October is National Audiology Awareness Month, and the state Commission on the Deaf and Hard of Hearing is urging the public to be aware of the importance of good hearing health and checkups.
The National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders says approximately 28.8 million Americans could benefit from the use of hearing aids. Age is a bug factor, but there are growing numbers of younger people reporting hearing difficulties,...
Thursday, September 30, 2021
As hospital numbers keep falling, Senate again calls for special session on staffing shortages; Beshear says more work needed
Ky. Dept. for Public Health graph shows relative risk of coronavirus infection. To enlarge, click on it.
By Melissa Patrick
Kentucky Health News
State Senate President Robert Stivers sent Gov. Andy Beshear a letter today, asking him to call a special session to address health-care staffing shortages that...
Wednesday, September 29, 2021
'I have never seen anything like it' in 40 years of hospital work, says administrator of Morehead hospital, still overrrun
St. Claire Regional Medical Center in Morehead (YouTube image via Daily Yonder)
Kentucky hospitals have seen fewer cases of Covid-19 lately, but the number who are in intensive care, with the majority of those on mechanical ventilation, still pose major challenges for hospitals, especially those that remain understaffed.
That...
Covid-19 deaths in Kentucky are at record levels, as new coronavirus cases remain on a plateau and positive-test rate falls
Kentucky Health News graph, based on daily state reports
By Melissa Patrick
Kentucky Health News
Kentucky reported 82 more deaths from Covid-19 Wednesday, the most in a single day. The state's death toll from the coronavirus disease is now 8,717. In the last week, the state has averaged reporting 42 deaths per day.
Gov....
Primary Care Assn. launches targeted campaign of short videos to persuade high-school athletes to get coronavirus vaccine
The Kentucky Primary Care Association is launching a new digital advertising campaign to encourage high school student-athletes to get a coronavirus vaccination so high school sports events can go on as scheduled.
“Stay in the Game” uses geofencing digital technology to pinpoint sporting events and geographic areas. Videos lasting 15 seconds and 30 seconds will also appear on YouTube and other social media channels. "Digital news outlets across...
Tuesday, September 28, 2021
Ky. coronavirus cases and deaths are up, but so are vaccinations
Washington Post map, adapted by Kentucky Health News, shows vaccination rates in Kentucky and nearby states. For the state's interactive map showing vaccinations in Kentucky counties, click here.
By Melissa Patrick
Kentucky Health News
Coronavirus case numbers and Covid-19 deaths surged in Kentucky Tuesday,...
Monday, September 27, 2021
Beshear asks Kentuckians not to unmask just because case numbers are dropping, warning that they are still way too high
State Dept. for Public Health graph, adapted by Ky. Health News; click on it to enlarge.
By Melissa Patrick
Kentucky Health News
New-case numbers and the percentage of Kentuckians testing positive for the coronavirus declined last week, which Gov. Andy Beshear called a "good sign" while stressing cases are "way too...
Sunday, September 26, 2021
Appalachian Kentucky, especially the southeastern part of the state, is being devastated by the coronavirus
New York Times map, adapted by Ky. Health News, shows southeast Kentucky has been a hot spot.
Knox County, site of the photo, is the central county in the state's main hot spot. (Click map to enlarge)
Sisters Billie Mitchell, Anita Hudson and Teresa Davenport with
a photo of their father, Willie Hudson, who...
Crowd at Rupp Arena's biggest concert during the pandemic was almost entirely unmasked, making music writer feel unsafe on job
The crowd gathers for the Eric Church concert. (Herald-Leader photo by Estill Robinson)
“Masks are encouraged at today’s event,” read signs at the biggest concert at Rupp Arena since the start of the pandemic, a three-hour performance for 15,000 by country rocker Eric Church on Friday, Sept. 17. But Lexington...
Friday, September 24, 2021
Rural news media need to promote vaccination, not just by delivering facts to quash misinformation, but by example
By Al Cross
Director, Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues, University of Ky.
Millions of Americans say they have decided not to get vaccinated to protect themselves, their families and their neighbors from the coronavirus, but polling and anecdotal evidence show that some will change their minds. News media...
Even with Kentucky's anxiety and depression rates dropping since January, the state still ranks ninth for this measure in the U.S.
image: pulichealthnotes.com
By Melissa Patrick
Kentucky Health News
While rates of anxiety and depression in Kentucky are among the top 10 states in the nation, the good news is that since January, those rates have dropped. THose findings that are consistent with what is going on across the nation, according...
New virus cases keep slowing, but patients in ICUs and on ventilation rise slightly as ICU beds remain in short supply
Ky. Dept. for Public Health map, adapted by Ky. Health News; for the interactive version, click here.
By Al Cross
Kentucky Health News
The pace of the pandemic in Kentucky continued to slow slightly on Friday, but the number of very sick and critically sick patients went up, intensive-care beds continued to run...
Thursday, September 23, 2021
Covid-19 metrics all fall Thur., but Beshear sees 'very dangerous situation' that could worsen; hospitals seek state funds for staffing
Ky. Health News graph; daily new cases are from initial, unadjusted reports; click image to enlarge.
By Melissa Patrick
Kentucky Health News
With every metric used to measure the coronavirus in Kentucky down Thursday, Gov. Andy Beshear said it's too early to celebrate, largely because all the numbers are still too...
Wednesday, September 22, 2021
Most pandemic metrics down, except deaths and patients on ventilation; state's seven-day infection rate still 3rd in U.S.
By Al CrossKentucky Health News
Most measures of the pandemic in Kentucky inched down Wednesday, except the most serious: deaths and Covid-19 patients on mechanical ventilation.
The state reported 52 more deaths from Covid-19, raising the pandemic total to 8,422 and the average over the last seven days to 40 per day. The dead included a 34-year-old from McCreary County, a 36-year-old from LaRue County, a 38-year-old from Johnson County and a 39-year-old...
Tuesday, September 21, 2021
Just 20% of Ky. adults say a health-care provider has contacted them about a Covid-19 shot; only 14% say their health insurer has
By Al Cross and Melissa Patrick
Kentucky Health News
Relatively few Kentuckians say they have been contacted by a health professional or their health-insurance provider about getting a Covid-19 vaccine, according to a statewide poll taken Aug. 4 through Sept. 4.
Twenty percent of adults said a doctor, nurse or other health professional had contacted them about vaccination, and only 14% said their health-insurance provider had, the poll for the Foundation...
Some pandemic metrics inch down in Ky.; hospital numbers up
Ky. Health News graph; new daily cases are initial, unadjusted numbers; to enlarge, click on it.
By Melissa Patrick
Kentucky Health News
The state reported 3,391 new coronavirus cases Tuesday, lowering the seven-day average by 91, to 3,912, almost to the level that it was eight days ago when it was lowered by the post-Labor...
Monday, September 20, 2021
Only 54% of state Corrections staff vaccinated against Covid-19, but state wary of mandate for fear of losing employees
The state is relying on testing, not a vaccine mandate, as it tries to walk the narrow path between thwarting Covid-19 outbreaks in prisons and keeping enough employees to run the prisons.
The overall staff vaccination rate is 54%, but the Department of Corrections may be more concerned abut the rate of staff vacancies.
"Our vacancy rate going into the pandemic was 20.6%," Corrections Commissioner Connie Crews told a legislative committee last...
Poll and falling vaccination rates spark concern that Covid-19 conflicts make Kentuckians skeptical of long-accepted vaccines
Poll found that 27.3% of Kentucky adults said not all CDC-recommended vaccines are beneficial.
By Melissa Patrick
Kentucky Health News
The first day of the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky's annual health policy forum addressed vaccine hesitancy, which the foundation's latest poll and other information show may be...
Beshear says he's glad to see so many districts masking up, but predicts some will abandon mandates when county goes orange
Ky. Dept. for Public Health base map, adapted by Ky. Health News; for a larger version, click on it.
By Al Cross
Kentucky Health News
Gov. Andy Beshear, who was skeptical that local school officials would keep the mask mandate the legislature stopped him from imposing, said Monday that he was cheered to see 166 of...
