Program 12
The CommonHealth of Kentucky
A 13-part KET production aimed at improving the health of all Kentuckians by sharing health and wellness projects from across the state that are succeeding in making their communities healthier.
Be Well Kentucky
a project of KET’s Be Well Kentucky initiative
The CommonHealth of Kentucky is a 2005 KET production. Produced in partnership with the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky with funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
Featured Projects:
- Living Well Workshops: Chronic Disease Self-Management Program, Louisville
- The Nun Study, University of Kentucky, Lexington
- Staying Alive: How To Be an Effective Caregiver, Louisville
Health issues related to aging—and caring for the elderly—are becoming increasingly critical as the number of Americans living to the age of 85 and beyond continues to skyrocket. Several Kentucky organizations are working to make the last years of life healthier and safer:
Louisville’s Staying Alive: How To Be an Effective Caregiver project offers services designed to reduce the mental and physical strain of caring for someone who suffers from a chronic incapacitating condition. Project staffers also are dedicated to finding ways to help the elderly safely remain in their accustomed living environments.
The Living Well Workshops: Chronic Disease Self-Management Program, also in Louisville, is a six-week series of free workshops that teach techniques for dealing with chronic conditions and aging. Topics include how diet, exercise, and even meditation can improve the quality of life.
Effective treatment for any condition begins with understanding the underlying causes. Researchers with the University of Kentucky’s Nun Study are working to determine the causes of Alzheimer’s disease in the hope of developing more effective prevention and treatment strategies.