Most Kentucky adults don't know that drug overdose is the leading cause of death in the state, but those in the east do

Drug overdoses, driven largely by prescription drug abuse, overtook motor vehicle accidents as the leading cause of unintentional deaths in Kentucky back in 2010 and remain the state's leading cause of death. From 2000 to 2010, the number of drug-overdose deaths in Kentucky rose a staggering 296 percent, highlighting the state's drug abuse epidemic that now kills more than 1,000 Kentuckians a year. But a recent poll suggests many Kentuckians are not fully aware of the state's drug problem.

In an effort to gauge awareness of the problem, the Kentucky Health Issues Poll asked Kentucky adults whether traffic accidents, falls, firearms or unintentional drug overdoses resulted in the highest dumber of deaths in the state each year. Only 44 percent of Kentucky adults correctly indicated that drug overdose is the leading cause of unintentional Kentucky deaths; 43 percent incorrectly identified traffic accidents as the leading cause.

Respondents from Eastern Kentucky, where the problem is most prevalent  were more likely to correctly identify it as the leading cause of death, at 69 percent. However, only 29 percent of Louisville-area respondents did.

“Experts have reported significant prescription pain reliever abuse in eastern Kentucky,” said Susan Zepeda, presient of the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky, which co-sponsored the poll.  “It is no surprise that the Kentuckians most aware of this issue are those who are living in this region.  Awareness is the first step towards curbing this trend – it is up to all of us to get involved and take action to reduce the toll of this health crisis.”

The poll was conducted for the foundation and The Health Foundation of Greater Cincinnati from Sept. 20 through Oct. 14 by the Institute for Policy Research at the University of Cincinnati. A random sample of 1,680 adults throughout Kentucky was interviewed by land line and cell telephones, and the poll's margin of error is plus or minus 2.5 percentage points.

Drug overdoses, driven largely by prescription drug abuse, overtook motor vehicle accidents as the leading cause of unintentional deaths in Kentucky back in 2010 and remain the state's leading cause of death. From 2000 to 2010, the number of drug-overdose deaths in Kentucky rose a staggering 296 percent, highlighting the state's drug abuse epidemic that now kills more than 1,000 Kentuckians a year. But a recent poll suggests many Kentuckians are not fully aware of the state's drug problem.

In an effort to gauge awareness of the problem, the Kentucky Health Issues Poll asked Kentucky adults whether traffic accidents, falls, firearms or unintentional drug overdoses resulted in the highest dumber of deaths in the state each year. Only 44 percent of Kentucky adults correctly indicated that drug overdose is the leading cause of unintentional Kentucky deaths; 43 percent incorrectly identified traffic accidents as the leading cause.

Respondents from Eastern Kentucky, where the problem is most prevalent  were more likely to correctly identify it as the leading cause of death, at 69 percent. However, only 29 percent of Louisville-area respondents did.

“Experts have reported significant prescription pain reliever abuse in eastern Kentucky,” said Susan Zepeda, presient of the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky, which co-sponsored the poll.  “It is no surprise that the Kentuckians most aware of this issue are those who are living in this region.  Awareness is the first step towards curbing this trend – it is up to all of us to get involved and take action to reduce the toll of this health crisis.”

The poll was conducted for the foundation and The Health Foundation of Greater Cincinnati from Sept. 20 through Oct. 14 by the Institute for Policy Research at the University of Cincinnati. A random sample of 1,680 adults throughout Kentucky was interviewed by land line and cell telephones, and the poll's margin of error is plus or minus 2.5 percentage points.

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ADHD Is Food Hypersensitivity in 64% of Children!

Hyperactivity. Fidgeting. Inattention. Impulsivity. If your child has one or more of these qualities on a regular basis, you may be told that he or she has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. If so, they’d be among about 10 percent of children in the United States.

Kids with ADHD can be restless and difficult to handle. Many of them are treated with drugs, but a new study says food may be the key. Published in The Lancet journal, the study suggests that with a very restrictive diet, kids with ADHD could experience a significant reduction in symptoms.

 Read More Here--> http://lifechangingcarehouston.com/adhd-food

Hyperactivity. Fidgeting. Inattention. Impulsivity. If your child has one or more of these qualities on a regular basis, you may be told that he or she has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. If so, they’d be among about 10 percent of children in the United States.

Kids with ADHD can be restless and difficult to handle. Many of them are treated with drugs, but a new study says food may be the key. Published in The Lancet journal, the study suggests that with a very restrictive diet, kids with ADHD could experience a significant reduction in symptoms.

 Read More Here--> http://lifechangingcarehouston.com/adhd-food

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Legislature eases physician assistant rules; nurse practitioners' prescription power, Medicaid prompt-payment bills, others linger

By Molly Burchett and Al Cross
Kentucky Health News

The Kentucky General Assembly has joined other states in easing the restrictions on physician assistants’ medical practice, but has held up a similar move for advanced registered nurse practitioners. Both issues relate to the shortage of medical practitioners in many Kentucky counties, and the quality of medical care.

The Senate added the physician assistant language of Senate Bill 43 to House Bill 104, an art-therapy bill, in order to preserve an agreement between the Kentucky Medical Association and the Kentucky Academy of Physician Assistants. It will repeal the law that bans PAs from practicing for their first 18 months unless a physician is on site; one will still have to be available by telephone. The amended bill has been sent to Gov. Steve Beshear for his signature or veto.

The amendment was used because the House had tacked onto SB 43 an amendment from advance practice registered nurses that would have repealed the need for them to have a collaborative agreement with a physicians to prescribe non-narcotic drugs. The KMA opposes that idea.

"It's looking like the doctors win," said Sen. Julie Denton, R-Louisville, who favors the repeal. "I'm not hopeful" it can pass, she said, but added that some physicians also favor it: "With Obamacare coming in, we're going to need all the front-line physicians we can get." Leading opponents of the measure, Republicans Katie Stine of Fort Thomas and Carroll Gibson of Leitchfield, didn't return a call seeking comment.

Nurse practitioners say that SB 43 is necessary to allow them to fill health-care gaps in rural Kentucky and address the state's shortage of primary-care providers. The Kentucky Coalition of Nurse Practitioners and Nurse Midwives says in an article prepared for Kentucky newspapers that NPs have never been required to practice under physician supervision and 17 states allow full prescribing authority for non-scheduled medications.

The Medicaid prompt-payment bill, HB 5, went to a conference committee after the House refused to go along with Senate changes, and may be considered when the legislature returns later this month, ostensibly to consider any bills Beshear vetoes. The bill would apply prompt-payment laws to managed-care organizations and would move Medicaid late-payment complaints to the insurance department; those are now handled by the Cabinet for Health and Family Services, which administers Medicaid.

In the final crunch to pass legislation before the veto recess, lawmakers attached seven health care-related bills to HB 366, which had focused on identifying congenital heart disease in newborns. It had 10 additional measures "hung on it like a Christmas tree before the free conference committee of House and Senate members," reports Ryan Alessi of cn|2's "Pure Politics."

The bills still hanging on the measure, dubbed the "healthy Christmas tree," are:

• HB 187, addressing a free prescription-drug program for under-insured Kentuckians.
• HB 79, which would exempt licensed health care providers from being disciplined for prescribing naloxone in the event of an overdose.
• HB 387, which aims to provide nutritional supplements for low-birth-weight newborns.
• SB 201, which addresses licensed diabetes educators.
• SB 38, to require Medicaid to accept provider credentialing by a Medicaid managed-care organization.
• SB 108, relating to managed-care contracts with the IMPACT Plus program, a behavioral health program for children.

Kentucky Health News is an independent news service of the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues at the University of Kentucky, with support from the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky.

By Molly Burchett and Al Cross
Kentucky Health News

The Kentucky General Assembly has joined other states in easing the restrictions on physician assistants’ medical practice, but has held up a similar move for advanced registered nurse practitioners. Both issues relate to the shortage of medical practitioners in many Kentucky counties, and the quality of medical care.

The Senate added the physician assistant language of Senate Bill 43 to House Bill 104, an art-therapy bill, in order to preserve an agreement between the Kentucky Medical Association and the Kentucky Academy of Physician Assistants. It will repeal the law that bans PAs from practicing for their first 18 months unless a physician is on site; one will still have to be available by telephone. The amended bill has been sent to Gov. Steve Beshear for his signature or veto.

The amendment was used because the House had tacked onto SB 43 an amendment from advance practice registered nurses that would have repealed the need for them to have a collaborative agreement with a physicians to prescribe non-narcotic drugs. The KMA opposes that idea.

"It's looking like the doctors win," said Sen. Julie Denton, R-Louisville, who favors the repeal. "I'm not hopeful" it can pass, she said, but added that some physicians also favor it: "With Obamacare coming in, we're going to need all the front-line physicians we can get." Leading opponents of the measure, Republicans Katie Stine of Fort Thomas and Carroll Gibson of Leitchfield, didn't return a call seeking comment.

Nurse practitioners say that SB 43 is necessary to allow them to fill health-care gaps in rural Kentucky and address the state's shortage of primary-care providers. The Kentucky Coalition of Nurse Practitioners and Nurse Midwives says in an article prepared for Kentucky newspapers that NPs have never been required to practice under physician supervision and 17 states allow full prescribing authority for non-scheduled medications.

The Medicaid prompt-payment bill, HB 5, went to a conference committee after the House refused to go along with Senate changes, and may be considered when the legislature returns later this month, ostensibly to consider any bills Beshear vetoes. The bill would apply prompt-payment laws to managed-care organizations and would move Medicaid late-payment complaints to the insurance department; those are now handled by the Cabinet for Health and Family Services, which administers Medicaid.

In the final crunch to pass legislation before the veto recess, lawmakers attached seven health care-related bills to HB 366, which had focused on identifying congenital heart disease in newborns. It had 10 additional measures "hung on it like a Christmas tree before the free conference committee of House and Senate members," reports Ryan Alessi of cn|2's "Pure Politics."

The bills still hanging on the measure, dubbed the "healthy Christmas tree," are:

• HB 187, addressing a free prescription-drug program for under-insured Kentuckians.
• HB 79, which would exempt licensed health care providers from being disciplined for prescribing naloxone in the event of an overdose.
• HB 387, which aims to provide nutritional supplements for low-birth-weight newborns.
• SB 201, which addresses licensed diabetes educators.
• SB 38, to require Medicaid to accept provider credentialing by a Medicaid managed-care organization.
• SB 108, relating to managed-care contracts with the IMPACT Plus program, a behavioral health program for children.

Kentucky Health News is an independent news service of the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues at the University of Kentucky, with support from the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky.

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Kentucky families struggle to care for violent, mentally ill children, and say their plight has been made worse by managed-care firms

Kentucky families struggle to care for violent, mentally ill children, and say their plight has been made worse by managed-care companies that fragment mental-health care and make it harder to find appropriate, stable treatment, which ultimately places the larger public at risk, Laura Ungar reports for The Courier-Journal.

Ungar writes that the lives of these Kentucky families resemble in part the one that lead to a devastating outcome in Newtown, Conn., where 20-year-old Adam Lanza, who had poor mental health and was under his mother’s care, went on a shooting rampage in an elementary school and killed 20 students and six staff members.

To represent the Kentucky families fighting, this battle, Ungar tells the story of the Davies family, who battle to keep themselves safe from the violent rage of their 14-year-old daughter, Lucy, while struggling to find the help she needs. Lucy has threatened to kill her 16-year-old sister, Katie, and herself, she’s tried to throw Katie and her father Dan down the basement stairs, and she’s been abusive to her mother.

Lucy suffers from a long list of disorders: neurological problems from fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, a mood disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, and cognitive difficulties, Ungar reports. "Since Lucy was adopted at age 9, she’s received fragmented treatment in more than six facilities and doctors’ offices, none of which have been able to stop her violent outbursts," Ungar writes. Now, her Medicaid managed-care insurer, Coventry Cares, won’t cover her treatment in an Illinois facility called NeuroRestorative, which Ungar says offers her the best chance at improvement.

"The care tracking is just so fragmented, and we have managed-care companies that determine from afar what care people can get. They go from provider to provider. It’s a tragedy," said Louise Howell, president of Buckhorn Children and Family Services, where Lucy was treated briefly before becoming too violent for the staff. “This child is a perfect example of someone in need of a strong therapeutic community," Howell said. "And there’s so many of them."

Before going to Buckhorn, Lucy was at Rivendell Behavioral Health Services in Bowling Green, where she received brief treatment after threatening to kill her sister. From Buckhorn she got an emergency transfer to Our Lady of Peace in Louisville, which could handle her high level of violence. She was released when she moved from the Medicaid plan Kentucky Spirit, which plans to break its contract with the state, to Coventry Cares, with which Our Lady of Peace had severed ties.

Lucy's mother told Ungar that every switch of caregiver and facility increases the trauma to her daughter, who desperately needs stable care. Lucy’s parents say she would have such stability at NeuroRestorative, where her fetal alcohol syndrome could be addressed on a long-term basis. But two doctors working for Coventry, who have never examined Lucy, told her parents that Conventry "won’t cover the placement because there’s no evidence that inpatient care for brain trauma is medically necessary," Ungar reports.

Her eyes full of tears, Cynthia Davies told Ungar, “You cannot look into my daughter’s eyes and tell me she doesn’t deserve care. She’s a human being.” (Read more)

Kentucky families struggle to care for violent, mentally ill children, and say their plight has been made worse by managed-care companies that fragment mental-health care and make it harder to find appropriate, stable treatment, which ultimately places the larger public at risk, Laura Ungar reports for The Courier-Journal.

Ungar writes that the lives of these Kentucky families resemble in part the one that lead to a devastating outcome in Newtown, Conn., where 20-year-old Adam Lanza, who had poor mental health and was under his mother’s care, went on a shooting rampage in an elementary school and killed 20 students and six staff members.

To represent the Kentucky families fighting, this battle, Ungar tells the story of the Davies family, who battle to keep themselves safe from the violent rage of their 14-year-old daughter, Lucy, while struggling to find the help she needs. Lucy has threatened to kill her 16-year-old sister, Katie, and herself, she’s tried to throw Katie and her father Dan down the basement stairs, and she’s been abusive to her mother.

Lucy suffers from a long list of disorders: neurological problems from fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, a mood disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, and cognitive difficulties, Ungar reports. "Since Lucy was adopted at age 9, she’s received fragmented treatment in more than six facilities and doctors’ offices, none of which have been able to stop her violent outbursts," Ungar writes. Now, her Medicaid managed-care insurer, Coventry Cares, won’t cover her treatment in an Illinois facility called NeuroRestorative, which Ungar says offers her the best chance at improvement.

"The care tracking is just so fragmented, and we have managed-care companies that determine from afar what care people can get. They go from provider to provider. It’s a tragedy," said Louise Howell, president of Buckhorn Children and Family Services, where Lucy was treated briefly before becoming too violent for the staff. “This child is a perfect example of someone in need of a strong therapeutic community," Howell said. "And there’s so many of them."

Before going to Buckhorn, Lucy was at Rivendell Behavioral Health Services in Bowling Green, where she received brief treatment after threatening to kill her sister. From Buckhorn she got an emergency transfer to Our Lady of Peace in Louisville, which could handle her high level of violence. She was released when she moved from the Medicaid plan Kentucky Spirit, which plans to break its contract with the state, to Coventry Cares, with which Our Lady of Peace had severed ties.

Lucy's mother told Ungar that every switch of caregiver and facility increases the trauma to her daughter, who desperately needs stable care. Lucy’s parents say she would have such stability at NeuroRestorative, where her fetal alcohol syndrome could be addressed on a long-term basis. But two doctors working for Coventry, who have never examined Lucy, told her parents that Conventry "won’t cover the placement because there’s no evidence that inpatient care for brain trauma is medically necessary," Ungar reports.

Her eyes full of tears, Cynthia Davies told Ungar, “You cannot look into my daughter’s eyes and tell me she doesn’t deserve care. She’s a human being.” (Read more)

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Kentucky receives an F grade for its low funding of mental-health services; supply falls short of demand

Kentucky's supply of mental-health services is much lower than demand for those services, in terms of state funding, and the state spends only 45 percent of the national average in mental-health funding per person.

In 2010, Kentucky dedicated about $232 million to mental-health services, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation, which is $54 per person, compared with a U.S. average of $121 that year. That ranks Kentucky among the bottom 10 states without including individual mental health reimbursements for Medicaid, reports Chris Kenning of The Courier-Journal.

The state's Medicaid rates for mental-health services haven't been raised substantially in years, and only a fraction of mental-health facilities offer residential treatments, reports Kenning. He also reports the most recent “Grading the States” report of the National Alliance on Mental Illness gave Kentucky an F in 2009. The group considered measures such as the number of programs using evidence-based practices and the number of psychiatric beds.

Kentucky officials cite new efforts to improve care, such as partnering with the University of Kentucky at a new Eastern State Hospital that will open soon, and pursuing a change to allow Medicaid funding of community outpatient teams, reports Kenning. Kentucky also funds 14 regional community mental-health centers, which served 160,000 people last year, and there are 179 mental-health facilities, which include 40 offering residential care, reports Kenning.

Yet, these efforts fall short of providing mental health services for those Kentuckians in need.  In 2011, a surprisingly high 42 percent of Kentucky adult females and 31 percent of Kentucky males reported having poor mental health. Experts estimate that one in four people will suffer from some form of mental illness in a given year, which is nearly 1.1 million people in Kentucky, Kenning reports. 

It is critical for Kentucky officials to examine this issue in light of the Department of Health and Human Services rule that included mental-health benefits and treatment of substance-abuse disorders as part of the 10 "essential health benefits" insurance plans must provide when federal health reform takes full effect next year. HHS estimates it will expand mental-health and substance-abuse treatment benefits to 62 million Americans, and there is already a shortage of such services in Kentucky.

Kentucky's supply of mental-health services is much lower than demand for those services, in terms of state funding, and the state spends only 45 percent of the national average in mental-health funding per person.

In 2010, Kentucky dedicated about $232 million to mental-health services, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation, which is $54 per person, compared with a U.S. average of $121 that year. That ranks Kentucky among the bottom 10 states without including individual mental health reimbursements for Medicaid, reports Chris Kenning of The Courier-Journal.

The state's Medicaid rates for mental-health services haven't been raised substantially in years, and only a fraction of mental-health facilities offer residential treatments, reports Kenning. He also reports the most recent “Grading the States” report of the National Alliance on Mental Illness gave Kentucky an F in 2009. The group considered measures such as the number of programs using evidence-based practices and the number of psychiatric beds.

Kentucky officials cite new efforts to improve care, such as partnering with the University of Kentucky at a new Eastern State Hospital that will open soon, and pursuing a change to allow Medicaid funding of community outpatient teams, reports Kenning. Kentucky also funds 14 regional community mental-health centers, which served 160,000 people last year, and there are 179 mental-health facilities, which include 40 offering residential care, reports Kenning.

Yet, these efforts fall short of providing mental health services for those Kentuckians in need.  In 2011, a surprisingly high 42 percent of Kentucky adult females and 31 percent of Kentucky males reported having poor mental health. Experts estimate that one in four people will suffer from some form of mental illness in a given year, which is nearly 1.1 million people in Kentucky, Kenning reports. 

It is critical for Kentucky officials to examine this issue in light of the Department of Health and Human Services rule that included mental-health benefits and treatment of substance-abuse disorders as part of the 10 "essential health benefits" insurance plans must provide when federal health reform takes full effect next year. HHS estimates it will expand mental-health and substance-abuse treatment benefits to 62 million Americans, and there is already a shortage of such services in Kentucky.

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BPA Toxin: How To Detox Your Body From The Poison.

Considering the serious health implications of Bisphenol A, it’s understandable we want to minimize risk. Food packaging is our number one source of BPA exposure.
Follow this link to learn how to detox from BPA.--> http://lifechangingcarehouston.com/bpa-detox

Considering the serious health implications of Bisphenol A, it’s understandable we want to minimize risk. Food packaging is our number one source of BPA exposure.
Follow this link to learn how to detox from BPA.--> http://lifechangingcarehouston.com/bpa-detox

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Inflammation Is Killing Us!

“Inflammation is the body’s response to immune system stimulation. A chronically stimulated immune system leads to chronic inflammation. Chronic Inflammation has been linked to Autoimmune Diseases such as Multiple Sclerosis, Type 1 Diabetes,  Rheumatoid Arthritis and others. Inflammation is the root cause of cancers as well. If a person’s body is under chronic inflammation then that person can have all types of health issues that go along with their body’s pro inflammation state of being.” Dr. Walter K. Crooks

Read more--> http://lifechangingcarehouston.com/inflammation-causes-disease

“Inflammation is the body’s response to immune system stimulation. A chronically stimulated immune system leads to chronic inflammation. Chronic Inflammation has been linked to Autoimmune Diseases such as Multiple Sclerosis, Type 1 Diabetes,  Rheumatoid Arthritis and others. Inflammation is the root cause of cancers as well. If a person’s body is under chronic inflammation then that person can have all types of health issues that go along with their body’s pro inflammation state of being.” Dr. Walter K. Crooks

Read more--> http://lifechangingcarehouston.com/inflammation-causes-disease

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