The Lexington Legends announced Tuesday that Whitaker Bank Ballpark will be 100 percent tobacco-free this season! The Lexington-Fayette County Health Department is partnering with the organization to help educate fans on ways to stop tobacco use. Be sure to look for our information on the team’s schedule magnets being given away Opening Weekend at the ballpark!

Lexington Mayor Jim Gray also announced that all city-owned ballparks will be 100 percent tobacco-free.

Call us at 859-288-2446 to learn more on how we can help you or someone you know quit using tobacco in 2018!

The Lexington-Fayette County Health Department’s Board of Health has selected Dr. Svetla Slavova as the 2018 Dr. Rice C. Leach Public Health Hero. The award is given annually to individuals who have demonstrated their dedication to improving the health of Lexington residents. The winner is announced each April as part of National Public Health Week (April 2-8, 2018).

Dr. Slavova is an associate professor of Biostatistics at the University of Kentucky College of Public Health, and a faculty member at the Kentucky Injury Prevention and Research Center (KIPRC), a bona fide agent of the Kentucky Department for Public Health, housed within the College.

She has served as principal investigator and co-investigator on projects supporting reducing prescription drug abuse in Kentucky and quality improvement in the Kentucky Trauma Registry, among many other important grant-supported investigations. She is widely published on topics related to injury surveillance and public health and safety. Through her work at KIPRC, which combines academic investigation with practical public health initiatives, she has been active in helping Lexington and Kentucky be well for more than a decade.

Most recently, Dr. Slavova’s efforts helped the Lexington-Fayette County Health Department offer free naloxone kits as part of its needle-exchange program.

“As an expert in the field of drug overdose surveillance, Dr. Slavova has led the charge both nationally and locally for clear, actionable data on which to base sound public health policy and programs,” Commissioner of Health Dr. Kraig Humbaugh said. “She is acutely aware of the practical needs of communities affected by substance abuse and the realities we face. Through her work with KIPRC, we not only have a clearer picture of the community’s opioid epidemic, but we also have more tools for responding to this health threat. Dr. Slavova’s efforts have contributed to making available lifesaving naloxone kits for those at highest risk and their family and friends, which can prevent deaths and give people who have substance use disorders a chance to pursue recovery. She is truly worthy of being called a Public Health Hero.”

Dr. Slavova will be recognized at the April 9 Board of Health meeting held at 5:45 p.m. in Lexington-Fayette County Health Department’s Dr. Rice C. Leach Community Room, 650 Newtown Pike. She will also be honored at the April 12 Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council meeting.

Previously known as the Public Health Hero Award, the Board of Health renamed the award in 2016 in memory of the late Dr. Rice C. Leach, Lexington’s former Commissioner of Health who spent more than 50 years as a public health physician. Leach died April 1, 2016.

Past winners include Reginald Thomas (2017), Dr. Rice C. Leach (2016), Dr. Susan Pollack and Marian F. Guinn (2015), the Rev. Willis Polk and Baby Health Service (2014), Anita Courtney and Teens Against Tobacco Use (2013); Vickie Blevins and Jay McChord (2012); Jill Chenault-Wilson and Dr. Malkanthie McCormick (2011); Dr. Jay Perman (2010); the Lexington Lions Club (2009); Dr. David Stevens and the late Dr. Doane Fischer (2008); Dr. Ellen Hahn, Mary Alice Pratt and Therese Moseley (2007); Dr. Andrew Moore and Rosa Martin (2006); Jan Brucato and Dragana Zaimovic (2005); and Dr. John Michael Moore, Ellen Parks and Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government (2004). Dr. Robert Lam received a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2007.

The Lexington-Fayette County Health Department provided 144 naloxone kits Tuesday at its first class to train the community on the overdose-reversing medication. Due to overwhelming demand, the health department plans to hold additional community classes to be announced soon.

Naloxone, also known by the brand name Narcan, blocks opiate receptors in the brain, works in 1-3 minutes and lasts 30-90 minutes. It can cause withdrawal symptoms such as nausea and disorientation, but there is no risk for abuse or addiction. If given in a timely manner, the antidote can prevent deaths from overdoses due to opioid drugs, such as oxycodone or heroin.

“Ready access to naloxone at home or in the community can save lives,” said Commissioner of Health Dr. Kraig Humbaugh. “Knowing when and how to use Narcan gives people a chance for recovery in the future.”

The free naloxone kits were available to the community through a partnership between the health department, Drug Free Lex and the Kentucky Injury Prevention and Research Center, part of the University of Kentucky College of Public Health, and a bona fide agent for the Kentucky Department for Public Health.

The purchase of Narcan was supported by a grant 2014-PM-BX-0010 (Data-Driven Multidisciplinary Approaches to Reducing Prescription Abuse in Kentucky) awarded by the Bureau of Justice Assistance, U.S. Department of Justice. For additional information, like the Lexington-Fayette County Health Department on Facebook at www.facebook.com/LFCHD, or follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/LFCHD and Instagram at @lexpublichealth.

Beginning in January, our free HIV testing and counseling hours will change! Get tested Fridays from 8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. at 650 Newtown Pike.

Testing is free and confidential. For additional information on HIV & Syphilis testing, call (859) 288-2437.

Additional Services:

• Rapid HIV antibody testing with results in 15-20 minutes
• Free HIV confirmatory testing
• Free Syphilis testing
• Referrals for HIV positive individuals (HIV care, support services, support groups, etc.)
• Safer sex counseling
• Free condoms

The following is a summary of the recent changes, effective June 21, 2017, to 902 KAR 2:060 Immunization schedules for attending child day care centers, certified family child care homes, other licensed facilities which care for children, preschool programs, and public and private primary and secondary schools, http://www.lrc.ky.gov/kar/902/002/060.htm. This amended Kentucky Administrative Regulation requires all children to have a current immunization certificate on file, contains the required immunizations schedule for attending, and has a process to obtain a religious exemption from the required immunizations.

• One new age-specific immunization requirement and one booster dose requirement effective for the school year beginning on or after July 1, 2018:
  • 2-Dose Series of HepA (Age: 12 months through 18 years)
  • Quadrivalent meningococcal vaccine (MenACWY) booster dose (Age: 16 years)
• Homeschooled children are required to submit a current immunization certificate to participate in any public and private school activities (classroom, extra curriculum activity, or sports).
• All vaccines administered are printed on the Commonwealth of Kentucky Certificate of Immunization Status now including immunizations not required for school entry.
• Religious exemptions shall be documented on a signed and notarized Commonwealth of Kentucky Parent or Guardian’s Declination on Religious Grounds to Required Immunizations. There will be a space for the parent or guardian to initial each specific immunization they are choosing to decline.
• New versions of forms, effective June 21, 2017, can be found on websites  for the Kentucky Department of Education, http://education.ky.gov/districts/SHS/Pages/Immunization-Information.aspx. and the Kentucky Immunization Program, http://chfs.ky.gov/dph/epi/Immunization.htm.
• Out-of-state immunization certificates may be accepted if they meet the same age-specific requirements as outlined in this regulation.
• A Commonwealth of Kentucky Certificate of Immunization Status printed from the Kentucky Immunization Registry (KYIR) does not require a signature.
• A licensed practical nurse (LPN) designee of a physician, local health department administrator, or other licensed healthcare facility may sign the Commonwealth of Kentucky Certificate of Immunization Status.
• School nurses and administrators can enroll in KYIR and print the Commonwealth of Kentucky Certificate of Immunization Status from the registry, and it will not require a signature.
• Routine certificate reviews are to occur at enrollment in a day care center, kindergarten, seventh grade, eleventh grade, and for the 2018-2019 school year for twelfth grade; new enrollment at any grade; upon legal name change; and at a school required examination pursuant to 702 KAR 1:160.
• A child whose certificate has exceeded the date for the certificate to be valid shall be recommended to visit the child’s medical provider or local health department to receive immunizations required by this administrative regulation. An updated and current certificate shall be provided to the:
  • Day care center, certified family child care home, or other licensed facility that cares for children by a parent or guardian within thirty (30) days from when the certificate was found to be invalid; or
  • School by a parent or guardian within fourteen (14) days from when the certificate was found to be invalid.