“Wear It For Me”New Campaign to Focus on Importance of Wearing Masks LOUISVILLE, Ky, July 29, 2020 – A Louisville man who just learned he has brain cancer. A Jessamine County teacher. A Glasgow family physician. A restaurant owner and a firefighter with a young child. All are wearing masks to help prevent the spread of COVID-19, and asking Kentuckians to do the same in a new campaign launched today by the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky, the Kentucky Medical

Registration is now available for KMA’s first-ever virtual Annual Meeting, to be held throughout the month of August 2020. The online platform offers member connection, engagement and networking, as well as several opportunities for CME, including KMA’s popular “Meet the Mandates” program. Offered in partnership with the Kentucky Board of Medical Licensure (KBML), Meet the Mandates enables physicians to obtain all state-mandated CME before the end of the three-year cycle. Attendees may also take part in a series of live

Positive cases of COVID-19 saw the largest single-day increase on Sunday since the pandemic began. A total of 979 new cases were reported across the state, including 30 in children under 5 years old. Gov. Beshear will once again hold daily briefings at 4 p.m. each day this week to update on the virus and stated that “additional measures” would need to be taken to slow the spread. More information and an interactive map of cases is available at kycovid19.ky.gov.

Last week, HHS launched an application portal to distribute $15 billion in CARES Act Provider Relief Fund payments to eligible Medicaid and CHIP physicians and organizations. The payment will be at least 2 percent of reported gross revenue from patient care, and the final amount will be determined based on submitted data, including the number of Medicaid patients served. Eligible physicians and organizations have until July 20, 2020, to submit their application and report other necessary information, such as annual

This week, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), announced the distribution of additional relief funds from the Provider Relief Fund to eligible Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) providers that participate in state Medicaid and CHIP programs. HHS expects to distribute approximately $15 billion to eligible providers that participate in state Medicaid and CHIP programs and have not received a payment from the Provider Relief Fund General Allocation.

As announced yesterday, the 2020 Annual Meeting of the Kentucky Medical Association will be held virtually for the first time. The decision was made to move to an online platform out of concern for the safety of Kentucky’s physicians, who are on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as out of respect for the time and schedules of members whose first priority remains caring for the patients of the Commonwealth. While much of the meeting’s programming will be

Medicine is a profession for humanity.  Over the last several months we have experienced and continue to live through the advance of a global pandemic as well as the magnification of disparities that have been well known for years.  As the spread of COVID-19 started to wane, other news arose to the forefront that demonstrated human suffering and mankind at its worst. To advance the needs of society we must condemn senseless acts of violence in our communities and instead

The Kentucky Department for Public Health (KDPH) has released additional guidance regarding release from isolation for patients who have confirmed or suspected COVID-19 disease. This guidance adds an additional step to help clear patients with persistent PCR positive tests (and other considerations). This guidance applies to all persons returning to work and/or seeking clearance from isolation requirements, including healthcare professionals and residents returning to confined population environments (i.e. long term care facilities, behavioral health hospitals, prisons, etc.). The document from

Tomorrow, May 27, begins the fourth phase of Gov. Beshear’s reopening of healthcare services in Kentucky. During Phase IV, hospitals and healthcare facilities can determine their own patient capacities, as long as progress continues and the other tenets of the state’s order are followed.​ During Phase III, which began May 13, facilities were limited to 50% of their pre-COVID era volume. For more information, see the state’s order regarding the fourth phase https://chfs.ky.gov/agencies/dph/covid19/healthcarefinalsteps.pdf

Kentucky Public Health Commissioner Steven Stack, M.D. has released a set of guidelines for the allocation of remdesivir to hospitals for the treatment of patients with severe disease related to COVID-19. Remdesivir is an experimental anti-viral drug that has activity against SARS-CoV-2 in cell cultures and animal models. It has not been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for any indication and is considered an investigational drug. On May 1, based on preliminary data from clinical trials of