First showing of 'Remaking Rural Health' is tonight on KET; focuses on people who are making a difference

The spotlight often shines on rural Kentuckians' alarming health problems, but far less attention goes to the people in those communities who are making a difference. "Remaking Rural Health: A KET Special Report" focuses on the advocates who are making inroads in improving conditions in these areas. The first airing of the report is at 9 p.m. Eastern Time tonight.

The report focuses on the expanded use of nurse practitioners, specifically those at Alliance Coal LLC, where a team of practitioners, overseen by Dr. Raymond Wells, run on-site clinics at seven mine sites in the state. It also looks at people like Dr. Phillip Bale of Glasgow who are focused on prevention. Bale runs one of the only "prevention clinics" in the state, spending nearly 30 minutes with each of his patients to identify risks for conditions like heart disease.

With boots on the ground, the goal of the University of Kentucky Rural Cancer Prevention project is to promote prevention by increasing testing and screening for four major cancers, educating through the use of Facebook and text messaging, and having advocates go to places like Walmart to reach out to people.

Awareness is another focus of these advocates. In Montgomery County, the Hispanic population prompted the health department to start the Promotora Program, in which leaders of the Hispanic community are trained in health issues in order to share their knowledge with members of the community. And the Hazard-Perry County Community Foundation aims to build health values in the community to try to change health outcomes.

The report will air again at 10 p.m. EST Monday, Feb. 13, and will be available online. For more information, click here.

Nurse practitioners endorse new plan to fight prescription drug abuse, ask to be on board that will recommend standards

UPDATE, Oct. 14: Gov. Steve Beshear's executive order did not create a slot for advance-practice registered nurses on the advisory council, which will have representatives appointed by Beshear and nominated by the Kentucky Board of Medical Licensure, the Kentucky Board of Dentistry, the Kentucky Board of Nursing and the Kentucky Board of Pharmacists. "The medical licensure boards will send the governor a list of nominees for the slots on the advisory council, and the governor will name the full council within the next few weeks," a release from Beshear's office said.

The Kentucky Coalition of Nurse Practitioners and Nurse Midwives is endorsing the plan announced Thursday by state officials to fight prescription drug abuse, but asking that advance-practice registered nurses (APRNs) who prescribe controlled substances be added to the advisory board that will set standards for over-prescribing.

“We believe that the addition of APRNs who are prescribing controlled substances for different populations will be very helpful . . . in creating guidelines for generally accepted practices,” Julianne Ewen, president of the 2,049-member coalition, said in the release, available here.

Advance practice registered nurses may prescribe controlled substances within certain limits. Wendy Fletcher, past president of the coalition, noted that APRNs make up 9.9 percent of all prescribers in Kentucky but prescribe only 3.7 percent of controlled-substance prescriptions in the state and “have demonstrated that they are responsible prescribers.”

While fewer than a third of Kentucky doctors use the Kentucky All Schedule Prescription Electronic Reporting database, "APRNs who prescribe controlled substances have eagerly made use of the KASPER tracking system," the release said. The coalition wants the legislature to require that all APRNs who have a Drug Enforcement Agency number register for a KASPER account.