In what has become an annual tradition, we are launching 2020 with a “Best of” for our blog, looking at the 2019 posts that had the heaviest readership and those that our staff deemed its favorites.
Most Read Posts
- Toolkit Released for Employers to Address Opioid Misuse and Opioid Use Disorder in the Workplace. The KHC convened employers and key healthcare stakeholders to guide the development of a toolkit to provide best practices for employers to support their employees and their dependents in prevention, treatment, and recovery from opioid misuse and opioid use disorder.
- Seeking Employers to Partner in Addressing Kentucky’s Opioid Crisis. The KHC launched a six-month cohort of employers dedicated to becoming partners in fighting the opioid crisis in Kentucky. The cohort, representing 23% of commercially-insured Kentuckians, is diving deeper into how the KHC’s “Opioids and the Workplace” toolkit recommendations can be implemented by national and local employers through healthcare best practice sharing of benefit design and workplace policies.
- Kentucky Core Healthcare Measures Set Expands to 38 Adult and Primary Care Measures. In September, the second core healthcare performance measures set, developed by experts from across the Commonwealth, was released at our KHC Community Health Forum. National and local experts were featured at the event.
- KHC Member Spotlight: Amanda Newton. Our monthly Member Spotlight series, featuring a KHC member, is always a popular post. Our spotlight on Amanda Newton from Recovery Concierge and Renew Recovery cracked the top five in views for 2019.
- National Hospital Prices: How do Kentucky Hospitals Stack up? Healthcare affordability is one of the most pressing issues facing employers, healthcare purchasers, and patients. The KHC partnered with the Employers’ Forum of Indiana to participate in the RAND National Hospital Price Study 2.0, which revealed the price of commercial hospital pricing relative to Medicare.
KHC Staff Favorites
I used to scoff at breast cancer “awareness” activities. That was before I worked in healthcare.
Selected by: Teresa Couts
This blog post made women aware that breast cancer can occur at an early age, before the recommended guideline age for screening. Women should know and listen to your body for changes. When breast cancer is detected and treated at Stage 0 or 1 the chances of survival is greater. So when you see the pink in observance of breast cancer awareness take the time to do a self-check on your breast.
Changing the Narrative One Day at a Time
Selected by: Randa Deaton
My favorite blog post of the year was from KHC Co-Chair, Jason Scherzinger, as he kicked off the new year. His message resonated with me personally in my managing my own health and my mother’s as I struggled transitioning my primary caregiving role to that of hospice. With this personal perspective always guides my professional one, I appreciated Jason’s vision for how we can all come together to improve healthcare for everyone. It is this vision that drives the work of individuals and organizations like the KHC, and as we kick off a new decade full of unknowns for the KHC, I think Jason’s words remind us of our best path forward.
KHC Member Spotlights
Selected by: Michele Ganote
I enjoy the member spotlights! Everyone has different priorities and agendas based on the work they do, so it’s interesting to see what our members are focused on at any given time. Since there are numerous healthcare related projects happening in our community all the time, the spotlights remind me how much other work is being done to achieve better healthcare. I also enjoy learning why our members belong to the KHC and why they feel the KHC’s work is important. The best part of the member spotlights is getting to know someone outside of work. It’s fun to learn their favorite quotes, their guilty pleasures, favorite vacation spots, and what they like to do in their spare time. If you don’t read our member spotlights, I would encourage you to do so!
Mental Health Month a Time to Focus on the Connection between Physical and Mental Health
Selected by: Natalie Middaugh
My favorite blog post of 2019 was from Marcie Timmerman, Executive Director for Mental Health America (MHA) of Kentucky. Marcie’s post highlighted MHA’s Mental Health Month and its theme of #4Mind4Body to raise awareness about the connection between physical health and mental health. An emphasis on this mind-body connection is such an important piece of supporting both physical and mental wellness and recovery. Mental Health Month highlighted many ways to support this approach, including animal companionship, spirituality and religion, humor, work-life balance, recreation, and social connections. As someone who continually uses many of these approaches to support my own mental wellness, Marcie’s message of balance, practicality, and encouragement resonated with me.
Children’s Seven-County Health Initiative Serves as Model for Entire State
Selected by: Emily Divino
One of my favorite posts of the year was written by Ben Chandler, the President and CEO for the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky. Ben writes about the amazing work being done by the Foundation’s community health initiative, Investing in Kentucky’s Future (IKF). The initiative has made amazing strides in increasing youth physical activity and improving student eating habits, among many other great accomplishments. Whether it was through helping create policy change or helping communities improve their built environments, the IKF initiative was able to address many of the various contributing factors that play a role in childhood obesity. To be honest, I was initially unfamiliar with the IKF initiative before reading Ben’s post, so it was inspiring to read about all of the great work that the initiative has accomplished.
“High Value Behavioral Healthcare” Speakers Answer Your Questions
Selected by: Stephanie Clouser
For our KHC Annual Conference, we transitioned to a new platform for audience members to ask questions and give comments, adding a new level of engagement. We had so many great questions that we didn’t have enough time to answer all of them, so we followed up with speakers and panelists in a special social media chat and blog post. This post marked the beginning of a higher level of dialogue with our events and initiatives that we will continue into 2020.
