal. "And certain neighborhoods, regions and populations suffer disproportionately, with even higher rates."

Lung cancer gets much less research funding than other cancers, but is deadlier, especially in Kentucky

Lung cancer takes more lives annually than breast, prostate, and colon cancers combined, but the disease "generally doesn't get the public attention or research dollars in proportion to its lethality," Arielle Densen, co-founder of Lung Cancer Free World, writes for CNN.

Lung cancer receives $1,442 in federal research funds per death, compared with $26,398 for breast cancer (lung cancer kills nearly twice as many women as breast cancer) and $13,419 for prostate cancer according to a National Institutes of Health study. Funding by private donations increases the gap even further, she writes.

And though lung cancer is usually thought of as a "smokers disease" and often comes with a stigma attached, "the majority of those diagnosed with lung cancer are former smokers or have never smoked at all," Densen writes.

Densen shares the story of her mother, who was diagnosed with lung cancer but had never smoked. Her mom, being a non-smoker and generally "healthy," was told she had pneumonia despite a "lingering, months-long cough." Because she wasn't a smoker it "didn't trigger any red flags." Eventually, a CT scan found a mass in her lung. She was told she had stage 4 lung cancer and had one year to live. But "thanks to advancements in targeted therapies" she lived for 40 months after the diagnosis. She was 59 when she died.

Lung cancer is especially deadly because it usually doesn't cause symptoms until it's already spread to other parts of the body. Kentucky has more cases of lung cancer than any other state, and its lung cancer mortality rate is nearly 50 percent higher than the national average.

The five-year survival rate for lung cancer is around 16 percent and has been for decades and the survival rate for a stage 4 cancer is 4 percent, Densen reports.

New partnership will provide children in Kentucky with a home for medical and dental care

Community Dental of Kentcky and the University of Louisville Pediatrics are partnering to provide Kentucky children in the Medicaid program with a medical, dental health care home through co-located facilities, says a press release from Gov. Steve Beshear's office.

“One of the most effective ways to combat chronic health conditions is to identify potential problems early and address them," Beshear said in the release. "This means ensuring that our children have easy access to the health care they need and deserve. This partnership seeks to meet that need, not just medical care, but also dental care. Through the creation of a health home for children, we believe we will be able to reverse some of the major health problems facing Kentucky.”

 Community Dental, an Alabama-based non-profit with a clinic in Louisville, is a full-service dental organization that provides health care in underserved communities with the goal of improving the overall health of the population, says the release. 

 “We are honored to partner with the Commonwealth and the University of Louisville,” Jeffrey Parker, chairman of Community Dental of Kentucky, said in the release. “Gov. Beshear has created the environment for preventive care as a major tool for combating the health care problems faced by the people in the state.”