FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Sept. 24, 2019
CONTACT: Emily Schott
KMA Communications Director
502-814-1388
schott@kyma.org
Ben Chandler Receives KMA Advocacy Award
LOUISVILLE, KY — The Kentucky Medical Association (KMA) presented its Advocacy Award to Ben Chandler, President and CEO of the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky, during its 2019 Annual Meeting on Sept. 21 in Louisville.
The award is presented to individuals who have effected positive change in the healthcare space through their advocacy efforts. In 2001, Chandler established the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky with a goal of addressing the unmet health needs of Kentuckians by developing and influencing health policy, improving access to care, reducing health risks and disparities, and promoting health equity.
Through his work with the Foundation, Chandler has been a tireless supporter of public health education and has partnered with numerous outside organizations, including the KMA and Kentucky Foundation for Medical Care (KFMC). In 2018 the groups launched the successful “Focus on Flu” campaign, which sought to mitigate the effects of another deadly flu season in Kentucky. Chandler also serves as Chair of the Coalition for a Smoke Free Tomorrow, a group made up of various stakeholders from across the state who seek to speak with policymakers with a single voice on tobacco-control issues. In 2018 the Coalition successfully secured a $.50 increase in the state’s tobacco tax, and in 2019 helped pass Kentucky’s first tobacco-free schools law. Chandler’s Foundation and the KMA and KFMC have since partnered once again to offer campus signage at no cost to schools who comply with the new law with its Tobacco-Free for Students program. Flu prevention and smoking cessation are two of the focus areas of KMA’s “AIM for Better Care: Administrative Improvements in Medicine” initiative.
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The Kentucky Medical Association is a non-profit 501(c)(6) organization that supports physician members and their patients with a variety of services. The KMA, established in 1851, represents and supports nearly 7,000 physicians, physician residents, and medical students across the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Learn more about the KMA and its programs at www.kyma.org.
