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Inpatient mental health treatment now available to more Kentucky boys in state care
Eligible boys in the care of the Kentucky Department for Community Based Services or Juvenile Justice system who need “complex mental and behavioral health care” can now access inpatient treatment in Owensboro, the Cabinet for Health and Family Services announced Tuesday. Called The BIRCH, the 10-bed inpatient program operates out of RiverValley Behavioral Health’s adolescent […]
Kentucky Auditor Ball sues Beshear for access to computerized records of abuse, neglect
Kentucky Auditor Allison Ball has filed a lawsuit against the Beshear administration in Franklin Circuit Court in her ongoing effort to ensure the office of the ombudsman has access to information about abuse and neglect cases. This move comes after Ball and the administration have gone back and forth on access for the past two […]
‘It’s on us:’ KY Republican slams fellow lawmakers for not funding juvenile justice improvements
Sen. Danny Carroll slammed the Kentucky legislature on Friday for not funding his proposal to spend $22 million on a special mental health juvenile detention facility.? The West Kentucky Republican filed Senate Bill 242 during the 2024 session, which would have also created a process to test and treat minors with serious mental health issues […]
Kentucky Republican seeks to add coercive control to protective order statute
If you or someone you know has experienced domestic violence, call the National Sexual Assault Telephone Hotline at 1-800-656-4673. Call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233.? You can also contact any of Kentucky’s 15 domestic violence programs.? A Northern Kentucky Republican intends to file a bill that would add coercive control to Kentucky’s protective […]
Kentucky State University, state public health department partner to bolster workforce
Kentucky’s Department of Public Health will now offer an internship program to Kentucky State University students who wish to get hands-on experience in the field while studying.? Employees of the Department of Public Health (KDPH) will also get tuition assistance for continuing their education at Kentucky State University (KSU). Such employees can take five or […]
Kentucky legislature could have a wellness caucus
Sen. Shelley Funke Frommeyer filed paperwork Wednesday to start a new legislative caucus focused on holistic wellness.? The Alexandria Republican, who has often touted Kentucky’s need for what she calls a “wellness revolution,” said she is hoping for approval by Senate President Robert Stivers and House Speaker David Osborne within a week.? Funke Frommeyer wants […]
Kentucky lawmakers visit Indiana freestanding birth center?
JEFFERSONVILLE, Ind. — A group of Kentucky lawmakers visited a freestanding birth center in Indiana Thursday to learn about an issue that promises to come up again during the 2025 legislative session.?? Tree of Life, a freestanding birthing center in Jeffersonville — right across the Ohio River from Louisville — accepts only clients with low-risk […]
Louisville bat found with rabies. Here’s how to protect yourself and pets.?
LOUISVILLE — The Louisville health department says a bat found in the East End was positive for rabies, a rare but deadly viral disease.? This is the first rabies case in Jefferson County this year, Ciara Warren, environmental health manager at the Louisville Metro Department of Public Health and Wellness (LMPHW), said Thursday.? “It is […]
Kentucky hospital workforce is rebounding, but still has too many vacancies??
Kentucky’s non-doctor health care workforce is on the mend, though state hospitals still have thousands of unfilled positions.? That’s according to an August report released by the Kentucky Hospital Association that shows 12% of positions in the state’s hospitals were empty in 2023, with nurses being the most in-demand. The data comes from 94% of […]
University of Kentucky disbanding its diversity office, president announces
The University of Kentucky is disbanding its Office for Institutional Diversity effective immediately, President Eli Capilouto announced Tuesday.? No one will lose their job, Capilouto said in a Tuesday afternoon email sent to staff. Other offices will absorb people and services. That includes a new office called the Office for Community Relations.? “We share the […]
With a new mental health emergency unit, University of Kentucky seeks to decrease stigma
This story mentions suicide and mental health. If you or someone you know is contemplating suicide, please call or text the Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988.? Kentucky’s first psychiatric emergency unit cared for more than 150 people in its first 10 days of operation — more than half of whom were dealing with suicidality. The […]
Breaking the Stigma: Postpartum depression is lonely. Shame, guilt make it worse.?
This story discusses postpartum depression and suicide. If you or someone you know is contemplating suicide, please call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988.? Before having children, Chan Kemper pictured how the experience would go.? “I was determined to have the hippiest, dippiest, crunchy, earth goddess pregnancies and deliveries that I could […]