Shared-use agreements are a good way to improve community health and well-being by increasing families' access to recreational facilities. A shared-use agreement is a formal agreement between a school and a community agency for the use of facilities, such as gymnasiums, tracks, cafeterias, and athletic fields, during non-school hours. Schools can share spaces with the YMCA or city government, for example, with the benefit of shared costs and protection from liability. The Kentucky Cancer Consortium and Kentucky [...]

Kynect, Kentucky’s health benefit exchange, began its second annual open enrollment period on November 15 and will run through February 15, 2015. Governor Steve Beshear’s communications office reports that the first day of enrollment showed strong interest from Kentuckians as they began shopping for health coverage. Kentucky has remained a national leader in enrollment in health care coverage through kynect. In 2014, Kentucky had the second-highest reduction of uninsured people in the country, falling from [...]

Marsha Bach of the Northern Kentucky Health Department and Mayor Rick Skinner of Williamstown discuss Complete Streets while touring Norton Commons. Growing up I played outside with neighborhood children from sunrise to sunset. We’d ride our bicycles around the block and take walks to the neighborhood pool and park. I remember the sense of safety and connection I felt because I was able to easily navigate my community by bike or foot. I, [...]

The Kentucky Oral Health Coalition (KOHC) was recently featured in the July/August 2014 issue of Kentucky Dental Association’s (KDA) magazine, KDA Today.  The article, written by KOHC’s own Lacey McNary, focused on the increasing awareness of Kentucky’s oral health needs and the growing energy of stakeholders across the Commonwealth. Governor Steve Beshear’s KyHealthNow goals for improving oral health for Kentuckians and the priorities of KDA and KOHC align—specifically improving oral health awareness, expanding school-based oral health services, and increasing [...]