Kentucky.gov

Below you will find a list of recent press releases.  Click on the title to view the full text of the press release.

To view more headlines or archived press releases, use the green navigation options on the left.

• Fish Consumption Advisories Issued for Ohio River
  Friday, August 20, 2010
  The Kentucky Department for Public Health (DPH), the Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources and the Department of Environmental Protection today issued fish consumption advisories for the Ohio River to warn about the possible risks of eating unrestricted amounts of some fish.
• Advisory for Kentucky Fish Consumption Unchanged
  Friday, August 20, 2010
  The Kentucky Department for Public Health (DPH), the Department for Environmental Protection and the Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources today issued fish consumption advisories for bodies of water in Kentucky. The 2010 advisories remain unchanged from those issued last year.
• Celebrity Fundraiser to Benefit State Adoption Program; Thursday’s Child Night with the Stars is Aug.26
  Friday, August 13, 2010
  Several Kentucky celebrities from the genres of sports, music and media will help raise funds and awareness of adoption at a celebration later this month. Thursday’s Child Night with the Stars will be at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 26, at the Crown Plaza Hotel, 1375 S. Broadway in Lexington. The fundraiser is sponsored by the Davis H. Elliot Company, the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services and Thursday’s Child, a nonprofit group that helps promote adoption.
• New Telephone Application is Available for People Trying to Quit Smoking
  Thursday, August 12, 2010
  Quitting smoking while you’re on the go just got a little easier with the “Become An EX App,” an application for iPhone to help smokers who want to quit to “re-learn” their lives without cigarettes. The “app” allows users to connect directly to the EX plan to help smokers beat their nicotine cravings. App users can play games, watch videos or read top news articles to overcome an urge to smoke by re-focusing their minds on something other than cigarettes.
• Free Health Screenings, Family Services Information Available at State Fair; CHFS exhibit in South Wing to feature interactive display
  Thursday, August 12, 2010
  Visitors to the Kentucky State Fair in Louisville this month can get information to help their families’ well-being and health through free screenings and educational activities at the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services (CHFS) exhibit. The interactive display, which will be located in the Kentucky Fair and Exposition Center’s South Wing B, features health educators and family services information and encourages guests to make good lifestyle choices.
• Deadline Extended for Food Benefits; Clients to Apply for Replacement Benefits; Customers have 10 extra days to make claim for groceries destroyed by floods
  Monday, August 02, 2010
  Kentuckians living in areas of the state hardest hit by July flooding who lost perishable groceries purchased with food benefits have extra time to apply for replacement benefits. Participants in counties affected by the July 17 and July 20 flooding whose food was spoiled because of flooding or power outages have extra time to apply for replacement benefits at their local Department for Community Based Services (DCBS) family support offices.
• Behavioral Health Program Extends Outreach
  Monday, July 26, 2010
  The Kentucky System to Enhance Early Development (SEED) recently added three new Regional Interagency Councils to its service area to enhance services and supports for children with mental health needs. SEED, a program administered by the Department for Behavioral Health, Developmental and Intellectual Disabilities (BHDID) in the Cabinet for Health and Family Services (CHFS), has added the Gateway, FIVCO and Bluegrass East regions to its service area.
• Conferences Merge to Create the Kentucky Conference on HIV/AIDS and Viral Hepatitis
  Wednesday, July 21, 2010
  The Kentucky Department for Public Health (DPH) is hosting the Kentucky HIV/AIDS, African-American and Hispanic/Latino Leadership, and Viral Hepatitis Conference. Community-based organizations, local, state and federal agencies, and others in the field of HIV/AIDS and viral hepatitis are encouraged to attend. Formerly three conferences, organizers recently merged them into one.
• Comprehensive Plan Under Way to Address Diabetes Epidemic
  Tuesday, July 20, 2010
  The Kentucky Diabetes Prevention and Control Program and a steering committee of 12 diabetes organizations are taking steps to develop and implement a Kentucky Diabetes State Plan, the Kentucky Department for Public Health announced today. The group hopes to involve as many interested people and organizations as possible in various parts of the process.
• Medicaid Announces Actions to Reduce Expenditures, Minimize Impact on Recipients and Providers
  Friday, July 02, 2010
  The Kentucky Department for Medicaid Services (DMS) announced changes today to the Medicaid program that will save approximately $87 million in state and federal funds (almost $26 million in state General Funds alone), while minimizing the impact on recipients and providers and increasing efforts to curb waste, fraud and abuse.
• Cabinet for Health and Family Services, University Health Care Reach Agreement on Passport Contract
  Friday, July 02, 2010
  The Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services and University Health Care, Inc. (Passport Health Plan) have reached an agreement for Fiscal Year 2011 that will provide continuity of health care services to approximately 160,000 Medicaid recipients in a 16-county area, which includes Jefferson and surrounding counties.
• Department for Public Health Issues Safety Guidelines for Warm Temperatures
  Thursday, June 24, 2010
  With the summer heat predicted to peak this week, issues like overexertion, heat stroke and dehydration have become important public health concerns.
• Kentucky Marks World Elder Abuse Awareness Day on June 15
  Tuesday, June 15, 2010
  The Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services (CHFS) is reminding Kentuckians that even one case of elder abuse is one too many.
• WIC Program Encourages Participants to Buy Locally Grown Produce
  Monday, June 14, 2010
  The Kentucky Department for Public Health (DPH) urges participants in the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) Program to take advantage of its annual Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program, an
• Enjoy Memorial Day – Avoid Food, Water-related Illnesses
  Friday, May 28, 2010
  The Kentucky Department for Public Health’s (DPH) food safety branch is advising that all Kentuckians stick to the standard rules for food preparation and swimming safety this Memorial Day weekend.
• Foster Families Honored for Excellent Service; 10 couples recognized
  Friday, May 28, 2010
  Ten families from across the state were honored last week for their service as foster parents to some of the state’s most vulnerable children. The Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services (CHFS), the state agency that oversees the public foster care system, presented the awards at a Lexington dinner reception.
• New Judicial Training Helps Prepare Social Services Caseworkers for Courtroom; Interactive Training Teaches Basics of Appearing Before Judges
  Thursday, May 20, 2010
  Kentucky child protective services caseworkers who appear before the court will be more prepared thanks to a newly revamped training on judicial proceedings. The Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services’ Department for Community Based Services (DCBS) requires the “Judicial Proceedings: Preparation and Participation” course for its Division of Protection and Permanency staff who work with families involved with child protective services cases.
• Reduce Standing Water After Spring Rains to Help Avoid Mosquito Bites
  Monday, May 17, 2010
  The recent rains and flooding in many areas of the state may lead to an increase in numbers of mosquitoes, common insects that breed in and around areas of standing water. Kentuckians should take steps to eliminate mosquito breeding grounds to avoid mosquito bites, which can cause illnesses such as West Nile Virus (WNV).
• Mental Health Grant Helps Put More Kentuckians to Work
  Friday, May 14, 2010
  The Department for Behavioral Health, Developmental and Intellectual Disabilities (BHDID) is working to help Kentuckians with serious mental illness obtain employment using a community mental health grant received earlier this year. Kentucky was one of 12 states to be awarded the Dartmouth/Johnson & Johnson grant, which totals $280,000.
• Behavioral Health Conference Planned to Address Needs of Wounded Military Personnel
  Tuesday, May 11, 2010
  The Kentucky Department for Behavioral Health, Developmental and Intellectual Disabilities is hosting an event May 22 to address the needs of military personnel with traumatic brain injuries (TBI) and combat/operational stress.