Author

Sarah Ladd

Sarah Ladd

Sarah Ladd is a Louisville-based journalist from West Kentucky who's covered everything from crime to higher education. She spent nearly two years on the metro breaking news desk at The Courier Journal. In 2020, she started reporting on the COVID-19 pandemic and has covered health ever since. As the Kentucky Lantern's health reporter, she focuses on mental health, LGBTQ+ issues, children's welfare, COVID-19 and more.

Kentucky Lantern is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.

$13.9 million in grants distributed from Kentucky opioid settlement funds

By: - October 2, 2023

Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron announced Monday the distribution of $13.9 million in grants to organizations fighting the opioid epidemic through recovery and prevention services in Kentucky.? Standing in the Capitol Rotunda, Cameron called the opioid crisis the “public safety challenge of our lifetime” that continues to be “unacceptable.”? “We could have the finest schools, […]

50 take advantage of new law helping domestic violence survivors hide their addresses

By: - October 2, 2023

Reach the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 800-799-7233 or text START to 88788.? Kentucky’s Safe at Home?program, which helps survivors of interpersonal violence or threats stay anonymous on public records, is now serving 50 people, Secretary of State Michael Adams’ office announced Monday.? The program, which went into effect in June, lets survivors of domestic […]

Class action lawsuit seeks to halt enforcement of anti-trans law in Lexington public schools

By: - September 29, 2023

A class action lawsuit against Republican Attorney General Daniel Cameron and the Fayette County Board of Education argues that students’ constitutional and privacy rights are violated by a new anti-trans Kentucky law and asks the court to block its enforcement in Lexington schools.? Senate Bill 150, enacted by the legislature earlier this year over Democratic […]

U.S. appeals court upholds Kentucky’s ban on some medical care for transgender minors

By: - September 29, 2023

Nearly a month after hearing oral arguments on Kentucky’s ban on gender-affirming medical care for transgender minors, a federal three-judge panel of the 6th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled Thursday to keep the ban in place. This means Kentucky minors who seek treatment like hormones will not be able to access that care.? The […]

Crowding led to catfish deaths in some pay lakes cited by Kentucky Fish and Wildlife

By: - September 22, 2023

Kentucky’s Department of Fish and Wildlife has cited 28 catfish pay lakes for violations after a three-year investigation sparked by concerns raised by members of the public, the department announced Thursday.? The investigation “produced a victory for conservation and sustainable public fishing opportunities,” Commissioner Rich Storm said in a news release. Violations included operating pay […]

‘We ought to fix:’ Kentucky crime victims aren’t getting automatic court notifications?

By: - September 21, 2023

Kentucky crime victims are no longer getting automated notifications regarding their cases, Henderson County Attorney Steve Gold told members of the Interim Joint Committee on Judiciary Thursday.? The Victim Information and Notification Everyday or VINE? system has proved “an essential life saving tool for victims of crime” in the past, Gold told lawmakers.? VINE sent […]

Louisville mayor names board to oversee distribution of opioid settlement money

By: - September 21, 2023

LOUISVILLE—On schedule, Kentucky’s most populous city just finalized an advisory board to oversee its opioid settlement fund distribution.? Louisville mayor Craig Greenberg appointed health experts and other local leaders to supervise the spending of more than $57 million from opioid settlements with CVS, Walgreens, Teva and Allergan.? Release of the? $57 million will be spread […]

Another Kentucky hospital adds surgery by robot

By: - September 21, 2023

Surgeons at Baptist Health in Richmond are now using the da Vinci Xi Robot to assist in a variety of operations, the hospital announced Thursday.? Physicians are using the Intuitive technology to do minimally invasive bariatric, gynecology and obstetrics, urology and other general surgeries, Baptist Health said.? “The robot seamlessly translates the surgeon’s hand, wrist […]

Kentucky lawmakers asked to exempt diapers from state sales tax

By: - September 20, 2023

If a family can’t afford diapers, they may leave their child in one for too long, resulting in rashes or worse, experts told members of the Kentucky legislature’s Interim Joint Committee on Appropriations and Revenue Wednesday.? That’s why they joined forces with Sen. Cassie Chambers Armstrong, a Louisville Democrat, to ask that lawmakers consider removing […]

Louisville jail installed a naloxone vending machine. Why it matters.

By: - September 19, 2023

LOUISVILLE — In the two weeks after leaving jail, a person’s risk of overdosing from opioids is much higher.? That’s because of “abstinence during the period of incarceration (and) the decrease in tolerance associated with that abstinence,” according to Ben Goldman, the community health administrator for Louisville’s public health department.? So, the Metro Department of […]

Freestanding birth centers touted to Kentucky lawmakers studying certificate of need law

By: - September 19, 2023

Kentucky legislators once again heard arguments in favor of removing the state’s certificate of need requirements for freestanding birth centers during a Monday task force meeting. The certificate of need requirement mandates regulatory mechanisms for approving major capital expenditures and projects for certain health care facilities, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.? Sometimes […]

University of Kentucky Markey Cancer Center makes history with national designation?

By: - September 15, 2023

Anna Cox had just graduated from the University of Kentucky when she was diagnosed with blood cancer in 2018.? She first sought emergency care for a “wrenching abdominal pain.” It turned out to be related to stage four diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, a type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma.? Cox was treated at the university’s Markey Cancer […]