Senate quickly passes bill to allow optometrists to perform minor surgical procedures; ophthalmologists say that would be risky

"The Senate approved a bill Friday to allow optometrists to perform some surgical procedures on the eye and eyelid, brushing aside warnings from medical doctors who said optometrists are not qualified and could harm surgical patients," John Cheves reports for the Lexington Herald-Leader. Supporters of the bill said it would improve eye services in rural areas.

Prospects for Senate Bill 110 in the House are uncertain, but it passed the Senate 33-3 and optometrists have long been major financiers of legislators' campaigns. They have given almost $740,000 to state candidates since the Registry of Election Finance began keeping computerized records in 1997, and have won several legislative battles against ophthalmologists, medical doctors who specialize in eye matters.

The bill was filed Monday night and approved by the Senate Licensing and Occupations Committee the next day. "After ophthalmologists started calling, the Senate granted them a brief hearing Friday morning to air their complaints, although it did not stop the Senate vote," Cheves reports. Sen. Julie Denton, R-Louisville, chair of the Health and Welfare Committee, called the process a "kangaroo court" and said, "Just because we have a squeaky wheel doesn't mean we have to oil it immediately."

If the bill becomes law, optometrists could "remove lumps and bumps and use lasers to treat a few specified conditions, although they could not perform Lasik corrective surgery or any other procedure requiring general anesthesia," Cheves reports. "Optometrists told the committee that about two-thirds of Kentucky's counties don't have an ophthalmologist, especially in rural areas. . . . Oklahoma passed a similar law in 1998 with no serious problems, they added."

Oklahoma's law is the only one like it in the U.S., according to a commenter on the story, identified as "uk1234." Noting the bill language that would give the state Board of Optometric Examiners "sole authority to determine what constitutes the practice of optometry," the commenter wrote, "The fox will be in charge of the hen house." But a commenter named "taxus" replied, "If the training is adequate (long enough to be proficient) and the practitioner trainee is certified by a panel of peers in the licensing body, then it could prove to be a good idea for folks the 2/3 of the counties where these particular procedures are not now available." (Read more)

State's Tobacco Quit Line is now available to users aged 15-17

The state Tobacco Quit Line will now offer counseling services to Kentuckians aged 15 to 17 to help them give up cigarettes or other tobacco products. The line had been available only to people 18 and older.

Public Health Commissioner William Hacker, a pediatrician by trade, said “Studies show that people have more success quitting smoking when they have access to resources like counseling and peer support. We hope this change will encourage young people who are interested in quitting to take action and start leading healthier, tobacco-free lives.”

Data from the 2010 Kentucky Youth Tobacco Survey show that almost 25 percent of the state's high-school students are smokers and almost 70 percent of teenage smokers want to quit. Although the prevalence of smoking among youth has declined in the past few years, the smoking prevalence among teenagers and young adults is higher than among other adult populations.

“Addressing the prevalence of teen smoking in Kentucky is a critical issue because statistics show that more than 80 percent of adult smokers became regular smokers before age 18,” said Irene Centers, coordinator OF the tobacco prevention and cessation program in the Department of Public Health. “It’s imperative that we not only prevent young people from ever using cigarettes and tobacco products, but also that we offer assistance to help them give up tobacco.”

Kentucky’s Tobacco Quit Line is a free, telephone-based tobacco cessation service that offers:
· One-on-one proactive counseling for tobacco users who are ready to quit.
· Support for people who want to stop smoking or using other tobacco products.
· Information on tobacco dependence for health care professionals.
· Information about local resources to help tobacco users quit.

Callers to the line speak with coaches trained to assist them with quitting. Coaches have a minimum of a bachelor’s degree or equivalent and are trained in behavioral modification and motivational interviewing. Services are available in English and Spanish at the time of the call. Counseling in other languages is available free through a third-party translation service. For the deaf or hard of hearing, TDY/TDD is available at (800) 969-1393. If employers want to help their employees quit, information is available through the Quit Line and local health departments. Group sessions and cessation materials can be made available at the worksite.

Beshear backs bills to protect seniors from abuse but doesn't endorse minimum staffing for nursing homes

Gov. Steve Beshear today endorsed a package of previously introduced bills that he said would give the elderly and other adults more protection against abuse and exploitation, but it did not include a bill to set minimum staffing standards for nursing homes, the major measure sought by reformers. The legislation would:

• Prevent people who abuse or neglect vulnerable or elderly adults from benefiting from their deaths (House Bill 52)
• Keep a person convicted of felony abuse or exploitation of an adult from serving as that victim's guardian, executor or power of attorney (HB 54)
• Make it easier and more efficient for adults and seniors needing a guardian when more than one state is involved. (HB 164)
• Require annual criminal background checks of staff at personal care agencies, a step beyond the pre-hiring check. (Senate Bill 23)
• Require criminal background checks for all employees of nursing homes and assisted living homes, including custodians and food service workers (SB44)
• Create an adult abuse registry (HB101 and SB 38)

Beshear noted that last year he implemented recommendations from a Cabinet for Health and Family Services report investigation of nursing home neglect and abuse and said “This legislation further strengthens safety standards and will make a significant difference in the lives of Kentucky’s elderly citizens and the people who care for them.” Beshear recently received the Better Life Government Involvement Award from the main nursing-home lobby, the Kentucky Association of Health Care Facilities.

Bernie Vonderheide of Kentuckians for Nursing Home Reform told Kentucky Health News, "We think Gov. Beshear is to be applauded for reacting decisively to reports by advocates and the media of abuse and neglect of our state's senior citizens. We hope he will continue giving his attention to these serious matters. For example, he should also support legislation before the General Assembly that would set minimum staffing standards for nursing homes, one of the big causes of abuse and neglect among our seniors."

Foundation matches Social Innovation Fund money to create grants for improving health services in seven Kentucky counties

The Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky today announced four equal Social Innovation Fund grants totaling $1 million to improve access to health services, reduce health risks and disparities, and promote health equity in Jefferson, McCreary, Wolfe, Powell, Montgomery, Bath and Menifee counties. The projects are expected to serve nearly 9,000 people in the next year.

Home of the Innocents in Louisville will establish a dental clinic at the newly opened interdisciplinary Hockensmith Pediatric Assessment Center. The program will provide dental services to children in state care, children with special health care needs, and other children and families served by the Home and its partner agencies.

St. Joseph Health System, based in Lexington, will establish primary care clinics in Powell and Wolfe counties, both rural and low-income. These satellite clinics will be staffed by nurse practitioners and will utilize telemedicine to collaborate with physicians and specialists at a central location.

Cumberland Family Medical Center, based in Burkesville, will establish a nurse-managed health center and rural training program for nurse practitioners and physician assistants. Funds will be used to expand the scope of services provided in McCreary County to include x-ray and utilize health IT to connect with other CFMC sites. This will be the county's first x-ray, reducing travel for local residents who previously had to travel ouside the county for x-ray services.

The Montgomery County Health Department in Mount Sterling will establish a health education and navigation program to serve a low-income population in Montgomery, Bath and Menifee counties. Four full-time health navigators will be employed to serve the community by assessing individual needs and linking patients with services.

Each $250,000 grtant includes $125,000 from the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky. As an endowed public charity, the foundation was able to provide the matching funds that were required to secure the Social Innovation Fund award for Kentucky. Learn more about the grants here.

Monthly magazine for children in K-3 promotes healthy lifestyles

Every Kentucky student in kindergarten to third grades is getting a free subscription to Fit4Fun, a reader that, through entertaining means, encourages children to lead healthy lifestyles.

The publication is a joint effort of Wordsworth Publishing Group and the Kentucky Children's Health & Fitness Fund. Though an agreement with the state Department of Education, it is distributed to all 797 public elementary schools and kindergartens in the state.

"We believe every child can grow up happy, healthy and productive," said Jan Winter, founder and president of Wordsworth. "We want children to learn to make all kinds of smart decisions, and we partner with parents and schools to make sure they get consistent messages." The publication is supported by donations and sponsorships.

Each issue, which has 32 to 40 pages, features content that encourages imagination, playing, learning and growing. The playing component focuses on "fitness for life" and the growing component teaches children about nutrition and food awareness. Topics covered include dental health, science and technology careers, bike safety, diversity, scientific method, Kentucky history and facts and responsible media consumption.

The online version is free and the website features a teacher's guide with plans to help with instruction.

Bill filed to keep guns from those judged to be mentally ill

Keeping guns out of the hands of the mentally ill is the aim of House Bill 308, which was filed last week by Rep. Bob Damron, D-Nicholasville.

"We want only the right folks to be able to buy a firearm," said Damron, right. "That does not include the mentally ill. I think most gun owners would stand behind that." Damron is an ally of the National Rifle Association.

The bill covers a loophole in state law. Though the federal Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act of 1993 requires background checks when someone buys a gun and prohibits the sale of guns to people "adjudicated as a mental defective or who has been committed to a mental institution," Kentucky does not require courts to give their mental health records to the FBI, The Lexington Herald-Leader's John Cheves reports. Since 1998, Kentucky has only submitted four records.

Damron's proposal would require state courts to inform the Kentucky State Police when someone is adjudged mentally incompetent or sent to a mental institution. The KSP would then notify the FBI, which in turn would add the names to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System. The names would only be those of mentally ill people who have been documented by the courts. Those who voluntarily commit themselves to a mental institution or who are treated for mental health issues would be protected by privacy laws.

The gap in the law, which exists in many states, went under a national microscope when Seung-Hui Cho killed 32 people and himself on the Virginia Tech campus in 2007. More than a year before the shooting, a judge had deemed Cho dangerously mentally ill following a stalking incident. When Jared Loughner killed six people and injured many others, including U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, in Tucson, Ariz., the gap again gained national attention. However, Loughner is not known to have been a patient in an institution, so it is not clear if his mental health issues were documented. (Read more)

More Kentucky children are insured under KCHIP, Medicaid; groups commend effort, ask for improvements

In the two years since the national Children's Health Insurance Program was reauthorized, about 51,700 children have been enrolled in Kentucky CHIP and Medicaid. Three advocacy groups -- Covering Kentucky Kids and Families, Kentucky Youth Advocates and Kentucky Voices for Health -- commended that effort and asked for greater efficiency in KCHIP.

"The number of uninsured children in Kentucky has dropped despite the loss of jobs and employer-sponsored coverage in our state," the three groups said in a statement Feb. 3. They asked that KCHIP be made more efficient by "allowing continuous eligibility, matching application information with existing databases, and developing web-based applications."

In Kentucky, kids up to age 19, with family incomes up to 200 percent of the federal poverty level, are eligible for KCHIP. That equates to an annual earnings of $44,000 for a family of four. (Read more)