Feb 21 Health Black Lung Benefits Drop For Kentucky Coal Miners After Controversial Law Change Lynn Estel Stanley was the kind of coal mine foreman who wanted to know if there was a safety problem, and would always be the one to go fix it himself. He was also the kind of miner who refused to slow down, even when his men told him he was overexerting himself. But when […] By Sydney Boles Feb 21 Health Black Lung Benefits Drop For Kentucky Coal Miners After Controversial Law Change Sydney Boles
Feb 7 Health Reports Show Challenges Remain In Addiction Treatment Medication Access Center for Disease Control and Prevention data indicate opioid overdose deaths in the Ohio Valley declined in 2018, the first time in nearly a decade. Researchers say this is cause for optimism. But two new studies warn that access to medication assisted treatment, or MAT, for people with opioid use disorders continues to be a […] By Aaron Payne Feb 7 Health Reports Show Challenges Remain In Addiction Treatment Medication Access Aaron Payne
Feb 6 Health Survey: Americans Agree Health Care System Needs Fixing Americans are divided on lots of issues. But a new national survey finds that people across the political spectrum agree on at least one thing: Our health care system needs fixing. The “Hidden Common Ground” survey from Public Agenda, USA Today and Ipsos found that 92 percent of Americans say changes are needed. And a […] By Christine Herman Feb 6 Health Survey: Americans Agree Health Care System Needs Fixing Christine Herman
Feb 5 Health Scientists, Mine Safety Officials Discuss Black Lung Protections Officials with the Mine Safety and Health Administration met for the first time with miners’ health researchers Wednesday in a new partnership designed to discuss ways to better protect coal miners from the dust that causes black lung disease. In future meetings, representatives from the two agencies will discuss recommendations made by the National Academy […] By Sydney Boles Feb 5 Health Scientists, Mine Safety Officials Discuss Black Lung Protections Sydney Boles
Jan 30 Health Report Finds Many Ohio Valley Communities At Deep Disadvantage in Health, Wealth A new report finds the Ohio Valley has some of the most disadvantaged communities in the country. The study comes from the University of Michigan’s Poverty Solutions, an initiative to eliminate or alleviate poverty through action-based research. The “Index of Deep Disadvantage” combines measures of income, health outcomes, and social mobility, or the factors affecting […] By Becca Schimmel Jan 30 Health Report Finds Many Ohio Valley Communities At Deep Disadvantage in Health, Wealth Becca Schimmel
Jan 9 Health Rural Americans Increasingly Concerned About Opioid Addiction, Study Finds Researchers at Harvard University and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation found that rural Americans identified drug addiction and economic concerns as the most serious problems facing their communities. The open-ended survey of 2700 rural adults aimed to identify the major concerns of rural voters, and found that 25 percent of rural Americans said drug addiction was […] By Sydney Boles Jan 9 Health Rural Americans Increasingly Concerned About Opioid Addiction, Study Finds Sydney Boles
Dec 20 Health Innovating Recovery: Group Highlights New Approaches To Addiction Crisis After years of leading the nation in overdose death rates, Ohio Valley communities are looking for new ways to deal with the addiction crisis. A national nonprofit organization promotes and partners with programs that do just that. The Addiction Policy Forum celebrated new ideas at events in Kentucky, Ohio and West Virginia to honor programs […] By Aaron Payne Dec 20 Health Innovating Recovery: Group Highlights New Approaches To Addiction Crisis Aaron Payne
Dec 10 Health Study Shows Surface Coal Miners Are Exposed To Toxic Dust That Causes Black Lung Appalachian surface coal miners are consistently overexposed to toxic silica dust, according to new research from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, and surface mine dust contains more silica than does dust in underground coal mines. The research is the first to specifically analyze long-term data on exposure to toxic silica dust for […] By Sydney Boles Dec 10 Health Study Shows Surface Coal Miners Are Exposed To Toxic Dust That Causes Black Lung Sydney Boles
Dec 6 Health Mountain Air: Youth Help Identify Causes Of Ohio Valley’s High Lung Disease Rates Isabella Back, 18, pulls her jacket tight around herself as she crosses the gravel driveway. “So we’re going about 10 feet from my house to my dad’s workshop,” she says, and pushes through a door in a big, red barn. The Kona, Kentucky, shop is crowded with cluttered work tables and hulking machines, and the […] By Sydney Boles Dec 6 Health Mountain Air: Youth Help Identify Causes Of Ohio Valley’s High Lung Disease Rates Sydney Boles