Ben Chandler awarded Kentucky Medical Association's advocacy award for his work on flu prevention and tobacco-free efforts

Dr. Bruce Scott (L), Ben Chandler (R)
Kentucky Medical Association photo.  

The Kentucky Medical Association awarded Ben Chandler, president and CEO of the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky, with its advocacy award for his efforts around tobacco-free policies and partnership in the 2018 "Focus on Flu" campaign.

The award is presented to individuals who have effected positive change in the healthcare space through their advocacy efforts, a KMA news release said. Chandler received the award at the association's 2019 annual meeting on Sept. 21 in Louisville.

Through his work with the foundation, Chandler has partnered with numerous outside organizations, including the KMA and its Kentucky Foundation for Medical Care. Together, these groups launched a “Focus on Flu” campaign last year to mitigate the effects of another deadly flu season in Kentucky.

Chandler is chair of the Coalition for a Smoke Free Tomorrow, made up of various stakeholders from across the state. In 2018, the coalition successfully secured a 50-cent increase in the state’s tobacco tax, to $1.10 per pack, and in 2019 helped pass a statewide tobacco-free schools law.

This year, the foundation, KMA and KFMC have once again partnered to offer campus signage at no cost to schools who comply with the law, which takes effect next summer.

The release notes that flu prevention and smoking cessation are two of the focus areas of KMA’s “AIM for Better Care: Administrative Improvements in Medicine” initiative.