News

LEXINGTON, Ky. (May 26, 2021) — University of Kentucky College of Medicine researcher Cassandra Gipson-Reichardt, Ph.D., has received the College on Problems of Drug Dependence’s (CPDD) 2021 Joseph Cochin Young Investigator Award for Excellence.

The annual award recognizes an investigator under 40 years old who has demonstrated excellence in their field of research and authored several publications. It is one of the most prestigious honors awarded by the CPDD, the longest standing group in the U.S. dedicated to addressing issues of drug dependence and abuse.

The University of Kentucky College of Medicine would like to recognize and congratulate its departments that made it in the Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research (BRIMR) 2020 rankings.

BRIMR rankings, released each year, are reflective of top National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding to U.S. medical schools and rank institutions based on specialty. Rankings are derived from data compiled and released by the NIH shortly after the federal fiscal year closes.

Highlights of the rankings:

The University of Kentucky College of Medicine’s Department of Family and Community Medicine’s Primary Care Training Enhancement (PCTE) grant team was recently selected to receive the Outstanding Educational Program Award by the Association for Prevention Teaching and Research (APTR). This award honors an innovative program, department, or academic institution for their involvement in advancing undergraduate or graduate medical education in prevention and public health which furthers students’ interest in the discipline. 

Dr. Sarah Tully Marks, assistant professor and the associate residency program director in the University of Kentucky Department of Community and Family Medicine, has been selected as UK’s first Bell Addiction Medicine Scholar. This scholar program is a part of the Bell Alcohol and Addiction Endowed Chair efforts aimed at building physician education and training experiences for treating patients with substance use disorders.

Students face challenges today that generations before them couldn’t even dream of. From using technology in the classroom to the pressures they feel from social media, the college experience today is monumentally different than it used to be.

Students come to college to express themselves in a way that they may have always wanted to, but never thought they could. With open hearts and minds, they leave their routine they’ve always known, ready to find themselves – whatever that means to them.

A developing issue within the health care realm is understanding what it means to be transgender inclusive. UK HealthCare’s Transform Health Clinic is hosting an event to discuss what it means to be transgender inclusive with health care providers and members of the Lexington community. The dialogue at the Sound Off workshop will specifically address mental health and substance use treatment for transgender people.

Diabetes is a complex condition that requires patients to check in with providers across a number of specialties. Multiple appointments with practitioners can mean endless rounds of scheduling, traveling and follow-ups. Many patients don't have the flexibility to take off work, the means to travel, or access to education materials to help them manage their condition. But thanks to a new grant secured by UK HealthCare's CE Central and their partners at DKBmed, vital screenings for diabetic retinopathy will be conducted by the patient's primary care provider.

Dr. Roberto Cardarelli has been named chair of the Department of Family and Community Medicine in the University of Kentucky College of Medicine. Cardarelli, who is also professor of family medicine, has served as interim chair of the department since August 2017. 

Difficulty in accessing culturally affirming and informed health care has long deterred members of the LGBTQ* community from seeking fundamental services and resources.

People lead busy lives and managing doctor appointments for the entire family can be challenging, especially if a different physician is needed for each family member according to age or health concern. Getting everyone to their appointments may require trips to different doctors in different locations. 

Concerns about privacy, safety, stigmatization and quality of care have deterred members of the LGBTQ community from accessing health care services and resources. Disengagement from the health care system has contributed to many health disparities affecting the LGBTQ population.

Reducing excessive medical costs associated with high hospital readmission rates is a pillar of health care reform. From 2007 to 2011, as many as 19 percent of patients in the United States returned to hospitals less than a month after discharge, accounting for an estimated $15 million in preventable hospitalization costs. In an effort to prevent adverse outcomes for chronically ill and aging patients and reduce the burden of cost on the government, Medicare providers have implemented transitional care management programs (TCMs) as a bundled component of Medicare payment plans.

The debilitating pain of tophaceous gout, a chronic form of arthritis, has shackled William TIncher from a decent quality of life since he was a young man. Eager to serve his country, 18-year-old Tincher enlisted in the Marine Corps only to be sent home because of his chronic medical condition.

Few people think of a health care facility where they go to see their physician as a 'home,' but that's exactly the kind of environment Dr. Jonathan Ballard, medical director for the University of Kentucky's Family and Community Medicine (FCM) Clinic, and a team of health care providers strive to give every patient that walks through the clinic doors.

At 10 a.m., Monday, April 20, a ribbon cutting ceremony will mark the official opening of UK HealthCare at Turfland, a new outpatient center on Harrodsburg Road in Lexington on the site of the former Turfland Mall. See http://ow.ly/LLkdP for more information. UK HealthCare has leased and renovated the former Dillard's location for consolidation and relocation of some of its primary care and specialty outpatient clinics and will be the anchor tenant for the first floor of the building utilizing approximately 85,000 square feet.

The number of community health care professionals teaching University of Kentucky students and conducting field research continues to grow every year. Currently, more than 1,900 providers located in the state of Kentucky and abroad serve as community faculty preceptors for UK students. Most of these clinical training experiences occur in Kentucky and are supported through an Area Health Education Center (AHEC).

Within 30 days of discharge, 20 percent of fee-for-service Medicare patients are readmitted to the hospital. The frequency of readmission for Medicare patients costs the nation an estimated $17 billion annually, but research suggests 75 percent of these readmission cases are preventable. The University of Kentucky Department of Family and Community Medicine, in partnership with St. Claire Regional Medical Center in Morehead, Kentucky, and Kentucky HomePlace recently launched a pilot study to evaluate the impact community health workers have in reducing hospital readmission rates.

On Dec. 2, a very special group of people gathered to celebrate a very special gift. "Participation in clinical trials is a truly noble act, and we consider the people who volunteer for research part of our family," says Dr. Gregory Jicha, a professor at the University of Kentucky's Sanders-Brown Center on Aging. "So it's natural that we would gather at the holidays to share a little joy and thanksgiving." Every year, the Sanders-Brown Center on Aging has a party for patients who have volunteered to participate in research at the center.

On the morning of Dec. 16, Dr. Shannon Voogt warmed up her classically trained opera voice before coming to work at UK HealthCare.

At 11 a.m., she applied resin to the bow of her violin in the Pavilion A lobby of the UK Chandler Hospital. Moments later, an audience of patients, employees and hospital visitors circled around the atrium lobby as Voogt, a soprano, showed off her vocal range performing "O Holy Night."

A community's physical environment and social dynamics, such as the amount of green space for exercise and access to health education, are all underlying factors that impact the health of its citizens. To better understand how community influences health, a new division at UK HealthCare will examine the world around the patient. Dr. Roberto Cardarelli is leading an effort to develop a national model for community medicine and outreach at UK HealthCare.