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The Kentucky Health News Blogger website will no longer be updated.
All new post can be found on the Kentucky Health News WordPress site, found at this link:
Center for Healthcare Quality and Payment Reform map |
Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development table |
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention photo |
The roundtable discussion touched on several topics, including the Health Access Nurturing Developmental Services program, more commonly known as HANDS; praise for Rep. Kim Moser's, R-Taylor Mill, "Momnibus" bill that passed during the 2024 legislative session; and the need for a comprehensive approach toward improving the state's maternal mortality rates, including addressing social determinants of health, which includes things like transportation and housing, and the role that substance-use plays in such deaths.
Kentucky's maternal mortality rates are dismal, according to Ladd's reports. And, they are worse for women of color than white women.
"The 2023 March of Dimes report showed the state once again had high maternal mortality, which was worse for Black Kentuckians. The state has a maternal mortality rate of 38.4 deaths per 100,000 live births, higher than the national rate of 23.5 deaths per 100,000 live births," Ladd reports.
She adds, "A 2023 state report on maternal mortality also showed substance-use disorder contributed to nearly 60% of all maternal deaths. Most maternal deaths in Kentucky — 88% — are preventable, a report from the Cabinet for Health and Family Services said."
The links to the stories are below.
https://kentuckylantern.com/2024/08/09/a-kentucky-lantern-q-a-with-federal-health-
https://kentuckylantern.com/2024/08/08/roundtable-explores-ways-to-improve-kentucky-maternal-health/
Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky photo |
Addiction Recovery Care, Kentucky’s largest provider of drug and alcohol treatment, has offices and other facilities in Louisa. (Kentucky Lantern photo by Matthew Mueller) |
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention photo |
Kentucky's Emergency Medical Services are facing severe staffing shortages, with low pay, "abysmal" reimbursement rates and high turnover identified as the key reasons for the problem.
"We lose more paramedics every year than we gain, unfortunately. . . . We're hemorrhaging providers, we're losing more paramedics than we can replace," Kentucky Board of Emergency Medical Services Chairman John Holder told lawmakers at the July 30 Interim Joint Committee on Health Services.
Holder said Kentucky has an attrition rate of 21%, which means two out of 10 of their emergency medical technicians, commonly known as EMTs, will not return or certify again next year. Further, he said only 40% of their EMTs work with an EMS service.
"That means that less than half of those who are certified are actually going to work on an ambulance and treat members of their community," he said.
Holder said that even with new rules that allow only one paramedic per service, regardless of the size of the service, some EMS services can't even manage that level of staffing
“We're receiving regular calls from EMS services who are saying gentlemen were having to self-report that we cannot meet the staffing requirement as set by regulation, which means they don't have enough paramedics to staff their ambulances,” Holder said. “It truly is a crisis. I mean, we have services that are going to shut down if we can't find a solution to this problem.”Dr. Tyler Elam |