En comunidades de todo el estado, los residentes de Kentucky están ideando formas innovadoras de mejorar la salud comunitaria. Jeremy Harrell es el fundador y director ejecutivo de Veterans Club Incorporated en Louisville, y recientemente recibió el Premio Campeones de Kentucky Saludable de la Fundación para un Kentucky Saludable. Es un veterano de combate que sirvió en Irak. Cuando regresó a casa en 2004, luchando contra el síndrome de estrés postraumático, lesiones cerebrales traumáticas y lesiones físicas, dice que notó la escasez de recursos locales y apoyo para los veteranos y sus familias.

"Nos hemos dado cuenta de que en nuestra comunidad, especialmente el aislamiento es el asesino. Desafortunadamente, los 17 veteranos que hoy se han quitando la vida son el resultado de no tener el sistema de apoyo que necesitan," insistió además Harrell.

Veteran's Club ayuda a abordar la falta de vivienda y la salud mental, y brinda capacitación vocacional. Kentucky es el hogar de más de 280.000 veteranos, casi el 8% de la población del estado, según datos del Departamento de Asuntos de Veteranos de Kentucky.

En el este de Kentucky, el presidente y director ejecutivo del Centro Médico Pikeville, Donovan Blackburn, dice que la región lidera la nación en enfermedades pulmonares, cardíacas, tasas de cáncer y diabetes. Ha sido reconocido por su esfuerzo por ampliar el acceso a la atención médica con la apertura del Appalachian Valley Autism Center, el Mettu Children's Hospital y el Heart and Vascular Institute of Eastern Kentucky. Ahora, Blackburn menciona que está trabajando para desarrollar un programa de residencia sólido para crear una reserva de nuevos médicos.

"Si le das a la gente la oportunidad, especialmente a los niños pequeños, de educarse aquí, de donde son, donde están comprometidos, entonces lo más probable es que se queden y nos ayuden a seguir creciendo," analizó también Blackburn.

Otro galardonado es la profesora Dra. Lucretia Dye de la Universidad de Western Kentucky. Es terapeuta de salud mental, entrenadora de yoga y defensora del bienestar comunitario que ha ayudado a los habitantes de Kentucky con la salud mental, emocional y física. Ella explica que dedicarse al autocuidado va más allá del individuo.

"Cuando yo estoy bien, mi comunidad está bien, y cuando yo sano, mi comunidad puede sanarse. Y si todos lo viéramos individualmente de esa manera, creo que asumiríamos más responsabilidad," enfatizó Dye.

Según datos de la Kaiser Family Foundation, más del 37% de los adultos en Kentucky informaron síntomas de ansiedad y/o trastorno depresivo, en comparación con alrededor del 32% de los adultos en todo el país.



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People who are part of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, known as DACA, will be dropped from their CoveredCA health plans at the end of August.

The move comes after the Trump administration changed a Biden-era definition of "lawfully present" to revoke health care eligibility for thousands of immigrants.

Christine Smith, policy and legislative advocate for the nonprofit Health Access California, said people only have a few weeks to get medical appointments in before their coverage ends.

"If you're enrolled in Covered California and you're a DACA recipient, the Trump administration just ended your coverage," Smith emphasized. "People should use as much of your health care as you can before the August 31st deadline."

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services defended the move, saying it will save taxpayers money. CoveredCA estimated the change affects about 2,400 DACA recipients in the state who make too much to qualify for Medi-Cal and have jobs not providing health insurance. They can still buy private insurance but it is much more expensive. People who prepaid for their coverage can seek a refund.

Smith predicted it will be a blow not just to those who lose coverage but to the state's health care system as a whole.

"The lines in the ERs are going to be longer because people are not going to be able to get affordable preventive care," Smith projected. "They're just going to get sicker and then end up in the ERs. People will overall incur more medical debt. Hospitals will have more uncompensated care."

The change is nationwide. As of mid-July, about 538,000 people in the DACA program across the U.S. are ineligible to enroll in any state-based insurance marketplace and are unable to access premium subsidies or cost-sharing assistance.

Artificial intelligence is appearing more prominently in many aspects of life and research suggests older populations are curious, yet remain wary of using the technology in their everyday lives.

According to Stats Indiana, there are more than 1.5 million Hoosiers aged 65 and older, or 18% of the state's population. Experts said it is likely the demographic will use AI in some form in the next few years, either by choice or necessity.

Dr. Shaun Grannis, vice president of data and analytics for the Regenstrief Institute on Aging, said AI offers real benefits.

"It can reduce loneliness through conversation, provide reminders for medications and appointments," Grannis outlined. "It can support cognitive stimulation via games, storytelling, news updates."

The technology can also offer a low-pressure way to access information on public services, he added, which is valuable for those with mobility issues or those who feel intimidated by technology.

Grannis cautioned any tool which can be used for good can also lead to problems. He noted AI can create a false sense of companionship and mask social isolation. Overdependence is a legitimate concern, he argued, if the technology becomes a "crutch" for all forms of interaction.

"All cognitive activities or decision-making, it can actually lead to and create a negative feedback loop, lead to a decline in engagement and even basic self-management skills," Grannis explained. "This is risky."

Grannis believes one solution is designing AI systems to complement, not replace, human interaction. He stressed it can be done though building broader support ecosystems including family, friends, caregivers and community services. Grannis emphasized it would encourage real-world activity, prompting the user to go for a walk, call a grandchild or attend a local senior event.

If you have an extra five minutes, you can save a life because you can learn cardiopulmonary resuscitation at no cost from a new mobile, hands-only CPR kiosk.

The new kiosk is in the lobby of Saint John's Health Center in Santa Monica. The machine's touch screen gives a brief overview of hands-only CPR and you can practice right there, on a mannequin.

Dr. Rigved Tadwalkar, cardiologist at St. John's, said it is an easy way for people to get more comfortable giving chest compressions in an emergency.

"It's a lot like a video game but of course, a lot more important than a video game," Tadwalkar pointed out. "It gives real-time feedback about the depth and rate of compressions, proper hand placement, which are all factors that influence the effectiveness of CPR."

The American Heart Association operates the St. John's mobile kiosk and a stationary model at L-A-X with support from the hospital. Santiago Canyon College in Orange County also has a mobile hands-only C-P-R kiosk now through September, sponsored by Edwards Lifesciences.

Steven Munatones, an Orange County business owner, said he survived what's known as a "widowmaker" heart attack which led to cardiac arrest nine years ago, thanks to his 17-year-old son, who gave him immediate CPR with instructions from a 911 operator.

"You don't have to put your mouth to anybody's mouth," Munatones explained. "You just put your hand on their chest and pump. He saved me, and others can do the same, anywhere. So, it's absolutely a lifesaving, heroic act that anybody can do."

Statistics show 350,000 Americans suffer from cardiac arrest outside a hospital each year and about 90% die, in part because they do not receive CPR. About 70% of those cardiac arrests happen at home, so people often depend on family or friends to give CPR before an ambulance arrives.