By Natalie Pope Rural areas in the United States face a shortage of behavioral health practitioners. As CNN recently reported, a new study in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine found that 47-percent of non-metropolitan counties don’t have access to a psychologist. The shortage extends to psychiatrists, nurse practitioners and a cadre of behavioral health…
Rural Health Roundup
Markey announces first cohort of high school students for ACTION program Through a multimillion-dollar grant from the National Cancer Institute, the University of Kentucky Markey Cancer Center recently expanded its successful Appalachian Career Training in Oncology (ACTION) Program to include high school students from Appalachian Kentucky counties. The ACTION Program offers Appalachian Kentucky high school students the opportunity to gain…
Programs to expand mental, oral health services for eastern Kentucky residents
By Tiffany Murray Kentucky has historically ranked in the lowest 10 percent of the United Health Foundation’s America’s Health Rankings. The Foundation has tracked the many barriers to good health confronting Kentuckians, along with residents of other states, for nearly 30 years. From the Foundation’s perspective, perhaps the brightest ray of light comes from the…
Kentucky Homeplace celebrates 25 years
Since its inception in 1994, Kentucky Homeplace has linked thousands of rural Kentuckians with medical, social and environmental services they otherwise might have done without. To mark the program’s 25th anniversary, a celebration is set for May 16 at the University of Kentucky Center of Excellence in Rural Health (CEHR) in Hazard. During the ceremony,…
A reinvestment in infrastructure
One sign of a healthy economy is the number of cranes visible on the skyline. During the great recession, many healthcare organizations placed their new building and renovation projects on moth balls, as they figured out how to make do with their existing facilities to meet the healthcare challenges they faced. As the economy has…
Making recovery possible for more people
By Scott Hesseltine Every year, a new report highlights the toll of drug overdoses in our communities. According to the Centers for Disease Control’s August report, 72,000 Americans died of drug overdoses last year with most stemming from opioid use. Synthetic opioids like fentanyl can be 50 times more powerful than heroin thus causing a…