From A to B

Rail-trail could reduce dependency on cars

By Nick Tabor, New Era Senior Staff Writer

Some winter days, Jane Hall, 83, puts on long johns and a sweater and two coats before going out. Ignoring the wind, she walks to the grocery store, Dollar General, her bank or her doctor’s office.

Hall walks everywhere. Her habits were forged in the 1930s and ‘40s, in rural parts of the county, when the roads were dirt and mule-driven wagons were common.

Hopkinsville has sped up around her. Now most streets are paved, have high speed limits and are mainly for automobiles. She admits her routes are unsafe, as they lack sidewalks, but she never learned to drive.

“People just too lazy to walk,” she said in her living room. “They’d drive their cars to the mailbox if they could.”

But like most people, she takes infrastructure for granted.

Health dept. could bankroll rail-trail

Director urges board to OK spending $100,000 on project

By Nick Tabor, New Era Senior Staff Writer

The director of the Christian County Health Department wants to give $100,000 from the reserve fund to Hopkinsville’s rail-trail project.

But most members of the Board of Health fear the health department can’t afford it.

They need to save enough for a “rainy day,” said Dr. Wade Northington, the board’s new chairman. Several board members noted the budget shortfall in this fiscal year, financial troubles with the school nurse program and ongoing delays in Medicaid reimbursement.

The reserve fund has nearly $2.4 million.

Some $650,000 of that will go into the general fund by this summer, but more will come in too, Health Department Director Mark Pyle said.

Health department applies for accreditation Thursday

By Nick Tabor, New Era Senior Staff Writer

The Christian County Health Department applied for accreditation on Thursday afternoon — six months ahead of its deadline.

The next step is to get a national inspector here to spend a week conducting interviews and watching procedures. If the health department passes every test, it could get the accreditation before the end of the year.

Department Director Mark Pyle surprised his staff and board members with the news on Thursday. He invited Mike Cayce, director of the county’s board of health, to click the “submit” button on the website of the Public Health Accreditation Board. Watching it on a projector, the staff cheered and clapped.

Integrated health plan proposed for schools

Health department says it could alleviate nurse shortage

By Nick Tabor, New Era Senior Staff Writer 

Donna Crick no longer needs to worry about the school nurse being absent from Crofton Elementary, where her insulin-dependent daughter attends.

The school no longer shares a nurse with Lacy Elementary School — because Lacy now has a diabetic student as well.  

The Christian County Health Department's initial plan for saving on payroll costs hasn't worked out. So in the midst of serious budget shortfalls, the department is now considering an alternate model, called Coordinated School Health, that would depend more heavily on educators.

"There is so much more that should be done in the schools with school health other than nursing," Health Department Director Mark Pyle wrote in an email. "As a community we will need to figure out how to use all tax dollars (school system, health department, others) to efficiently offer a coordinated school health program."

Health Dept. to refuse non-locals

By Nick Tabor, New Era Senior Staff Writer 

Beginning in January, indigent clients who want contraceptives or cancer screenings won’t be able to get them from the Christian County Health Department unless they live here.

The alternative is for their home counties to sign a contract with Christian County before Jan. 1. They would reimburse Christian County for each service rendered, and the exchange could go both ways.

The policy won’t affect any services that depend entirely on federal or state funding. It will only apply to those that depend on local property taxes.

Mark Pyle, director of the Christian County Health Department, said residents of Todd and Trigg counties often seek services here. Those who don’t have insurance can buy contraceptives or cancer services on a sliding scale. Those with low enough incomes don’t pay anything.

17-page plan details steps for improving our health

By Nick Tabor, New Era Senior Staff Writer

Several months ago, Mark Pyle, director of the Christian County Health Department, promised a more proactive approach to this area’s health — one that unified the hospital, local government and others toward a common goal.

Now those organizations are getting their assignments.

Jennie Stuart Medical Center needs to bring in more doctors, according to the 2012 Community Health Assessment and Improvement Plan, which the health department will make public next week.

Hopkinsville City Council needs to improve public transportation, so people can get to their doctors’ offices, and get serious about adding sidewalks and walking trails.

Event provides women chance to put themselves 1st

By Nick Tabor, New Era Senior Staff Writer

All adult women should see a doctor once a year for a physical and — for most — a pelvic examination and a clinical breast examination, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists reports.

But in a county where about 18 percent of residents don’t have health insurance and many more have bare-bones coverage, the medical community knows much of the public can’t follow these guidelines.

It’s the reason Helen Cayce, an advanced registered nurse practitioner, is organizing a women’s health show this week for the 12th year in a row.

“Women just don’t take care of themselves,” Cayce said. “They always take care of their family first.”

Risk of flu varies by job, condition, age

Teachers, day care staff, others, urged to get shot

By Nick Tabor, New Era Senior Staff Writer

Though the traditional flu season doesn’t begin until October, four of the 18 or so staff members at Kidz Academy are already sick, said the director, Eva Akpom.

Between all the hugging and cleaning they do, and the kids’ sneezing and coughing, the staff members have more exposure to germs than most of the public, Akpom said.

Many local businesses — including Kroger, Walgreen’s and even, from 9:30 this morning to 5:30 tonight, Cash Express — in addition to the medical offices — are now offering the influenza vaccine.

Health officials say everyone should get immunized. A shot from last year isn’t good enough, as there are now two new flu strains circulating, according to reports from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

But some groups, such as people who work with children all day, stand especially high risks of infection if they don’t get shots.

School nurse sharing raises concerns

By Nick Tabor, New Era Senior Staff Writer

In the last two weeks, since classes started at Crofton Elementary School, Donna Crick has often asked the school nurse in the mornings whether she would be at the school all day.

“She just tells me she’s there until she hears different,” Crick recalled on Friday.

Crick’s 7-year-old daughter Kaylie was diagnosed with diabetes earlier this year. When she thinks of Kaylie’s blood sugar dropping so low she falls over or goes into a coma, Crick seizes up with fear. She knows it would take an ambulance a long time to reach Crofton from Hopkinsville.

Lately she’s had trouble sleeping.

When facing a budget shortfall in June, the Christian County Board of Health asked the school system to contribute more funding for nurses. It presented two options for staffing levels based on how much the schools would give.

Our Opinion: Leadership right plan for board of health

New Era Staff Editorial

What happens inside the walls of the Christian County Health Department on Canton Street, and what happens outside those walls in the second-largest county in Kentucky, are both concerns for the local health board. Mark Pyle, the county health director, acknowledged this fact during a board meeting Monday. He told the board members their focus should shift from managing the department’s finances to addressing the county’s health needs.

Christian County has serious health problems, and it is consistent with the public health department’s focus to lead the community’s response to those problems. That’s why Pyle’s plan to shift the focus of the health board is an important positive step for the community.

Funds amassing for Little River test

Scientists could identify amount, sources of pollution

By Nick Tabor, New Era Senior Staff Writer

Eleven years after the last test, the federal government still has Little River classified as “impaired.”

And if nothing changes within six years, a government agency will impose more restrictions on local farmers and businesses, in an effort to reduce river pollution, said Brian Lacefield, who works for Hopkinsville Elevator Company and Agri-Chem, LLC. For instance, it could ban fertilizers that local farmers depend on, Lacefield said.

Farmers and local officials want a new test conducted. Some believe the 2001 test lacked thoroughness, and they say their farming practices have become more eco-friendly since the test.

To that end, the Christian County Health Department will contribute $20,000 for a three-year test that will start in October. The board of health voted unanimously to do this.

Pyle: Board of health must shift focus to community health

By Nick Tabor, New Era Senior Staff Writer

The Christian County Board of Health needs to spend less time on the health department’s budget and more time addressing big questions of community health, said Health Department Director Mark Pyle.

Pyle announced this opinion in a presentation Monday night that closed the board’s quarterly meeting.

For the board members, this will mean informing themselves better about the community’s health needs beyond the department’s doors, he said. He plans to discuss this in more specific terms at the next meeting Nov. 19.

“How many of you, when you signed up for the board of health, thought that the only thing that you would do when you came to a board meeting would be talk about money?” he asked the board. No hands went up. “If you haven’t noticed, the past four years, we haven’t talked about a lot of health issues. That’s going to change.”

State's whooping cough increase could match 2010 level

Compared to the outbreaks other states have seen in cases in pertussis, more commonly known as whooping cough, the recent spike in Kentucky is relatively small. So far the state has received 164 reports of the illness, according to data provided by the state’s Department of Public Health.

Fayette County’s outbreak is now tapering off, the state’s epidemiologists said. Madison and Estill counties have also reported increases.

Mark Pyle, director of the Christian County Health Department, said no one has reported cases of the illness in this county so far. But the department still taking these measures to prevent the sickness’ spread.

As I reported in today’s paper, the most effective way to fend off whooping cough is to get a vaccination if you haven’t done so in recent years. The health department, Cayce’s Pharmacy, and Walgreen’s are all offering it without requiring a visit with a doctor.

The CDC recommends this video for a glimpse at how whooping cough affects people whom it infects. Look beyond the jump for charts on state historical data on whooping cough.